Page 46 of Break the Rule
“It’s a little bit of an us problem,” Charlie counters with a smile that is not befitting a sentence like that.
“That would imply there is an us,” Eden hisses, turning to look over his shoulder. Juanita and Armando are deep in conversation about the salsa, leaving Eden free to deal with his Charlie problem. Because he is, in fact, a fucking problem.
“Well, there’s not,” Charlie concedes, “but?—”
“No buts,” Eden interrupts.
“But—”
“No.”
“But—”
“Do you even understand the word no?”
“In terms of consent, absolutely. Everywhere else, well—let’s just say it’s more of a starting point to negotiation.”
“I’m not sure what entitled fucking planet you live on but nothing about me is up for negotiation,” Eden hisses.
“That’s not what I meant,” Charlie says, expression softening into something almost apologetic. “Can I try again?”
Eden crosses his arms. “Whatever.”
“You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
“If you want easy, fucking go somewhere else.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere else,” Charlie asserts. He rests his elbows on the counter, chin in his hands, gazing at Eden like he’s not put off by Eden’s brusque attitude. He should be, the insensible fucker. “And for the record I don’t need easy either.”
“What you need is none of my business,” Eden tells him, avoiding eye contact lest he have delusions about forgiving this frustrating man because he’s got pretty brown eyes and a nice face. Life would be so much easier if Eden didn’t like pretty things, and boy is Charlie King pretty.
“What if I wanted to make it your business?”
“I told you last week was one and done. I figured when you didn’t come in all week you understood that.”
To Eden’s horror, Charlie’s face breaks into a wide smile. He’s not sure if he’s more put out that he is, in fact, once again looking at Charlie or that Charlie is looking at him with such obvious glee.
“Aw, did you notice I was gone?”
“Fuck. Off.”
“You did,” Charlie grins, crossing his arms and leaning close enough that Eden should hit him upside the head. “How long did it take you to notice I wasn’t here? Did you miss me?”
“You are insufferable.”
“That’s just another way to say you can’t stop thinking about me.”
“I want to hit you,” Eden grumbles, not even caring he said it out loud.
“I told you before, you can do anything you want to me.”
That should not make Eden hard. Once again, he’s glad for the skirt he’s got on over his skinny jeans. He’s quite certain walking around with a raging hard on won’t endear him to his boss or fellow employees.
“I don’t hit during sex,” Eden tells him.
“So then you want to hit me now, and do other things to me in the bedroom?”
“How is it that you find a way to turn every statement into something benefiting you?”
