He waved a hand in the air. “Irrelevant. The point is, I think the other half the time, you want me. But you don’t want to want me. Because, as you said, I’m not your type.” He rolled his eyes. “Which is fine, because God knows you’re notmytype, so I don’t want to want you either, and thewantingto want is the important part. Thechoicepart. The part that separates us from the animals, so we don’t go around humping each other all day, lovely as that sounds.”
I frowned at him like he was insane, because I wondered if maybe he was. Honest to God, who talked like this?
The provoking menace in my passenger’s seat, that’s who.
My new fuckingemployee.
Who chose to interpret my frown as confusion.
“Did I lose you? Hmm. How can I say this in small words you might understand? Oh! I know. Okay, let’s say our mutual attraction is a tiny, precious seed.” He made a cupping motion with his hand, sketching a seed in the air, and blinked at me solemnly. “As long as we don’t plant it, it’ll never grow.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “See?”
Cocky bastard. I’d really like to plant my…Ahem. I cut off the thought abruptly. “What Iseeis that you’re delusional.”
“Yes, so you mentioned Saturday night,” Constantine said, supremely unconcerned. “But it’s not a delusion if it’s accurate.”
I shook my head. I was simultaneously pissed off and entertained, which felt really fucking dangerous, so I took a cautious sip of coffee, determined to stop this entire line of conversation before I gave into the urge to kick the man’s ass… or do something else to his ass entirely.
I couldn’t stop the noise of surprise when the flavor of the coffee hit my tongue. “It’s black.”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I wasn’t sure how you took it, so I guessed.”
“It’s good. Thank you,” I added grudgingly. “Good guess.”
“Dark, hot, and bitter just seemed to fit.” He fluttered his eyelashes.
“While yours is probably so light and sweet you candelude yourselfinto thinking it’s melted ice cream.”
“Hey!” He burst into laughter. “I’m still very aware it’s coffee, thank you. I just don’t need things to be unpleasant andpainfulin order for them to be worthwhile.” He paused, then added slyly, “Not that I mind a little pain from time to time.”
I shook my head again and locked my teeth together.God, he was impossible.
Cocky,cockybastard.
“You know, FYI, your flirtation game is really weak,” Con said. “Some people say mine is bad, but compared to you, I’m like, an expert.” He sounded smug.
I turned my head to stare at him and had to remind myself to look back at the road, because smug-Con was hot as hell. “That’s because I’m not flirting. We’renotflirting right now, Constantine. I thought I made that clear.”
“Sure, sure.” He waved a hand negligently. “I know. No, I was thinking of the other day at the farmer’s market. That guy was totally trying to pick you up, and you were, like,oblivious.”
Oh. Robert. I frowned. “That was nothing.”
“Please. He was so hot for you, I could feel the pheromone shockwaves all the way across the aisle.”
Shockwaves? “Nonsense.”
“If I’d been telepathic, he would have beenscreaminghis lust into my brain.”
“Constantine, shut up.”
“He would have laid himself down on the table by the Gerbera daisies,” Constantine said, sliding into the corner between the seat and the door and bending one long leg up toward the console between us, “and let you have your wicked way with him in front of the entire town.”
I could feel my face going hot, and it had absolutely nothing to do with Robert and everything to do with Con’s teasing humor and… okay, yes, the hairy, muscular calf exposed by Con’s shorts, which was suddenly just inches away from me.
“I’m not interested in that guy.” I could barely remember his face. I shoved at Con’s leg. “And we are not talking about this.”
“Whyaren’t you interested? How do you even know? See, flirtation doesn’t have to mean anything,” Constantine continued. “It doesn’t have to lead to anything. Just like, one night of sex doesn’t mean a relationship, and one kiss in a bar doesn’thaveto lead to something more, as you so recently informed me.”
“Not. Talking.”
