“Joshua is not my boyfriend!”
“Tell that to the woman who just tried to turn you into abstract art.”
“You’re unbelievable.”I scowl at him, immediately regretting it when the movement pulls at my cuts.“Fine.I’ll pay for your precious coat.”
“Good.”His finger grazes my bandaged cheek with surprising gentleness, and I have to fight not to lean into the touch.“But that’s not all you’re going to pay for.”
My breath catches.“What?”
“My hot chocolate.”His voice drops lower, and suddenly the kitchenette feels impossibly small.“It’s going to take at least a month to get another shipment of that particular blend.Swiss customs, special import permits, the whole nine yards.”
“It was just chocolate powder?—”
“Sixty-dollar chocolate powder that you destroyed out of petty revenge.”His thumb brushes over the edge of my bandage, and I hate how my skin tingles under his touch.“Until my replacement arrives, you’re going to regret ruining my last batch.”
I tilt my chin up defiantly, even though my heart is racing.“I’m not scared of you, Wilder?—”
“Reynolds,” he corrects automatically, but his eyes are locked on mine with an intensity that makes my mouth go dry.
“Whatever your name is, the answer’s the same.You don’t scare me.”
His finger trails down from my cheek, following the line of my jaw to my throat.I should step back.I should slap his hand away.Instead, I stand frozen as his touch skims along the hollow of my collarbone where my shirt has come undone, exposing more skin than I intended.
“You should be very scared,” he murmurs, his voice rough with something that makes heat pool low in my belly.
“Bite me,” I whisper, the words escaping before I can stop them.
His eyes darken, and suddenly he’s even closer, close enough I can feel his breath against my ear.“Careful what you wish for, Princess.”Before I can process what he means, his teeth graze my earlobe, a gentle bite that sends electricity shooting straight through me.The sensation is so unexpected, so intimate, that I gasp.
My hand flies up to push him away—or maybe pull him closer; I’m not sure which—when Flora’s voice cuts through the tension like a knife.
“Oh my goodness!Eve, what happened to your face?”
Caleb steps back so smoothly you’d think he’d never been close enough to bite me at all.Instead, he takes off his jacket, studying the damage from the paint as if he’s just realized it was there.
“Ladies,” he says with mock politeness.“I’ll leave you to your girl-talk.”
“Caleb—” I start, but he’s already brushing past me and toward the door.
“Don’t forget about that dry cleaning bill,” he calls over his shoulder.“I’ll send you the receipt.”
The door swings shut behind him, leaving me alone with Flora and a pulse that’s racing for all the wrong reasons.
Jerk.
“Eve, honey, you’re bleeding!”Flora rushes toward me, her giraffe-print caftan billowing around her like a concerned grandmother tornado.“What on earth happened?Was there an accident?Should I call an ambulance?”
“I’m fine, Flora.”I touch the injured side of my face lightly, brushing away the lingering heat from Caleb’s touch.“Just a little altercation outside.”
“A little altercation?”Her green eyes widen behind her glasses as she takes in the full extent of my injuries.“You look like you wrestled with a mountain lion!And won, but barely!”
“It was Joshua’s ex-girlfriend.She went a little… unhinged,” I explain, grateful for the distraction from thoughts of Caleb’s teeth on my skin.
“That poor boy and his terrible taste in women.”Flora clucks her tongue sympathetically, moving closer to examine my bandages.“These bandages?—?”
I shift uncomfortably.“Caleb helped me clean up the cuts.”
“Caleb did this?”Flora’s eyebrows shoot up toward her hairline as she studies the neat butterfly bandages and careful antiseptic work.“Well, I’ll be.I must say, he was very gallant, helping you with those bandages.Such a gentleman.”
