Her nostrils flared with her next inhale and she refused to meet my eyes. “I think I need some air.” She turned on her heel and hurried away, but not before I caught the flash of embarrassment in her eyes.
I’d seen it a few times before, and my concern increased when she began running her hands over her stomach and down her thighs.
I’d seen her do that before too, as a form of self-soothing when she felt self-conscious.
Damn it all.
I’d been trying to protect her, but I’d hurt her instead.
Fuck me.
I’d rather die a thousand deaths than let her think I didn’t desire her every minute of every day.
22
NOELLE
Fuck Bishop.
The nastiness of the thought stopped me in my tracks.
I took a slow, deep breath and pushed aside the rejection.
I’d show him.
He thought I was too drunk to fuck, but there was a whole other level to my naughtiness that I had yet to explore.
Rafe brought that side of me out to play, and now that he’d unlocked it, I planned to enjoy every second.
Captain Delaney would be ashamed.
Fuck him too.
None of them deserved the work I’d put into my job.
I’d done what I could, learned what I could, during the Christmas drive.
Now that they’d started the afterparty, I’d left my wire behind.
I grabbed a mug of peppermint schnapps and gave it a taste.
The mint was almost overpowered by the alcohol, so I took tiny sips instead of long drinks to make it last and keep the low buzz going.
Colt motioned me toward the dance floor, and I didn’t hesitate to join him.
My body felt light and bubbly, my joy overriding my usual self-consciousness.
I shook my ass and danced with Colt in a way that felt liberating.
Colt was a perfect gentlemen, and while others were grinding all over each other, we simply moved to the music.
Every now and then, I caught sight of Bishop still in his corner.
I felt his gaze on the back of my neck, that awareness that started a fire in my belly.
Ash and Rafe stood near the bar, both deep in conversation that they broke every few seconds to look my way.
I finished the schnapps and went back to the eggnog, preferring the softer flavor over the bite in the peppermint.
