“No, of course not, Mr.I have a child nobody knows about.”
He sighed heavily. God, he missed the days when he’d been allowed to silence her with a kiss.
“Why did they send you?” Because…why the hell? Why?She was standing so close that he could feel her warmth on his skin — and his body was so used to being close to her that he caught his feet about to take another step toward her. Strange how youcould become addicted to the proximity of someone who upset you so much the moment they opened their mouth.
“Oh, my brother suspects that I upset you too much and told me that I owed you an apology. I’m supposed to show you goodwill.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Where’s my apology?”
“Obviously only in Dax’s imagination,” she replied dryly, her blue eyes so wide and innocent that she might have fooled her brothers, but not him.
“I think I deserve one,” he said stonily.
“Really? For what?”
“Well, for plotting to have Jack and Dax kill me, which you’re obviously doing. Because if you continue laughing at the wrong times or don’t stop with your stupid comments, they’ll find out.”
“Find out what?” she asked, feigning confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Because we havenothingin common, remember?”
Ah, so that was what was bothering her. “The socks…” he growled.
“Yeah, what about your socks? Important question. Why do you always wear different ones? You’ve never told me.”
He snorted and pushed off the wall. “Is that important?”
“I don’t know. But it doesn’t suit you. They’re colorful and so…vibrant. You’re more gray and stiff.”
He’d been about to walk past her back into the bar, but her words stopped him. Slowly, he turned to her and narrowed his eyes. He knew he should leave. The safest way to avoid drama was to just keep his mouth shut. But God, the challenge in her eyes… “Did I ask your opinion?” he asked quietly.
“You never asked me about anything, Lucas,” she said, unperturbed. “That never meant you could stop me from filling the evening with my chatter.”
No. And it had never bothered him. But right now, she was definitely talking too much!
“I’d be interested to know what you told Fox about me,” she continued.
“That you talk too much.”
“Everyone talks too much compared to you,” she said with a snort. “So that’s not really an insult.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you, just upset you.”
“Lucky me,” she replied dryly. “But it’s nice to know that even though our time togetherwasn’tanything, at least I made you smile.”
“Why do you think Fox was talking about you?” he asked, interested, taking a step toward her. “Why are you so sure you’re the mystery woman?”
In the blink of an eye, he saw uncertainty flash in her eyes. It was the moment when she wondered how many other women he’d fucked senseless since their first night at the bar…but then she closed her eyes and shook her head, smiling.
“It doesn’t matter. Honestly, just the thought of you smiling every now and then is comforting.” She jutted her chin out. It was a silent challenge, her voice nothing but a raspy whisper. “As is the thought that there are parts of you that let go when you’re not buried deep inside me and so turned on you can’t think straight.”
He clenched his jaw, hating that her words triggered images in his head. Hated her words. Period.
She knew he was smiling inside. Perhaps better than anyone else in his life. Didn’t she realize that? Or was she still deliberately provoking him?
“So, you know all my sides, huh?” he whispered, dangerously calm, his toes touching hers as he took another step toward her.
