The fucker didn’t care. Not when Quinn was now my fodder every single time I jacked off. Prior to the auction, I’d been careful, working my hardest to avoid picturing her in my fantasies. It didn’t usually last, but at least I tried.
But that night, I’d fucked up. Being so close to her had put a crack in my defenses, and I’d slipped immediately.
I’d gotten home, dropping my jeans and fisting my cock as soon as I’d slammed my door shut behind me. With her scent still on my shirt and the memory of those mouthwatering curves under my hands, I’d never come so fast in my life.
The worst part of it was, I hadn’t even fantasized about anything good. Hadn’t pictured her on her knees, that smart mouth full of my dick, or my face between those soft, luscious thighs as I licked up the one place I knew she’d be sweet for me.
Nope.
All it had taken was remembering the feel of all those plush curves against me, her disgruntled breaths on my neck, and the way her evil little fingers had pinched my side to show her frustration.
I fucking loved that fight in her.
But that was something I abso-fucking-lutely did not need to be thinking about right now. Not when she was in front of me and I wasn’t so sure my dick wouldn’t stage a breakout from my jeans just to get closer to her.
“What’s that all about?” I asked, lifting my chin to where Alicia was backing out of her parking spot.
Quinn shook her head, waving a hand through the air. “Ignore her. She’s too new to Starlight Cove to realize how bad we are together and is very interested in our date.”
Exactly the reason I was here… “Well, that makes two of us.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you actually go through with it.”
Her words, said so casually, should’ve made me happy. After all, that meant I was off the hook and could go about my business. Find someone to attend my ex’s wedding with me and take a step toward getting Quinn out of my head once and for all.
But I was all fucked up inside, unable to make up my mind if I wanted to run as fast and far away as I could or crowd her up against her car, drop my face to the crook of her neck, and inhale.
“Why not?” I asked, my voice rough.
“What do you mean, why not? Youdorealize the date would be with me, right?”
“Kind of why I’m here, yeah. Gotta make you pay up on your end of the bargain.”
“That’s…not how this works.Ipaid foryou, and if I don’t want to go out, we don’t go out.”
I never thought I was a sadist. I didn’t make a habit of chasing women who obviously did not want to be chased, especially by me. And yet here I was, doing just that for a woman who would rather stumble around on a twisted ankle than accept my help.
For years, it’d always been the same with us—every interaction overflowing with tension. Friction. Distrust.
And I fell right back into that familiar pattern as easily as ever.
I stepped back, bracing myself on the trunk of her car, ankles crossed and brow raised. “Oh, I see what’s happening here.”
I could tell by the set of her mouth that she knew exactly what I was doing—namely, goading her to the point where she couldn’t help but snap back at me. And I was betting on the fact that though she didn’t want to play along, she wouldn’t be able to help herself. We were far too alike in that regard.
“What exactly do you think is happening here?” she finally asked, her tone sharp.
My lips kicked up at the corner because I had her. Was it toxic to crave sparring with her like this? Probably. Didn’t mean I didn’t love every second of it.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? You’re too scared to go out on this date with me, afraid it’ll end up in one of our beds. I get it. I’m irresistible.”
She huffed out a disbelieving laugh, eyes wide, those full lips parted in shock. “You’redelusional. I wouldn’t jump into bed with you if it was the only respite from ten thousand cockroaches crawling all over the floor.”
She was a beautiful little liar, her cheeks flushed as she squared off with me, her gaze darting down to my lips, my chest…lower still.
“If that’s actually true, then this date shouldn’t be a problem,” I said.
She snapped her gaze back up to mine, her eyes hardening. “I didn’t say it was a problem.”
