I took a deep breath and shut my eyes.
He didn’t say anything either, but I felt the deep breath that inflated his chest before he let it out over my ear.
Chapter Twenty-One
"Would you quit looking at me like that?"
For the last five minutes, Dex had been sitting across the counter from me, staring. With his coffee cup raised just over his mouth, those dark blue eyes had been locked in my direction. At first I'd thought that there may have been maple syrup smothered somewhere on me but I'd touched all over and there was nothing there.
Those sleepy eyes werecuriousand way too intent. And it was probably because I hadn't slept so well after the long crying jag I'd thrown myself into, that it took me what felt like forever to figure out why he was looking at me with so much attention.
"I'm not going to spontaneously burst into tears, Dex," I finally advised him, rolling my eyes before shoveling anotherspoonfulofoatmealinto my mouth.
From the sides of the coffee mug, I could see his lips tilt up just the slightest. What was up with that look in his eye? So. Weird. "Oh, I know you're not," the smug jerk said.
Both my eyebrows went straight up. It was impossible to understand what it was about his little challenges that had started baiting me every single time. "How do you know that?"
Those pink corners of his mouth tipped up even higher. "I told you last night you weren't gonna anymore."
This man. Goodlord. I wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or amused. My gut was going with amusement. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."
"Yeah, it is."
I blinked at him. "No, it's not, but thank you for hanging in there with me last night." By last night, I meant almost all night.
After the longest hug in the history of the world, he'd turned on the television and we watched what was left of Stargate in silence. Right next to each other, thigh to thigh.
"Whatever, babe," he shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal at all.
But to me it was. To me, what he'd done had been what had kept me up all night. It wasn't the newfound knowledge of my father's indiscretions, or my brother's lies, but Dex. Dex who'd been the complete opposite of The Dick at the bar. How the hell one man could change his colors so quickly was incomprehensible.
That was just Charlie Dex Locke though, I guess. One contradiction after another.
"Whatever," I mocked him in a husky voice, winking before I even realized I'd done it. What the hellhad gotten into me?
His gaze was impenetrable. All that cool, gem-like blue zeroed in on me, making me just a little breathless.
I forced a smile onto my face. "Thank you anyway. It was really nice."
Still, he didn't flutter an eyelash as I widened my smile. The only thing he did was lower the coffee mug onto the kitchen countertop, his head tilting to the side. "Baby, just 'cuz you're cute doesn't mean I wasn't bein' serious about spankin' your tight little ass for doin' dumb shit, Ritz. You do it again, and you're gonna get it."
And…my smile came crashing down.Do not think about him referring to your butt as tight, Ris. Focus!
"Just because I've never hit another person in my life doesn't mean I won't make you the first." I blinked coolly. "Charlie."
What did the man do? He laughed.
"I'm serious," I insisted, earning another laugh from him.
"I know, babe," Dex chuckled. "I heard all about you sellin' off the rights to my kneecaps."
Oh crap. There may have been a gulp that was processed in my throat. "About that..."
He leaned forward over the counter, elbows propped up on the edge. "Sooner or later you'll figure out that eventually I find out everythin', Ritz."
That suddenly sounded like way more of a threat that I hope he'd intended it to.
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