“Screwed up?” she echoed, confused.
“Yeah,” I said with a heartbroken sigh. There wasn’t any other way to describe us.
Moments later, we were interrupted by the sound of Neil’s footsteps, and we both turned to look at him, now standing in the living room wearing a pair of Matt’s sweatpants. The sweater, which had an electric blue sports logo in the middle, was too tight on his powerful arms and torso. The pants fit him okay but were a bit too short for him.
“Maybe I should try to find something bigger?” My mother cocked her head to the side and frowned.
“Matt and I don’t wear the same size, but it’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” he told her with a hint of irony, almost sounding…nice.
Almost.
“Alas, my husband was not a giant, and he never had all those muscles you’ve got,” my mother said merrily, making me blush. Neil looked unmoved as always and just gave her a smile. I needed to have a talk with her soon; she couldn’t be showering him with compliments like a teenage girl with her first crush. “Have a seat on the couch with Selene, dear, and I’ll make you some hot tea. Or would you rather have something else?” she asked, heading for the kitchen, but Neil shook his head, declining with a simple “I’m good.”
With my mother safely away in the kitchen, we were alone, and I glanced around uncomfortably, unsure about what to do next. Neil wasn’t here by accident; he hadn’t come to Detroit for small talk over a nice cup of tea.
“So? What did you want to say to me?” I crossed my arms over my chest, and unlike my mother, I wasn’t remotely polite. She wasn’t the one who’d been hurt, after all. She didn’t even know him or what a deceitful bastard he was.
“Cute house you have.” Neil changed the subject, looking around the living room off the entryway. My house was completely unlike Matt’s. There was no flash or luxury, no crystal chandeliers or giant pools in the backyard. Neil was mocking me, like always.
“Unbelievable. You really have some nerve showing your face here after what happened,” I shot back at him while he, utterly calm, looked over my shoulder at the pictures on the wall of me as a child.
“You were funny even when you were little. How old were you there? Five?” he teased, looking at one picture in particular. I was in my mother’s arms at the beach wearing a colorful swimsuit and massively oversized snorkeling mask. I should have had her get rid of that picture. Stash it in some drawer or something so I wouldn’t feel so embarrassed.
“Don’t change the subject.” I moved to face him and looked him right in the eye. I only came up to his chest, and his musky smell was so strong it was messing with my head. Neil lowered his gaze to look at me, and I sucked in a breath. His eyes were always speaking in that silent language that I was learning to understand and, just then, they were so obscured that I knew he was irritated by how I was approaching the situation.
“You’re trying to piss me off, aren’t you?” he whispered menacingly and I glanced warily into the kitchen, afraid my mother was going to see us getting so close to each other.
“I’m the one who should be pissed off, not you,” I retorted, and he smiled. I didn’t know why, and I didn’t even have time to think about it because Neil drew close to me and gently grazed my hip, making me gasp.
I was wearing a normal pair of jeans and a white sweater, nothing particularly sexy, but he was looking at me like he wanted to tear it all off me.
“I like it when you get aggressive, Tigress,” he murmured under hisbreath, moving his face even closer to my lips. After a moment, he took a deep breath and did not kiss me. I knew he wanted to, just like I wanted to, but instead he chose to stand motionless right in front of me, eyes gleaming with lust.
“Now’s not the time to be thinking about…” I began to say, but Neil moved closer still until he was right up next to my ear.
“Fucking you?” he finished for me. I could feel his hot breath on my skin, and his chest brushed against my breasts.
His baritone voice hit me like a jolt between my thighs, so I shut my eyes and bit my lip, swallowing hard. A chill ran down my spine and a raging fire ignited in the bottom of my belly.
“My mother is right there. Stop it.” I got up the nerve to push him back, but my hands started shaking as soon as I touched him. Neil took a few steps back, still giving me that same amused look, and I realized how hard it was going to be to resist him.
It was hard to resist the urge to undress him and feel his smooth skin against mine; hard not to run my fingers through the thick, wild hair on top of his head. It was hard not being able to kiss and caress his fierce body.
It was hard to resist the flames of desire that enveloped us every time we got near each other.
“I need to be alone with you,” he said seriously.
Luckily for me, Neil heard my mother’s footsteps and moved away from me immediately. He sat down on the couch, and I could breathe again. He balanced one ankle on the opposite knee and continued evaluating me closely, waiting for my answer.
“Here’s your tea.” My mother joined us in the living room with two steaming cups, looking at us in increasing confusion as she sensed the heavy atmosphere in the room.
I looked thoughtfully at the clock. It was eight, and I knew my mother was going out with Anton Coleman tonight, but I was absolutely sure that I could not be alone in the house with Neil. I could already picture how it would end: him and me, naked in bed.
I shook my head; I couldn’t afford to give in to him. I needed to avoid any compromising situations.
“Selene, I need to leave in half an hour, but…” My mother cleared her throat and looked sternly back and forth between Neil and me. “I am not leaving you here alone with a boy,” she said baldly, and my eyes widened in embarrassment.
Did my mother have to treat me like a child right in front of Neil?
