Anger washes over me. “Go away, Brody. I don’t want to see you.”
“I just wanted to check on you and make sure you’re okay,” Brody says.
I scoff. “Why? How I’m doing is none of your business.”
“I’m worried about you, Poppy. That Nick guy is bad news.”
A protective feeling courses through me. How dare he say that?
Nick just rolls his eyes like he couldn’t give less of a crap what Brody thinks about him.
“Go away, Brody,” I say through the door. “I don’t care what you think about Nick. I don’t want to hear a word you have to say.”
“Poppy, you need to listen to?—”
“She told you to leave,” Nick booms, cutting him off. “Get lost.”
There’s a muffled sound on the other side of the door, like Brody is angrily muttering to himself.
“I’m not going to leave until I know that you’re safe, Poppy,” Brody says, his tone indignant. “There’s no telling what that guy will do when he’s alone with you. I don’t trust him.”
I make an are-you-kidding-me face at the door. The nerve of Brody to try to disguise his jealousy and control as concern for me. He just doesn’t want to see me happy with another guy.
When I look up at Nick, though, he’s not mad. He looks like he’s trying not to laugh.
“What?” I ask him.
“This guy is easier to read than a book. He can’t have you, so he’s pulling out all the stops to cockblock you. It’s pathetic.”
An idea hits. “Then let’s do something about that. Right here. Right now.”
Nick’s brow furrows like he’s confused. “What do you mean?”
“I want to shove it in Brody’s face that you can do whatever you want with me. And that I like it.”
Recognition flashes in Nick’s rich brown eyes. “You want to pretend to fool around against the door?”
I shake my head. “I want to do it for real.”
Fiery ignites in Nick’s bourbon brown eyes. “You sure?”
I nod. He stands in front of me, closing the space between us. With his hand on my hip, he presses my back against the door.
He leans down and kisses my shoulder. “What exactly do you want me to do to you, Poppy?” he whispers.
The roughness of his voice, combined with his mouth on my skin, turns me on instantly. I’m aching between my legs, my body begging for more of his touch.
I look him in the eye and let out a shaky breath. “I want you to move your hand lower. Between my legs.”
His mouth curves up in a wicked smile. “You wanna break your rules again, wild girl?”
I bite my lip and nod. This is so unlike me. I’m a rule follower. I never do crazy things, ever.
But I don’t want to be that version of myself, not right now.
Right now, I want to be different. I want to get wild.
I want to live up to that nickname Nick gave me. I want to be the girl who refuses to let her ex win.
