“You’re mocking me.”
“Yeah.” He pulls back just far enough to show me a wide, bright smile. “I am. It’s fun.”
“You’re a jackass.”
“Mmhm. And you’re a pain in my ass. So it works out, huh?” He shifts his knee between my legs, inching his thigh closer until I’m straddling his leg. “Did you break something today? Drop a mug? Smash a window?”
“What? No!”
“It’s just that, you usually get in your feelings about this stuff when you screw up. To me, a broken mug is hardly worth mentioning. To you, it’s enough to make you consider stepping in front of Barbara’s car again.”
I narrow my eyes and ignore the electrical pulses angling toward his knee. The cunning bastard. “I’m tempted to take a stroll on the road right now.”
“Right. What did you break?” He slides his tongue across my lips. Tasting. Tormenting. Humming his appreciation. “Start a fire in the kitchen? Eat an entire box of cookies?”
“No!”
“So what is it, Rose?” He hooks his finger in the top of my shirt, tugging it down to reveal the same old cotton bra I’ve owned since the hospital. “Did Poopy take a shit on my pillow?”
“Her name is Poppy! And I didn’t break anything. I didn’t lose anything or catch anything on fire, or do anything wrong. I just think it would be best if we could be together…apart.”
“I respectfully disagree. And disrespectfully?” He latches on to my peaked nipple through the fabric of my bra. “I say fuck no. I’m not letting you leave.”
“That sounds like a threat.”God, I’m such an asshole. “Abusive much?”
He snorts, suckling on the tip and drawing me closer. Closer. So friggin’ close, my spine arches, and my entire body curls into his. “Give me a good reason to let you go, and I’ll make it happen. Cliff owns like ten houses in Plainview and in the next town over, so I’m sure we could get you one of those even without a lease and come to an agreement he’d be happy with.” He peels the front of my bra down and drags his tongue across my bare skin. “But you need to convince me why that would be a good idea. You having a tantrum is not it.”
“I’m not having a tantrum!” I shove him back, forcing space between us. Between my throbbing pussy and his leg. “I’m trying to do the right thing by you, Oliver. The fact you can’t see that concerns me.”
“You don’t get to decide what’s right for me.” He snags my hand and nibbles on my wrist. My forearm. The soft, warm spot at the crook of my elbow. “You’re not very good at arguing with another human being, by the way. I’m right here picking at you, and you’ve got nothing.”
“That’s fine, because you’re ridiculously good at pissing me off. Which is helpful in more ways than one, just so you know.”
“Youwantme to piss you off?”
“Yes. You being perfect all the time is how I ended up in this situation in the first place. Show your ass more often and I’ll be more able to control how I feel.”
“You…” Confused, he stops nibbling and brings his focus back to me. “What?”
“I just want to be an independent, functional person!” I bound off the couch and drag my bra and shirt back into place. “I don’t want you to be with this useless, broke, unemployed, freeloader who contributes nothing to society. I want to be worthy.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Frustrated, he flops back onto the couch, his feet on the floor and his back sandwiched in the cushions. “Worthy of what?”
“Worthy of you! Worthy of your love! Because I—” I gasp and slap my hand across my mouth, my eyes shooting wide, and the clap of my palm sending ricochets of pain reverberating into every nerve ending I own.
Oh God. I screwed up! I screwed up so bad.
Ollie’s silent stare knocks the wind out of my lungs. The way he leans forward on the couch, his elbows on his knees, makes my stomach roll.
“Wait, no?—”
“Because you what, Rosaline?”
“Nothing!”I stumble out of the gap between the couch and the table, careful not to trample the kitten. “Forget I said anything.”
“You said love.” Like an apex predator in the wild, he slowly pushes to his feet and prowls two steps closer. “I heard you, Rose. L. O. V. E.”
“No, I didn’t.” I back up and navigate the recliner. The rug. The fireplace. “I didn’t say anything.”
