“I’m not above begging, Mars. I can barely keep my eyes open.”
I glance over my shoulder at West. He’s leaning patiently against the open door with his arm draped over the top. He raises one eyebrow in a move that feels like a dare.
I exhale heavily. “Okay.”
Daphne pulls the blanket off my shoulders and pushes me toward West. “Don’t give me a reason to hate you,” she warns him.
“Another reason,” I remind her.
“Hmm?”
“You already hate him. You don’t needanotherreason.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t bite,” he says as I slide into the front seat. He rests his palm on the top of the doorframe and leans in so only I can hear him. “Hard.”
West shuts the door with an ominous thud. There’s no going back now. I inhale slowly as I buckle my seat belt, the scent inside the truck making my head swim. It smells like I crawled into West’s lap and stuck my face in his neck.
He turns the heat up, puts his hand on my headrest, and angles his body toward me as he backs up the car. “So, you really didn’t want to go home alone with me, huh?”
I’m in dangerous proximity to his forearm. “Not really.”
“Just so we’re clear, I was joking about biting.”
“So, itwillbe hard?”
I expect him to take a shot back, but his expression sobers. “I want you to feel comfortable tonight. It won’t be a repeat of last night.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s a very honorable speech, but it’s not you I don’t trust.”
“Oh?”
I squirm in my seat, suddenly on fire. I might not trust West with my feelings, but I fully trust him with my safety. He wouldn’t do anything that I don’t want him to do. The problem is, he might do some of the stuff Idowant, and that’s not a good idea. I press my knees together and crack the window open to get some cool air.
“Was that the woman who asked a bunch of awkward questions at my panel this afternoon?”
“Yep.”
“And she’s friends with Daphne?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Unbelievably, the corner of his mouth quirks up. “Got it.”
“It sounds insane when you say it out loud.”
“I wonder why that would be.”
I suppress a laugh. He’s not even mad. Daphne was right; I have no future in revenge.
I shift toward him and lean against the headrest, staring shamelessly. The silence settles, and I suddenly have the alarming thought that I could stay like this for the rest of the night, breathing his air and watching the way streetlights create shadows on his crooked nose, his sharp jaw. I can’t get enough of him. It feels like making up for lost time. In lieu of the last ten years, I’ll accept a few stolen minutes in a dark car.
His fingers flex on the steering wheel. “You know how to make a guy self-conscious, Darling.” His hoarse voice makes my blood hum.
“I won’t mess with you anymore,” I say.
He throws me a cautious glance. “Why not?”
I shrug. “I’m not very good at it.”
