I put a hand up to stop him. “Is admitting that this is the norm for you at parties supposed to make me okay with it? And if you really wanted to ‘carry me over your shoulder,’ you would have gotten off that couch and gone after me much sooner.”
“I did.” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “I fucking did. As soon as you walked away and disappeared into the crowd, I stood up and looked for you everywhere. When I finally found you, you were playing beer pong. I watched you the entire time from the kitchen window like a fucking stalker because I didn’t want to miss a second of it.”
He sighed and continued. “I turned around for a minute. One fucking minute and suddenly you were gone; when I located you again, you were with my fucking teammate.” He let out an unamused chuckle, looking up at the ceiling as he ran his fingers through his hair again, tugging it. He set his gaze on mine again. “This has never happened to me before. I don’t know what the fuck to do. I don’t even know how you feel. I just know I never want to feel the way I did when I saw him with you again.”
“I...” My eyes darted to his black t-shirt. Was I really going to share my feelings?Oh my God, I was.This was worse than I thought. I waited until my heart settled down before looking him in the eyes again. “Seeing her all over you like that was a nightmare. I hated it. I hated it so fucking much, and I hated that I hated it.”
The breath he let out was heavy and relieved. He searched my eyes for a long time. He had to be the most confusing playboy in the history of the universe. I’d expected him to kiss me or walk me back into the bathroom to fuck me. I would have let him. Instead, he cradled my head to his chest and hugged me. Lachlan Duke, who had a revolving door of women,huggedme. I should have been offended that he didn’t make a move, but then he kissed the top of my head as he held me, and the only thing I could think about was how fast his heart was beating, how warm his skin felt against my naked back, and how good he smelled.
“God, Lyla James,” he breathed against my head. “What the fuck am I going to do with you?”
“What do you want to do with me?” I asked, my face squished against his chest. His body went rigid. His arms held me a little tighter. I put my hands on his chest and slightly pulled back to look up at him. “That’s not a trick question, you know.”
His eyes dropped down to my mouth momentarily. “How much did you drink?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me.”
I groaned. “What, you don’t hook up with drunk girls?”
“Not unless I’m also drunk,” he said, searching my eyes. “And you’re notjusta girl to me.”
Ugh. Why did he say things like that?
“I’m only a little drunk. Your temper tantrum sobered me up some,” I said, feeling myself smile. His gaze softened. Our eyes remained locked as he cupped my face with his large hands. He got closer. My pulse raced in anticipation. He set his forehead on mine and shook his head.
“I can’t,” he breathed.
“Why?” I brought my hands up and wrapped them around his wrists.
He groaned a sound that vibrated through me. “You’re making this really difficult.”
Just as I opened my mouth to respond, to tell him to just fucking do it, two very drunk girls cut in, bumping into us and telling us they needed to use the restroom. Lachlan quickly moved out of the way to allow me to step out. One of the girls walked up to him and ran her finger against the side of his right arm. She took a few steps and paused by the bathroom door, eye fucking him. I really wanted to punch her. Lach kept his eyes on mine the entire time, which didn’t completely redeem him from the Mandy thing, but it helped. The girl huffed and made an annoyed face as she walked into the bathroom and shut the door loudly.
“I hate that they treat you like they have any right to touch you,” I said.
His eyes were sparkling, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“What?” I asked, knowing I shouldn’t have disclosed that.
He leaned down again and brushed his cheek against mine until his mouth reached my ear. “I don’t bore you.”
I couldn’t confirm or deny it, so I said nothing. I cared too much. That was the problem.
CHAPTER11
LYLA
I secretly wishedlast night’s joy would last, but it was gone by sunrise, when I saw the picture of Luke and my mom and remembered the things I wanted to be left buried. Parties were happening every night, including tonight. Marissa had already told me about it, and the only question on my mind was whether or not Lachlan would be there. Not that I’d ask her or go either way, but morbid curiosity begged for an answer. He didn’t kiss me last night, but he remained glued to my side the rest of the night. His hand on my lower back as we spoke to his teammates. His fingers brushing against mine as Marissa very loudly told a story about the time I locked myself out of my car in high school. His arm flush against my side when we were standing around. His wide stance caging me when he sat on the edge of the couch, and I remained standing. It felt like a warning to every other guy at that party. And I freaking liked it.Lovedit. After all the shit I’d talked about the stupid dibs thing, there I was, wanting him to claim me. This had never happened to me before. Even when I was carefree Lyla, I’d never met anyone who made me feel like he did, and that was a real problem. I needed to remember what happened to Luke. I hadn’t even known Lachlan for a long time and the mere thought of losing him made me want to throw up.
“You sure you don’t want to come out tonight?”
I blinked. “I can’t believeyouwant to go out tonight after the way last night ended.”
“Oh, stop. I wasn’t that bad.”
“Marissa! You threw up three times before Lachlan dropped us off.”
