I look in the direction he’s running and see him disappear over the hill. The guys must be rubbing off on me more than I thought because the instinct to give chase kicks in and I’m running before I realize it.
Fuck it.
When I reach the top of the hill, I stumble to a halt when I spot him at the base, looking as if he’s waiting for me. I’m even more embarrassed that it was clear I was chasing him. By the time I reach him at the bottom of the hill, I’m more than ready for war.
“For the record,” I seethe as I come to stand in front of him, “I never asked you to be with me, but it doesn’t have to be this way either. We can be friends.”
Zeke perks a brow while the rest of his face remains impassive. “No.”
“No? What do you mean no? Why the hell not?”
“Because I don’t trust a word that comes out of that pretty little mouth, princesa.”
“See…that. There! Why do you say things like that?”
His green eyes turn challenging, and he takes a step closer. “Like what?”
I refuse to back down, but I can’t deny my voice sounds unsure when I answer. “You said my mouth is pretty.”
“So what?”
“Soooo… You don’t say things like that to someone youhate. You say it if it’s someone you want to…kiss.” Zeke doesn’t respond, but the knot in his throat bobs as if he just swallowed a really large pill. For some reason it gives me a false sense of confidence, and I inch forward. “Do you want to kiss me, Ezekiel?”
I expect him to deny it immediately. Instead, he stares at my mouth for a really long time before he rejects me. “No.”
“Are you sure?” I inch a little closer, something like hope tightening inside my chest. “Not even one little kiss?” I decide to taunt. “It’s just us. The others don’t have to know.”
“You want me to help you cheat on my brothers?”
I close the last bit of distance between us, and Zeke breaks first, stumbling in retreat. I take a page out of Thorin, Khalil, and Seth’s book and I don’t let him run. I chase. His back hits the huge tree behind him, and his green eyes flare wide when I boldly invade his space. When I place my hands on his shoulders and mold the front of my body against his, his eyes take on a glassy look. “It’s complicated.”
“It’s really not,” he returns dryly. And yet he’s still staring at my mouth.
“You’ve kissed me before.”
“Seth kissed you.”
I roll my eyes. “Ta-may-toe, ta-mah-to.”
Zeke swears. “You enjoy provoking me, don’t you?”
“Yes, but only because you make it so easy.” I breathe deeply when it doesn’t feel like the whole truth and I begin pushing toward it. “And,” I add reluctantly, “when I make you angry, it hurts less to know that you’re not the man I love anymore. Sometimes, I see you and I forget. And then you see me tooand… I remember. At least when you’re angry about something I actually did, it feels like I deserve the way you look at me.”
“I’m sorry,” he says with a pink tinge to his cheeks. “I’ll…try to stop. But won’t kissing you just confuse you even more?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. We won’t know until we try. It could be good for us both.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I’m confused and you’re curious. You want to know what made Seth and your brothers fall so hard for me. Well, here’s your chance.”
“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t that set of lips that made them fall, princesa.”
“You could kiss those too,” I blurt and then I have to swallow my surprise and keep up the pretense that I’m in control of this dangerous game we’re playing. “But we probably shouldn’t go that fast. Just to be safe.”
“You think?”
“Kiss me,” I demand again.
