“Tell me who he is and why he was there.”
“Leave. I don’t want you here anymore.”
He tsks at me. “It’s such a shame that you insist on lying. You’re wasting time.” Reaching up, he skims his thumb from my neck toward my shoulder, toying with the strap of my tank. “Time I’d much rather spend doing other things.”
My core heats in response to the molten lava in his tone. When he touches me, I turn into a puddle of need. He knows it too.
Leaving one of my straps hanging on my upper arm, he switches to the other side, repeating the motion. “Wouldn’t you rather be doing something else with me?”
He’s so close he might as well be inside me. And doesn’t that sound heavenly.
My thighs press together, and my mouth waters. But common sense prevails over my hormones. I channel every ounce of disdain I harbor for him to shove away the arousal.
This man is the most infuriating person on the planet. I can’t believe he’s trying to manipulate me like this.
Again.
He got me once with this sexy act. Not a second time.
Through panting breaths that are part arousal and part fury, I seethe, “Get. Your. Hands. Off. Me.”
His face waxes over, all traces of heat snuffing out in an instant. “Sorry.”
I knew he was full of crap with this whole desire act of his. Real arousal—like I feel for him—can’t be turned off that fast. He’s just playing with me. Same as always.
“You need to leave, Reed. This isn’t happening. Never again.”
With his normal grumpy jerk face mask back in place, he asks, “Where’s my sister, Lila?”
“Shh. The avocados are sleeping.”
“Lila,” he scolds me. “Where is Kenzie?”
“Why are you asking?”
He crosses his arms at his chest. “Because of what you said to me when I left your table tonight. There’s no way you’d think I’d speak to her before you would. You were testing me, and I want to know why.”
I regret so many things where he’s concerned. That dumb test from earlier is the tip of the iceberg.
Closing my eyes, I fist my hands at my sides. I can’t answer. He’ll know I’m lying if I try. And my random distraction technique has failed spectacularly. He knows me too well.
I resort to begging. “Please just leave, Reed.”
Instead of complying, he opens the fridge, takes out the milk, and plops it on the counter. “This is expired.” He grabs a package of bologna. “Expired.” The half-eaten roast beef comes out next. “Expired. And oh, look. Moldy cheese.”
In hindsight, I should have thrown out all of Kenzie’s food when it started spoiling. But I didn’t because that was like admitting she was never coming home.
“Congrats. You’ve cracked the case. We don’t empty the fridge as often as we should.”
He opens the produce drawer, waving at all my rabbit food. “Oddly enough, allthisis fresh.”
From the top shelf, he takes out a two-liter bottle of Coke. An inch in front of my face, he twists the top to open it. Of course, there’s absolutely no carbonation remaining.
“Did Kenzie start drinking flat soda and spoiled milk?”
“Maybe we get a lot of takeout and don’t grocery shop that much.”
His head kicks back, and he marches over to the dishwasher, flinging it open. “That’s a lot of pots and pans for someone getting takeout all the time. Not to mention the fresh produce. Why are you the only one eating here?”
