The way heat fills his gaze, I'm willing to bet he's happy to cause some trouble.
Squeezing my chest just once has him breathing heavier. Those stormy eyes of his are darker than night before he pauses. Blinking, he looks at my current state before cursing under his breath.
People who want to chase after pleasure don't suddenly look grumpy.
"There are cameras." He curses again, looking up like he already knows where they are.
His words register, and something bad happens to me. My heart doesn't drop from disappointment; it aches as a different realization hits me hard in the gut.
Therearecameras. The security team could be watching us right now for all we know.
In short, once again, Smoke is playing his part way too well. To the point that once again, I'm fooled.
Fuck. Ouch.
Was this really all in my head? Oh my God, and he's played along, helping me play it off. Wait, was his jealousy part of it, too?
Suddenly, I don't think I want to be touched. Rather, I'm shifting away from him.
"Bunny—"
"People are going to start worrying if I'm gone too long." Swallowing thickly, I try to push away the ache in my chest. Two more steps toward the door, I pretend I don't see the surprised lift of his brow. Instead, my mouth curves tight. "Thank you for looking out for me. I appreciate the save. I'll catch you at the end of my shift?"
Under the lens gaze, I should kiss him on the cheek, but holding a smile is taking all of my strength.
Asking this man to pretend was a mistake when my heart was already involved. Now I can't even tell what is authentic and what is part of an act.
Smoke frowns and lifts his hand to stop me from making my escape. Knowing how little damage I can take without breaking if he succeeds, I slip back inside before waiting for his response.
four
Smoke
"How do you do it?"
Ace watches the roll of the slot machine far too closely, like he can memorize the pattern they land. "How do I do what?"
"How do you let Penny near other guys?" My brows pinch together as I sit in front of my untouched machine. I've already lost two hundred bucks, but what happened earlier feels like of much bigger loss. "How do you not... scare her?"
I think that's what I've done to Bunny. I got too lost in my head, too caught up in the moment. If it weren't for the realization that any of the security staff could see Bunny in a way that would make me want to slit their throats, I would've lost myself in her even more.
My brother has far more experience with women than I do. Sure, he hasn't met any of them that brought out his ugly side as Penny does, but he's been with her for a handful of weeks now. When he's not here with me, he's with her and her daughter.
"Oh, uh..." He drags his eyes toward me and grimaces. "Wait, why are we talking about this?" His brows suddenly shoot up. "Fuck, did you finally meet someone?"
My frown grows, and my ears heat up instantly. "Just answer the question."
No longer interested in his machine, he leans back and lets out a low chuckle. "Penny's not scared of me because she loves me. Plus..." He starts grinning, and I suddenly find him punchable. "I think she likes it when I get a little jealous. When I pounce, she gets wild with it."
His words catch me off guard. While I have no doubt what I had clawing at my chest earlier was jealousy, the concept of someone liking that doesn't make much sense.
"Bunny—"
"Bunny?" Ace gasps and giggles as he claps his hands like a damn seal. "No fucking way. We're talking about the chick who scares you, that Bunny?"
She doesn'tscareme. Maybe intimidates me a little, but I'm not about to tell him that.
My glare doesn't affect him in the slightest.
