“Laugh about...?” What was happening? “Laugh about you being upset? No, why would I laugh about that?” I glanced down at my feet. “You have a very low opinion of me sometimes.”
“Do I? Well, considering what you just said to me, maybe you earned it.”
I smirked, though it wasn’t as steady as I wanted it to be. “That what you really think?”
“That’s what I know.” Her chin lifted, defiant, even as a fleck of glass dust glittered in her hair. She threw her hands in the air. “I can’t believe you, you know that, right?”
Wait, what the fuck did she think I’d done?
“You can’t believe me, because . . . ?”
Savannah tore the goggles off her head, dropping them on the end of the bench. “You—” she shook her head as she pulled off her gloves — “are truly,truly, a remarkable specimen.” She glared at me when my lips twitched. “That isnota compliment!”
The air between us hummed like live wire. She didn’t even realize how close she was standing, just a few steps from me, hands on her hips as she glared at me with fury.
I leaned forward, slow, deliberate, enjoying the way her eyes flashed with temper. “It kind of sounded like a compliment, Sav.”
“Why are you here?” she shot back, ignoring me, as I knew she would, her voice low but sharp. “Because you don’t strike me as the type who does things forfun. But you definitely like to playgames, don’t you? QBfuckingten.”
Her words cut too close to the bone. I let the silence stretch, my stare fixed on her until her breath hitched just slightly.
“I came,” I said finally, my voice a rough drawl, “because Noah said you told him to call you Savvy, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
Her lips parted. Just barely. “That’s not...” She wet her lips, suddenly unsure. “That’s not anything.”
“It’s the onlythingyou’re getting.” I let my eyes flicker down — just once, to her mouth — then dragged them back up. “Unless you want to talk about why you’re so deliciously angry.”
Her chin lifted again, stubborn, but her pulse betrayed her, thrumming at the base of her throat. “You don’t intimidate me, Dante.”
I smirked. “Sweetheart, I never intended to.”
The smell of scorched glass clinging to the air, but all I could focus on was her — the way her defiance looked too much like an invitation, the way her body leaned forward just enough to betray her.
She swallowed hard, then forced out, “You’re wasting my time.” She looked away. “You don’t... Ugh!” Her little scream of frustration went straight to my groin. “You should leave.”
“I think you like me here.” I tilted my head, closing the last inch between us without touching.
“I think you need to learn to read body language better,” she snapped back.
“Yeah? Then why are you shaking?”
Her inhale caught, sharp, and for one beat, we both hovered on the edge of something neither of us was ready to name.
“What upset you today, Sav?”
My hand braced on the bench behind me. I was close enough that I could feel the heat coming off her, and I knew I’d reach out to her, so I kept my grip firm on the wood. She didn’t move. Didn’t step back from how dangerously close we were.
“Do you enjoy this?” she whispered, her voice thin but steady. “Is everything just... entertainment?”
I had no idea what she was talking about. “Sav? I don’t know what you’re upset about.”
Her throat worked, her fingers tightening around her arms. She held my stare, but the tremor in her breath gave her away. “You’re not as untouchable as you think,” she pressed. “And if you’re here to throw me off balance, you’re wasting your time.”
“Sav...” I dropped my voice low, almost a growl. “Ireallydon’t know what you’re talking about.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know damn well. Or are you saying thegreatDante Spence doesn’t know everything?”
I rubbed my forehead. “Okay, let’s try this. Why don’t you tell me what you think I know, then I’ll tell you if I know it.” I nodded when she frowned. “Speak.”
