It’s well past dinner time when I finally head up to my room, desperate to sleep it off, only my first grin all day cracks across my face.
SCARED? OF A BITCH LIKE YOU? DON’T BE RIDICULOUS!
I’VE SEEN MY GRANDMOTHER THROW HARDER PUNCHES THAN THAT!
How the fuck does she do it? Even on my worst day, she has me grinning like a fucking idiot. I can’t help but make my way across my room and open my window, finding Bri alone in her room, books spread out over her bed as she annihilates her homework.
Her window is cracked just a sliver and I call out. “Hey, Killer.”
Bri’s head snaps up, her eyes coming to mine. “Ugh, it’s you,” she says, keeping a straight face, only her hungry eyes give away the thrill shooting through her body. “It’s only been a day and you’re already desperate for my attention. I didn’t pin you as the stage-five-clinger type.”
“Shut the fuck up and get your ass over here. I’m ordering in.”
A brilliant smile spreads across her face and she all but launches herself off her bed and crosses to her window. “I want it stated for the record that I’m coming over for food, not because I want to see you.”
I grin back at her, hating how fucking obvious I’m being. “Noted.”
Bri closes her window, and after one last glance toward me, she dashes out of her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. I make my way downstairs, and by the time I’m at the door, Bri is already dashing across the front lawn. When she glances up and sees me here waiting, she slows her pace, trying not to appear so excited about spending the night with me.
I lean against the open doorframe, watching as she moves toward me, her eyes locked on mine. She steps into me, and as I go to reach for her, she catches my hand instead, holding it up to look over my cracked knuckles. They should probably be bandaged, but when I’m working out a red-hot rage in the gym, the bandages only slow me down.
A frown mars her pretty face as she raises her bright blue eyes to mine. “Does it hurt?” she murmurs, her thumb slowly roaming over the top of my knuckles in a gentle massage.
I shake my head. “It’s fine. I’ve got so much going on that I haven’t even stopped to think about it.”
Bri gives me a blank stare. “You’re such a liar,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Your hand is swollen, bruised, and cracked. I bet it’s going to make football practice on Monday hell. So, don’t try and tell me that it’s fine when it’s not. There’s no way in hell it doesn’t hurt.”
I let out a heavy sigh and steal my hand back. “Fine,” I tell her. “It stings like a fucking bitch, but I can handle it.”
Her lips press into a tight line, and judging by the way her eyes shimmer, she’s biting her tongue, so fucking smug that she was right. “Did you at least put ice on it?”
I stare back at her, matching her blank expression. “Do you think I put ice on it?”
Bri rolls her eyes and groans before barging past me. “You’re such a typical male,” she mutters, storming through the kitchen as I follow behind, watching the way her ass moves in those pants.
“Am I just?” I ask, amusement brimming in my chest. “And what makes me such a typical male? Please share for the class.”
Bri reaches the fridge and rifles around until she finds what she’s looking for. “Because,” she starts, grabbing an ice pack and going for the paper towel across the kitchen. “Without a shadow of doubt in my mind, the whole time I was storming through here, your eyes were on my ass. Prove me wrong.”
A grin cuts across my face as I make my way around the island counter, moving right into her, only to have the ice pack shoved into my hands. “Don’t even dream about lying to me again.”
Leaning down into her, my lips brush over hers and I watch the way she melts into me, leaning closer and pressing her hand to my chest, unable to help herself. “You’re right, I was staring at your ass, but what did you expect? It’s the finest ass I’ve ever seen.” I place the ice pack down on the counter beside us and take her waist, pulling her in even closer. “You see, every time I see that ass, I can’t stop thinking about all the filthy things I want to do to it.”
“Really?” she questions, her tone lowering and her eyes becoming hooded, reminding me of every fucking second with her in those woods. “What kind of filthy things?”
“Things that would make even Riley and Jax blush.”
She swallows hard and I laugh at the way her eyes fill with lust, but she squashes it down quickly, knowing all too well that there’s a shitload of things that we should talk through before I can even dream about touching her again. “I hope you didn’t ask me here just to get your dick wet because I’m not that girl. I’m not some ditzy booty call who’s going to come running every time you call her name, so if that’s what you’re wanting from me, then you need to rethink all of this.”