“Watch how you word things. Challenged by you? Love every second of that. Challenged for you? That’s when things get slippery.”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry, did you need something? Because I don’t speak Alec enigmas.”
“Sure you do. You just choose to ignore it. But you won’t be able to forever.”
“I’m gonna get back to work since you’re being a drama-dick,” I snap, flustered and confused.
“This must be new, all that lip you’re givin’. I don’t much remember it.”
“No?”
“Nope.”
“Not even the time you showed up at Sam Harris’s party with the sole purpose of embarrassing me? Because I specifically remember you telling me that exact same thing.”
He scoffs, and I glare at his back.
“Right. You told me to kiss your ass but got mad when I told you to bend over so I could. You bitched at me for a solid hour.”
“You made it seem like we were sleeping together!”
“And? Sam invited you to the party so he could fuck you,” he tells me, as if that makes it better. “That wasn’t about to happen.”
My face heats as I remember it. Everyone figured I was a slut until Rowan got back from the trip he had been on with his history class and set them straight. Funny how they wouldn’t believe it, coming from me. Idiots.
“Tell me more, Oakley.”
“Prom.”
“Oh, yeah. That was a good night.” He looks over his shoulder, letting his smirk be seen, and then turns back.
“You paid off the limo driver! Made him go by my house before hitting the after-party, knowing my dad was in the garage, having poker night, which meant I was on lockdown for the rest of the night!”
“Again, you bitched for a good hour before your dad told you to get inside.” He slowly spins around. “Had my first beer with him that night.”
He eyes me as I frown at him.
Crossing one arm over, he grabs ahold of his left bicep, his right hand holding a file. “Remember when you ‘lost’ your ID and season pass right before you were set to go on that weekend trip to North Star?”
My jaw drops, eyes tightening.
He doesn’t grin, just bends one leg and sits back on his desk. He tilts his head, seaweed-green eyes watching me, studying me. “You never did figure that one out, did you?”
“Never, but I guess, now that I think about it, it makes sense.”
“Does it?” His eyes pinch at the sides. This and the ease the words leave him in almost make him appear playful.
I don’t know how to handle a potentially playful Alec, so I pop a shoulder. “Well, you were the one who always seemed to go out of your way to make sure things sucked for me.”
He nods leisurely.
“Any more confessions?” I raise a blonde brow.
“Plenty. And they each served their purpose. Worked like a charm.”
“While I’m glad your making me miserable got your rocks off, mind filling me in on what you need from me?”
A slow smirk stretches across his face. “You wanna know what I need from you, huh?”
My face heats, but the gleam in his eyes keeps me from looking away.
Son of a bitch, he is being playful.
Alec kicks off his desk and walks toward me. As he passes, he pauses to speak near my ear, “Think about it, princess. It wasn’t about who was getting their ‘rocks off.’ It was about, at the end of the night, who guaran-fucking-teed … wasn’t. As for what I need, we’ll save that for another time. And there will be another time.”
I can’t even begin to focus on what he means because his voice just dropped to a level I’d never heard. It was low, smooth, yet still held a jagged edge. A secret inference.
I turn my head first and then my body, and I stare at him.
This man, he tormented me for years, bashed me in front of dozens of people, made day-to-day life harder than necessary. Yet here he stands, eyes blazing, looking all too ready and hard up. And, stupid girl, I’m right there with him.
Right when I open my mouth, finally believing I can form a proper sentence, he speaks. “First eval for today.”
He tosses me the file, and in a daze, I catch it and open it. My eyes fly to his.
“No way. I can’t be in here for this. You probably shouldn’t even be allowed to do this.”
“I am, you can, and you will.” He stands taller, reaching for the door handle.
I didn’t even notice I’d shut it behind me.
This freaking stranger in front of me lets his eyes burn down my body with a purpose I’ve never seen. And what the holy hell? It creates an overpowering flare deep in my bones. I watch, completely transfixed and undeniably turned on by this asshole as his tongue pokes out to lick the corner of his lips, forcing my teeth to bite into mine.