Page 105 of Prickly Romance

Why do I find her more irresistible when her eyes turn sharp and her voice turns vehement?

I successfully roll her skirt above her knee. There are several bruises on her foot and a long scrape on her right leg. As I observe, my hand brushes her upper thigh unintentionally and we both suck in a sharp breath.

Her eyes get hazy. She bites down into her bottom lip and I watch her teeth skim the center.

Focus, Ryotaro.

I am not here to fall under Miss Dejonae’s spell. Between the two of us, I am older. I am her boss. And it is up to me to keep my senses intact.

My voice is firm when I say, “Niko’s inability to hear makes her susceptible to danger. Would you rather she learn lessons the hard way or the easy way?”

“You think your way is the easy way?” She arches a brow.

I take out the antibacterial ointment and unscrew the wand at the top. “I think she should walk into the world with her eyes wide open.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t prepare her. But there’s a limit to how much you can do. I’ve watched my sister navigate in places that have no idea how to accommodate her. I’ve watched her stand tall against obstacles my parents could not even imagine.” Her eyes flicker with pain.

I stop smearing the medicine immediately. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s okay. I can bear it.” She digs her fingers under the bench.

Rather than offer her assurances, I present another argument to distract her. “Do you propose then that I simply tell Niko nothing? Coddle her to the point of paralyzing her? Give her the false impression that there will always be someone to help? Always be someone to take care of her? This is not the truth.”

“As long as you’re alive, it is the truth. She should know that there’s a place she can come back to that will always feel safe. That won’t pressure her or hold her mistakes against her. Somewhere she can run and hide when it feels like her back is against the wall.”

“That has not been my experience.”

“Even if it hasn’t been your experience, it doesn’t have to be hers.”

She stares frankly at me, her eyes revealing everything she feels. She’s as transparent as a book. As bold as she is unguarded.

Without warning, Dejonae swoops down. Her nose stops directly on top of mine.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” she mutters.

I feel my throat bob.

With her this close, I’m once again reminded of how idiotic I am to think that I can resist her.

Her presence means something.

Her words.

Her challenges.

Her smile.

The needy feeling in my chest eclipses my good sense. It drags me toward her lips as if I am a comet on a trajectory to earth.

And when she bends toward me too, her full lips parting, easing ever closer to mine, I—

My phone rings.

Dejonae’s eyes drop to the screen and her entire body stiffens.

I look down too.

Niko’s Mother.

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