Page 56 of Necessary Cruelty

Is there a compliment buried in there somewhere? I just stare at him for a long moment as pressure builds in my chest. I’m too surprised for dissembling. “You like it the other way?”

He frowns, seeming to realize what he had said. “Just an observation that at least one thing about you isn’t total shit, don’t let it go to your head. Right now you look like the before picture from a makeover show for street hookers.”

And there is the Vin Cortland I know and hate. “You’ve always been so good at buttering people up, Vin. Is my hair what you chased Jake away to talk about? Stalking just makes you seem desperate.”

“You’re confusing desperation with patience. You’ll come around eventually. You always do.”

I guess the marriage proposal wasn’t a fever dream spurred by hunger. “Not this time. Not about this.”

“Time will tell.” He shrugs as if whether or not I’ll marry him isn’t even worth discussing. “Let’s get back to this kiss. On a scale from creepy uncle to Romeo-and-Juliet-I’ll-die-for-you-even-though-we-just-met. Where did we land?”

Somewhere in the vicinity of holding hands with your third-grade crush, but I don’t tell him that.

“None of your damn business.”

“Everything about you is my business.” His palm shifts to cup my cheek, leaving a sliding trail of heat in its wake. “Maybe you need something else to compare it to, like the control for an experiment. Tell you what, if I kiss you and you don’t feel anything, then I’ll never bother you with anything again. Fake marriage proposals included.”

The offer is tempting, even as a traitorous part of me protests. But there is also a glaring problem. “You don’t kiss.”

It’s not just common knowledge, but a facet of teenage myth-making. Everyone knows that Vin Cortland doesn’t kiss anyone. Ever. Not his father. Not his step-mother. Definitely not any of the girls who show up for his parties in the pool house. He might even draw the line at a peck on the forehead for his little sister.

“Definitely not on the mouth, because I know exactly where those have been,” he agrees. “But I might be tempted to make an exception for somewhere else.”

“I don’t need to try a shit sandwich to know I wouldn’t want to eat it.” Bravado is easy to fall back on when you don’t have any other defenses left. The little pride I have refuses to let him see that my knees are shaking. “And you can stop with whatever game you’re playing. Jake is probably waiting outside.”

“Jake is long gone. If he wanted to fight for you, then he would have. I’m not that much bigger, he might be able to take me if he had passion on his side. That’s how I know your kiss wasn’t worth shit.”

“I just met the guy. There might be something between us if you stopped showing up.”

Vin continues as if he doesn’t even hear me. “And he’s already gotten his ass kicked, which should make this personal. But he still just walked away.”

“Because you threatened him!”

“Because he is a drooping pussy who isn’t actually that interested.”

I let out a frustrated noise. “God, you are such an asshole.”

Vin sighs, the sound almost wistful. “I know, baby.”

His hands are still on me, playing with my hair. He touches me almost absentmindedly, as if he has every right to.

This isn’t a seduction. It’s compulsion. And both of us would stop if we could.

But he always gives me plenty of time to say no, knowing I won’t.

I can’t decide which of us is crazier.

My eyes drift closed on their own when his hand teases at the hem of my dress. A shock of heat runs through me as his fingers stroke the sensitive skin just above my knee.

His gaze moves down my body as my face heats up.

“Now, about that kiss.”

Even though I know I should, I don’t stop him as Vin sinks to his knees in front of me. His upturned face is barely visible in the shadows, but white teeth flash as he smiles. Warm fingers tease up my thighs, impossibly hot against the cool skin.

Cortland Manor might be colder than death, but Vin burns like there is a fire lit inside him.

My skirt is bunched up in his hands, and he breathes across the sensitive skin on my upper thigh. “I’m going to wipe that kiss from your memory.”

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