Page 80 of A Deal with the Bossy Devil

“I like men that don’t insert my name into every other sentence,” I said.

That earned me a dark chuckle. “And?”

“Men that don’t make my blood pressure spike to lethal levels every time they open their mouths.”

Adrien tutted. “Boring.”

“Is it boring or is it healthy?”

“It’s boring. What else?”

“Men that don’t compare me to the girl fromThe Ring.”

“Wow. I’m oh for three, huh?”

“You’re oh for a thousand, Adrien.”

He huffed through his nose. “If it makes you feel any better, I had a small crush on a girl in eighth grade that dressed up asThe Ringgirl for Halloween.”

I suppressed a smile.

“Granted, the costume was what led to the end of my short-lived crush, but only because she got on all fours and did the crawl. Instant unattraction. You really can’t unsee something like that,” he went on, not realizing what a sweet little prank idea he’d willingly handed me. “Also, she kept making the bone-cracking noises. I swear the whole thing made my teenage dick shrivel up and into itself.”

I chuckled reluctantly. “Is that really the story you want to have told me just now? While trying to turn me into a lusty puddle?”

“If the mental image of my shriveled-up dick doesn’t do it for you, then I honestly don’t know what will.”

I pressed my palms to my eyes. “Please stop. Forever stop.”

“Do you evenhavea libido, Sanchez?”

Another laugh burst out of me, and I dropped my hands to find Adrien watching me with soft, warm amusement.

It was weird.

No. That wasn’t correct. Itshould have beenweird. But it was just… I felt a little…

Adrien brushed his knuckles over my cheekbone. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings with theRingcomparison. You’re very… you know how attractive you are.”

I arched my brows at him, far too aware of the tingling left behind by his touch. “So you think I’m attractive.”

“That’s not exactly what I said.”

“It’s what I heard.” It was my turn to tease him, and I was never going to let him live this one down.

He reached up again, this time brushing a strand of hair away from my forehead and eyes.

That should have felt weird, too. So why didn’t it? It just felt… fluttery. And a little breathless.

“Fine. Yes,” he said. “You are… stubborn, and exasperating, and a massive pain in my ass.”

I clicked my tongue. “Worst seducer on the planet.”

His lips twitched. “But you are also aggravatingly, inconveniently… maddeninglybeautiful, Ariana.”

My smile faltered. I blinked.

“It’s very distracting,” he went on, his gaze dipping to my parted lips for a single clumsy heartbeat. “Especially when you look at me like that.”

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