Page 17 of Seductive Hearts

His head snapped back while his lip curled in a sneer. “Why?”

“Could you not sound so disgusted?”

“I’m not disgusted,” he growled out. “I’m fucking baffled.”

“What is there to be baffled about? He’s Landon Jones. He’s gorgeous, ambitious, and running for state senate, and with his family’s connections, there’s no way he’ll lose. He’s on the road to big things and is exactly the kind of man I want in my life.”

That did it. That took some of the wind out of his sails. I wanted to be glad about that. He deserved to get taken down a peg or two, as arrogant as he was. Somebody needed to be the one to tell him he wasn’t marriage material. A good time, but not much else.

I sort of wished it didn’t have to be me when something close to disappointment etched lines across his forehead. “That’s a shame, but there’s no accounting for taste.”

I shrugged and pretended that didn’t sting. “You don’t need to take it personally. I’ve been trying to find a way to spend time with him for a while now. I intend to date him.”

“Wow. Very romantic. You sound like a robot.” He tipped his head to the side, adding, “I guess that would make you a good couple since he’s about as interesting as beige paint.”

“I’m not asking you to understand. I only ask that you respect my feelings. I am going to date Landon Jones. We are going to be a couple. I only need to grab his attention.”

“I hate to tell you, but unless you plan on contributing to his campaign, he won’t have much time for you.” When I scowled at Colton’s snide little prediction, he shrugged. “Consider it a free assessment. Take it or leave it.”

“I don’t remember asking … free or otherwise.”

“Fine.” He spread his arms, backing away while wearing a smirk that made me want to scream. “Waste your time with him. See if I care.”

Everybody knew when somebody said that, it meant they cared. Much more than they wanted to let on. But why would he?

“I won’t be wasting my time,” I retorted. Dear God, why was it so damn important that I prove myself to him? He was the last person on earth whose opinion should have mattered. If anything, I should’ve taken his disapproval as a great big, flashing green light telling me to go ahead and make Landon mine. The opinion of somebody that lazy and arrogant shouldn’t have mattered a bit.

But I couldn’t let it go. His arrogant, shit-eating grin was a big part of it. “There’s never been anything I’ve set my mind to in my whole life that I couldn’t do.”

He went still, dipping his chin and arching an eyebrow, and I knew I’d made a mistake. My first mistake was entertaining his bullshit in the first place. Everything went downhill from there. “I’m not a relationship expert, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way.” He paired it with a derisive snort because, of course, he did.

“Oh, give me a break,” I snapped. “I know you don’t set professional goals, but what about personal ones? You mean to tell me you’ve never seen somebody and known you had to be with them?”

Another mistake.

When was I going to start thinking before I spoke? Because now, his full mouth twisted into a smirk that somehow managed to make me grit my teeth and set off a fluttering sensation low in my belly at the same time. It wasn’t difficult to figure out how countless women had fallen for his act over the years. I was dangerously close to melting already, and I damn well knew better.

“You mean, have I ever walked into a room, set my eyes on a woman, and known right away I would have her?” He snapped his fingers, and the sudden sound made me flinch, though that wasn’t a bad thing. It woke me up and put the brakes on any treacherous pussy moistening that may or may not have been going on. “All the time. Fairly recently, in fact.”

I will not show him what he’s doing to me.

I. Will. Not.

My nails dug into my palms while I forced myself to take a deep breath. “There you go. What’s so different about what I’m doing?”

“For starters, you’re talking about seeing somebody and knowing you want to fuck.” His bluntness was nails on a chalkboard. “But what you want out of Landon isn’t a meaningless hookup. It’s a ‘relationship.’” The fact that he put air quotes around the word told me all I needed to know about his opinion. “That’s what you want with him, right? The white picket fence, the two kids, the dog, and the station wagon.” Disdain dripped from his voice. The asshole.

His parents were crazy in love with each other after almost thirty years together. Shouldn’t he have known better?

“I want a lot more than that,” I muttered.

“That’s not the same as seeing somebody and knowing you want to fuck them.” He leaned against the nearest pillar, the picture of casual grace. Hot enough to suck the air out of the room and make me wish I didn’t know him as well as I did.

I hated how much I wanted him. Enough that it made me hate myself a little. If anything, though, I should have thanked him for putting things into perspective. Wanting to fuck him was a hell of a lot different than wanting to have a life with Landon.

I was even able to genuinely smile before I said, “Thank you for the lesson, Dr. Romance. I’m just fine as is.”

“Oh, sure,” he muttered with a smirk. “You looked really fine out there when you couldn’t get the guy to agree on a coffee date.”

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