Page 74 of They Break Beauty

“Uh uh. I said I’d do it and I will. It’s all good.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why go out of your way for me? Especially about this?”

“You went out of your way with this whole duet thing. It’s not your thing or what you want to be doing, yet you’re still here showing up to help me out.”

“Well, we had a deal.”

“And I already paid my side of it, so you could’ve walked away.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Yeah, I get that about you. You’re sweet and honorable.”

“I’m not sweet.”

He stepped closer until their joined hands were pushing against both their chests. “Are you sure about that?”

“You tell me.”

In the next moment, Colt sank his fingers into her silky black hair and eased her to him as he took her mouth.

I took note of her freezing up for a moment, before she was able to get into it and kiss him back, hooking her hands around his neck and sinking into him.

He wrapped his free arm around her and held her tightly to him as he kissed her with all the passion I knew well from him, yet also with a much more careful edge with her.

Gritting my teeth now I’d gotten my intel, I turned and walked back the way I’d come.

Not the way I’d needed things to go.

It was becoming apparent that this girl was nearing the unpredictability level of Levi.

Troublemaker didn’t even cover it.

Son of a bitch.

17

~Levi~

They thought Dear Old Dad had called me home.

Well, I had little doubt he would once Mason ran his standard check into my whereabouts by calling him up to confirm. As soon as my dad found out I’d lied about heading to the family estate, he’d suspect that I was up to no good, then make a move to tug on my reins.

It was a small price to pay as a cover for what I was really doing.

It had also gotten Mason’s human surveillance off my back.

And it had put some distance between me and Brianna.

As much as it had killed me, I’d realized from her reactions the morning-after that I’d needed to give her some space to absorb it all. Inundating her and continuing to come at her had just been seen as a threat by her and something to battle against, so it had created an automatic antagonistic response in her.

Fortunately, it had come at just the right time.

Because I’d finally gotten another lead in the crusade I’d been on for the last three years ever since I’d gotten out from under my dad’s invasive supervision and moved to Stonewell for college. This crusade was why I’d taken a supposed internship last year. Supposed being the operative word. No time to get into that right now… later.

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