Page 76 of Hate to Love You

“You,” he growls in my ear, “are in so much trouble.”

I laugh and lean back, putting a bit of distance between us. I flutter my lashes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The simmering heat in his eyes is enough to scorch me alive. Fire ignites in my belly.

“You just wait until I get you alone,” he whispers harshly. “Then I’m going to give you a little taste of your own medicine.”

“Promise?” Even thinking about his kisses is enough to leave my panties flooding with heat.

“You bet your damn ass, I do.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Brody

My arms are wrapped possessively around Natalie. After that little stunt on the dance floor with Zara, there’s no way in hell I’m letting her wander around this bar on her own. My eyes may have been locked on her while she was dancing, but I was more than aware of all the other drunk cocksuckers salivating over the girls.

This is the first time I’ve ever felt the sting of jealousy whip through my body. I swear to God, if one of those assholes had even tried making a move, I would have went apeshit all over them.

Luke must feel the same way, because Zara is perched on his lap.

Watching the two of them out there…

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything hotter in my life. And—just to be clear—I’ve seen my fair share of sexy shit out on the road travelling for hockey.

I’d like nothing better than to hustle her sweet little ass out of here.

What am I going to do when it’s time for this farce to end?

The possibility that our relationship could shift back to the kind of interaction we used to have scares the crap out of me. I like where we are, what’s slowly developing between us. I’ll fully admit to taking advantage of the situation with Reed. I saw a way in, and I took it. Can’t blame a guy for going after what he wants.

And I wanted Natalie.

Only now do I realize just how much I want to keep her.

Every time I see that girl, I find myself holding my breath, waiting for her to pull the plug on this fake relationship.

I can’t allow that to happen. I have to figure out something fast otherwise she’ll cut me loose and move on without so much as batting her eyelashes. Natalie isn’t like any girl I’ve ever met. She intrigues the hell out of me. She challenges me at every turn.

And fuck…she’s so smart. God, that’s sexy. She doesn’t give a crap about all the meaningless social bullshit. She doesn’t get wrapped up in it like most of the girls I know.

I lean down and whisper in her ear, “You ready to get out of here?”

I don’t care where we go or what we do, but I’m done sharing for the evening. I want Natalie to myself.

She glances up, and our gazes collide. Her eyes are bright and shiny. She looks happy and relaxed. The way her lips curve…Something undefinable shoots through me, punching me right in the gut, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Has she ever looked at me like that?

It’s addictive. There’s not much I wouldn’t do to have her stare at me like that every damn day.

Those thoughts filtering through my brain are the precise moment when I realize I’m in deep with this girl. Acknowledging those feelings should terrify me. Oddly enough, it doesn’t. It feels right. As if something has fallen into place.

The ride back to her apartment is a quiet one. I have no idea how to go about winning Natalie over. For the first time in my life, I don’t have a game plan in mind. I’m flying by the seat of my pants. And it’s scary as fuck.

Once I turn into her building’s lot, I park the truck and cut the engine.

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