Page 89 of Unexpected

He wrapped the plastic in a ball and winked at me when I passed through the living room and into my bedroom. Whether the grin on my face was intentional or not, whether it meant anything or not, Luke scowled when he noticed who I had smiled at as he walked out of the bedroom.

Hunter walked out of the front door, and Luke threw a death glare at his back. I stopped directly in front of him, the box still in my hands, and pushed up onto my toes until his focus was back on me.

“What was that for?”

He shrugged, and I lost it. Using the box in front of me, I shoved it into his hands. I pushed him back into the bedroom and into my small walk-in closet.I swung the door closed behind me.

“Okay, enough, dude. What is going on?”

He gaped at me for a moment and his jaw clenched. He set the box I’d aggressively shoved into his hands on the floor. And then I realized my mistake.

The space around us was too small and suddenly, the air was thicker. An all too familiar ache in my chest made it hard to breathe. And panic, like an old friend, bubbled inside of me.

The look on Luke’s face was virtually unreadable, and when he lifted his hand, I knew what was coming. Like an omen of what the rest of my life would be, I flinched and prepared for the pain.

But it didn’t come. Instead, I opened my eyes to see him scrub his hands down his face. He looked tired, exhausted really, and I felt a little sorry for losing it.

“I’m sorry,” he said, the regret clear in his voice.

For a moment, I was embarrassed. But it wasn’t my fault—my innate reaction wasn’t my fault. Michael would’ve hit me for my outburst and made me regret saying anything against him. But I was standing in front of Luke. Luke was apologetic about his behavior, and his green eyes held all the sincerity I needed to see.

I was grateful he hadn’t seen me flinch—I didn’t want to explain myself or my unconscious reaction.

“Is everything okay with Josh and Zach?”

His brow tightened, and he looked confused for long enough that my earlier suspicions were confirmed—it was a lie. “You said last night when you left in a hurry that something happened with Josh and Zach. I’m guessing based on your face”—I pointed to the obvious expression—“that that’s not why you left. So can you please tell me what the hell has you in such a shit mood?”

He sighed and reached for me, but I swerved out of the way. I needed to hear what was happening before I let him touch me because every time he touched me—as evidenced by the small kiss he gave me in front of Savannah—I turned into a foolish teenage girl and all sense went out the window. This was no time for butterflies.

He flinched when I moved out of the way of his hand but seemed like he understood.

“I promise I have an explanation for my shitty attitude. I’ll tell you everything after the movers leave. But it’s not necessarily a conversation I want to have an audience for.”

My stomach dropped and my heart plummeted right along with it. My first instinct was that it was all over—that he was done with me before we even got started. I bit my bottom lip to keep it from quivering and willed the tears threatening to pool in my eyes not to fall.

His eyes were glued to my face, and he saw the hurt there. Damn it, why couldn’t I keep my facial expressions controlled like he did?

“Whatever you’re thinking right now, it’s not that.” His hand hesitantly reached for my face, and foolishly, I let him run his thumb down my cheek, which freed a tear from where I was holding it hostage. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I muttered, his thumb holding my chin.

“It does matter.”

“Why?” I countered.

He sighed and cupped both sides of my face in his hands. “So I can tell you that you’re wrong.” He waited for a moment, but I couldn’t muster the words. They sounded weak in my head and obviously self-conscious, and I didn’t want to sound like that. “Tell me,” he said once more in a lower, more threatening, demanding tone.

My words were barely audible, but he was so close to me, I knew he’d hear. “I’m thinking that you’re about to tell me that this was all fun, but that’s all it was. It was fun, and now you’re done.”

A sly grin pulled at one side of his mouth, forming that intoxicating lopsided smile I couldn’t get enough of. “Not even close, sweet girl.” And then his mouth was on mine and reflexively, my arms slid from where they were crossed in front of my chest to wrap around his torso and pull him closer to me.

Swiftly and automatically, a hungry desire coursed through me, and I didn’t really care what the fuck was going on with him as long as he still wanted me. And the way he tangled his tongue with mine, forcing our kiss deeper and deeper. I knew he did.

A loud bang from somewhere else inside the apartment finally pulled us free from one another. Both of us gasping, I smiled up at him as we caught our breath.

“Glad we cleared that up,” he mumbled and reached for the door after he readjusted his thick erection.

“Wait,” I said, stopping him as he twisted the knob. “What the hell are all the dirty looks at Hunter for?”

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