Page 75 of The Very Naughty List

Nick’s eyebrows twitch upward. I wasn’t trying to make that sound like an innuendo, but I think it did anyway. I grin guiltily, biting my lip.

“We snuck into a storage closet,” I admit.

His midnight blue eyes darken, and he pulls me closer, wrapping his other arm around me too. His head drops as he buries his face in my hair, and I have to work hard to keep my mouth from dropping open on an audible moan. He’s not even doing anything, just breathing me in, but it’s enough to make my already shaky legs wobble.

“You smell like you just got fucked,” he murmurs after a second, in a voice low enough for only me to hear. “Did you?”

God almighty. This man. He doesn’t say a lot, but what he does say is usually enough to just about knock me on my ass.

“Yes,” I whisper.

We’re so close together that I canfeelthe small shudder that works through his body in response, and he drags in another breath before he finally releases me. He’s looking at me like he’s seriously considering dragging me back into that closet and taking his turn, but he must decide it would be too risky for the Cooper brothers to keep pulling me into secluded closets, because he just scrubs a hand over his bearded jaw and then turns back to watch the couples dancing.

I watch with him, sneaking glances over at Sutton and Reid every once in a while.

Between the possessive feelings and the heavy sexual tension between me and Nick, I’m a total mess, and I try to distract myself by providing a running commentary about the dancers. I speak in a low voice, telling Nick pieces of gossip about the people I recognize and making up stories about the ones I don’t.

“Is that true?” he asks when I tell him that one of the women dancing with a short, stocky man moved to Chestnut Hill because she’s in witness protection.

“No,” I admit. “I have no idea. I was just making it up.” I grin, turning to look up at him. “Should I callShadow’s Edgeand see if they’re looking for writers? I bet I’d be pretty good at it.”

Nick looks startled for a second. Then he barks a laugh, and the sound does almost as much to me as the dirty words he whispered in my ear earlier.

“I like your laugh,” I tell him. “It’s nice.”

He immediately starts to look self-conscious, and I can practically see him retreating into the shell he used to always slip into around me.

“You don’t have to do that,” I say before I can think better of it and stop myself.

His brow furrows. “Do what?”

“Hide from me.” I nudge him with my shoulder, my heart thudding harder. Maybe I shouldn’t be saying any of this, but Ifeel like I’ll regret it if I don’t. “I feel… I feel like you used to hold yourself back around me. Like you didn’t want me to see all of you. But you don’t have to do that. Because the truth is, every new piece of you that I get to know only makes me like you more.”

A flush rises up from beneath his dark beard, and my stomach flips.Fuck. Did I make things awkward? I know this is all supposed to be just no strings attached fun, so maybe I just crossed a line by saying that.

“Sorry,” I say quickly, backtracking. “I didn’t mean to?—”

“Hailey.” Nick’s gruff voice interrupts my babbling. My mouth snaps shut, and he turns toward me as our gazes meet. “The reason I was always so quiet around you was because… I like you too. And I was never sure how to act around you.”

My heart skips a beat in my chest, stuttering once before starting to gallop like a runaway horse. For a long moment, I can’t think of a single thing to say. Because unless I’m totally misinterpreting, Nick just admitted that he had a thing for me, even as far back as when we were kids.

The thudding of my heart intensifies as Nick and I stare at each other in silence.

Then I rest a hand on his chest, rising up onto my tiptoes to reach him as I press a soft kiss to his cheek. I’m tempted to kiss his lips, but I’m not sure Dylan’s party is the best place for a big show of PDA—and besides, I worry that if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to stop.

He leans into my touch a bit, like a flower seeking the sun, and butterflies fill my stomach when I finally draw back.

“I’m glad I know you, Nick Cooper,” I whisper softly. “I’m glad you’ve let me get to know therealyou.”

His throat works as he swallows. “I am too.”

I grin at him, the giddy feeling I felt when I snuck out of the closet after Sebastian returning tenfold. But then I hear laughtercoming from the corner where Reid and his ex are standing, and it breaks through the happy, light feeling in my chest. I look over to see Sutton smiling broadly and giggling at something Reid just said.

My stomach drops out, a cold feeling rushing over me as if I’ve had a bucket of ice water dumped over my head.

“Hey. You okay, songbird?” Nick cocks his head, looking a bit concerned, and I realize I must be frowning unconsciously.

“Oh. Yeah.” I do my best to find my smile again as I nod. “Everything is fine.”

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