Page 7 of Treacherous

No sun tan lotion for him, my mind tossed out and I was suddenly very aware of the pallor of my skin.

Feeling a smidgen of self-consciousness for the first time since my flight landed, I did a mental recap of my current state of appearance – you know, for adolescent-hormonal purposes.

My black Rory Gallagher t-shirt clung to my body like a second skin because of the idiot next-door and her hose pipe. Oh, and the messy-bun I'd teased my overly-long blonde hair into this morning? Well, let's just say the term 'messy-bun' was a kinder way of saying a fuzzy ball of knots.

The flimsy pair of white GAA – Gaelic football – shorts I had on were soaked right through, revealing my gloriously hideous pink granny knickers for the world – and the very hot guy next-door – to see, and to finish the stylish ensemble I was wearing off, the knock-off Uggs Liam had brought me back from his family holiday to Turkey last summer were drenched right through – my toes were currently burrowing squishy mole holes through the furry insoles.

"Causing trouble again?" Noah drawled in a derisive tone. His gaze roamed over my body lazily before returning to my face, and it suddenly dawned on me; Christina Aguilera had been right all along…big brown eyescouldhypnotize. "Nice shorts."

"I'm onmyside of the fence." Sliding my guitar in front of my body to protect – what was left of – my dignity, I raised my brow at him. "And nicelineage," I added sarcastically.

"So, you play the guitar?" Noah asked me with a smirk.

"No." I stared blankly at him. "No, I just like to hold it and look pretty."

Noah's brow rose in surprise. "And how's that working for you?"

"Fantastic," I said through clenched teeth, annoyed at the way he mocked me with his eyes. I knew that sounded stupid, but it was true. He waslaughingat me with his eyes. "As you can see business is booming."

"You know, I came outside because I thought I heard an injured animal in pain," Ellie told him as she eyed my guitar. "But it was her.She'sthe headache we've been hearing all summer."

How the hell did she …hang on, did she just call me a headache? That bitch…

My eyes locked on Ellie's smug face and my fingers twitched with the urge to scratch her stupid eyes out. She glared evilly back at me and the tiny hairs on my arms shot up.

"You're seriously pushing me," I warned her. "Keep going and we're gonna have a problem."

"We…" Ellie gestured between herself and Noah before sneering at me. "Already have a problem. You." She folded her arms across her chest. "So why don’t you do us all a favor and go back where you came from."

I didn’t get it.

I seriously didn’t freaking get it.

I'd done nothing to this girl to make her hate me so much. It was as if Ellie had taken one look at me and decided she hated me.

A part of me wanted to know why, but I wasn’t about to verbalize my thoughts on the matter and look weak and whiny. Instead I glared straight back at her, not giving an inch. "Wow," I mused. "You're friendly."

Ellie's eyes narrowed. "And you're…"

"Didn't your mom get you guitar lessons as a child?" Noah asked in a sardonic tone, interrupting his step-sister's retort. He smirked. "Could've saved me from investing in a pair of earplugs."

"Didn'tyourmom give you a coloring book as a child?" I shot back in an equally mocking tone. "Could've saved yourself a whole pile of money." Shrugging nonchalantly I added. "You know, from having to pay sweaty, butch men to draw all over your body with needles."

"Teagan," he scolded, shaking his head condescendingly. "I never would've put you down for a sexist."

His words threw me – threw me and caused my toes to curl. "I'm not," I said slowly, knowing I was walking myself into a verbal trap but couldn't figure out how.

"I pay a very talented,verysexy, not-in-the-slightest-butch redhead to draw on my body with needles." I reddened and Noah's smile widened, revealing enviously straight white teeth. "And trust me, Thorn, my tips are mutually beneficial."

Thorn?"You know you should really wipe your mouth, Noah," I snapped, feeling the burn in my cheeks. It was such a pity he had to be a dick. Why did all the hot ones always have to act like dicks? If only he'd kept his mouth shut…

Noah smirked. "I should?"

"Yeah." I smiled sweetly. "You're talking shit."

Resting his arms on the fence, Noah tilted his head to one side and eyed me curiously. "You know your insults are having the opposite effect on me, right?" he mused in a soft tone. "I find your catty behavior a real turn on, Thorn."

"It'sTeagan," I stated calmly, even though I was shaking on the inside. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" He was joking. He had to be joking. There was no way I turned a guy like Noah Messina on. He probably got off on naked biker chicks with pierced nipples and tattooed butt-cheeks.

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