Page 22 of Verses Of Us

“And how do you know that?” she spat, immediately regretting her tone.

He ignored her and drove out of the alley and into the street. He circled the block, then pulled up in front of the store. With the car running, Steve jumped out, pushing through the crowd. The doors of the store swung open and Ciarán came barrelling out.

With Steve’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, Ciarán shoved through the mob, grinning, but ducking his head, and Alexis rushed to open the door for him. He hopped into the backseat, narrowly missing the hoard of fans that circled the car. They banged their fists against the tinted windows, their screams and cries setting Alexis on edge. Some gripped the car as if they wanted to keep it from driving away.

Once Steve had pulled into traffic, and with her stomach wedged in her throat, Alexis glanced behind, spotting a girl running after them. The girl was about her age, with dark hair and light eyes, and looked eerily similar to Alexis.

“Oh my god,” she said, covering her mouth with her hand.

Ciarán chuckled, but stared straight ahead, unphased. Stunned, his nonchalance and lack of concern for his fans disappointed her. But as she watched his shoulders rise and fall with his heavy breathing, and the way he kept blinking, his expression dark, hinting at something deeper, something like fear, she assumed he was as shaken by what had happened.

“Is it always like this?” she asked.

With his eyes still focused on the street ahead, he nodded slowly. “But normally I have more than one bodyguard.” He jerked his head toward Steve. “I was stupid. I thought it wouldn’t be as bad here as back home.”

“That was… I mean, I know you have someenthusiasticfans, but…” She stopped, noting that she was one of those fans. She swallowed, hoping he wasn’t thinking the same thing. “How do you go anywhere?”

“I don’t.”

“What, like never?”

“Not really.”

“So, you have people do your shopping?”

She was kidding, but his expression didn’t lighten. In fact, his head dropped, and he stared at the floor.

“Yeah, usually.” He bit his cheek, then looked out the window, taking a deep breath.

The sight broke her heart. Incredulous, Alexis scrunched up her face. “But then, why did we go? I mean, had I known you’d get mobbed, I wouldn’t have said yes to this.”

He smiled, his tongue swiping over his lip, then turned toward her, scanning her features. “Because I thought you might enjoy it.”

The tenderness in his tone spread through her like wildfire, but the heat from his gaze soon became too intense, and she forced herself to look away, out the window.

“Well, that was stupid of you.”

His hearty laugh filled the car. “I suppose it was. What else could we have done?”

Her heart responded to his question with a little skip. “I don’t know… other things.”

“Such as?” The intrigue dripped from his words. She brought her gaze to his and watched his mouth morph into a coy grin.

Suddenly, the car felt minuscule. She ran her hands up and down her thighs, her palms warm. “I don’t know. We could have stayed at your hotel… or something.” She tilted her head forward, hoping her hair would hide her blush. She tugged on the hem of her skirt, wishing she’d worn pants and tried not to picture the black foil wrapper tucked in her purse.

“Do you want to return to my hotel, Lex?”

Heat spread over every inch of her skin and she wondered why she had ever let him call herLex. The way he hissed theXmade her knees lock together and breathing difficult.

“Maybe?” Uncertain where this willingness was coming from, she braced her arms around her body.

“Are you cold?” He pressed some buttons on the door.

“A little, yeah,” she lied.

“Steve, hotel please.” Responding with a simple nod, Steve made a turn. “Lex, I’m going back to the Ritz. You can either come with me, or we’ll drive you home.”

The sudden shift in mood and his commanding, but no less gentle, tone had her head spinning. “Oh, I thought we were going for dinner.”

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