Page 5 of Make Me, Break Me

Every one of the women clustered at the edge of the cage mooned over his retreating back. I couldn't have been more pleased at his lack of attention to them as I slipped away before he busted me perving on his bloodied, bruised and sweaty ass like every other female there.

After all, I already knew what he looked like naked and what he could do with the tools creation gifted to him. I’d wanted to see what was marking him up. I knew, really, because there were enough whispers in the Rippton rumor mill about illegal Saturday night fights for cash and favors. Even without many friends I was privy to those. But what I saw in him went well beyond a simple punch up.

Dex Breaker was a god in that cage. Maybe graduating up from a little ‘g’ to something bigger for the one hundred and eighty seconds the door was wired shut. Because it never—not once in the eight fights I witnessed—took him longer than that to leave his opponent unconscious and bleeding on the stained cement floor.

Dex Breaker was brutal and sexy as all get out.

The muscly as all hell object of my obsession bumped his hip against mine, bringing me back to the present where we walked across campus in daylight, not a fighting cage, no dim lights or a screaming crowd to be seen. His name faded from my mind as he stared at me, his humor slipping away in lieu of something more pensive behind the shadows shifting behind his eyes.

“Me, frighten you? Nah, too easy. Anyway, I thought I could walk a pretty girl to class.”

I snorted. “Might want to check your schedule, Einstein. Mine are done for a few hours. I'm headed to the library.”

He thought I was pretty? I mean, I knew that, too. He’d have to. He’d been fucking me for the better part of two and a half years.

“Better yet. Now I've got someone to pass the hours with before my night classes. Nap time?” Dex waggled his eyebrows as he loped along beside me, standing a good foot taller above my five feet and six inches—with my boots on.

“You don’t nap with someone who doesn’t like you,” I pointed out.

His height certainly made him easy to pick out in a crowd. But it was time to put a pin in this social thing he seemed to think we had going.

“I’m wounded.” He faked taking an arrow to his chest—a very defined chest where I knew the contours intimately. The corners of his lips curled up in a sinful smile. “You like the number of times you come on my cock.” His gaze slid sideways, eye fucking me in public without reservation.

Yup, that was Dex Breaker for you.

“Shh,” I hissed, grabbing his elbow and hauling him away from the edge of the crowd who would never have heard him anyway, but my anxiety deluged me in a massive overdose.

“What?” He straightened, the picture of innocence and all that bullshit that never matched up with the picture he presented, and he damn well knew it. “I’m just walking with the girl I love?—”

“Stop. It.” My face flamed at his fake as fuck declaration.

“—to fuck,” he added with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Just walking across campus. With a pretty girl. For a library based nap between classes. Is that so wrong?”

“Your negotiation skills astound me.” I rolled my eyes and realized I still clung to his arm. Detaching my fingers in a hurry I shook them out like I could remove the shape and warmth of him from my hands.Fail. "Okay. No, you’re not. Walking. Withme. Or napping. Anywhere.” I slowed my pace and gulped air, praying for brain function to resume. Thisalwayshappened with him around. Always. Which added to my reserve of hate I kept just for him. “I've got assignments to work on."

I strangled my laptop strap as the catcalls came again. Without conscious thought I slid a little closer to Dex, unashamedly using him as a shield between me and the rest of the world. He glanced down at me, surprise lighting in his eyes. A small smile, different from the one of a moment before, curved his lips. Damnit, either one was too sexy for daylight hours.

And now I was thinking about those lips on my pussy, his lips doing things no lips and tongue should be able to do while I scratched my fingers through his hair and?—

“I can study, you know.” He threw a range of insults and the bird over his shoulder at the Allstars, flipping the lacrosse team off, seemingly missing my beetroot face that felt like it might burn my skin off at a moment’s notice.

“Studying? You? The golden boy who reads something once and remembersall?” I made a grand show of his abilities, heedless of the audience behind us.

My snark was back on.

Good.

It always came out to play with Dex. He could be the sweetest, kindest man I’d come across, which was the only reason I trusted him in my bed. His smarts outclassed everyone else I knew, and he never bothered to hide it. Reason number two why he got to have a weekly encore session. And that confidence was the other reason I kept up our weekly get together.

It was also the reason I drew a line between fucking and hating and dating. I’d been hurt enough times that I couldn’t let my heart go out like that again. Dex had more than enough nousto twist my heartandmy head around then shatter both with the slightest blow.

Points to his favor that he didn’t take home any of the ring bunnies even though we’d never pledged exclusivity to each other.

Yup, I still hated him.

He still stared over my head.

I elbowed him, drawing his attention back to me.That was a mistake.I cleared my throat. "Don't antagonize them. They’re bad enough."

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