Page 22 of Beautiful Mess

Probably for the best.

“That’s good,” Gemma offers with a smile as we make our way to the parking lot. “Well, I’ll see you back here in a couple hours then?”

“Yes! Thank you for all your help today.”

“It was fun. Happy to help.”

Turning on my car, my eyes flit to the clock on the dash, and I’m impressed with what good time we made setting everything up. I actually have more than enough time to get home, shower, get ready, and make it back for the start of the auction on time, especially since Ethan has the kids tonight. For once, Conway won’t have anything to gripe about. That’ll sure feel good, sticking it to him, because I know he’s assuming I’ll be late.

Unable to help myself, I pull out my phone and send him a text.

Me: I expect an apology when I show up on time tonight.

I’ll show him.

* * *

Okay, maybe I won’t be showing him after all.

Everything was going fine; I was making good time until it came time to curl my hair. Halfway through, I blew a fuse, which that, in and of itself, shouldn’t have been that big of a setback. I reset the fuse box, but when I went to turn my curling iron back on, the thing was dead. It’s not even that old. Then, when I tried to continue curling my hair with my straightener instead, it wouldn’t work. I don’t even know why I bothered, because I’ve never been able to curl my hair with a straightener. No matter how simple people make it look in the dozens of tutorial videos I’ve watched online, it never, ever works the way it should.

After spending entirely too long attempting to save my hair, I finally said screw it, and threw it up, but now I’m running late. I should’ve been in the gym helping Conway set up the food fifteen minutes ago, yet I’m just now pulling into the parking lot that’s already packed with parents and guests.

Lovely.I can already see the smug look on Conway’s face when he spots me coming in late, and my blood is boiling in anticipation. I went out of my way to plan everything for today in a way that would ensure I wasn’t late. There’s no reason I should be late, but the universe is plotting against me, apparently. But you know what? Tonight is going to be amazing. This auction is going to be a huge success, so Conway and his grumbly bitching can go to hell.

I walk into the school, passing by and saying hi to a plethora of parents on my way to the gym. There’s music playing loud enough to hear it in the halls; a playlist I curated myself. I’m about twenty feet away from the entrance to the gym, when Conway saunters out, hands stuffed into the pockets of the jeans he’s wearing. Jeans that aren’t covered in dried paint or mud. In fact, it’s impossible not to notice how handsome and cleaned up he looks tonight. It’s infuriating. Especially when I take in the furrow to his brow and the hard set of his jaw as he approaches me.

“Don’t even start, Conway,” I bite out as he gets closer.

Not bothering with words, Conway takes a look around before grabbing me by the arm and dragging me into the dark hallway right off the gym. His grip is tight, and I hate the way his touch has me buzzing. Goosebumps spread over my arm and my pulse accelerates while irritation heats my blood at the same time.

“Get your fucking hand off me,” I mutter, yanking my arm out of his hand. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Here I was, fully prepared to praise you for being on time tonight,” he murmurs, that same infuriatingly smug look in his eye that I knew was coming.

“Praise me?” I parrot. “I’m not your dog.”

“You’re not on time either.” He shrugs.

“So, you brought me back here to, what? Punish me?”

Every inch of my body lights up like the Fourth of July as Conway shamelessly drags his gaze down the length of my body before coming back up to look me in the eye, lip tipped up on one side. “Maybe I should,” he says, tone thick with gravel.

That shouldn’t send a bolt of arousal to my core. Itreallyshouldn’t, but it does. It’s also probably the reason I cross my arms over my chest, cock my head to the side as I peer up at him, and say, “Who do you think you are?”

Heat fills Conway’s already darkened eyes, the sight filling my belly with butterflies and something much filthier. Especially when a growl rips from his throat as he closes the distance between us, crowding my space and forcing my back to collide with the wall, knocking the wind right out of me. “Careful,” he husks, the word filled with warning and lust.

Right here, in this dark, empty hallway where nobody can see us, my body and mind are not my own. I’m not in charge of the words that spill out of my mouth or the way my body reacts to his threat and his body’s proximity. So much so, that I don’t even realize what it is I’m saying until it’s too late.

“Or what?” I taunt. “You gonna spank me, Daddy?”

If Conway’s surprised by what I just said, he doesn’t let his face give it away. A shiver racks through me as he brushes a finger across my cheekbone, gaze alternating between my eyes and my parted lips. “Maybe I will,” he mutters, almost as if only to himself.

The fire inside of me grows, burning hot through my veins. “Right here, where anybody could see us? Yeah, right. You don’t have it in you.”

A smirk curls his lip as he cocks an eyebrow. “No?”

“Nope,” I reply smugly, popping the ‘p’.

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