Page 44 of Crazy Love

“A rule.” Anthony tilts his head to look at me, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Don’t say it,” I groan.

Anthony’s mouth quivers. “How do you know what I’m going to say?”

“Because I know you. Because you’re predictable and corny.”

Anthony narrows his eyes in mock sincerity. “Don’t fall in love with me, Red.”

I sigh. “There it is.”

Anthony unfolds himself from the floor, standing in one swift movement to tower over me. All muscles and tattoos andnakedness.“That’s my only rule.” His cobalt eyes search mine, maybe for a reaction to his words, patiently waiting for me to process what he’s said. He leaves enough space between us to amplify the tension by a thousand.

It’s taking every ounce of strength to ignore the press of his hardness against my hips.His appetite is going to kill me.

“I can agree to that,” I whisper, holding his gaze. Anthony’s eyes flash with something I don’t recognise and my stomach lurches. It’s as if hundreds and thousands of unspoken words linger and whirl around us, out of reach.

“Fine.” Anthony breaks the spell by dropping his gaze to my lips. Silently, he drags his hand down the front of my torso, lifting the hem of my top. His fingers are hot pokers as they skim my exposed flesh.

Anthony watches his hand as it lowers into the front of my underwear. His gaze flickers back to mine as he runs his hand down to where I’m already wet. His eyes ignite with lust once again.

“Any more rules Miss Cooper, or are you done talking?”

I ignore the tiny voice in my head which whispers,Girl, you are so fucked.

24

ANTHONY

I’m fucked.

A couple of hours on the floor with Kali Cooper and she’s all I can think about. When I wake up in the morning, I see her face. All day at work on the tools, I’m re-living the memories of our bodies entwined. When I head to her studio to help in the evenings, I hope she’ll be there. I was thinking about her plenty before the amazing sex, but now that we’ve graduated to nakedness and orgasms, my brain can apparently no longer think about anything else.Healthy.

I have no idea if Kali’s thinking along the same lines as me. Lately I’ll say something and prepare for a battle of wits, but instead of ripping into me, I’ll see her processing thoughts behind her eyes. It’s as if she’s analysing situations and gets conflicted about sharing the outcomes she’s arrived at.

Her unpredictability is something I love about her, but it’s also the reason I’ve put off our date. Even though we made an agreement, she might decide to turn me down because of her rules. Or worse, she’ll agree to go out with me out of pity and want to wrap the whole thing up as soon as possible.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen you this worked up.” Sonny scoffs into his plate of food across from me whilst Jared slurps a milkshake right in my ear.

“You haven’t known me that long.” I run my hand vigorously over my head.

It’s Monday and we’ve been sent home early as it’s raining, which is ideal for most people. You still get paid a full day’s wages, but you can go do whatever you want. Lots of tradesmen head to the pub, or go home to watch Netflix, or brave the winds and hit the surf nearby.

Normally, I’d relish the chance to head home to work on my art pieces, or hit the gym to punch the bags, but not today. I’m so wound up I can’t think straight.

Ever since that night with Kali, I’ve had pent up energy. We worked side by side in her studio all weekend, but her friends were there the entire time, and with her insistence on ‘ground rules’ plaguing my mind, I didn’t dare make a move for fear it’d be interpreted as crossing the line.

Sonny and Jared dragged me to a local diner for lunch, sensing I was on edge, but I’m not sure it’s helping. My leg won’t stop bouncing. I need to go to a meeting after this and maybe even a run to clear my head.

“You wanna talk about it?” Jared asks, nudging me in the ribs. “I know we’re gossips, but we can be helpful. Sometimes.”

I chew on my lip and quickly decide I don’t care what sort of backlash and teasing I get for spilling my guts. “Kali and I slept together.”

It takes a full minute for Sonny and Jared to stop cheering, roaring and banging on the table like animals. When Sonny finally sinks back into his chair, his smile nearly breaks his face. “You should be stoked, Peaches. Why do you look like a sad sack?”

“I’m not a sad sack,” I argue. “She implemented rules, and it rattled me.”

Jared frowns. “What do you mean?”

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