Page 16 of Never Always
“Stop it. You’re not allowed to like my boss more than me,” Grange rasps, sarcasm dripping from every word.
“Fine,” Rexy says. “Then don’t get fired.”
Grange nods and claps him on the shoulder. “Call me in the morning.”
“Deal. G’night.” Grange closes the door without any other pleasantries. A Southern lady would have condemned him to hell for that move. I am more confused and completely nervous about being alone with him.
I back into the living room, not taking my eyes from his wide back. Grange spins on me. “They like you.”Funny, Maeve said the same thing about you,I think.
“Most people do. Only mean assholes seem to have a problem with me.” I run my hands through my hair now that it’s dried. It’s still smooth and sleek—in opposition to how it naturally would be after a swim in the pool. “Do you really want to stay here? I can bring you to your truck right now.” I’d take my chances with a serial killer to avoid my system shorting out.
Grange watches my hands as I pull my hair over my shoulder, then his blue eyes lock with mine. “I want to stay.”
Honest. Forward. I gulp. How can I test my hypothesis? How would Sue-Ellen figure out if a man was interested? Would she just go in for a kiss? Flirt? I wish I could text her right now. Squirming under the heat of his stare, I think I might have something. “Will you tell me what to say if I call Grey right now?”
His right brow raises a fraction, but he recovers quickly. I see the flicker of amusement, and I think he knows what I’m doing, but that’s fine. I need a distraction from the path of my thoughts. “Call him up. Tell him to come over so you can finish your date.” Grange balls his fists and his knuckles crack. “Tell him what’s in store for him.”
I open my mouth to ask what exactly he means, but he holds up a hand to silence me. “You’ll invite him in. Maybe you offer a game of chess, maybe you offer him a drink to take the edge off. He’ll want the drink because you intimidate him, looking like that. He’ll want to kiss you.” Grange stops mid-stride as he crosses to me. “But he won’t because he won’t be able to stop at a kiss.”
I scoff. “That’s not Grey.”
His expression grows serious. “Obviously.”
I take in a breath, his gaze lights on my mouth. “You’ll sit at the table or on the couch and talk about work. He’ll try to change the subject to something else but neither of you are comfortable talking about personal things. Dark desires, so you’ll think about them and hope he makes a move. After he’s had enough to drink, he’ll touch you.” Grange reaches out, setting a possessive, hot hand on my waist. I feel it between my legs and lose my breath. “You’ll like it.” His gaze is searing, but there’s a playful undercurrent because he knows what he’s doing and I’m crippled by it.
Grange lets his hand fall away. “He won’t have the courage to go any further and you wouldn’t dare act too forward and tell him to keep touching you. It’s against the way you were brought up.” His mouth picks up on one side. “Southern manners.” I hate that my waist feels cold, that I want him to touch me again. My mouth is dry and it seems I had every reason to be nervous about being alone with him. “Leaving you needing more and him not willing to cross that line.”
I blink several times, feeling all of a sudden lightheaded. “You know it all, don’t you?” The man is bewildering.
Grange lifts one shoulder up and down and backs away, eyes wide and confident. “What do I know? I’m probably wrong.” Flopping down on the sofa, he is carefree and unaffected. I, on the other hand, feel a deep pit of longing, stealing air from my lungs. He casually grabs the remote and flips on the television. After several awkward seconds of me staring at him, standing in the same place, he glances my way. “Call him.”
I stomp my foot. “Why can’t you be normal? A good friend?”
“You’re angry because I beat you in chess. That’s normal.”
I shake my head. “You use my weaknesses against me. It’s… evil. Unnerving. Confusing. This has nothing to do with chess.”
“Do you want to call Grey?” Grange asks, sitting up to make space for me next to him.
“No.”Hell no,I think.
The ridge in his shoulders eases. “Good.”
“Why is that good?” I reply. He’s good at this. I remember what Maeve said about his skills and I wonder now if reverse psychology is one of those things, and if it’s not, then it should be.
“I want your company.”
I sit down next to him, my leg brushing his before I snuggle up with a blanket, bringing my knees to my chest. “You’re awful and I’ll never understand how your mind works.”
Grange pulls my feet into his lap and massages my feet toe by toe, inch by inch. “It’s better that way,” he says, turning to meet my eyes. His touch is firm and warm, and it doesn’t tickle even though I think it should.
I ease immediately, every confused nerve ending on my body quieting. “Grange,” I say, eyelids falling to half-mast as I melt into his touch even farther.
“Yeah?”
Biting my lip, I say, “Don’t stop doing that.”
His smirk is victorious and this is how it happens, I realize. How I give the Devil an inch. “Don’t stop touching me.” His probing fingers still for a half second.
