Page 83 of A Labor of Hate
A poor smitten schmuck like me could get used to that.Maybe cycle it on repeat through her head before she goes to sleep every night.Perfectly normal things anyone would do if Colt Dixon claimed them as his.
The lady narrowed her eyes at us before letting out an honest to goodnessharrumphand stomping her foot.And then she was gone.
Off to interrupt someone else’s dream-come-true, no doubt.
Thick silence settled between us as soon as she’d disappeared around the corner, punctuated by our ragged breaths and the thumping of my pulse in my veins.My mind reeled.What just happened?Aside from getting my world thoroughly rocked from top to bottom, that is.
Talk about mixed signals.Pulling away and then coming to my dance class and looking at me like I was everything he wanted.Then the whiplash of the dreaded “we need to talk,” followed by the most mind-blowing kiss of my life.
In retrospect, though, the answer seemed obvious.He’d pulled away when it was just the two of us.But when it came to anything assignment-related, he’d played the part perfectly.
My heart sank.I played it off by peeking around the corner to ensure ButtFace and the other bodyguard were really gone and, finding the hallway empty, offered a small smile.
“That was… you were really convincing,” I said quietly.“Nicely done.”
He didn’t reply immediately, instead studying me intently.Someone else walked past the hallway but didn’t pay us any mind.I watched them long after they’d disappeared, willing the sting in my eyes to ease.
“Lex.”Colt waited until I finally looked at him.His eyes seared into me like a brand, flicking over every visible inch.Maybe seeing into my soul while he was at it.And when he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.“Daffodils.”
I blinked.Not because I’d forgotten our silly little code word, but because the implications of it felt impossible to comprehend.To accept.“What?”
“Daffodils,” he repeated, a soft smile spreading across his still-swollen lips.“That was as real for me as it can get.”
My brain made a buzzing, beeping sound like dial-up internet.No thoughts, only buzz.
Would it kill him topick a freaking lane?Did he want to keep exploring what this was between us, or not?I’d been worried that not knowing what was real or not between us would drive me mad, but it turned out knowing everything was realstillconfused me.
I sank against the wall, my eyes falling closed as I sighed.“I don’t understand you.I try to, and every time I think I’m making a breakthrough…” I opened my eyes, my voice dropping dangerously close to a whimper.“You pull away.”
The skin by his eyes creased in the tiniest wince.His hair was fluffed haphazardly from my hands.It was a knee-weakening look on him.As much from what it did to relax his buttoned-up appearance as knowing I was the one who’d been privileged enough to do it.
“I know,” he admitted, his features tightening in pain.“I’m sorry.I’d like to explain if you’ll let me, and I… I want that to change.”He took a step toward me, searching my face.Distant voices echoed unintelligibly through the main hallway.“I’m all in, Lex.If you still want me, I’m yours.”
My eyebrows rose.The butterflies in my stomach took flight, hesitant and completely vulnerable.
I cracked a sly smile.“I think from the day we met, there hasn’t been somepart of me thathasn’twanted you.”
Perhaps a very ignored, fit-for-the-funny-farm part of me at first, but maybe that part was the only one who hadn’t been swayed by bad first impressions.Maybe that was the part who had seen his soul from the start.
Granted, it also could have just been the part of me with eyes and a libido, but still.
“I don’t want part of you,” Colt murmured, taking my hands in his.His spicy scent enveloped me, and it felt like home.“I wantallof you.The horrible puns and unhinged pranks, the burnt toast and blaring smoke detectors.”
I snorted a laugh.“You really have a way of making me sound like a great catch.”
He smiled, a real, bona fide Colt smile that made his dark eyes twinkle and nothing else seem quite as important as witnessing it.“And I want the dedicated, selfless woman who challenges me and doesn’t back down from what she believes.The one with a barbed wit and a wicked sense of humor and a huge heart.The one who loves dancing and fun socks and looks dead sexy in the world’s most hideous swimsuit.”
This earned him another laugh.A teenager came down the hallway, side-eying us as he made his way to the restrooms.
Colt waited for the door to close behind the kid before taking half a step closer and stretching a stray curl, watching it bounce back up.His body heat called to me.Prickled against my skin.And then his focus strayed to my lips.
“Careful,” I whispered, a thrill dancing up my spine.The memory of his flirting demonstration and our first kiss invaded my mind.“Keep this up, and I’m going to start looking forward to having you drive me up the wall.”
“I think I’ll enjoy each second of driving you up the wall.”His eyes darkened.“In every sense of the word.”
Fantasies sprung to mind.My heart skipped faster and heat pooled in my belly.In my mind’s eye, I saw us swinging on a new trapeze.And maybe that’s what awaited us from here on out—a series of moments that could change everything.Where one misstep could send me plummeting.
Except now, falling didn’t feel so terrifying, as long as it was for him.
