Page 13 of Three's a Crowd
Daisy spluttered in humiliation. ‘How do you know? I could have slept with loads of people,’ she said defiantly.
She hadn’t, of course. Not a single one.
‘It’s obvious. You only have to look at you to know how inexperienced you are. You’ve got an aura of naivety about you,’ he said, his mouth twisted into a wry smile.
Angry heat flooded through her and she tore her gaze away.
‘You’re such a prick, Zach. I’ve never met anyone who loves himself as much as you do.’
‘Well, nobody else is going to.’
Daisy looked up at him again at that. Even though his voice had been jokey, she caught a flash of sadness in his eyes.
They stared at each other, Daisy beginning to regret what she’d said.
‘What are you doing anyway, messing with Adam?’ Zach asked abruptly.
Daisy was taken aback at the severity of his tone.
‘I’m notmessingwith him. I really like him. What’s it to you anyway, don’t you think I’m good enough for him or something?’ she shot back, her body heating with irritation again.
‘No, of course not. I just don’t think you’re the right person for him. He’s a great guy, but totally naïve and easily hurt.’
Daisy was shocked to hear him say this. What did he think she was going to do to Adam? She was strong willed, yes, but never cruel. She looked up into Zach’s dark eyes and saw – what? Something intangible there, some emotion she couldn’t read.
She suddenly had the realisation that Zach might be jealous of her blossoming relationship with Adam. But why would he be? Since they’d first met, he’d made it his mission to let herknow how annoying and immature he found her. That she was beneath his notice.
Perhaps that was it. Perhaps he thought she couldn’t possibly be attracted to Adam when he was around and that she was using Adam to get back at him for ignoring her.
‘Oh really, so who am I the right person for?You?’ She put as much ridicule into the last word as she could muster, testing him.
He looked away when she said this, a muscle flicking in his jaw. After a beat, he looked back, right into her eyes and said, ‘You couldn’t handle me.’
Daisy narrowed her eyes. ‘Ohplease. Just because some of those actors you hang out with think you’re some kind of hotshot sex god, it doesn’t make you one. I’ve known you for too long to fall for that.’
They glared at each other, both of them now shaking with anger and adrenaline. It was a battle of wills as to who would break the deadlock first.
Daisy was determined to win; she couldn’t let Zach get the better of her again. She felt his grip on her arms tighten and her breath caught in her throat. With a jolt, she realised he was leaning in towards her, their faces getting closer, eyes still locked, as if he was daring her to move away first. But Daisy didn’t move away. She wasn’t going to give in.No way. She would show him that she was just as strong as him, just as confident, despite her virginal state. So, she moved forwards too, facing off with him, daring him to keep coming.
Her stomach was doing somersaults now and she was trembling with nerves, as well as cold, but still she didn’t pull away.
Zach’s mouth was almost touching hers now and she could feel heat coming in waves from his body.
Strangely, she found she couldn’t look away. She was mesmerised by the expression in his eyes.
His gaze suddenly seemed to soften and she saw a momentary hesitation, as if he was fighting with himself about something, before he closed the gap between them, crushing his lips against hers.
She stood there, frozen in shock, her whole body seeming to go up in flames as the mind-blowing realisation filtered through to her brain thatZach was kissing her.
Not to be outplayed here – at least that’s what she told herself – she kissed him back, just as hard.
Zach let out a low moan from his throat at her positive response and forced her lips apart so his tongue could dart inside her mouth.
Even though she hated him,hated himand his bloody superior manner, Daisy felt a rush of longing more intense than anything she’d experienced in her life.
His hands slid down her back, dragging her closer to him so she could feel his erection pressing against her stomach.
As much as she despised his recent treatment of her, she couldn’t bring herself to break the kiss. Instead, she opened her mouth wider and kissed him back fiercely, running her nails down his spine.
