Page 12 of Crossing the Line
His thoughtful grunt feels like music to my ears. “Are you still friends?” he asks.
When I nod, my head feels buoyant. “The best.”
He hums as if he likes that she and are still associated with each other. Then he quirks an eyebrow. “Arewestill friends?”
I am officially tipsy as I run a hand through my hair, smoothing my hair away from my flushed face. The wine is not only delicious—it’s fast too. I’m less inhibited than usual as I look into his hypnotic eyes. “Were we ever friends?”
He snickers softly. “I thought we were.”
“How so?”
“You saved my ass in Mr. Northam’s class.”
I raise the glass close to my lips. “Ah. High school. Yeah, we spent a lot of time together in the computer room.” I raise a finger pointedly. “Although you pretended to not know me outside of the computer room.”
He twists his sexy mouth thoughtfully. “But that went both ways.”
My head feels so floaty when I nod in agreement that it doesn’t seem as if I’m nodding at all. “But you were more popular than I was. If you’d spoken first, then I would’ve said something back. You, Hercules Lord, had all the power.”
I close my eyes, easing the back of my head on the sofa as I wait for his response. I appear relaxed but I’m eager to hear his response.
But Hercules is silent for far too long, so I open one eye to see what’s the delay. He’s watching me with a steady, unreadable expression.
Now I open both eyes. “What is it?”
His lips hint at a smile. “Remember our conversations?”
I’ll never forget them.
Nodding buoyantly, I set my half-filled glass of wine on a black coffee table that resembles a block of granite. “You said that you didn’t like that your brothers treated you like a teenager. Even though you were a teenager.” I chuckle softly, going with the floaty feeling in my head.
He winks sexily at me. “I was always a man before my time.”
I hum, smiling. “I can’t refute that.”
Our gazes linger appreciatively on each other. He is incredibly handsome. I also relish in the ease of our conversation, and him flirting with me and me flirting back.
His finger traces my eyebrow and trails down the side of my face. I release the breath I’ve been holding while his finger completes its journey.
Suddenly he sits back as if he wasn’t aware of what he was doing. “You missed your grandfather,” he whispers and then clears the frog out of his throat. “And you hated New York City, which is why I’m pleasantly surprised you still live here. How did you put it?” He shakes his finger as his eyes taper thoughtfully. “It smells like the city dump.”
My shoulders shake as I snicker. “It’s an exotic aroma, isn’t it?”
Hercules chuckles.
“But…” I sigh. “New York is like a rough and gruff boyfriend you fall in love with over time.”
He grunts inquisitively. “Then you like your men rough and gruff?”
Laughing, I shake my head. “Not at all.”
“Then how do you like us?”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
I sigh energetically as my gaze wanders across the face of the man that I compare every possible love interest I ever meet to. I want to say, “I like them just like you, Hercules.” But I can’t say that. It’s too early in our reassociation to admit that. So I let my body sink low enough that I can once again rest the back of my head on the sofa’s cushion. “Oh, Hercules, I have classic daddy issues. Although I’m pretty sure being attracted to a man who has the qualities of my dad has served me well.”
