Page 73 of Wanting More
"We have got to get some goddamn curtains for this place. I feel like I'm in some sort of fucking peep show."
Sapphire smirked. She had thought the same thing, though she told herself no one could see her.
Stopping at the foot of the stairs, she looked at both men who were standing next to the dining table. "What are you doing back so early?"
Hayden and Joel swung their gazes to her, and Sapphire froze despite the overwhelming instinct to step back.
Their gazes felt heavy, almost tactile, as they slammed into her, taking in every inch of her body, head to foot. Her hair, which was still piled up on top of her head from her bath, was still damp in sections even after her best efforts to keep it out of the water. Cold drops of water aimlessly fell down her neck, sliding past the large collar of the oversized baby-blue sweatshirt she wore like a dress and down her back. Though it wasn't the startling feeling of the cold droplet that made her shiver, it was the look in their eyes. It felt as if they were watching each droplet fall down her neck and following its trail until it disappeared from sight.
Sapphire cleared her throat, dispelling the odd, intense feeling, and stepped forward.
Joel blinked as if pulling himself out of his own thoughts and smirked. "With a little bribery, we were able to close a little earlier."
"Why?" she asked as she passed them and headed to the couch. Sitting on the other side near the wall of windows where the couch met up with the other mismatched couch in an L shape, Sapphire sat back against the cushion and looked up at them.
"To see you and put an end to whatever this has fucking been between us." Hayden stepped forward, and she realized his hair was wet too. It was pushed back from his face accentuating his strong jawline.
He was watching her, they both were, she noticed, waiting for her to respond, and Sapphire had to replay back Hayden's words.
Swallowing, she met Hayden's stare and felt her breath catch. There was something earnest and needful in his grey eyes that reminded her of the storm pelting at the windows behind her.
She toyed with the hem of her long sweatshirt, which had ridden up her thighs. Each little tug of the fabric seemed to catch Joel's gaze like a snare, and each time he tore his gaze away, settling it on anything but her.
"I thought you didn’t want to have anything to do with me," she said finally.
This time Joel's eyes snapped to hers, and Hayden stiffened. The muscle in Hayden's jaw ticked, and he shifted on his feet as if he was battling taking another step toward her or keeping his distance.
Joel made his decision and stepped around the wooden coffee table and sat down on the other sofa next to hers.
"Sapphire, you know that's-"Joel began, but his words were cut off.
"No," Hayden barked, silencing them both. Even without moving from his spot, Sapphire could feel the charge of his mood surround her, commanding her to listen. Her hands froze at the hem of her shirt, and she stared back up at him as Hayden tilted his head and gave her an almost menacing look.
"It’s because we wanted everything to do with you," he growled out so low that Sapphire almost couldn't hear it over the thunder outside.
For a moment, there was only the escalating beat of her heart as she gathered his words and let each word register.
Her eyes went wide, and she felt the last droplet of water burn away under the sudden flush of her skin. "You mean…" She let the words trail off, not brave enough to say them.
By now, Joel was sitting at the edge of the couch, his knee bouncing under the overflow of energy pent up inside him. "After that night in bed," Joel began, flinging an arm in the direction of Hayden's bedroom as his eyes bored into hers, "how the hell could we not?! Christ, Sapphire, we didn't want to think of you like that."
A pang of hurt struck her in the chest at that, and she tried to keep it from showing, but Joel caught the look and groaned before giving her a near pleading look.
"Sapphire, honey, I felt like a goddamn predator sleeping next to you. I thought Chris Hansen would burst in at any moment with assholes in ghillie suits and drag me away." He gave her such a beseeching look that made her want to laugh a little.
Even at a time like this, Joel could always make her laugh. Seeing the hint of a smile on her lips, Joel gave her a lascivious grin.
Wait a minute. Going back to what he said, Sapphire frowned and glared back at him and Hayden. "I've been telling you that I'm not a kid. My birthday is tomorrow, for God's sake. Have you forgotten my age is why I was practically labeled a whore at the school?"
"No," Hayden countered, his tone deep. "You were labeled that because everyone thinks we're fucking you—at the same time," he added ruthlessly.
Sapphire could hardly breathe. Looking at Joel, she swallowed deeply. She had hoped his humor would help dispel the sizzling tension in the air, but he was not the lifeline she was expecting. Hayden's word seemed to turn the jovial blond into stone, and he looked at her with the same hard look of—need? Was that what was shining in their eyes?
The big open room felt so small now. One man to her right sitting there like a spring pulled back waiting to explode, and the other man standing with only a cheap coffee table between him and her like a seething mountain.
Sapphire did her best to rally her resolve, even if it felt a little hollow under their pressure. She looked at them and remembered the days of guilt and loneliness. She thought of the pathetic girls in her school and envious stares of the teachers. Looking at Hayden, her eyes dropped to the strong column of his neck, and she remembered the warmth of him as he held her on the way back from Stardust. She recalled both of their words of assurance about her future and let the comfort of that memory surround her once again. She did not want to lose that just because of a few hateful people and certainly not because of her pride.
"So?" she threw the word out defiantly, holding her chin up. "I don't care. Let them think it…I like them thinking it," she added daringly, "if you want me to be really honest." She meant the words to sound strong, but she heard her voice crack a little at the end until the last few words were barely a whisper.
