Page 40 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

"I'm not hungry. Please, I just want to go back to my dorm and get some sleep. I'm exhausted and I have classes tomorrow." My stomach growled, completely betraying me.

"It's almost ready," he said.

"Really, I just need to get back. My roommate is going to be worried about me."

"Kinsley isn't worried about you. She's spending the night with her boyfriend."

"How do you know that?"

He ignored me as he poured a pot of pasta into a strainer.

"Did you bug my room, V?"

"No. I pinged her phone. Why, are you worried I've been watching you change or something? I've already seen you naked, if you recall." He said it so calmly, as if this conversation was normal.

I glanced over my shoulder at Eli. His head was still slumped forwards. He was definitely still asleep. I had slept with both of them. And I was almost positive they both knew. They had been watching me. The thought sent a chill down my spine. This night wasn't just horribly stressful. It was horribly awkward too. If V thought I was going to spend the night in this studio apartment with both of them, he had lost his damn mind.

He set a plate down in front of me and uncorked a bottle of wine.

"I'm only 18."

"This won't exactly be the first time I've broken the law." He poured us each a glass.

I was still standing by the counter. I crossed my arms in front of my chest. But the dinner did look good. Pasta with tomato sauce, chicken, and green beans. My stomach grumbled again. Stop betraying me!

"It's just dinner. You're hungry. Eat."

I didn't like him telling me what to do. And I didn't like him thinking he knew anything about my wants. Especially since he was right. I sighed and sat down in the stool across from him. "Then I can go home?"

His eyes flashed toward mine. There was something there, but I couldn't tell what it was. It was like he was waiting for me to say something.

"I want you to stay the night," he finally said.

The way he said it made my heart rate accelerate. Dinner, wine, and spending the night? Was he trying to make this into some weird date? Eli was passed out twenty feet away from us. "What is this?"

"It's just dinner, Sadie." He picked up his fork and expertly twirled it in the spaghetti.

I wish I was as good at ignoring awkward tension as he was. God, he was infuriating. I took a bite of my pasta. It practically melted in my mouth. He fought bad guys and knew how to cook. But he also had anger issues and was clearly not good at trusting people. I took a huge bite. And he obviously knew my name was Summer. Why was he still calling me Sadie? I shoved another bite in my mouth.

"I knew you were hungry."

I stopped chewing mid-bite. I looked down at my half empty plate. Apparently I ate really fast when I was angry. I finished chewing and swallowed the massive amount of food in my mouth. "You're a good cook. But it's getting late. I should probably go."

He took a sip of his wine and set the glass aside. "Is the idea of spending the night with me really that appalling?"

Seriously? "Spend the night with you?" I whispered. "Eli is right there." I pointed to his passed out body.

"I just meant here. Not sleeping with me. You'll have your own room."

"Don't put words in my mouth. You said spend the night with you. That means sleeping together."

"Okay. Fine." He put his elbows on the counter and leaned forward slightly. "Then why is the thought of sleeping with me suddenly so appalling? And I know it's not because Eli is right there. I know it has nothing to do with Eli, actually. Because you're mad at him. He lied to you. All those years he could have stepped in and he didn't. You couldn't possibly forgive him for turning a blind eye to your pain."

He was making my blood boil. "Yes, I'm furious about all of that. But I'm mad at you too."

"I've only been trying to help."

"You're so full of yourself, you know that, right?"

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