Page 41 of Cold and Broken (The Titans of Founder's Ridge 1)

Oh, hell no. His?

“Excuse me?” I blink. If I were a bird my feathers would be all ruffled. “Yours?”

“Yes.” Again he answers declaratively.

“I’m not yours.”

“Yes, you are.”

I make a big show of looking around us.

“What are you doing?” His face has gone from a scowl to puzzled.

“Looking for your club, you caveman.” I turn away from him and start going down the stairs. “You planning on throwing me over your shoulder and locking me away in your room next?”

He steps in front of me at the bottom of the stairs. “Don’t tempt me, Lilith.” His eyes flash with warning.

Heat runs through me and settles between my thighs at the way he just purred my name. Then anger shoots through me. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you to school and discussing us.”

“What do you mean us? There is no us. We are not together.” I want to shake him. I want to hit him. I want to kiss him.

“Yes we are, at least that’s what everyone thinks.”

“So this,” I point back and forth between us, “is a lie. A ruse for what? Your entertainment?”

“No,” he steps toward me, I take a step back. He steps toward me again, I take another step back until I’m up against the wall. “It is not a lie.” His eyes dip to my lips and he licks his.

“I’m so confused,” I whisper. “What do you want from me?”

“Everything.” Then he pins me to wall with his hips and takes my mouth with his. Our hands are all full with our coffee and bags for school so we’re only connected by our lips and where I’m held against the wall by him. He breaks the kiss. “Can you trust me?”

“Why should I trust you? You’ve done nothing but be a dick since I arrived. Now you just want me to forget and flip the script?” I shake my head. “No. You want me to trust you? Earn it.”

“How?”

“You’re a smart guy, Con, figure it out,” I say as I sail through the door.

I open the door to his car and slide in the passenger seat. The leather does feel amazing to my bare legs. I am not a car girl so I have no clue what is so special about this car but I can appreciate the obvious luxury. Since he’s still at the top of the stairs speaking with Edward, I give in and run my fingers over the gear shift. I hear the trunk close and then Connor slides in behind the wheel.

He pulls out of the driveway and sets his hand on my thigh. I look down at it and release a breath I didn’t know I was holding. My mind is screaming for me to move it but my stubborn heart refuses. The pieces my mom left behind start to mend in this moment, whether I’m ready or not.

I look at him surprised when he drives past the point where he usually kicks me out. He just smirks at me in return.

“I’m going to earn that trust, Lilith. Prepare yourself.” He jumps out of the car as soon as he throws it in park and is around to open my door before I even unbuckle.

He offers his hand to me and laughs at my skeptical look. I mumble my thanks and he shocks me by smacking a noisy but chaste kiss on my lips. He swings his bag over his shoulder and links his fingers with mine.

The next thing I know Levi is swinging his arm around my shoulder from the other side. “Good morning, sunshine. How’s my favorite hood rat this morning?”

“Fine.” Confused. Annoyed. Happy?

“I see Con finally got his head out his ass.” He gestures to the tight hold Connor has on my hand. “Just between you and me, I think I’m to thank for it. I wore him down talking about how you and I would make the prettiest babies with our blonde hair and blue eyes.” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively. “You know where to find me when you kick him to the curb.”

“Hands off my bestie, dickwad.” Ivy barrels between Levi and me. “What is going on here? Did hell freeze over? Are pigs flying? Connor Volkov is,” she gasps and clutches her chest, “engaging in PDA?”

“It appears so.” Griffin deadpans from Connor’s other side.

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