Page 557 of Hell Hath No Fury
We shouldered our way through the people and into the house. A cloud of smoke hung in the air, mixing with the scent of cheap perfume and old beer.
“Nora the Explorer!” Hendrix jumped onto the couch, grinning like an idiot. “I’ve got a ball sack loaded up with things and knickknacks, too,” he sang to the tune ofDora the Explorerbackpack song. “Anything Wolf might find, he’ll find inside of you. Ball sack. Ball sack.”
“Shut the hell up, Hendrix,” Wolf said. “I wouldn’t touch Nora the Explorer withyourmap.” His dark gaze drifted to me, and I lifted a brow.
I knew what he was doing, but did he have to make out like I was repulsive?
Lola, Hendrix’s pixie-sized, blonde girlfriend, yanked him off the sofa. “I swear to God, if I have to listen to one more convoluted song…”
Drew shook her head on her way past the busted speakers that looked like they were from the early 90s. Probably stolen, too. I felt Wolf’s gaze track me as I followed her into the kitchen.
One of the band kids stood by the table, building a pyramid of beer cans. When Drew opened the fridge, the door tapped the table and sent the cans clattering to the floor.
“Wolf stares at you a lot,” she said, closing the door and popping the top to her wine cooler. “He couldn’t take his eyes off you in the yard yesterday.”
“I was in a bikini. And he’s a pervert. What do you expect?”
“Doesn’t explain why he’s staring at you right now.” She nodded toward the kitchen doorway, and I fought the victorious smile.
“Again. Pervert.” And oh, how I wanted him to look. That was why I’d worn this tight dress. I told myself I didn’t want him, not really; I just liked his attention. But even I was starting to call bullshit on that. I liked a lot more than his attention. Like the way his lips felt pressed to mine, the way he pinned my hips to the bed when he went down on me, the way he said my name—the way he made me laugh…
I forced that last thought out of my head. We were just playthings to each other. Nothing more. Nothing less. After all, Wolf Brookes was the kind of guy a girl went after if she wanted her heart broken. And I’d already learned my lesson there. “He was a one-time mistake, Drew,” I said, fishing a beer from one of the boxes littering the counters.
“Shame, we could double date.”
I laughed. “No. You want to double date; you go with Lola and Hendrix.”
She deadpanned me. “Then I’d have to spend extra time with Hendrix. I can only take about thirty minutes before my brain turns to mush.”
That was understandable. Hendrix was an acquired taste I didn’t think anyone had learned to stomach yet—except Lola.
Noise from out back filtered in when the kitchen door opened. Bellamy came in, wrapping his arm around Drew and kissing her. It would only be a matter of seconds before he had her up on the counter with his hand up her skirt. Which was why I drifted back into the living room.
A group of football players stood in the corner, funneling beers. I looked past them to the girls surrounding Wolf like he was some dirty Dayton God. And he kind of was, especially nowthat he was the only one of Dayton’s bad boys who didn’t have a girlfriend.
One of the girls squeezed his bicep, and Wolf shot a smug grin in my direction. Annoyance heated my face before I tore away my gaze. If he wanted to play that game, I was all in…
I turned, spotting one of the soccer players I’d made out with earlier in the year. All it took was a simple smile, and he came straight over.
“Nora. Didn’t know you’d come back for the summer.”
Where else was I going to go on summer break from college? Not like any of us here in Dayton could afford to vacation or something. But I didn’t care much for an actual conversation with him. Not like I did with Wolf…God, I had to stop that.
“You look good, Josh.” I put my hand on his chest, sliding a palm over muscles that paled in comparison to Wolf’s.
His hand came around my waist, and I glanced to the left, where Wolf’s narrowed gaze was fixed on me. It was a look that said I was his, whether I agreed or not.
I wanted Wolf to chase me and maybe even catch me.
Turning back to Josh, I leaned in close enough for it to look intimate. “It was nice seeing you again, Josh.”
When I turned away, Wolf was right behind me. “Trying to make me jealous, Nora?” he said, the low timber of his voice causing my skin to prickle with awareness.
“No.”Always.
A sexy smirk covered his face. “Spare room?” He held my gaze for a beat before shoving through the crowded party toward the stairs.
An excited buzz shot through my veins at the promise of a dirty encounter. I gave it a few seconds, then downed my beer, placed it on the cluttered coffee table, and headed upstairs.
