Page 42 of Play Your Part

“Funny, I haven’t seen that side of you.”

I swatted his arm, and Alexei raised his eyebrows as if to say,I rest my case.

“So if this were real, what would you do?”

For the second time tonight, my mouth went so dry I involuntarily swallowed. The question felt intimate with only the two of us in Alexei’s bedroom. My gaze roamed over his taut, tanned chest before lowering to his abdomen, appreciating the definition in each muscled ridge.

If this were real and Alexei hadn’t been mocking me, I would have climbed into his lap and made him forget all about the fight.

The way he was jutting out his chin at me, it felt like he could hear every unsavory thought. I had to put him on the defensive. I kneeled one leg on the mattress, making sure my leg grazed his, then leaned toward him to do what I’d fantasized about earlier. My hand traveled from his scruffy jaw, down his neck, over his torso, feeling the hard muscles in his chest and abdomen, liking the way they clenched in response to my touch.

Alexei’s breathing hitched, the sound so sexy, I realized too late this game I was playing with him wasn’t good for me either. Because I liked the feel of him under my fingertips. I relished the power I had, the way I could affect his breathing with such simple action.

I hated the weak part of me that wanted him to touch me back.

“Too bad you’ll never know,” I whispered, my mouth mere inches from his.

Before I could pull back, Alexei grabbed my wrist. “We never did make that bet, did we?”

I rolled my eyes and tried to get myself under control, but when I spoke, my voice came out breathless. “You wish, hotshot.”

Alexei dropped my hand, then cleared his throat. I pulled back from the bed, and turned to walk out the door.

He called out, “I don’t think you should leave yet.”

I felt the surprise of those words plunge into the pit of my stomach. I turned back around, waiting for his explanation.

“You’re my girlfriend. He called you because he thought I needed you. It would look weird for you to leave right away.”

I shrugged, suddenly itching to put distance between us. “Maybe you don’t need me.”

“In any way?” Alexei stared at me meaningfully.

I scoffed. “I’m not pretending to have sex with you for the benefit of your roommate.”

“No— I wasn’t—” Alexei cut himself off with a sigh. He roughly thrust a hand through his hair. “Just don’t leave. Hang out here awhile. That’s all I meant.”

“Oh. Right. I guess I can do that.” I looked around the room for somewhere to sit, but the options were limited. He didn’t have any chairs, so it meant the floor or on the bed next to him. I ducked to settle against the foot of his bed when Alexei barked out a laugh.

“You’re not sitting on the floor.” He gestured to the space beside him.

“Only if you put a shirt on.” The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Whatever will make you comfortable.” His haughty grin and teasing voice made me want to fall through the floor. After kicking him in the nuts, of course.

I slipped out of my shoes, then walked to the opposite side of the bed. Thankfully, Alexei was wearing a shirt by the time I settled on the edge, as far from him as I could be without falling onto the floor. Alexei laughed quietly at the massive distance I left between us.

But all I could focus on was getting through this time together.

I would do whatever was necessary, even if it revealed more of my weakness than I would have liked.

18

ALEXEI

“I’mnotgoingtojump you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Kennedy parked herself on the edge of the bed, one shuffle away from falling on her ass. After her little show, I didn’t expect this display of modesty, as if she needed to make it any clearer nothing would ever happen between us. Her message had landed each of the hundred times she said it, including no less than five minutes ago.

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