Page 53 of Her Devil

“Like, a peck on the cheek, or like a full-on smacker?” she asks, way too interested in this.

“It was not a peck on the cheek.” I can’t help but think back to the softness of his lips and the perfect, but way too brief, kiss we shared. “And I want to do it again.”

SEVENTEEN

NICK

“Seriously?”

“What? You need to fuck or fight, bro. And you know it.” Jacob laughs as he jabs me in the shoulder again, my pen skittering across the page.

“You’re a little shit.” I chuckle, ignoring him and attempting to concentrate on the books in front of me.

“Come on, you’ve been a grumpy ass for days now. You're clearly not getting any, so this is your best bet.”

“Say again? You play punching me whilst I try and get ahead of this lot is my best option… I can think of better ways to work out my frustrations.”

“You could ask Leo about his weights,” he says excitedly.

“Ooh, I could work some of this out on Leo’s face. That’s not a bad idea.”

“Give over.”

I don’t need to turn to know he’s rolling his eyes behind me, attempting to work out how to goad me into starting something. “He’s keeping something from us. I can feel it.”

“It’ll all come out in time, I’m sure,” he placates. “Until then, you need to chill the fuck out. I thought the party would have loosened you up a little, but I guess not.”

Throwing the pen down, I slide markers into the books before slamming them closed.He’s right. The party had me more on edge than I expected, trying to keep an eye on my girl while still giving her space, and then when I got another chance and we were having a good time at the pool, Ivy saw something and Leo’s hiding it.Fucker.

“We don’t have space in here,” I decide, turning the chair around.

“Now we’re on.” He rubs his hands together gleefully, a twinkle of excitement in his eye that I haven’t seen in too long.

“What’s got into you, anyway?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. He’s more than capable of looking after himself when he’s not eye fucking the competition, but sparring would never be his go-to.

“Well, you know, the other night was so much fun, getting my ass kicked, that I thought,hey, let’s give it another go.”

“Sarcastic twat.”

“You’ve not been boxing for at least a month, and whilst I know our brother is a whiny bitch about most things, he’s good at that.” I nod my agreement, shucking my shirt and throwing it on the bed. “No one is going to want to fuck you whilst you’re being such a grumpy pain in the ass.”

“And since when did you get so interested in my sex life?” I scoff out a laugh, throwing my hands behind my head and planting my feet on the ground.Nosy fucker.

“Since I got trapped in a house full of hot men.” He laughs, his thoughts a million miles away. “I’ve got to focus on something, haven’t I?”

“Keep your fucking nose out of it,” I say, pushing up out of the chair and barging past him. The last thing I need is for one of us to fall and break something that isn’t ours. Pissing off Wyatt is not on my to-do list right now.

The dining room is full of breakables, the movie room is full of sofas, and the den has more people in it than I’d like, so as we get to the bottom of the stairs, I turn and swing. He knew it was coming, dodging back out of my way with a smirk before parrying with a return of his own.

I swing, he connects, and the two of us go down in a tangle of limbs in the entranceway.

“What the…”

More than one person appears from the other rooms to find out what on earth is going on, dragging the two of us apart whilst we laugh. A bust lip and more than a couple of bruises are about the worst of it as we both stop, Jasper stepping between us as Wyatt comes to my side.

“You good?” he asks, looking me over warily.

“Just blowing off some steam,” I reply.

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