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Me.
It doesn’t really matter how many times I said it. One time or a million, it was never enough to make a difference.
Conner’s watching me with that calculating way of his. The one he used to get when he was trying to figure me out. “Do you want me to stop?”
Yes. I want to say it but I can’t so I nod, my heart lodged in my throat.
“Okay.”
The word confuses me. Steals my breath for a different reason altogether.
“Okay?” I croak, my face crumpling because I don’t understand. “Okay?”
He frowns at me. “That is what I said.”
“Just like that?” It can’t be that easy.
“Just like that.” He takes a step back, slumping his shoulders against the wall. “Anything else about the way I live my life that you find objectionable?”
I mean to say no but the word comes out sounding different. “Kaitlyn.”
He smirks at me. “Who?”
“The girl.” I bite the words in half and spit them out. “You took her into your office tonight.”
“Oh, her…” He shrugs, stacking his arms across his chest. “What about her?”
“I don’t like that either,” I tell him, using the same casual, easy tone he’s been using on me all night.
“Her specifically or is your objection to other women in general?”
Of course, he’s going to make me say it. Of course, he’d want to hear it. “In general.”
His mouth parts and he cocks his jaw, giving me a look caught somewhere between amusement and annoyance. “That so?”
“It is.” I mimic his stance, crossing my arms over my chest. “If we’re going to do this, then I expect exclusivity for the duration.”
“Exclusivity for the duration.” The look he pins me with knocks the air from my lungs. Makes me glad I’m leaning against a wall and not trying to stand on my own. “We’ve gone from sass mouth to downright dirty talk.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.” His gaze rake over me, slow and deliberate. “I’m so hard right now, I could hammer nails with the head of my cock.”
His off-handed assessment draws my gaze to the front of his jeans like a tractor beam. The second my eyes land on the bulge, straining against his zipper, my face catches fire, which is ridiculous considering where his face was less than fifteen minutes ago.
Never. Conner never would’ve talked to me this way when we were kids. Even when he teased me, he was always gentle. Careful. Like he didn’t want to spook me. Like he wanted to get it right.
Every word.
Every moment.
This Conner doesn’t seem to care either way. Not about what I think or how I feel.
I try not to let that hurt. I try to be like him. I try not to care.
“Is that a yes?” I push the words out on a sigh like I’m impatient but really I’m just trying to remember how to breathe.
He doesn’t give in. Instead, he ignores my question completely. “What’s it matter to you?” He gives me that cocky grin of his, the one I’ve never been able to resist. “You jealous?”