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I’m about one snapped word away from dragging her across the table and shutting her up with my cock or my tongue.
She must recognize the look on my face because heat paints her pale cheeks a rosy pink, her full lips softening and her eyes so damn liquid that I’m staring at a bottomless sea.
“Just go with us, Red. We can bring you back to your car when we’re done.”
At what point did my hothead for a brother become the voice of fucking reason? It’s pissing me off.
Emily is the one to break our stare this time, her lips curling into a sweet smile when she turns to Damon.
“Fine.”
Oh, sure.
Argue with me, but then listen to him.
This friendship is bullshit.
The food arrives, and even eating becomes a silent war between Em and me.
I bite into my burger like I’m biting her ass, and she snaps her front teeth down on her fries like she used to do to my thumb every time I pulled that rebellious mouth open to take what I wanted.
The entire twenty minutes are spent with me staring her the fuck down and her casting me little pissed off glances before she turns those blue-green eyes back to Damon looking like a freaking angel.
I’m not sure I’ll survive six weeks of this crap, and I realize ground rules will need to be set between us before it gets out of hand.
In truth, I can’t figure out why I’m so mad. All I know is the longer I’m around her, the angrier I get.
Maybe I’m mad at myself for thinking we could do this. Or I’m mad at Damon for needing her as much I do. Or maybe I’m fucking pissed she walked away from me while breaking promises, and because of that, I can’t bring myself to forgive her.
Whatever the reason, or the combination of all of them, I’m a beast pacing his cage, my eyes set on Emily with every intention to attack. And the only thing that’s stopping me is my brother.
Emily checks her phone when we’re finished eating.
“Crap. It’s getting late. We should go.”
Damon pays the bill, and the three of us head into the parking lot.
It doesn’t escape my notice that Emily stays next to Damon the entire time, her red hair falling forward to shield her face from me.
When we reach the Jeep, she makes a few failed attempts to climb up before Damon laughs and grips her waist to lift her.
My fingers curl tightly into my palm when his hungry stare locks to her ass as she moves into the backseat.
I feel like a fucking caveman every time he looks at her, and my first instinct is to beat him down, then point at Emily and growlMine!
But I can’t do that.
We’re only friends.
And this entire arrangement is a shitshow.
Clenching my jaw, I climb into the driver’s seat and attempt to ignore their easy friendship, my foot a little too heavy on the gas as we pull out of the lot and onto the road.
Nobody says a word as we drive to Shane’s house to grab the spare keys and then to Priest’s shop to grab the van.
Every so often, I catch myself glancing up into the rearview mirror to see her holding onto the roll bar with one hand while trying to tame her windblown hair with the other.
It looks like red flames flickering around her head, a small smile tugging at her lips as her eyes stare up at the stars above our heads.