Page 17 of A Little Bit Reckless

Itawkwardlyleft Bru and me.

“Um, I gotta clean up my stuff.” My study session with Wells was obviously over.

I was very aware I was under Bru’s gaze and that we were now alone together for the first time since I got stupid and kissed him. I gathered my things up in quick time. My declaration was also giving Bru an excuse to leave me to my misery, but he didn’t for some reason.

“Bow.” He placed a hand on mine, and his rough touch burned into my skin. It should have burned because of embarrassment, but that wasn’t the reason. I mean, I was embarrassed being around him, but him taking my hand and raising it up elevated my heart rate for different reasons. The contact of our hands coursed lava through my digits and that molten heat chased up my entire body and into my chest, my breasts…

I had to be delulu, and I knew I was, because I didn’t get a whole lot of physical attention from boys. I didn’t get any at all, really. I shook my head, unable to meet his eyes. “Bru, you don’t have to.”

I knew he was going to address what happened. It was a mistake. It wasmymistake.

I bit my lip. “I’m sorry I kissed you.”

It ruined everything and made things awkward now.

I had definitely been going through things at the time of the kiss. I wasstillgoing through those same things and absolutely none of them had anything to do with him.

I started to slide my hand out of Bru’s, but he didn’t let me. I released a harsh breath. “Bru?—”

“I’m not.”

I blinked.

“I mean, I should be,” he continued, scanning my hand. He flipped it over. “You’re Thatch’s little sister and what happened shouldn’t have been okay. But…”

His rough digits dragged down my palm achingly slow.His fingers only skimmed my flesh, but it felt like he was touching me all over.

I opened my mouth to say his name, but I couldn’t say anything. I was one hundred percent trying to focus on breathing.

“I should be sorry,” he said, closing my hand. He gave it back to me, and when he did, he took a step back. His eyes narrowed. “I shouldn’t have liked it, Bow.”

I shouldn’t have liked it.

It took me a second to mull over what he said. I didn’t think I heard him right.

“You liked it?” I didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t real, but suddenly, Bruno Sloane-Mallick was inches away from me. He was breathing his own harsh air into the room, and I didn’t know what was happening.

He touched my chin. “I shouldn’t have liked it, Bow. For a lot of reasons,” he said. He closed his eyes. “I think there’s someone else.”

Of course there was.

Of course.

There was no way a guy like him, someone so kind and wonderful, was actually available. I glanced away, but he brought me back. He pinched my chin. “I’m fucked in the head right now, and it wouldn’t be fair to you. That, and you are Thatcher’s little sister.”

It was like the waves of reality crashed into me. I hung on to that last part more than what he said before. There was always something. If I wasn’t evil, there was something else that made me not worth it. I wasn’t worthy.

I was nothing.

I stepped back and the door opened yet again. This time it was the smell of sea breeze and ocean waves that entered the room.

I used to love the way Wells Ambrose smelled.

I used to love Wells Ambrose.

I’d had a little kid crush. But that was before he hated me.

Wells had his hoodie on, his hands in his jeans pockets. A smoky smell lingered in the background of his clean scent, but not in a bad way, never in a bad way. His head cocked at Bru. “What’s going on?”