Page 106 of Burn Bright

Every inch of his abs is defined. Every lean muscle is carved like he’s chiseled from marble.

Even the girl behind me teeters in her heels like his presence steals oxygen. Righting herself, she wiggles her toes in her heel, then bends over to adjust the ankle strap. “And there’s the worst offender.”

Huh?

Off my limited experience with the Cobalt boys, I wouldn’t have picked Beckett as the most arrogant. The most intense,definitely. Like right now. His yellow-green eyes are latched on her.

“And there’s the resident squatter,” Beckett says smoothly. “Or do you prefer the brat down the hall?” There is slight annoyance in the angles of his face. I’m guessing he does not like her.

She straightens up. “I prefer Joana Oliveira…from her.” She points to me. “From you—you can keep my name out of your mouth.”

“Then stop coming around to bother me, or I might start to think you enjoy being in my mouth.”

She begins to look at me, maybe to shut him out, but he’s compelling her attention too much. I get it. Cobalts seem to be proficient at catching and reeling. His hook is already in her.

“She’s a little young for you, don’t you think?” Joana asks him.

I stiffen, wishing I was actual wallpaper. There is an awkward beat, and I know I appear younger than my actual age, butcome on.

Beckett frowns a little, then asks me, “How old are you?”

“Eighteen.”

“Right on the cutoff,” Joana raises her brows at him.

He glares. “She’sBen’sfriend,” he says, no coarseness in his silky tone. “And what are you still doing here?”

Annoying him, apparently. “Checking on the mattress on your back. The one you always lug around. Worn out and springy. Just concerned about the girls you’re breaking in on that old thing.”

“You still carrying one?” His voice is so sensual. “Or did you finally realize you’d prefer to be pounded from behind. By me.” Holy fuck.

I should not be standing between them right now.

She staggers on her heels again. “No.”

“No?” His gaze drips down her body.

“Hmmmm-no. In your dreams, Cobalt.” She nods to me. “Later, Ben’s friend.”

“Harriet Fisher,” I introduce.

She smiles at me, then walks backward toward the elevator and says, “My big brother is Charlie’s full-time bodyguard. Oscar Oliveira. And I’ve beenstaying,not squatting,at Oscar’s apartment.”

“Paid for by security,” Beckett tells me. “She’s squatting.”

Her smile spreads. “A girl’s gotta use her connections.”

I watch her go. She’s pretty badass.

Beckett stares at her all the way until she disappears into the elevator. Opening the door wider, he lets me inside the apartment. I see him subtly adjustinghis junk over the towel, as if he’s trying to subdue a hard-on, and when he catches me staring, my face ignites.

He looks completely unaffected. Not angry, not remotely ashamed. Totally unbothered. It’s masculine big dick energy. He simply says, “Ben’s on the phone. He should be out soon.” He has a relaxed stride as he goes farther into the kitchen.

Beckett Cobalt is a mood.

He swipes a half-opened box of Lucky Charms off the marble counter just as Ben enters from a hallway.

“Hey, sorry,” Ben tells me, pocketing his phone in gray sweats. The action guides my eyes down toward his crotch. Lingering there because those pants reveal a fact I did not know. Ben is hung.