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“Am I…?” he prompted, dark brows raised and amusement dancing in his hazel eyes as I stared like a fucking deer in headlights. Not only was he handsome, but he was tall—almost a foot taller than me—and built. The stretch of his shoulders had my palms itching to shape them.
I shifted in my seat to look at the newcomer who had a definite British accent and was currently eyeing me up like I was the main course meal. Fucking hell, wanky name or not, he was hot. Tanned skin, black hair, twinkling dark blue eyes, and the hint of a tattoo showing at the edge of his collar… I found myself staring until Nate draped his arm over my shoulder. “Carter,
“Sorry, Max!” the blond one called back, but I was too stunned to blink. “How rude of us,” Nate purred. “Ashley, this is Royce D’Arenberg and Heathcliff Briggs—oh,
“Hello,” I greeted the girl standing in the hallway. She was supermodel stunning. Taller than me by at least half a foot, with her strawberry-blond hair tied up in a high ponytail.
“Carter! What, um, how are you?” Nate’s bestie just grunted, placing me down so close that I ended up standing on his shoes, and when I tried to move away, he held me tighter. “I’m irritated, Jade, that’s how I am. Get the fuck out of here and stop picking fights with my little Spark.”
“I’m not leaving you out in these woods alone, lost, and inebriated, Ashley. Think what you want of my friends, but I’m not an asshole.” Then he paused, stopping so abruptly I collided with his back. “Ow, what—?” “Okay, that wasn’t a true statement,” he admitted. “I’m definitely an asshole. But I’m not the kind of asshole who knowingly leaves a damsel in distress, feel me?”
bullshit rumor that I made out with Royce, then you and your smug crap can go jump off a cliff.” Heath’s fingers flexed on the small of my back, and he made a small sound of…surprise? “You did what with Royce?”
He arched a brow, lips tilted in another grin. “Smutty romance, huh? No judgment here, I’m a fan of them myself, but I’m more of an audiobook kind of guy, you know?” What the fuck is happening? Why is he flirting with me?
Ashley: Your conscience, dickwad. Almost immediately, my phone rang with an incoming call from him. “I don’t have a conscience, Layne.”
“Yep. Congratulations, Heathcliff, you just became my boyfriend.” Because not only would it infuriate Nate, it would possibly offer me some insight into the Devil’s Backbone Society. Heath’s eyes widened. “Um…” “In name only, of course, I’m not actually interested in dating you.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. His lips curled into a grin. “Fake dating? I love that trope. Count me in.”
Heath took my chin in his fingers and tilted my head back, smacking a quick kiss on my lips, then swaggered his fine ass out of the coffee shop before my head even stopped spinning.
He just grinned and took his seat on the other side of the table, smug as a damn cat. “I know. I just like kissing you. So, what are we working on?”
“And that’s a good thing because…?” “Because my friends don’t think straight when they’re worked up, which means they aren’t putting their full efforts into the Society Challenge.”
“Want to know how I guessed you were faking it?” Carter murmured in my ear, making me jolt out of the trance I’d slipped into as I stared.
I wet my lips, purposefully turning my back on Heath and Jade. Out of sight, out of mind. Right?
“Just a word of warning, Spark, physical altercations at these events are deeply frowned upon. If you want to bitch slap Jade, you’ll need to save it for another day.”
I scoffed a laugh. “She’ll get more than just a bitch slap from me if she starts anything, and you know it.”
Royce noticed it too, giving Carter’s hand a pointed look, then raising an eyebrow in question at his friend. Then his gaze shifted to Heath, and a somewhat-cruel, knowing smile curved his lips. Great.
“Okay, well, I’m mad at you,” he announced, giving me a stubborn glare. I squinted. “Why?” He gestured in the direction we’d just come. “You’re here with Carter!” “And…?” I wasn’t following his train of thought. His scowl deepened. “And I’m fucking jealous, Ash. I wanted to—”
Fucking hell, why was I reacting like a smacked puppy all of a sudden? Carter stared back at me, waiting for me to say something. Then his cold expression softened and he sighed. “Shit, Spark, I didn’t mean—” “You did, though,” I choked out. “It was my mistake for thinking Nate was the only asshole in your circle, but apparently you’re more similar than I realized.” Not wanting to suffer any more of his insults, I pushed my chair out and tossed my napkin on the table.
Oh shit, kissing Carter was like licking a live wire and I couldn’t stop myself from doing it again, and again, not caring that I’d be burned.
Carter pulled away just far enough to meet my gaze, his dark eyes serious. “You scared the fucking life out of me, Spark. Never, ever do that again.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” His brows lifted as he drew a deep breath. Then a soft, ice-cold laugh huffed out. “I want to fuck you so badly right now.”
Carter turned toward me, taking one quick look at my posture before scowling and wrapping me in his tight embrace. An unexpected sob ripped from my chest as I leaned into him, my arms snaking around his broad frame and holding on for dear life. The hug wasn’t sexual, it was safe. “I’ve got you, Spark,” he murmured into my hair, his face buried in the crook of my neck.
Carter’s room faced the other side of the hotel with no view of the Eiffel Tower. And his room had been noticeably smaller. Had he done that deliberately? Surely not.
And then on the drive back to Nevaeh, he closed the privacy screen and ate my pussy like he had something to prove. Like he wanted to make thoroughly sure I wouldn’t be running back into Heath’s arms when we arrived.
Mom broke the incredibly tense silence—within which Heath stared at Nate like he wanted to gut him with a fork—by handing me a slice of cake on a plate. “You need some sugar.”
He met my gaze with a flat stare. “What, like it’s hard?” His lips curved up in a slight grin and he started to leave the kitchen then paused. “I guess you can keep the hoodie…seeing as you seem to like it so much.”
Nathaniel Essex had just quoted Legally Blonde to me.
“Well, it was going to be Carter playing babysitter but then he said something to Heath, and it turned into a, uh, physical altercation which resulted in a stalemate and so…here I am. The compromise. You’re welcome.”
His eyes sparkled with amusement. “How curious you didn’t suggest Carter. Methinks something happened in Geneva between the two of you.” “Paris,” I corrected, and he just smiled wider. Shithead.
Royce was clearly enjoying himself, though, mischief written all over his face. “No can do. Hey Ash, weren’t you asking me earlier if I’d swap sleepover duty with Carter?” Dick. “No, I wasn’t. You’re lucky I respect books so much, or I’d throw one at your head right now.”
Heath checked his watch, then cursed. “Yeah. I better go. Can we meet up tonight?” “No, I’m busy hanging out with Squirrel,” Royce answered, despite the question having been directed at me. “But I think Carter will be home. Maybe you two should hit the gym and burn off some testosterone while me and Ash paint each other’s nails.”
Royce, who stared at me expectantly. “What?” I snapped. He grinned. “Nothing.” Yep, I was definitely going to smother him in his sleep, smug fuck.
“So…now that I know you want to fuck me, I guess I’ll have to challenge Heath to a duel,” he announced sometime later, making me choke on the sip of soda I’d just taken. I spluttered while he grinned and smacked him with the back of my hand. “I do not want to fuck you. And no one is challenging anyone to a duel in my name, you fucking dork.”
He shot me a sly look. “Sure you haven’t…just like Carter hasn’t been trying to swap out for sleepover duty every day this week.” If I wasn’t already blushing, I’d be doing it now. Royce had been spinning the narrative that Carter desperately wanted to get me alone but I wasn’t buying it. Royce just liked shit stirring.
He folded his arms, parking his shoulders on the door. “Spark. Please.” The vulnerability and longing in his voice struck me like a knife. I stiffened, rage filling my chest. “Don’t you dare take that tone with me, Bassington.”
A frustrated sound escaped him just a split second before he grabbed me, whirling us around so my back was now against the door and his hand pinned my hips. His other was on my throat, his favorite place, but it was a gentle touch. “What more do I want, Ashley? Where do I even start? I can’t get you out of my head, I want—”
“Spark…” he said softly, his fingertip trailing down the line of my thigh ever so softly. The motion was so subtle that no one else could have seen it, but my breath caught nonetheless. I shook my head, shifting so my back was to him. “Don’t.” “I can’t help it,” he muttered in response. “This is torture.”
Sure enough, when I swiveled in his arms, more than one set of eyes were on us. The surprising part, though, was how it stoked the fire within me rather than extinguishing it. Especially the way Carter stared.
“Are you okay?” Carter asked from the doorway, making me gasp. “He didn’t hurt you?” I drew a deep breath, trying to control my racing pulse as I sat up. “No. Just startled me, that’s all.”
“Do you want me to do it?” Carter offered. “You can go sleep in Royce’s bed if you’d prefer.” I inhaled sharply. “Not offering your own?” “Would you accept?” His question was pointless, he already knew the answer. “I’ll be fine,”
Heath’s finger finding my clit. Entirely without meaning to, I whimpered. Both Heath and Royce stared at me, and my face heated.
“No can do, sorry, Squirrel. We have a situation, Heathcliff. Put your dick away and get dressed.”
smug. “Sure you do, roomie. But you might want to tag along on this little trip. Unless, of course, you’re happy hanging out here with Carter? All alone…lots of time to shoot the breeze, maybe discuss travel? I’m guessing you and Heath already had the whole non-monogamous chat and everyone’s on the same page?” Fuck that chat, no matter how important it was. I was already up and out of bed, grabbing my jeans and a clean sweater from my bag. “I’ll be ready in two minutes,”
His deep blue eyes locked on mine for a long, tense moment, then he tilted his head thoughtfully. “Can I kiss you?” The laugh I barked was horribly unladylike. “Not a chance in hell.” His eyes narrowed. “You’re blushing, Spark.” “I absolutely am not. Now, if you’re done with your confession, I need to go find Royce.”
“Please,” he whispered in that sexy, husky voice of his. “Give me something to cling to as I suffer in silence while you fall in love with Heath.”
Fuck. He was breaking my heart all over again. “Damn it, Carter, you can’t keep—” His mouth met mine, swallowing my protests with a kiss hotter than the surface of the sun. Whatever I’d been about to say, it was totally gone from my brain. Just poof, disappeared. Carter had that effect on me and god damn if he didn’t know how to kiss. The man must be part incubus, because my whole body lit up from his caresses.
“Carter…” I gasped as he hooked his fingers under the elastic of my panties and started to drag them down. “You asked if you could kiss me.” He tossed my panties aside, sinking to his knees between my spread legs. “I didn’t specify where.”
He’d seen that shit had gone down between us and made the choice to comfort me, rather than punch Carter. Best shadow ever. I wrapped my arms around his waist holding on tight.
