“Can I kiss you, Rae?” he whispered, moving along my skin. 

Shaking my head, my throat bobbed. “No.” 

“You don’t seem like the kind of girl who likes to be asked, so I’m just going to do it.” 

“Try it and see what happens,” I smiled wickedly.

He stared at me, a tiny smile lifting in the corner of his mouth. “You can’t resist me forever.” 

“Watch me.” I glared defiantly, hating that he’d called out something that simmered so close to my core. 

His body pressed against mine for a second longer then it vanished. “I think I’ll kiss you when you’re least expecting it. Maybe in church or something.” 

 “Why bother with this ruse? I overheard you talking that night in the garage. I know my dad asked you to place the order, and I know you think I’m too much work to befriend.” My palms went flat against the brick, so I could somehow find balance.

His stormy glare cut through me, as if I were a cold stick of butter and he was the searing knife, just pulled from the fire.

“You misheard…or at least misunderstood.” 

Tilting my head, I asked, “Did he tell you to place the order and lie to me?”

Without a single hitch in his voice, or flicker in his gaze, he answered. “Yes.” 

“Then I don’t know what’s left to—”

His grip returned to my waist as his body pressed into mine, pushing me tighter against the brick at my back. 

“You misunderstood…I don’t want to be your friend, Rae, and you are a lot of work, but if you haven’t noticed, work doesn’t scare me off. I like work. I like trouble. You’re a fucking delicious mixture of both, and please understand me when I say this”—he lowered his head, his lips just barely a breath away from mine—“I like kissing you.”