Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
I didn’t even say anything as I met his eyes. I just stared at him, even though inside, I was shaking. He let go of my wrist and took me in, his eyes heating each patch of skin he devoured. He bit his bottom lip as his hooded eyes explored me one more time. He shifted on the couch. My eyes swung from his to Mandy, who had put some distance between them but not much. Her hand was casually resting on his arm over the backrest like she was staking a claim on him. I fucking hated her right now. She smiled warmly at me and said hello, and somehow, despite my blind, irrational jealousy, I returned her greeting with a nod. She’d always been nice to me and wasn’t at fault here. Butterflies flapped when my gaze met Lachlan’s again, and I stomped on every single one.
“What?” I snapped, giving him the bitchiest look I could muster as if I couldn’t understand why he’d dared to touch me. And truly, I fucking didn’t.
“You’re at a party.” His green eyes studied my face intently and explored my body for the third time. In any other situation, I might have felt something different. Right now, all I felt was rage as it continued to build inside me.
“Yep. It appears that I am,” I said evenly.
My tone earned a look from him that I wasn’t expecting. Hurt? Confusion? Was he fucking kidding me right now? I needed to move before I threw up or caused a scene within five minutes of arriving. Thankfully, Marissa was one step ahead of me.
“Let’s go.” She turned around and grabbed my hand. “Hey, Lach. You and Mandy should probably get a room. Fondling each other in public is a little tacky.”
My gaze was focused on Marissa when she spoke and started moving. Behind us, I heard him shout, “What the fuck?” as if he was shocked about it or something. I rolled my eyes. Whatever. Marissa moved faster through the crowd, and we managed to get lost in it. That was how crowded this place was right now. In any other situation, I would have laughed and made a joke about feeling like a school of fish, but the void in the pit of my stomach didn’t allow me to find humor in anything. I reminded myself repeatedly that I had no right to feel this way, but the pain in my chest wouldn’t quit. Why did it hurt this much? Marissa took a deep breath in the kitchen and shook her head as she let it out. She didn’t say anything; she just pulled the unopened tequila toward us. I’d bet money she’d requested one bottle to be left sealed. I’d always been adamant about things like that.
“Did you see his face?” she asked, shaking her head as she opened the bottle.
“No.” I couldn’t look at him any longer out of fear that I’d vomit.
Her hands paused on the bottle. “You’re upset.”
“I’m not.”
“Lyla James Marichal.” She angled her body toward mine.
“What?”
“Oh, my God. You actually like him,” she said. I groaned, which earned me a sympathetic look from her. “He likes you a lot. You know that, right?”
I laughed. Yeah, he likes me so much that he was with another girl at a party and didn’t even bother hiding from me. Not that it would make a difference if he had. It might have been worse. “Just pour the fucking shots.”
She did as I asked, pouring two shots each. “He looked horrified and pushed Mandy off so fast. She nearly fell on the floor.”
“Yeah, well, he’s still a fucking asshole for letting her be all over him in the first place,” I said, my voice sounding foreign in my ears. We clinked our tiny plastic cups and downed the shot first, our faces cringing slightly, then reached for the second.
“I doubt he even notices shit like that anymore. Women flock to him constantly at parties and try to get his attention.” She lifted her cup, and we downed another shot.
“Can you not?” I muttered. “Why are we talking about this?”
“Because you like him, and you don’t go out enough to know anything about him. I want to give you details before you shut this down.”
“Mar.” I shot her a look. “You literally just told me that he has a million women all over him at parties. How is that supposed to make me feel any better?”
“I’m telling you that he doesn’t pay attention to them, Lyles. He hasn’t for a while now. He doesn’t even take girls home anymore.” She arched an eyebrow. “And he’s different with you.”
“To play devil’s advocate, let’s say you’re right, and he pushed her off or whatever. All he said to me was, ‘You’re at a party,’” I said, mimicking his deep voice. “What the fuck?”