packet of dried salmon flakes and sprinkle some into his tank. “Watch. He waves when you feed him.”
And just like clockwork, Rico slowly swipes his foot in an arc.
I smile and wave back. “You’re welcome, buddy.”
Turning my head to see Will’s reaction, because it’s an awesome trick, my smile falters when our eyes lock.
We both straighten, and I have a sudden urge to move backward when he lowers Sasha to the floor and takes a step toward me, his pupils dilated, his tongue dampening his lips.
“W-What?” I stutter, my shoulders hitting the doorframe, his body caging me to the spot when his palms press the wall beside my head.
“Go out with me.”
Chapter Eight
“What? No!” I slide out from underneath his arm and back away.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“I think you do.” He smiles and pushes off from the wall.
“Well, you’re wrong.” I lower myself to the edge of my bed and keep my eyes on him as I feel around my feet for my shoes, snagging one in my hand and smiling back at him. “You’re not my type.”
Will blinks, as if my answer is preposterous. “Of course I am.”
“No, you’re not.” I snag the other shoe and slide it on. “For starters, you’re too”—I point to the dried smears of mud on his legs—“dirty.”
He glances down then takes a step closer. “There’s nothing wrong with dirty, sweetheart.”
Shooting to my feet, I back away, again, and point, again. “And you’re rude.”
“I am not.”
“You are.”
“How am I rude?”
“You…” I inch closer to the door. “You touched my things without permission.”
“I like touching your things.”
Heat pools between my legs, and I curse my traitorous body. It’s not thinking straight. Preparing to dive across my immaculately made bed just to put it between us, I realise being anywhere near a bed is a bad idea, given the look of lust in his heavy eyes. Plus, he seems the type of guy who’d destroy my hospital corners and cushion placement in the heat of the moment… which isn’t a bad thing, I guess.
Oh my God! What am I saying? Of course it’s a bad thing.
“You’re also lewd, and crude,” I blurt out, holding my head high as I march past him and into the hallway.
He follows me. “If I’m lewd and crude, then you’re a prude.”
What? “I am not a prude.” I spin around, my chest bumping into his, my body fizzling at his closeness.
Will slowly drags his knuckle down my arm, and my treacherous eyelids threaten to flutter.
“I think you are,” he murmurs.
The heat from his touch sends chills across my skin, so I blink and swipe his hand away.
“You’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
A smug smile lights his eyes. “Prove it then.”
I want to punch him, but that’ll only prove, once again, that I can’t punch. Argh!
Stretching up on my tippy toes, I yank his head close to mine then hover my lips over his ear before whispering, “I like sex, very much.” I nudge his cheek with the tip of my nose. “But just because I won’t let you fuck me here in my hallway”—I shove him, my voice now harsh—“doesn’t make me a prude.”
Sasha paws my leg, so I lower to my knee to pat her while looking up at him through my lashes. “I respect myself enough not to go out with someone who only wants inside my pants.”
He reaches down and tilts my chin up. “You think that’s all I want?”
Again, I swipe his hand away. “It’s all any guy wants.”
The drive back to school is quiet until I break the silence when we both climb out of his truck and shut our doors.
“Thanks for driving me home to get changed.”
His eyes don’t find mine. “No sweat.”
“I mean, you didn’t have to do that, but you did, so thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Like I said, no big deal.” He presses his lips together, reaches into the back tray of his truck, lifts out his toolbox, and walks away.
“Okay then,” I murmur. I guess I deserved that. Shit!
Pivoting to walk in the opposite direction back to my classroom, regret washes over me, and for some stupid reason, I feel bad for turning him down. Well, maybe not for turning him down, but more so for calling him rude, lewd, and crude. It was overkill. And despite him being those things at times, telling him so was perhaps a bit harsh, given he was doing me a favour in the first place.
Damn it!
Turning back around, I’m about to jog over to him