skin-to-skin contact makes me feel way out of my element.
“Yeah, I’ve looked in a mirror. My life isn’t that crazy. But I don’t look in it that much because I don’t try to look pretty.” I also hate seeing the scars all over my body, but I’m not going to tell them that. “And I don’t really care if am.”
“I’m also not blind. I know my cousin is pretty. And from past experiences, her looks have gotten her what she’s wanted a lot. And right now, she wants you guys.”
“I’m sure you’re right. And I never said she wasn’t pretty, just that it wasn’t a completely natural pretty. I also said that wasn’t the point I was trying to get across.” Hunter reaches for me again. “Have you ever really looked at yourself? And I mean really looked at yourself without thinking about all the shit people have said to you?” He grazes the pad of his thumb along my bottom lip. “Have you ever paid attention to your lips? Have you ever tried to bite on them to get your way?” He then sketches his fingertip underneath my eye. “And those eyes. All you’d have to do is bat them at someone and you could get whatever you want. You just didn’t know any of this, so you haven’t done it.” He lowers his hand from my face. “And don’t even get me started on the rest of you.” His gaze deliberately scans up and down my body.
I crinkle my nose, hoping he’ll stop talking because it’s making me extremely uncomfortable. I can’t recall the last time anyone said anything nice to me—probably when my parents were alive—so I feel like Hunter is about to start laughing in my face and tell me he’s joking.
“Those long legs and that fucking ass …” He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip. “It was the first thing I saw yesterday morning when I walked into the office. And fuck, if it wasn’t the best way to start my day. It was almost as good as getting fucked. Although, probably not as good as actually fucking you in the—”
“All right, that’s enough,” Jax cuts him off, his gaze searing into Hunter.
I attempt to appear calm on the outside. Inside, I’m a mess. The compliments … the things he said … no one has ever spoken to me that way before, and I don’t know whether to be wary, appalled, or turned on. My body doesn’t seem to know either as a shiver rolls through me. Luckily, I’m a pro at keeping my cool and manage to act indifferent.
Hunter, though, looks all sorts of worked up, his gaze blazing. But then he blinks, as if coming out of some sort of daze, and shifts his gaze to Jax. Surprisingly, he glares at him. “No, it’s not. She needs to hear this. Her confidence is so damn low it’s ridiculous.”
“Hey, I can hear you,” I say, but they ignore me.
“And I told you to be careful with your choice of words,” Jax tells Hunter in a low tone. “You’re about to cross a line, and I’m sure you know you are. You’re getting too worked up, so take a timeout, turn around, and focus on something else besides her.”
Hunter smashes his lips together, his gaze flitting from me to Jax. “Fine.” He turns around, crosses his arms, and stares out the window, pouting.
Silence settles amongst the four of us. Jax is clearly annoyed. So is Hunter. Zay … I can’t see his face, but his knuckles are white as he grips the wheel.
Awesome. I’ve caused a fight between them already.
See? This is why you don’t have friends.
I start to suggest that maybe they should take me home, though the bus has probably come and gone by now, but then Jax turns to me.
“Now, why the hell does your side hurt this morning?” he asks, or more like demands.
I startle a bit from his abrupt shift in topic, but then I recover and shake my head. “I already said—”
He puts that damn finger against my lips again. “Either you’re going to tell me, or I’m going to lift your shirt and see for myself.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Go ahead. I’ll fight you—you know I will. But what you don’t know about me is that I’ve got a wicked right hook. I just didn’t get a chance to use it yesterday. Today, I’m more prepared.”
“I’m sure you are,” he says without an ounce of