I’d put up with a man treating me that way for far too long, I sure as hell wouldn’t continue to do so.
“Look, if you have a problem with me, tell me to my face. Ignoring me is childish, and at the age you appear to be, I’d like to think you’re more mature than that. I’m not a sleazy ass woman, I was only trying to be nice. I’m not interested in you, and that includes both your dick and your pockets.”
His lips parted, and his tongue pushed against the inside of his cheek. I wasn’t sure if he was actually listening or if I was pissing him off, but I wasn’t done.
“I walked over here without an invitation, so that’s on me. Trust me, it won’t happen again. But this whole judgmental bullshit you have going on isn’t working for me. I get enough of it from everyone else, I don’t need it at my own damn house.”
I crossed my arms, “We can either be cordial all the time or not talk at all, but you have to quit this hot and cold thing you got going on. Be civil or fuck off completely…which is it going to be?”
My entire face down to my neck was flushed, and my chest heaved in and out. But whatever reaction, or lack thereof, I thought I’d get from him, I didn’t expect him to drop his cigarette and practically launch off the porch.
One second, I was looking down at him, hands on my hips, and the next he was only a foot away, towering over me. Adrenaline shot through my veins, and I reared back, battling the urge to retreat several steps.
Instead, I held my ground, tipping my head to keep eye contact, but he wasn’t looking at my face. His eyes focused on my neck, his jaw clenching before they snapped up, freezing me in place.
“You’re right.”
I dropped my gaze to his mouth, confirming that it had, indeed, opened to speak to me. “What?”
“You’re right. I’ve been an ass.”
I was transfixed by those fucking lips, watching the corner curl to create the beginning of a smirk and wasn’t at all paying attention to my own mouth. “Can I get that in writing? Maybe a nice note on my door?”
He chuckled, a dark rumbling sound that seemed to originate straight from his chest. The sound hadn’t even finished making love to my ears before I already wanted to hear it again.
“I’m sorry for accusing you—”
“Of being a jobless, privileged, high-maintenance bitch?” I smiled, batting my eyelashes and hoping he couldn’t hear the erratic pounding of my heart.
He rolled his lips in, dipping his head. I swore his eyes lit up, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was trying his damnedest not to smile.
I extended my hand. “Here, I’ll meet you halfway. I promise not to fuck you for money, and you promise to stop glaring at me like you hope I catch on fire.”
The second I uttered the words, I instantly wanted to rewind time and draw them back in. Holding my smile in place, I prayed my eyes didn’t give away my internal face palm.
He raised a single brow, grasping my outstretched hand and engulfing it with his own. His grip was firm, and the light scrape of callouses against my palm sent tingles straight to my core.
“You don’t enjoy a little heat, Madison?”
Fucking hell.
I was fairly certain I might have experienced a mini orgasm at the way his deep voice caressed along the syllables of my name, and it was shocking, to say the least. I couldn’t remember the last time a man had drawn a physical reaction from me to the point I’d begun to think there was something wrong with me.
I’d had sex when my ex wanted to, and I’d enjoyed it, but I’d never felt the rush of excitement or pleasure people described. I’d always had to sneak away afterward and finish the job myself. But I couldn’t deny the heat coiling up inside me at his words and the way he was looking at me.