Page 118 of Forever Defiant
He dragged a hand across his jaw, the move sharp, frustrated, almost wild. “I’m not doing this with you right now.”
I looked at him in surprise at his outburst. “Fine.”
He shook his head, sucking his top teeth, then looked over at me. “Nah. See, yousayfine. You don’t mean fine. You don’t meananythinglike fine. This is the furthest thing from fine!”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
He snorted. In some weird way, that just made my temper hotter.
“You know what? You’re right. Itisn’tfine. You pinned me against that wall and gave me an orgasm! You had me on my knees in thestreetand then you walked away like you’d proven your point, and I get that. I do. I have a big mouth, and you put me in my place. High fucking five to you, Slater. But to thenavoidme? To then turn and run away because you don’t want to talk to me? That’s a low fucking blow.” I drew in a deep breath. “I’m not going to chase you. I’m not obsessed with you. You kiss well, your fingers have skills, and you have a nice dick. Good foryou. So do you and lots of other guys out there. Get over it, and get over yourself.” I shifted in my seat, temper still high. “Or don’t, and just keep on avoiding me. And do that for another week. Another month. Another—”
“I didn’t avoid you,” he barked.
His volume stunned me quiet.
He swallowed, voice dropping. “I avoided what I’d do if I didn’t avoid you.”
My breath hitched. He didn’t look at me, but the admission sat between us like a live wire.
“I’m trying,” he said quietly, every word strained, “to keep the line where it should be. You make that... difficult.”
I blinked. Hard. “So it’s my fault?”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s mine. And I know that. That’s the problem.”
His sincerity shut me up. I wasn’t ready for sincerity. I was prepared for arrogance, deflection, and ego. Not Dustin Slater admitting anything remotely vulnerable. I stared out the window so he wouldn’t see the confusion on my face.
“Well,” I muttered, “you still handled it like a jerk.”
He huffed a breath — not quite a laugh, but close. “Yeah. I’m aware.”
“And just so you know,” I added, “ignoring me doesn’t actually make things disappear.”
“Neither does pretending it wasn’t—” He cut off, jaw snapping shut.
“Wasn’t what?”
He shook his head once, tight. “Not going there.”
Coward. But before I could say it aloud, his phone buzzed in the console. He glanced down briefly and swore.
“Noah wants to know if I’ve killed you yet,” he said with a shake of his head. “After your last rant, I don’t know why I haven’t either.”
“It wasn’t a rant,” I mumbled, cheeks flushing. It might have been a rant.
“You don’t need to rant,” he said quietly. “We’re adults. We hooked up. It could have been better—”
“Excuseme?”
He rubbed his hand across his eyes. “Jesus Lord, I will never fucking swear again if you make her stop,” he whispered fervently.
“Jesus is on my side,” I snapped at him. “He doesn’t like skanky hos.”
“Says the girl who was on her knees on the sidewalk, ready to swallow my dick.”
I quickly turned in my seat. “Iknewyou judged me, you complete asshole—”
His mouth was on mine.
