Ten Below ZeroTen Below Zero(28)

I topped off the glass with a handful of sliced limes and walked out of the kitchen, sipping my drink. I purposefully didn’t get him a soda.

A minute later, he followed me into my room. I noted his hands were empty. And then I noticed how large he seemed in my bedroom, a man clad in black taking up more space than I did. I averted my eyes and swallowed, moving to closet.

I tossed a suitcase on the bed before grabbing some underwear. I held it tightly between both hands as I walked towards the bed. Everett was sitting, no – reclining on my bed. He’d settled back against the pillows and had his hands behind his head.

“Make yourself at home,” I muttered sarcastically.

“Oh, I did. Don’t worry.”

I bit my cheek and walked to the suitcase, pulling it towards the end of the bed. Everett, though relaxed against my pillows, was staring at me, watching my every movement. I suddenly felt embarrassed about my underwear. Which was stupid. I tossed it in the bag, trying to be nonchalant about it, as I moved about my room grabbing additional things. When I turned around, Everett was playing with my underwear.

“Put that down.” I stalked over to him and yanked it from his hand.

“You’re a pretty basic girl, aren’t you?” he asked. Something about the way he said it irked me. My best friend, annoyance, came through loud and clear.

“I don’t need to impress anyone,” I said, raising my chin in defiance.

“I didn’t say you did.” His hand snaked back into the suitcase before I slapped it away. “But I’m surprised you don’t have even one lacy underthing.”

“Why does it matter to you? It’s not like you’ll be seeing them anyway.”

Everett raised one eyebrow and my knees went weak with the look he gave me. “I’ve already seen your underwear, Parker.” I licked my lips. “I’d rather see them off of you, as in on the floor.”

I coughed. I didn’t know what else to do. I turned around and blew out a breath, trying to stay busy and focus on the task at hand. But with Everett sitting on my bed, he was a massive distraction. “Why don’t you get yourself a soda or something?” I gestured towards the door with a hand-floppy wave.

“Oh, that’s okay? I wasn’t sure, since you didn’t offer me one a few minutes ago, after asking if I was thirsty.” His tone was dry, mildly annoyed. Good, I thought.

“You’re a big boy, Everett. And I’m not your waitress.” I bent over to grab a box under my bed. When I stood up, my back was against his body. I nearly dropped the box. My fingers tightened, white-knuckled, on the box, while he pressed against me from behind. I felt his lips at my ear, his breath warming the skin right behind it.

“If you’re going to call me rude, especially like it’s a dirty word, you better expect me to treat you the same when you are blatantly rude back.” His voice crawled across my skin, igniting the goose bumps on my neck. “It was rude not to offer me a drink, Parker.” His voice lowered when he said my name. It took everything in me to keep from shivering.

“I never claimed to be anything else,” I said, once again using his line. My heart beat was beating like I had just finished a race.

His lips pressed to the skin behind my ear and my lips opened in a silent gasp. I felt my heart beat all the way down in my belly. The kiss was light. And then his arm wrapped around my waist from behind me. He was unknowingly holding me up at this point. He squeezed his arm, squeezing my ribs slightly.

His other hand came up to my neck and pulled the hair to the side, pulling until I tilted my neck to give him better access. His lips and teeth grazed my neck then and my knees buckled. His lips were an electric shock and I absorbed it all. My eyes closed and Everett nipped my skin again. The arm he’d wrapped around me moved then, and before I could get a handle on what was happening, he’d spun me around to face him. I was breathing hard, keeping my eyes closed. My hands had involuntarily clasped his upper arms and I squeezed. Opening my eyes seemed an impossible task.

His lips descended, peppering kisses along my jawline. His hands moved to my hair, pulling it all back away from my face, pulling it hard enough to cause tension on my sensitive skin. I was drowning, sinking, into Everett.

His lips kissed my entire face, except for my lips and scar. I didn’t think too much about that, because the places he was delivering kisses to were cramping all other thought. I’d never been kissed like this, without my lips actually meeting another’s. He kissed to taste, not to deliver affection. He’d said he was self-serving and I knew this was another example of that. But it was benefiting me too.

Until he pulled away, leaving me breathless and aching. I opened my eyes, desire clouding my vision. When he finally came into view, he was smirking. His lips were red, swollen, and my skin felt raw.

His hands slid slowly from my hair. “How do you feel?”

His smug smile pissed me off. “How do you think I feel?”

He shrugged, that damn smirk staying in place. “Probably frustrated.”

I blew out a breath. “That’s one word for it.”

He nodded. “Good.” And then he walked out of my room.

A*shole.

I sank down onto my bed, hoping the blood would recirculate to all my limbs. I heard the fridge open and I sighed. I took a sip from my own drink before resuming packing. Before I could talk myself out of packing, I heard laughter from the kitchen. More specifically, feminine laughter. I bolted out of my room and slowed my pace as I stopped just outside the kitchen, peeking from behind the wall that separated it from the hallway.