The Dating Experiment (The Experiment, #2)(27)

“No. Maybe I’ll stay and work, too,” she shot back defiantly.

Just to be a pain in my fucking ass.

“Why? Do you wanna stare at me some more?”

Her jaw dropped, making her lips form a little ‘o’.

“I get it. It’s not bad, is it?” I motioned to my body. “I work for these abs. They’re too good to be kept under a shirt. Look away, Chloe.”

Her eyes darted across my body once more before she glared at me.

At my face.

“You’re so full of yourself. No wonder you’re single. Nobody could put up with your egotistical bullshit,” she snapped.

“You’re the one who keeps staring at me and feeding the ego, babe.”

“If you call me babe again, I’m going to shove my fist down your throat.”

“If you don’t get distracted by my stomach on your way.”

She set her jaw, her eyes flashing with frustration as she stared at me. “I hope you find the girl you’re determined is so perfect and she wants to twist your cock off with a rusty wrench when she realizes how much of an insufferable human being you are.”

I already found her.

And I’m pretty sure the wrench thing came from the heart just then.

“Shouldn’t be too difficult,” I told her. “I already met her, and I’m pretty sure she feels that way.”

She did a double-take, blinking furiously at me. “You already met her? Is that why you won’t let me set you up with anyone?”

“No, I won’t let you set me up with anyone because I don’t want to go out with anyone. How many more times do I have to say that?”

“Until you can say it convincingly enough for me to believe you! I can’t believe you’ve already met someone and you let me set you up in the first place!”

“It’s never gonna happen!” I threw my arms out. “All right? Me and her are never gonna happen because she doesn’t know, and I’m not going to tell her.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for one, she hates my guts.”

She rolled her eyes. “Can’t imagine why.”

“For two, she’s seeing someone else. Someone I set her up with.”

She gasped. “It’s a client? Your ideal woman is a client?”

I shrugged a shoulder. I couldn’t clarify it to her. If I said yes, she’d do her best to find her. If I said no…

She’d probably figure out I was talking about her.

“Doesn’t matter. Give it a rest, yeah?” I ran my hand through my hair. “It’s not gonna happen.”

“How do you know it won’t happen? You don’t know unless you try.”

“Because I know. I just do.”

She folded her arms. “I think you should try.”

“I think you should give it a rest.” I met her eyes and walked over to her. “Seriously, Chloe, drop it. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“Why not?” She stared up at me, eyes shining with frustration. “Just tell her how you feel. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is to me. All right? It’s a fucking big deal to me.”

“Dom, your job is literally matching people up. If she’s the person you think you should be with, why don’t you just say it?”

I rubbed my hand over my face. “I’m not telling her. Why is that so fucking hard for you to understand?”

“Because I don’t get it! If she’d make you happy, just tell her!”

“It’s not going to happen! She hates me.”

“So, should every woman in her right mind! My God, Dom. Grow a pair and fucking tell her how you feel!”

My stomach tightened in knots.

She wasn’t going to let this go.

I’d backed myself into a corner, and there was only one way out.

“You want me to tell her?” I turned around to face her, meeting her eyes.

She nodded. “If she’s got you this fucked up, you have to.”

“Fine. I’ll tell her.”

“Okay, good.” She shuffled, dipping her chin and looking at the ground.

My heart thumped in my chest as I crossed the room. The distance between us closed in seconds, and Chloe looked up right before I stopped in front of her.

“What are—”

I cupped her face and kissed her.

She froze.

And so did I.

We stood in the middle of the office, my hands on her face, lips together, neither of us moving save for taking a breath.

Then, she leaned into me. Her fingers ghosted across my waist as she moved onto her tiptoes.

And I lost all self-control.

I dove my fingers into her hair, holding her right against me as I deepened the kiss. She tasted of cinnamon and sugar, and I knew that she’d had donuts for breakfast.

Her hands slid up to my waist, and she dug her fingers into my skin as my tongue flicked against her lips.

I wanted more. I wanted to taste her more, kiss her harder, bring her closer to me.

I slipped one hand out of her hair and down her back, pulling her body flush against me. Her hand ran up my arm and cupped the side of my neck, and she parted her lips, touching my tongue with the tip of hers.