Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen

Aubrey

I hate how badly affected I am by the kiss we shared. I am so sexually frustrated. I need to snap out of it. It was a mistake! I should have pushed him away before he even had the chance to cover my lips with his.

“Aubrey, eat your food; don’t play with it.”

Everett’s firm voice pulls me from my thoughts. I glance across the table at him.

“I will eat it when I am ready.” I snap.

I half expect him to snap back at me, but he doesn’t. I see a smirk curl on his lips.

“What is the matter? What has you so distracted?”

Asshole! He knows fine well what is distracting me. I roll my eyes and don’t answer him. I pick at my lunch. I hear the chair screech against my floor. Please tell me he is not coming over here. I keep my head down, hoping he is done with his lunch and taking his plate to the sink.

My hope is shattered when I see him stand at my side out of the corner of my eye. I slowly lift my head to look up at him. He is staring down at me intensely. I swallow hard and shift in my seat. Everett rests his hand on the back of my chair and dips down, his lips falling at my ear. I close my eyes, trying not to let his warm breath on my skin get to me.

“Eat your food. Do not play or pick at it.” He whispers.

“I am. God, why are you so bossy all of the time?” I groan.

He chuckles in my ear, “Don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy me bossing you around, kitten. You enjoy every single second of it.”

His lips brush the sensitive area below my ear. A loud whimper escapes from my lips, and a shudder runs straight down my spine.

“I-I-I don’t.”

My words don’t sound convincing. I expected him to go and sit back down, but he has other ideas. I should have known better. He pulls my chair slightly away from the table, leaving enough space for him to take his place in front of me, resting his back to the table.

“Yes, you do. Why can’t you be honest with me? I thought honesty would be something that is important to you.”

“It is important to me.”

“Then why do you keep denying the truth?”

Have we not had this conversation before? I am getting tired of it.

“What is it you want from me? One minute you are acting like an asshole; the other, you are being nice. Then you kiss me and don’t say another thing about it. How do you expect me to be honest with you when you aren’t honest with me?”

He reaches down, one hand on each arm of the chair, and says, “I have made it clear what I want from you, Aubrey. As for my behaviour, it is who I am. I change more than the weather. Deal with it.” He replies bluntly.

“I don’t have to deal with anything.” I huff.

He isn’t my boyfriend or anything of the sort. I don’t need to deal with his behaviour. Everett leans closer to my face, “You are cute when you get all huffy.”

I cross my arms over my chest, “You are so annoying.”

He laughs loudly, “Yes, I am.”

“Can you move to let me finish my lunch?”

Everett’s lips brush against mine, and it causes my breath to hitch. “Sure.”

He walks away and retakes his seat, finishing his lunch. I do the same. Is it not time for him to leave? I gather the dishes when we are done and take them to the kitchen, needing a breather away from his stares.

I set them in the sink and sigh. I hear movement, and he is soon right behind me. Can’t this man leave me alone for two damn minutes? He leaves no space between us—his front presses to my back. I close my eyes and keep it together. It is easier said than done.

“I think I have overstayed my welcome. I am going to head home.”

His words take me aback. It was the last thing I expected him to say. I thought he was going to try to seduce me or whatever the hell his plan was.

“Yes, probably a good idea,” I whisper.

He places his hand on my hip and brings me around to face him. I am trying to ignore the closeness between us.

“Unless you don’t want me to go?”

Does he really expect me to ask him to stay? Why would he think that? He needs to go for the sake of my sanity, if nothing else.

“Y-y-you should go.”

I suppress the part of me that wants to tell him to stay. If I listened to that, it would be something I would regret. I wait for his protest, but it doesn’t come.

Everett nods, “Okay. I will be seeing you soon. Walk me to the front door?”

“Yes.”

I dry my hands off and walk him to the front door.

“I expect to hear from you soon. If not, you will hear from me.” He says confidently.

I stop from rolling my eyes at him.

“Thank you for taking care of me after my fall, Everett,” I say softly.

He kisses my cheek, “No bother at all. I'll see you soon, beautiful.”

It isn’t a question. It is a statement. He winks at me and walks away. That was too easy. Since when does he leave so easily? I am not sure if it means I should be suspicious of him. I watch him until he disappears out of sight. I sigh and close the door behind me, locking it. I still get a little on edge staying alone.

I shake my head and return to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. My mind keeps drifting back to the heated kiss we shared in here not too long ago. His lips feel so good. I crave more, but I need to listen to the sensible part of me, not the part that my hormones are in control of.

I will not be contacting him first! I don’t need to give him any more reason to keep coming around. I sit down on the sofa, groaning. Two minutes later, a text comes through. I glance at my cell and see it is from Everett. Why is he texting me? He left ten minutes ago.

I know you are still thinking about the kiss we shared. I know it has made you sexually frustrated. I hope you think of me if you need to sort yourself out. If you want the real thing, give me a call xx

I gasp in shock. How can he be so nonchalant about these things? How do I even respond to such a text? I could ignore it, but he wouldn’t like that and would use it as an excuse to show up at my door again.

I don’t know what you mean. I am fine.

The best option is to lie.

Yes, you do. You know how to reach me if your arousal gets too overwhelming xx

I toss my cell aside. I am not going to reply. I have had more than enough of him today. I need space and time to pull it together.