Page 77 of Stolen Summer
I had a better idea.
A taste of revenge.
As if he sensed the shift in my demeanor, Cole took a step back as I took one toward him. “What are you doing?”
I took another step. And another until I stood close enough to smell him, to feel his body heat. My lips slightly curved at the corners as I held his slitted gaze. Lifting onto my toes, I let my focus shift to his lips, the silver hoop winking at me. I brought our mouths closer and closer still until his eyes started to flutter shut.
Got you.
“I’m in a sharing mood,” I whispered right before I rubbed my sticky cheek against his, transferring some of the residue onto him.
“What the hell, Arie?” He swiped a hand over the side of his face as his brows drew together.
I loved the way he growled my name like that. It was meant to be serious and threatening, but I found it hot.
I offered him a dry smile. “It’s the least I can do since it’s your fault I got an ice cream cone to the face.”
He blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“Your ex…she’s feeling pretty threatened by me, which I’m not entirely certain why since she’s scheming to marry your brother.”
Cole’s expression went from irritated with me to downright hostile. I actually flinched, the sudden change catching me off guard. It hadn’t been the sticky mess but the mention of Gianna that caused the shift.
Hatred.
He hated his ex.
“You saw Gianna,” he growled, bracing a hand on the wall.
“To my great displeasure. She was on the boardwalk with a few of her friends.”
“What did she say?” he demanded.
“That I should break things off with you, but then she said…” I swallowed. Did I tell him about Gianna wanting his brother, not him? I didn’t want to hurt him, but I got the impression he never loved her and the only thing he felt for her now was cold bitterness.
“Said what, Arie?” he prompted, growing more agitated.
There he went again with my name in that growly textured tone. Sighing, I walked into my bedroom because being that close to him screwed with my brain…and my body. “She said it’s Crew she wants.” I risked a glance at him to judge his reaction.
Cole bristled, a flash of fire sparking the flecks of gold in his eyes to flare as if they’d been doused in gasoline. His jaw tightened, and I felt sorry for his teeth. “Is that all she said?”
I shook my head, before turning away from him and dropping my bag on the center of the bed. “I didn’t give her the chance. I left before I did something that would get me arrested.”
Cole leaned in the doorframe. “Don’t underestimate Gianna.”
“You know that from experience?” I pressed my back into the post at the end of the bed.
“It’s a mistake I plan to never make again, and I’d rather save you from getting bitten by the snake.”
“How are we going to stop her from coiling her tail around your brother and trapping him for life?”
His eyes refocused on my face. They shifted past my shoulder, and I could see the strategies brewing. For the first time since I agreed to stay with Cole for the summer, I wanted to help him not for the money but because Gianna struck a chord inside me.
He gave me a calculated look. “I’m still working out the details.”
“Let’s take this bitch down,” I said when he only continued to stare at me.
Cole shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re getting into. I never should have involved you.”