Page 40 of Into the Woods

Eric made a noise in the back of his throat. “Are you suggesting she sit here in the mess you made?”

“No,” the waitress stammered, her eyes huge. “I’ll take you to the back where our private employee restroom is, if that’s all right?”

“Of course,” I assured her before Eric could say something else.

We’d been… dating? Was this dating? Whatever it was, we’d been doing it for a week, and this was by far the most aggressive he’d ever seemed. Maybe he really was related to Alex. I mean, sure, he was pissed off for me, not at me, but something about how he was acting seemed off.

Then again, it had been a weird night all around.

I followed the waitress to the back of the restaurant, thankful I’d opted to wear my hair up so that it wasn’t soaked with wine. Even now, I could feel it drying and pulling my skin tight with stickiness. Hopefully I could wipe myself off with some wet paper towels and salvage the rest of my night with Eric.

The waitress moved silently, pushing through a door that led to a service hallway, and then stepped aside and pointed. “It’s at the end of the hall. Last door on the right.”

“Thanks so much,” I told her, flashing her a quick grin to let her know I wasn’t pissed off that she’d made a human error. I hurried down the hall and pushed open the door to a single bathroom.

I’d just turned to close the door when something slammed into it. I went tumbling backward, my back hitting the opposite wall and knocking the air from my lungs. I gasped in a deep breath and looked up to figure out what the hell was going on, but it took only seconds for him to get inside, lock the door, and pin me with his body.

Hard muscle pressed me into the drywall. A knee slipped between my legs as a large, calloused hand pressed over my mouth before I could scream. Dark, furious eyes framed by the thickest, blackest lashes glared at me.

“What the fuck are you doing, Becca?” Court Woods growled.

CHAPTER 13

BEX

With his hand still covering my mouth, all I could do was glare at Court. Glare and… stare.

Because it had been a month since I’d seen Court Woods, and a month shouldn’t have made this big of a difference.

His dark hair was longer, falling over one eye. His sharp jaw was covered in a layer of stubble that made him look even more dangerous than usual. He was still broad—okay, the man was freaking ripped. Even through our layers of clothes, I could feel the heavy bulk of his muscles, especially where his thigh was wedged between my legs. Our height difference—I was five-five, and he had a solid eight inches on me—meant my lady business was pressed against his leg. All I’d need to do was rock my hips a little…

Bad, Bex! I mentally bitch-slapped myself because no. We weren’t having those thoughts about this guy ever again. It was why I’d come to Paris—to put half a planet between us.

Wait.

Court was in Paris. Why was he here?

Some stupid piece of my heart that would always belong to him fluttered with hope.

Was he here for me?

Holy shit.

Was this—

“What the fuck, Becca?” he snarled again, his breath hot and minty against my face. “Tell me you’re not this goddamn stupid.”

I blinked. Okay, as far as declarations of love went, that sucked.

Now I was pissed.

I lowered my lashes, pointedly reminding him that his hand was still covering my mouth. I had the strong urge to lick his palm just to see what he’d do. Maddie had a shirt that said, I licked it, so it’s mine.

If only it was that easy.

Eyes still narrowed, Court slowly dropped his hand but didn’t back up. God, he smelled good. Like citrusy soap and faint traces of leather.

His head jerked back an inch. “Did you just sniff me?”