I shrugged violently. “He left.”
Eliza looked over my head, lifting her eyebrows.
Twisting, I glared at Huck. Of course he'd followed me. “I meant he's leaving.”
“What? No, let him come with us. Errands are so boring.” Pushing out of her seat, she arched her back and yawned. “I'll drive, seems like I'm the only one who owns a car these days.”
Huck smiled, watching me curiously. “I'd love to come.”
“Of course you would,” I mumbled.
Leaning close, he whispered in my ear, “As if you're different.”
Shit, my blush went all the way to my scalp.
He wasn't wrong. No matter what I'd done in the privacy of my own bedroom last night, my heat wasn't sated. Not with him so close to me, teasing and taunting and getting me high on lust.
Huxton Blake was one hell of a dangerous addiction.
Too bad I was growing to love it.
The ride was extremely fucking uncomfortable.
Huxton sat in the front seat, chatting with Eliza, or just listening as she rambled on. I listened, too; the back and forth was exposing some of their history. But through it all, Huck was messing with me.
Between the seat and the door, he'd reach back, stroking my knee. When I'd slide my leg away, he'd watch me in the side-mirror, grin, and wait until I let my guard down to do it again.
Bastard.
“...Was so hot that day,” Eliza laughed, leading us down the freeway. “Remember, Huck? We'd bought these ice pops for the beach, but by the time we got there and parked, they'd all melted!”
“I remember,” he sighed. “I also remember how angry your—” He stopped himself, rethinking what he'd been about to say. “How angry your friend was that you'd stained the backseat of his car you were borrowing.”
My roommate eyed me in the mirror, smile flickering. “Uh, right. Well it wasn't like I did it on purpose.”
Huck snorted. “You made him pay to clean it.”
“He still let me borrow his new one months later, too.” Grinning so wide her eyes crinkled on the corners, Eliza turned into a parking lot of the nearby grocery store.
I wondered which friend would be foolish enough to not only pay for the damage, but loan another car out. Maybe 'friend' had meant boyfriend. That would be a little understandable.
“Alright kids, let's get this over with.” Eliza hopped out, adjusting her sunglasses and the dress she'd thrown on. She was the epitome of Californian.
Huck looked like he'd stepped off the pages of a motorcycle magazine. He'd replaced his swim-trunks with rich, midnight jeans and a tight tank-top. The leather jacket that I'd appreciated last night now looked too warm on him.
I wondered if he was from here, like me.
A guy like him was just... out of place. A constant outlaw.
He caught me looking. Without turning his head, giving me a delicious view of his strong profile, he just smiled. The hard nob of his Adam's apple rippled. Impossibly, I swear his green eyes were looking through me.
Terrified of what he'd find, I spun so fast I was disoriented. Tagging after Eliza, I listened to Huck's boots crunching over the pavement. Everything he did had a gritty feel, shadow and fire and smoke.
Cologne companies would make millions if they could bottle his essence.
“Okay,” Eliza chirped, shoving a cart through the automatic doors. In true LA spirit, even with the Christmas trees littered outside, the building was air-conditioned. “We need a lot of stuff. Let's make this efficient.”
Nodding, I zipped my jacket tighter. At least I'd changed into jeans. I hated the cold, and the store was chilly. “I can take half the list, hand it over.” Eliza was one of the few people I knew who actually made lists, and didn't just shop based on her mood or appetite. I appreciated her organizational skills.
She passed a sheet of yellow paper to me, saying, “Okay, sounds good. Huck, you can come with me.”
A massive wave of relief went down to my toes.
Huck didn't react, he just tossed me one quick look, then followed after Eliza down the aisle. I could hear her voice, cheerful and bright, all the way until they vanished behind the boxes of cereal.
Fanning myself with the paper, I grabbed a cart and pushed it along. Here was respite, here was a break from the black hole that was Huxton. His existence tugged at me, whispering for me to come closer; promising excitement, throaty moans, and so much more.
It would be fun, at first, I told myself, strolling past the vegetables. He's sexy, no denying that. The way he talks, how he says things... it ties me up inside. Sighing, I grabbed a bag of salad and tossed it in the cart.
He'll break me as easily as these tomatoes.
Huck will take what he wants from me.
Then he'll leave me behind.
Would he, though? Increasingly—temptingly—he was making me question my vow. Were guys like him that thrilled me guaranteed to always wreck me?
All of them have. Remember that.
Pushing a cool bag of broccoli to my forehead, I ignored the stares of other shoppers. I hated the cold, but right then, I needed something refreshing on my warm skin.
Imagining him standing in my bedroom, his hands brushing my cheeks—then lower, I laughed at myself. I need a sponsor. Someone I can call and say, 'Help! I want to fuck another bad boy! Save me!'
There was someone getting paid for everything out here. Surely, a cock-blocker on demand existed.
Muscle for hire.
I needed anti-muscle for hire.
Finishing the list Eliza had given me, I was almost done. There was one last item I needed to grab. It was for me, not something Eliza had asked for or required.
In the quiet aisle, I scanned the rows of colorful candy. Thumbing the items, I found what I was after. Beaming, I hefted the little bag of hazelnut truffles, jiggling them by my ear. Yes, this would do perfectly.
“You have a sweet tooth?”
My spine became a lightning rod, hit by the pure energy that was Huck's voice. Turning, I found him hovering just a foot away. I hadn't heard him approaching.
My stripper-fighter was also a ninja, apparently. “W—what are you doing here?” I asked, glancing side to side. “Where's Eliza?”
Pointing, he indicated the other cart of groceries nearby. “She ran to use the restroom, told me to come find you and meet her upfront.”
Breathing through pursed lips, I nodded and said, “Okay. Well, then...” His eyes went back to the candy I held. Anxiously, I set it in the top basket. “What's wrong? Am I not allowed to buy candy?”
One step, and he was towering over me. “It's not that. I was just making sure I remembered the brand you liked.”
Tiny sparks went off in my head. “Why?”
“To buy you some, obviously.”
I didn't know what to do with my hands anymore. Grabbing the cart, I let it go, then grabbed it again. “That's nice, but... I'm actually allergic to hazelnuts.”
His eyes narrowed. “Then why buy those truffles?”
Fuck, I should have just lied. “Forget about it. You don't need to know why I do everything, Huck.”
In that tight aisle with no one around, he bent close to me. So close I backed up, plastic rattling. Bags of candy shifted, jostled by the pressure of my spine.
I should have smelled sugar everywhere.
Huck overpowered it all.
Half-closing his eyes, he reached for my cheek—stopped the last second. “Need is a funny word. Zoe, I want to know why you do everything. I want to know what drives you, what goes on in that lovely head of yours.”
Those strong fingers finally came down, resting on the space between my neck and shoulder. I jumped so violently that a candy bar toppled free, sliding across the floor. How could he do this to me? Saying things like that, acting so invested... it was fucking with my head.