And for some unexplainable reason, my eyes drifted to his mouth. I regretted it the moment it happened, because even though his eyes heated, his smile fell. As sexy as that smolder was on him, nothing could top the laugh.
“Soooo . . .” I spun to face his bookshelves. “You like to read, huh?”
He cleared his throat. “Yep.”
“Are you going to school?” I asked, dragging my fingertip over the dust-free shelf.
“Yeah. I’m starting my second semester. What about you?”
“Nah, not really. I’m just taking some classes online right now.”
“Well, that’s cool too,” he said awkwardly, following me as I inspected each of his shelves.
“I guess. I’d rather be in an actual class every day. Sitting behind the computer can get pretty boring.”
“Yeah, well, sitting in class can be pretty boring sometimes too.”
“True.” I suddenly turned to face him. “Hey, which one’s your favorite?”
“Favorite what? Class?”
“No, I mean book. You have to have a favorite.”
“Shit, I don’t know. I’ve read so many that I wouldn’t even know how to choose.”
“Okay. You’re stranded in a deserted train station during the zombie apocalypse. Quick, which book do you have with you?”
“Hopefully The Zombie Survival Guide.” He laughed again, and I’ll be damned if my eyes didn’t jump right back to his mouth.
What the hell was with my subconscious’s sudden obsession with those two perfectly plump lips?
As if he’d read my mind, his tongue darted out, moistening them and magically drawing the slightest moan from me. Embarrassed, I glanced up to find that his eyes were sparkling with humor. Perfect!
No, really. It. Was. Perfect.
He was flirting. And it made my goal of seducing him that much easier.
Suddenly, Quarry stomped back into the room, interrupting our connection. “Well, that went over like a warm bag of shit.”
Flint stared at me for a second longer before dragging his gaze over to his brother. I, however, wasn’t quite ready for the moment to be over yet, so as he began talking to Quarry, I continued to watch Flint.
“Was he pissed?” Flint asked.
“First, he was relieved. Then he was mad, and then . . . he handed the phone to Eliza.” Quarry stopped and blew out a loud breath. “She was pissed.”
I should have looked away.
If I could go back in time, that might be the exact moment I’d go back to, and in that alternate universe, I would have immediately looked away.
At the mere mention of Eliza’s name, I was forced to witness something utterly painful. I watched the gorgeous man I’d just been flirting with shut down. He didn’t say anything or even flinch. But as if he had been hit by a massive wave of destruction, he disappeared right in front of my eyes.
His mask and attitude snapped firmly into place. “Well, good. You deserved it.”
I wasn’t a fan of this version of Flint, but I was determined to lure the other him back out.
I had to.
“Okay, Q’s a jerk. Moving on. Since we’re here, you wanna watch a movie?”
“No,” he answered. “I want you guys to leave so I can go to bed.”
Okay, so maybe luring him back was going to be a little more difficult than I had originally thought. But I was up for the challenge.
“Oh, so I had a dream that it’s going to storm tonight. You wanna go outside and watch the clouds roll in? We can even make a bet on who feels the first raindrop. It probably won’t be you since you wouldn’t be able to feel it on your legs and half your face is covered with hair. Ya know, less surface area and all. So I’m going to put my money on Q.”
Both Quarry and Flint turned to look at me as if I had suggested sitting at the base of a volcano.
“What?”
“Right. You had a dream or you watched the weather this morning?” Flint snapped.
“I had a dream, thank you very much,” I sniped back, lifting my eyebrows to pointedly note his attitude.
“The rain better hold out for a while longer. We have over a hundred dollars’ worth of spray paint in the car,” Quarry said as he pushed the table out of the way so he could flop down on the couch.
“Spray paint?” Flint questioned, swinging his gaze between us.
Quarry propped his feet up on the table. “Tell him, Ash.”
I was going to kill that kid. A long, torturous death where I squeezed lemons into his eyes and made him recite poetry. I shot him an angry glare he seemed immune to. Then I made a mental note to talk to him about getting one of those force fields it seemed I would need if I was going to pursue Flint.
And I was absolutely going to pursue Flint Page.
I’d made that decision about two point one seconds after he’d dived out of his van in an attempt to protect me.
Me.
A girl he barely knew, yet a girl he was willing to do anything for to ensure my safety.
He could be broody all he wanted, but I knew deep down that an amazing man existed.
I smiled tightly. “We . . . um. We were just gonna go tag a few buildings.”
Flint narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. I recognized that look. He was about to shift to full-fledged asshole.