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I put my hand on my hip and stared at him, wondering if I could believe what he’d just said. Truthfully, he looked like crap, but I hadn’t caught a single whiff of alcohol on him, and God knew I would recognize it if I had. “I don’t trust you,” I said bluntly. “How can I when you’ve been behaving like a selfish jerk for the last two years?”
He shot me an annoyed look. “Believe me when I say I haven’t enjoyed a single moment of that life.”
Oddly, I didn’t doubt that, and even though Dylan Lancaster was a complete asshole, there was something about his pain that touched a long-buried part of me.
No one seemed to know the entire story about the loss he’d suffered, which was obviously the catalyst for his prolonged, erratic behavior over the last two years. According to Damian, his twin had been a fantastic human being before his sudden turnaround two years ago.
No orgies.
No drunken episodes.
No anti-social behavior. In fact, Damian swore that Dylan was a charmer, and far better with people than he was.
I wasn’t entirely certain what he’d been through. Even Damian only knew the basics, but I had to wonder what his family didn’t know about Dylan’s suffering.
Grief and sadness aside, what in the hell had happened to Dylan Lancaster?
I shook my head slowly. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for now. Let’s just try to make the best of the situation. Maybe I can eventually forget that you tore my best friend’s heart out since she and Damian are blissfully happy now.”
“And what about that kiss, Red? Can you forget about that, too?” he asked in a husky voice.
My breath hitched, and I tried to push aside exactly how it had felt to be consumed by Dylan Lancaster. “Yep. Absolutely,” I answered in a casual tone. “Like I said, I was caught off guard. It was nothing.”
Did I really believe that? No.
Would I pretend like hell that it was true? Yes.
If I gave an inch to a man like Dylan, he’d take a mile, and then some.
He smirked, like he knew I was lying. “Suit yourself,” he said as he rose from the bed. “Just don’t expect me to entertain you unless you’d like me to do it while we’re both naked.”
I took a deep breath, and then let it out, trying to do a mini-meditation to calm myself down.
It didn’t work.
“If you tease me one more time about my hair color, my knee will end up in your groin again,” I warned him. “I’ve had to put up with that bullshit my entire life, and now that I’m an adult, I don’t put up with bullies. Also, I make it a rule not to sleep with a guy who has slept with half the women on the planet. So let’s get one thing straight. I will never be desperate enough to sleep with a man like you, Dylan Lancaster. Remember that, and I think we’ll tolerate each other just fine.”
I turned and headed for the door.
“You sound somewhat defensive, Kylie,” he said, not sounding the least bit daunted. “Where are you going?”
“I’m starving,” I called over my shoulder. “I’m sure this place has a kitchen. I intend to find it.”
“That’s probably not a good idea,” Dylan said in a warning voice as he followed me down the stairs.
“Finding the kitchen first in a new place is always a good idea.” I snorted. “I like to eat. My body doesn’t run well without any fuel.”
My mission was to find the kitchen, and that was that.
