Page 65 of Wicked Lord

His grin turned downright blinding. “That is shocking, babe. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” He pressed his palm to my forehead.

I tugged his hand off, but now I was smiling too.

“Nope, not feverish.”

“I guess it just reminds me of you.” I shrugged, forcing my mouth closed before I said something stupid.

“Great, old and beat up?” Mischief flashed across those bright blue eyes.

“No,” I laughed. “Sturdy and dependable.”

“I guess I’ll take it.” He laced his arm around my shoulders and steered me back to the entrance of the bowling alley as I wiped away the smudged mascara.

Perched on the bleachers watching Axel pummel a guy was oddly satisfying. His biceps glistened beneath the mid-afternoon sun, sweat pouring down his muscled arms. Damn, how had I been so blind to his hotness all this time?

Sure, Killian was gorgeous, but no one came close to Axel’s boy next door, Abercrombie and Fitch model looks. He offered the guy he just tackled a hand and hauled him off the ground. When Axel spotted me, he winked.

An unexpected flutter quickened my pulse. I didn’t often come to his practices, but after today, I might have to change that.

His gaze shifted to the far bleacher, and I followed his line of sight. Cordelia, Lexi and Micah sat in the top row. I didn’t knowhow I’d missed them. The three friends waved, Cordi shooting him a flirty smile, and Ax offered one in return.

Completely uncalled-for jealousy bubbled its way up my gut.

Dammit. I needed to get this under control. The more time I spent with Ax, the harder it was for my stupid heart not to get attached. It didn’t matter how many times I told myself this wasn’t real.

“Hey, Lore.”

I glanced up and barely suppressed a scowl as Tate shimmied down the bleacher.

With my fake smile firmly in place, I crossed my legs and angled my body toward her in an effort to avoid the looks passing between Ax and Cordi. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear? I’ve been dating Jacob Patterson.” She ticked her head at number forty-seven, the second-string quarterback. “He’s getting so good. He’ll probably give Axel a run for his money soon.”

I snorted on a laugh. “Doubtful.”

“Guess we’ll see.” A devious grin spread her glossy lips. “Actually, I was thinking we should go on a double date. Daddy just bought me a new Range Rover so we could all ride together.” Her light eyes sparkled with mischief. “I heard you won’t be needing your parking spot at the sorority anymore. What happened to your car?”

Heat sailed across my cheeks, and I cleared my throat, pretending to have something caught in it. As I coughed lamely, my gaze flickered across the way to Lexi, Cordi and Micah. I waved and shouted, “Oh, sure, be right there.”

The threesome glanced in my direction, matching expressions of confusion on their faces, but I kept that smile in place before turning back to Tate.

“Sorry, I totally forgot I was supposed to meet up with Cordelia. We’ll have to catch up later. See ya.” I leapt off thebleacher and bounded toward the top row leaving Tate with her jaw hanging open.

Great, now I actually had to sit with these three. Even after our double date, I was fairly certain Lexi still hated me after last year, and Cordi was clearly jealous of me. Micah was the only questionable one, but since he was their bestie, I didn’t have high hopes.

“Hey, guys,” I muttered as I sank onto the seat beside Micah.

The girls gave me tight smiles, but at least Micah’s grin seemed genuine as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Hey, Lorelei,” he said. “Thanks for the assist the other night by the way.”

Oh, perfect segue.

“That’s actually why I stopped by.”

“It is?” His eyes widened, and Lexi and Cordelia leaned in.

“I was just going to warn you to stop doing whatever it is you’re trying to do. You’re in Sigma Delta and, well, you know...” My gaze dipped to his forearm that bore the same snake and dagger tattoo as Axel and all the other Lords. “Those are not the kind of people you want to fuck with.”