Page 53 of Dead Pretty

“God, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

Shivers send goose bumps racing over my heated skin.

It’s not the first time I have had a man say those words to me. I have heard them many times in the past. But coming from Jack, it feels different. It feels like he means me. The whole of me. Not just the way I look.

His hand is moving at his side. Fingers shifting restlessly, like they’re desperate to touch me. “You know I like you, Audrey. I’ve made no secret of that fact. The question is … do you like me?”

I do.

I shouldn’t, but I do.

I look away from him, trying to sort my tangled thoughts.

“Don’t do that.” His fingers touch my chin. He gently turns my head, bringing my eyes back to his. “Stay with me.”

My heart is beating wildly inside my chest, a feeling of fight-or-flight starting. Both sound like a good option, to be honest.

But because I’m an idiot, I do neither.

I just sit here, staring at him.

“What do you want from me, Jack?” I manage to speak words. The only ones I can come up with. And they sound like a plea.

“Anything. Everything.” His eyes flicker down to my lips again. “To know if you taste as good as I think you do.”

Holy fuck.

Everything inside of me tightens. How am I supposed to recover from those words?

My hands grip the sofa. I’m desperately trying to anchor myself. “We’re friends,” I croak.

I am trying to fight this. I’m doing a shitty job. But at least I’m trying.

“I thought you didn’t have friends,” he says, reminding me of my words to him from that day in the supermarket. And he’s not being cruel or sarcastic. He’s just being Jack. Laying it all out so simply.

I swallow down. “I don’t.”

His thumb traces a path down my throat, stopping at the hollow of my neck. His fingers curl around my nape.

Adrenaline is running through my body. Making my heart beat faster and my pulse race.

“So, what are we, Audrey?”

“Neighbors?” It sounds like a question.

The light in his eyes dims a little, and he lets out a sound of disappointment.

“Neighbors,” he echoes, nodding.

Then, he steps back, his hand leaving my neck.

And I feel cold. Bereft.

I watch him walk over to Eleven and pick her up. Then, he heads straight for the door.

He opens it but glances back at me. “Thanks for watching Eleven, neighbor.”

Then, he shuts the door behind him.