Page 36 of Unwritten Rules

It’s a humbling thought.

Zara turns to face my Hellcat as though in slow motion, her body bristling with annoyance slightly to my left when her eyes land on Mila’s rapidly approaching form.

She’s almost upon us, eyes still fixed on Zara, when she moves her gaze to mine. Her golden orbs catch and hold mine, blazing into them with an intensity I can feel flowing through my veins like a raging inferno. My pulse kicks up when I see her nostrils flare and a slight smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth.

It’s then, at that moment and in true Mila style, she surprises the shit out of me again.

She breaks into a sprint to close the last couple of metres, her lips lifting into a full-blown smile just before she launches herself into my arms.

I catch her easily, her petite frame appearing even smaller than usual, enveloped by my much larger one. She locks her legs around my waist, settling firmly against me before planting her mouth on mine.

Her arms are locked around my neck just as tightly as her legs enclose my body, and it’s without any thought in my head that I automatically palm the globes of her exposed ass, her shorts having ridden up indecently and conveniently high.

Our kiss is a simple meeting of lips, no tongues involved, and yet, even so, I’m drunk on her. Drowning in her. I never want to come up for air.

Her eyes lock with mine when she pulls back, and she grins broadly, her hair shielding us from the world. We’re so close I could count each individual golden fleck in her intense eyes, and for one further wholly inappropriate, completely blissful moment, I can pretend that I’m allowed to want this.

To want her.

If I gave in to temptation.

If I was uncaring of how much this exact scenario would hurt my best friend.

Our stolen moment ends when Mila straightens, arms still locked around my neck, pouting dramatically whilst playing with the ends of my unstyled, over-long hair.

Tingles of pure desire shoot straight to the base of my spine with each pass of her delicate fingers over the sensitive skin of my neck. I find myself unconsciously flexing my fingers against the softness of her perfect ass.

“Schnuckums, I woke, and you weren’t there.”

She playfully pinches my cheeks while I fight to keep the threatening smile from my face.

“Should’ve known you’d be taking out the trash.”

She twists to face Zara, eyes once more burning with unconcealed hatred as her ass cheeks move delightfully against my hands.

“Now, trash, do us a favour and toodaloo, motherfucker.”

She tilts her head to one side in exaggerated contemplation, only to kill me with her next words.

“Or maybe that should be father-fucker.”

CHAPTER 12

MILA

“You’re supposed to be in my lecture this afternoon from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., but they’ve arranged for someone to go through your timetable and get you settled instead. I have office hours until 5 p.m. at the earliest. You’re welcome to wait outside my office, or perhaps the library—”

“I can entertain myself, Nathaniel.” I smile wryly at his attempted micro-managing and roll my eyes. “You don’t need to baby me. I’ll figure something out and meet you at 5 p.m., okay?”

Nate spins to face me in the driver’s seat of his SUV, his mouth turning upwards in an easy smile that makes my heart happy.

Stop fluttering, you dolt! He is just not into you.

My heart has yet to get the memo, especially following my over-the-top antics on the grass outside Hawthorne House this morning.

When I’d glanced out the window to spy Zara making goo-goo eyes at Nate, it’d been like a switch flipped inside me. She can’t just simply try to sink her claws into him again, not after all the pain she caused.

I won’t allow it.