Page 31 of On the Breakaway

My jaw tightens as I run my tongue across the front of my teeth. “You don’t get to kick me out of an alley that isn’t yours.”

Her head tilts. “Well, I am. So, shoo.”

She actually swats her hand at me and everything. The audacity of this woman should really be studied.

“Did you just try to shoo me?”

She exhales sharply and sets her glass on the railing. Then, she strides toward me without answering.

I don’t move. I probably should, but I don’t. As she gets closer, my nose fills with the scent of her.

She walks right past me, then turns, planting both hands flat against my back and shoving me. I barely shift, but I feel her palms against my spine and the heat of them through my shirt. There’s a lull before she pushes harder, trying to physically shove me back to the door.

“Chaos,” I say, a laugh slipping into my voice despite myself. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

She digs in, putting her full body weight into it.

“It looks like you’ve lost your mind.”

I turn just as she resets for another attempt, her hands landing on my chest this time.

That’s worse because now I don’t just feel the heat, but I see her face far too close to me. Close enough that the icy flecks in her blue eyes seem to swirl, even in the darkness of the night.

Even though we’re inches apart and it’s clear I’m going nowhere, she doesn’t stop.

My lips quirk as I look down at her. Her fingers curl into my shirt as she pushes forward. I feel every single fingertip against my body, and despite knowing better, I lean into the contact just enough to feel her nails.

She’s a stubborn little thing.

“I need a minute alone,” she says, and there’s something frantic under the irritation now.

“Then go somewhere else.”

Her eyes flick up to mine, like she didn’t expect that answer. I’m sure she expected me to be nice and give her the space she wants. It’s what I would normally do, but nothing about Avery makes me behave normally. Besides, she told me to stop being nice, and I’ve had just enough beers to stand right here.

She pushes again anyway. I don’t budge.

“C’mon, Chaos,” I murmur, glancing down at where her hands are against me, noticing her thumb brushing a small circle as her fingers splay wide. “You’re giving it everything you’ve got.”

Her jaw sets. “And?”

“And it feels like a cat brushing up against me.”

I reach up, closing both of my hands lightly around her wrists. Her eyes flare, but she keeps her palms flat against me. Her skin is warm and soft under my fingertips, and my skin is buzzing at the contact.

“Don’t compare me to a cat.” She steps backward just slightly, and I go with her.

Her breath catches when I lean into her touch further, and her back presses into the same brick wall I’d been leaning against when she got out here.

For a second, neither of us moves.

“Start purring,” I add, quieter now, “and I might let you knead your claws into me.”

I shouldn’t have said that.

I know it as soon as it leaves my mouth. I’m not in the business of flirting with anyone these days, and flirting of any kind with Avery is an awful idea. But her eyes dart down to my lips, making heat curl low in my gut despite knowing better.