Chapter 11
Nick
“Oh no,” Poppy whispers again. Her eyes go wide.
“What’s wrong?” I follow her gaze across the room to a tall guy in glasses walking into the crowded house party who kind of looks like Brody, but then someone steps in front of him, and I can’t see him anymore.
“Wait, is that him? Your ex?”
She nods, swallowing hard. Her peaches-and-cream skin goes pale. “I didn’t know he would be here. He hates parties. When I told him I’d be coming tonight, he rolled his eyes at me.”
I raise my eyebrow at her. “He’s here because you’re here, Poppy.”
She blinks at me, and she furrows her eyebrows. “What?”
“You’re the reason he came. Don’t you know that?”
I smile at how adorably confused she looks right now.
She shakes her head. “No way.”
I tilt my head at her, the corner of my mouth hooking up in an amused smile. She really has no idea. It’s honestly kind of cute how naive she is.
“He’s full of shit. He’s still interested in you.”
She laughs like she doesn’t believe me. “We had a terrible breakup. Every time we’ve seen each other since then, we always end up arguing.”
“Typical douchebag behavior,” I say before taking a sip of beer. “He says he doesn’t want you, but he still wants to keep tabs on you. Still wants to hang around you and see what you’re up to.”
“How do you know that? You barely know him.”
“I’m a guy, Poppy. I’ve been around guys like him my whole life. I know how they operate.”
I think back to last week when Poppy and Brody were talking by the coffee shop at the student union, and I was sitting at a table nearby.
I could tell by the way he looked at her that he was still interested in her.
Which makes him the biggest dickhead on the planet, given the fact that he cheated on her.
He really thinks it’s okay to lust after her after treating her like crap?
I grit my teeth, pissed off that Poppy has to deal with this guy bothering her so much.
She sighs and looks down at the cup in her hand. She sets it on the table next to us. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. That definitely sounds like something Brody would do.”
When she looks up again, she makes an annoyed sound. “Now he’s staring at me like a creep.” She leans her head back against the wall we’re standing next to. “I just wish he’d leave.”
That pissed-off feeling inside of me morphs into determination. I grin down at her. “I can make that happen.”
She narrows her gaze at me. “No fighting, Nick. I told you I’m not cool with that.”
“I’m not going to fight him. I’m not going to say a word to him.”
“Then how are you going to get rid of him?
I lean down and hover my mouth over hers. Her hazel eyes turn to saucers before they fix on my mouth.
I set my drink down. Gently, I brush her sandy blonde hair out of her face, then hold her chin. I tilt her face up.
“By acting like a damn good fake boyfriend.”
With my other hand, I grip her waist and push her against the wall. I press against her, gently sandwiching her between my broad body and the wall.
She looks up at me. “What are you doing?”
I don’t answer her. Instead, I press my lips to the corner of her lush mouth. Her eyelids flutter, and she whimpers softly.
Well, fuck. That’s sexy as hell. Is that really all it takes to make this good girl whimper? Barely kissing the side of her mouth?
I lean back and take in the deep blush painting her full cheeks. Gently, I thumb her bottom lip.
“Is he looking?” I ask.
She looks over my shoulder and nods. “He’s pissed.”
“Good. He won’t be around for much longer.”
I lower my mouth back down and gently kiss the corner of her mouth again.
“Not on the lips,” she rasps with a shaky voice.
“Shhh, relax. I know your rules.”
I slide my mouth along her soft cheek and kiss the hinge of her jaw. She shivers under my lips, and her breathing kicks up. Against my chest, I feel her heart race.
I smile against her impossibly soft skin, intrigued. Poppy likes to be teased. Very, very interesting. And hot.
I look at her. Her eyes are closed, and she’s leaning her head back against the wall. Her chest heaves with the breath she takes. She’s breathing like she just ran a race.
A smug, satisfied feeling swoops through me as I grin. Poppy really, really likes it when I put my mouth on her body.
When she opens her eyes, they’re hazy. She’s so turned on right now.
“This is obscene,” she says.
I hold back a laugh. “Is it?”
“You’re groping me with your mouth against a wall in the middle of a crowded party.”
I can’t help but grin at the fiery flash in her eyes. She’s so damn defiant, even though she’s turned on.
I lower my face back down to hers and wiggle my eyebrows. “Come on now, Poppy. You’re acting like we’re having sex in front of everyone,” I tease. “We’re just a couple showing a little affection.”
I drop a whisper-soft kiss to the hinge of her jaw. She makes that whimpering noise again.
“Is that your spot, honey?”
She gasps softly when I gently scrape my teeth against her satin skin. “I…I…I think…maybe…”
I drag my mouth along the side of her neck. “How’s Brody boy doing?”
“Who?”
I chuckle softly against her shoulder. “Your ex. Is he still watching you?”
“Oh.” She swallows. Then looks over. “No. He’s leaving. He’s walking upstairs now.”
I lean back and grin at her. “Mission accomplished.”
She swallows again. I can’t help but stare, mesmerized by her delicate throat. The urge to run my tongue along her skin zooms through me, but I ignore it.
What I can’t ignore is how fun it is to tease Poppy. To see just how worked up she gets when I kiss her neck and throat and shoulder.
This is why I love hooking up with inexperienced girls from time to time. It’s so much fucking fun to see how easily they unravel, to be the guy that guides them as they explore what exactly turns them on.
Except you’re not actually with Poppy. You’re fake dating her.
Disappointment flashes through me. But a second later, I get an idea.
We don’t even need to do it. Her ex is gone now.
But I want to. Because I can tell that just his presence in this house makes her uncomfortable, and I want him as far away from her as possible.
But also because I want to keep teasing her, touching her, pretending she’s mine.
I hold her gaze. “You want him out of here. I can tell.”
She nods.
“Then let’s go upstairs and pretend to fuck.”