Believe: (Intermix) (True Believers) (23 page)

“He got caught, didn’t he? That makes him stupid. Besides, any guy who would waste his time hooking up with a chick when he has
you
is an idiot.”

I smiled. “Thanks. Even if you are just saying that.”

But he shook his head as he peeled off his jacket. “I’m not just saying that. You’re beautiful, Kylie, and more than that, you’re sweet.”

I did like to think that I was nice. “I try to be a decent person. But it seems like that’s worked against me.”

“Don’t let one guy’s dickheadedness change who you are. Don’t let him ruin you. You’re attractive just the way you are.”

Confused, I wasn’t sure what to say. I knew he was just being nice, and I hated that it even mattered to me what anyone’s opinion was, but I felt needy. It had me seeking validation in a way I hadn’t since probably middle school. “You think I’m attractive?”

It was an embarrassing thing to ask. I wanted to choke myself for letting it slip out.

Darwin nodded though. “I find you very attractive. So attractive that I have to admit to being distracted the whole time I was tutoring you.”

A shiver inched up my spine. “You were not.” He hadn’t looked at all like he’d been undressing me with his eyes. But then again, maybe nerds were smart enough to hide it, unlike the douchebags I usually hung out with.

“Oh, yes, I was.” He was leaning against the wall, hands resting on his knees, and his expression was hooded. “I can tell you that you wear two necklaces—one is a cross, one is a heart with a ruby in the center. You have on a braided bracelet and if I had to guess, you are a 34C bra size. You have a tiny mole on your neck, you’re really fond of lip gloss, you always twirl your hair with your left hand, never your right, and you are a natural blond.”

Oh, my. A blush covered my face and it was partly from embarrassment and partly from a sudden arousal that caught me completely off guard. “How do you know I’m a natural blond?”

“You don’t have any exposed roots and your eyebrows are the same tone as your hair.”

Were all intelligent people this observant? Rory was the same way. Though Rory had never nailed my bra size. I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Is that creepy?” he asked. “I only told you to illustrate my point that I find you attractive.”

“It’s not creepy. It’s flattering.” It was. And he was very sweet to massage my damaged ego.

“Good. I want you to remember that, whenever you start to doubt that you had anything to do with Dickhead cheating on you. It was his problem, not yours.”

I felt like I should I give him a fee for the therapy. “Thanks, Darwin. I find you attractive too.”

He gave me a smile, the corner of his lip turning up in a way that made me focus on his mouth, made me wonder what it would feel like to have it on mine. I kind of really wanted him to kiss me, just to see.

“Now you’re just flattering me.”

“No.” I shook my head, feeling myself leaning closer toward him, without even intending to. “The first thing I noticed when I sat down next to you was how good you smell.”

His nostrils flared a little. “How I smell?”

“Yes. You smell masculine.”

“That’s evolution,” he told me. “A female instinctively responds to the scent of a male and she is subconsciously drawn to the specimen she thinks will ensure her progeny’s survival.”

Whatever. “I think it was more that you don’t smell like sweat or cologne.”

“It’s still the chemistry of attraction.”

He had shifted closer too and I could see that he had an erection. It hadn’t been there before, and now it was. Bam. The sight of it so clearly outlined beneath his jeans had me tingling in places I had thought no longer existed. I hadn’t had a single sexual urge at all since RAN and now a warm sensation was pooling between my thighs and spreading out to all my limbs. My nipples felt constrained in my bra. My 34C bra.

“Can you just show me instead of explaining it to me?” I asked, and I was shocked to hear the flirt, who I thought had taken a permanent vacation, return to my voice for the first time in four months. “I learn better hands-on.”

“With visual aids?”

I nodded, biting my bottom lip.

“Come here,” he urged, holding his hand out to me.

I did, crawling up between his legs, breathing in his scent, taking in his narrow lips, his eyes, so dark behind the lenses of his glasses. He reached out with his thumb and wiped the tears that were still lingering on my face in itchy, wet streaks.

Then he kissed me.

USA Today
bestselling author
Erin McCarthy
sold her first book in 2002 and has gone on to pen more than forty-eight novels and novellas in the paranormal, contemporary romance, and young adult genres. A RITA Award finalist and an American Library Association winner of the Reluctant Young Reader Award, Erin is a member of Romance Writers of America, Horror Writers Association, and Ohioana.