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I wanted to stare Kaidan down, but when he turned to face irth of body beneath his face I eyed the layers of muscle in his arym these days? His already-toned belly now boasted a six-pack Muscles didn’t usually do it for me, but I had to admit his tall frame wore it well I sed and looked back up where he’d been patiently waiting for me to finish my perusal

I cleared my throat and crossed my arms

"Kope and I aren’t some Hollywood couple," I stated "We’re friends Just friends"

Kaidan’s jaw rocked side to side for aall your friends, then?"

Keep it together, I warned onna run in and grab a shohile you two talk" He took off

Kaidan and I held our blazing eye contact He was beyond pissed, which ry in my own defense

Without the comfort of Blake’s presence as a buffer, the silence stretched taut between us What could I say to uy he’d always been paranoid about The one guy who elicited his jealousy

"I never meant for it to happen, Kai We were--"

"I’d rather not hear the details, thanks" Kaidan walked to the open area of the thatched bungalow He took a beer out of the cooler and twisted off the cap, drinking Pushing aside thoughts about how great a cold beer would be right then, I host as I followed him around the deck, because he turned away as if I weren’t there "Listen to ave ain My stomach dropped

In that ht be lost to me Gone Because he’d never looked at me like that before

"Is this all because of Kope? You’re acting like" We both stopped when he turned tofor "

The ry hardness to sad softness, and I realized that’s exactly how he felt Betrayed Forgotten Even though he’d been the one who’d left Even though he’d told o for it He hadn’t meant any of it But that wasn’t my fault

He finished his beer and proceeded to flip the bottle in the air and catch it, drops of beer flying as it spun I wiped ht to be upset with me," I told hihed a dry laugh and threw the bottle higher "Words," he said

Sudden anger and a sense of injustice lashed through me

"Words are powerful, Kai, and so is a lack of words You wouldn’t even talk to me anymore I didn’t knohat to think! And then to hear you tell him that? Hoas I supposed to feel?"

He kept his eyes and attention on the bottle "Nothing I said could’ve pushed you into his arms if you didn’t want to be there"