Cops & Robbers

Chapter Seventeen

He smiled at my greeting before making me completely uncomfortable by hugging me. I wasn’t exactly against hugging, but there are different types of hugs. There are the friendly haven’t-seen-you-in-a-long-time hugs and hugs filled with the sensuality of a lover. His hug was neither and it didn’t feel right.

“Hey Midget. Daniel.”

I stiffened in Daniel’s embrace at the smooth, but indifferent sound of Alex’s voice.

“Hey Alex,” Daniel returned without loosening his hold on me.

With my discomfort increasing by the moment, I shimmied out of Daniel’s arms. I turned around to greet Alex, but he was already leaving the office to go into the living room. Daniel pulled on my hand when I went to go after Alex saying, “I still need to talk to you.”

Judging by look on his face, I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

“Maybe we could talk later?” I suggested. “Or never,” I added, but only to myself.

“It won’t take long mi amor.”

“Don’t call me that,” I replied coldly, completely confident that I would not like where the conversation was headed.

“But that’s just it. You are.”

“No, no, no,” I chanted.

“Adrienne,” he breathed.

“Daniel, please,” I pleaded.

“I love you. I couldn’t figure out why I was so pissed off whenever I couldn’t have you, and when I tried to hook up with some random girl at the club I realized I didn’t want the random girl. I wanted you.”

My stomach was starting to turn again and at the rate that I seemed to upset it lately, I’d be admitted to the hospital for an ulcer.

“Tell me you don’t feel it. That your stomach doesn’t clench when I touch you like this.”

His hands trailed down my back and back up my side until they rested lightly on my neck. He kissed my jaw and the side of my mouth before I backed away.

“Daniel,” I hedged, “You don’t love me. You think you love me, but you don’t.”

He frowned at me like I had just replied to him in another language.

“But I do.”

“But you don’t.”

“Not all men are bad Adrienne.” His voice had taken on a sincere tone that made my head hurt. “I can prove it to you.”

“Daniel, can we finish this later? I just need time to think about all this.”

He gave me a happy smile that said he didn’t realize that the only reason I needed time to think was because I was trying to come up with a decent way to turn him down despite his persistence.

“Okay,” he nodded.

I made a bee line for the living room and spotted Alex sitting on the couch with his eyes closed. He was sitting on the right side with very little room between him and the armrest, but I didn’t care. I practically sat on top of him in my attempt to fit between him and the armrest, because I’d have rather been in his bubble than sitting next to Daniel.

“Is this the part where you tell me the ‘good news’ and I give you an insincere congratulations?” He asked drily. Alex finally opened his eyes to look at me and changed his mind. “Nevermind. I see you balk at commitment even when it’s not me.”

My stomach and head were already hurting from Daniel’s horrifying confession, but Alex’s cutting tone stole my breath away and not in a good way. He looked like he regretted it the moment he said it and it was on the tip of my tongue to say, “That makes two of us.”