Kennedy’s face was flushed, and it was obvious it had nothing to do with her less than graceful entrance. I smirked, and effortlessly started slipping into the role I’d been playing with Kennedy since we were both teenagers.

“Kennedy.” I ground her name out between my teeth. It sounded louder now that the room had grown quiet, save for the music thumping through the room. “This is a private party. You weren’t invited.”

Katie started kissing my neck, and rubbing my thigh. Kennedy’s eyes flicked to where Katie’s hand rested close to my crotch, and her brows furrowed. She fixed an angry glare on me, and straightened her stance. “I’ve been banging on the wall for over an hour, Dane. I’m trying to study, and your music is too loud.”

I took a slow drink, allowing the burn of the amber liquid to fuel the fire in my gut. “It’s a party, so if you need a quiet place to study, be a good girl and go to the library. Reid will show you out.”

That was my dismissal, and I expected Kennedy to shrink away and leave, without a response. But inside I was begging her to fight me, to take me on in this room full of people because it turned me on when she was fired up.

She stepped forward, and pointed a perfectly manicured finger at me. “I’ve tried to be nice. I’ve tried to tolerate your inconsideration, and your incessant need to be a dickhead, but I can’t do it anymore. So you can either turn the fucking music down, or I’ll do it myself.”

The indignation in her voice made my skin warm, and my blood hot. She had no idea what it did to me when she sparred with me. I lived for it.

“You’re boring me,” I said. “And you’re interrupting my guests. Now, do yourself a favor and stop embarrassing yourself. You know where the door is.”

Folding her arms across her chest, I thought that was it, but she proved me wrong. She spun on her heal, and walked over to where our stereo system was connected to our flat screen and gaming consoles. Kennedy gave me one last glance, filled with defiance and contempt, and then she grabbed as many cables as she could find. With a single wrench, the music was cut off, and the cables dropped to the floor.

“See, that wasn’t so hard. Keep it down.”

Kennedy walked out, and I waited five minutes before I pushed Katie away, and stormed out the door. Jade had given Reid a spare key, in case for emergencies, and I guess these were extenuating circumstances. I stepped into their apartment, shutting the door behind me quietly. The only light was coming from beneath Kennedy’s door, so I followed it, and without warning, grabbed Kennedy’s door handle and flung it open. It ricocheted off the adjoining wall, and the loud smack made Kennedy jump from the spot in front of her desk.

“Jesus.” She rested her hand on her chest. “What the hell is wrong with you, Dane? You scared me!”

My mouth tipped up into a smirk. “I figured I owed you.”

With a roll of her pretty green eyes, Kennedy turned away from me. “Typical. Trust you to do something this childish.”

I tucked the keys into my pocket, and crossed the floor, closing the distance between us. The plush carpet muted my footsteps, and when my front hit her back, she tensed.

“You have a lot of nerve,” I breathed against her neck, smiling when her skin broke out into goose bumps. “Showing up, interrupting my party, damaging my stereo.”

“I tried to ask nicely.” Her reply came as nothing more than a hoarse whisper, and it turned me on. “But you left me no choice.”

Grinning, I gripped her hip with my hand, kneading the exposed flesh between her tank top and shorts.

“You really know how to piss me off,” I murmured. “But what I don’t get is why you do it.”

“C’mon, Dane, you say that like I piss you off on purpose.”

Her breathing grew shallow when my lips touched the spot below her ear, and I watched as her hands clenched into fists on her desk. I had every intention of coming in here to punish her, but I knew I was only punishing myself. I was playing with fire, purposefully dangling her in front of me when I knew I couldn’t have her the way I wanted to.

“I think you do,” I replied. “You know what it does to me when you challenge me, when you take me on. You just have to be honest with yourself, and admit it.”

Kennedy spun around, and we were pressed so close that I could feel her nipples against my chest. Her aggravation was palpable, and I could feel it fighting with her poorly suppressed desire. Her body was strung tight, her muscles tense, and ready for a fight. She wanted me. She just had no idea how to deal with it.

“You’re so full of yourself,” she said. “You’re deluded if you think I’d waste a minute of my time trying to piss you off, like I’m one of your groupies vying for your attention. It’s quite sad actually. You think so highly of yourself, when you know I couldn’t care less.”

I leaned in, and fought the urge to grab her to me. She was testing every single one of my limits and she had no fucking clue.

“You care,” I replied. “I’ll show you, and I’ll make you pay for your little stunt tonight.”

She opened her mouth, a quick-witted retort on the tip of her tongue no doubt, but I crushed my mouth to hers before she could get it out. I’d been fantasizing about her sassy mouth for years, and I wasn’t sure if it was her conspicuous animosity towards me or my inability to restrain myself that pushed me over the edge. Either way, I was taking what I wanted with no intention of giving anything back. I was met with resistance, Kennedy’s mouth unwilling to open. She even shook her head, albeit a half-hearted attempt to get me to stop. The noticeable tension in her body seeped into mine, and I waited it out the only way I knew how – by pushing a little harder until the futility of her attempts to fight me off became clear. I knew the exact moment she yielded, and I couldn’t be less bothered that it had taken her so long. All I cared about was that she had.

My tongue dove in, tracing the contours of her hot mouth. She tasted like coffee, and mint, and the combination was surprisingly delectable. It took a moment for her to respond, but when she did the atmosphere shifted. The electrical pulse between our bodies surged through every part of my body, warming my blood, and making my heart jump wildly. Her delicate hands held onto my forearms, and moved up as I wrapped my arms around her trim waist. I lifted her up and placed her on the edge of her desk, stepping between her legs so that our hips were perfectly lined up.

Kennedy bit my bottom lip, and I groaned into her mouth, coaxing her to bite harder. I wanted it rough, and I got the distinct impression she did too.

“Dane.” My name left her mouth as a whimpered rebuff, but there was no way to stop me from taking this from her, or her from giving it to me.

“Don’t talk,” I said, my voice thick, and gruff against her soft lips.

“Demanding,” she breathed. I fought a smile. This beautiful woman – I no longer thought of her as a girl – was determined to push my buttons.

My hands tightened around her waist, and I squeezed, a silent directive to heed my warning. Like the smart girl she was, she listened, and her body molded to mine in implicit submission.

With deft fingers, I lifted her too-thin tank over the perfect globes that were her tits, and clutched them in my palms with a firm grasp. My dick jumped in my jeans, and I rocked my hips, pressing into her. I wanted to feel how wet she was, if she was as aroused as I was. With that thought in mind, I dropped a hand between her legs, and down the front of her shorts. My fingers slipped through her smooth skin, and found her soaked.

“Jesus,” I muttered. “You’re so fucking wet. Is that for me?”

“No,” she sighed.

I opened my eyes, and pulled away. “You’re lying.”

I pushed my fingers into her, loving the way her tight body sucked my fingers in. “You really,” – I curled my fingers up, and pressed – “shouldn’t” – I did it again, only harder – “do that.”