Chapter 13: Tips & Tricks
Rowena
If I was being honest, I was a little curious about what sort of flirting techniques Eric was going to share with me.
But why did he lock the door? And why was he so close?
With his body pressed against me, I could practically smell the pheromones coming off of him. He was squeezing me a little too tightly again as well. It seemed as though he had a habit of that lately.
Maybe he didn’t know his own strength; after all, he had gotten so much more muscular during his warrior training. Maybe his brain hadn’t caught up with it yet.
Gently pressing my hands against his chest, I pushed him away just enough so I could breathe and get a better look at him.
“What’s all this about?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. “You’re crushing me, Eric.”
“Can’t you tell? I’m trying to teach you how to flirt, Rowena.” As he spoke, his hands slid down my waist. His fingers pressed into the soft skin there, and an inexplicable shiver ran down my spine. “You’ve always been a little stiff in that regard.”
I swallowed. Finally, Eric pulled away and crossed over to the center of the room. “I’ll teach you some tricks,” he said matter–of–factly. He reached over, snapping my laptop shut. “What I can tell you is way better than whatever you found online.”
I folded my arms across my chest, my earlier breathlessness turning into curiosity and maybe even a little amusement.
“Enlighten me,” I said. “I’d like to improve, so I can win Adrian back.”
Something seemed to flash through Eric’s blue eyes again–something I couldn’t quite read— but he hid it quickly and cleared his throat.
“First, you seem too… desperate,” he began. “You’re always so excited whenever you get to talk to a guy. You have to act a little more aloof.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Aloof?”
Eric nodded. “Take Heather for example,” he said. “Whenever she’s talking to a guy, there’s always this air about her, as if she’s got somewhere better to be.”
I paused, thinking. Eric was right; Heather always seemed a little preoccupied whenever people talked to her, especially guys. She would check her watch a lot, or glance past them as if
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she was wasting her precious time. I had always thought that maybe she was just bad at time management, but it made so much more sense now.
“Go on.”
“You do still have to show interest if you want a guy’s attention, though,” he said. “If you act too detached, he’ll just think that you’re not thinking of him in that way.”
“But how can I act aloof and show interest at the same time?” I asked.
Eric smirked. “Try this. Walk toward me slowly, but not too slowly. And…” He paused, biting the inside of his cheek for a moment before continuing. “Play with the end of your hair.”
I nodded. Just like Eric said, I twisted a bit of hair around my finger and began walking toward him not too fast, but not too slow. For some reason, something about it made my hips swing naturally, as though I didn’t need to try.
I stopped in front of Eric a moment later. “Like that?”
Eric paused, then slipped his hand under my chin and lifted it to meet his gaze. “Look me in the eyes. That’s the most important part.”
For some reason, my cheeks flushed red when I met those brilliant blue eyes in the dim light of my bedroom. I felt my heart throb in my chest, and suddenly, the hair I had twisted between my fingers felt like a lifeline.
“A–Anything else?” I whispered.
“Tell me I look lonely,” Eric responded, his voice low and husky. He grabbed my free hand then, and pressed my fingers into his chest. “Touch me.”
I swallowed, feeling my face heat up, but did as he asked. After all, I wanted to improve–and I didn’t want him to keep teasing me for being so ‘wooden‘ all of the time.
“You look a little lonely,” I purred. Somehow, it came out without even really trying. My own velvety voice took me by surprise.
Eric’s eyes widened momentarily, as though he was taken aback. But then they narrowed, and he tilted his chin up at me, gazing at me through his long eyelashes.
“I was,” he muttered. “But not now.”
I didn’t know what else to say, but my fingers were still pressed into his firm chest. It was warm, and I could feel his heart beating through his shirt. My feet took a step forward of their own accord, and as I tilted my head back to look up at him, my curls fell effortlessly across my back.
I felt Eric’s hand come down and circle around my wrist then. He took a step closer, his
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breathing growing ragged.
There was something almost… hungry in his eyes.
But he was just playing. I knew he was.
He began stepping closer until our bodies were pressed against one another, but then he kept going even further. I felt myself begin to backpedal, my wrist still clamped in his broad hand.
Then, the backs of my legs pressed against the edge of the couch under his close proximity. I fell back onto the soft cushions, my eyes turning wide as I saw Eric’s broad form continue to advance on me.
“Eric,” I whispered as he began to lower himself down over me, his body blotting out the light, “what are you—”
But he didn’t stop. He pressed himself against me, his eyes flashing again like they did before. He still looked hungry.
And in that moment, flashes of the pool party flickered through my mind. Eric’s cold lips pressed against mine, the feeling of his arms around my damp, bare waist. Wearing nothing
but
my bra and panties…
He leaned down further, and now I could feel his hot breath tickling my ears.
“Tonight?” he murmured. His voice was low and magnetic. He was so close now that I could kiss him again. I couldn’t bear it; I had already lost my first kiss to my brother, only by accident.
This was too much; it was going too far. His point had been made, and now this was just over the top. Whatever this prank of his was, it was time for it to be over.
“Enough, Eric,” I finally said.
“Rowena…” He kept pressing forward. His chest became pressed so tightly to mine that I could feel his heart pounding against my own ribs, but my fingers were still tangled in his palm, held tight by his strong, warm grip.
No. It wasn’t nice for him’to pull a prank like this on me, especially after my heartbreak earlier today.
Finally, sharply smacking his chest with annoyance, I shoved him away. “Enough!” I demanded.
Eric froze, recognition flashing through his eyes. He quickly sat up, tangled in my legs, and ran a hand through his tousled blond hair. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I just wanted to teach you some tricks. I didn’t mean for it to make you uncomfortable.
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I huffed and sat up, smoothing down my hair and my shirt. At least I had learned how to flirt, but it had gone too far. I was starting to get tired of my brother’s teasing.
Just then, before I could gather myself enough to respond to Eric’s words, a voice came through the door. “Rowena?” The handle jiggled, but the door stayed locked tight.
“Coming, Mom.”
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