My eyes snapped from his pocket to his eyes to meet his twinkling blues with an incredulous look on my face.
He is not serious.
"I assure you, one tastes better than the other," he says innocently at my look of disbelief.
"You mean the candy?" I retort with a sassy tone, which he doesn't seem to like. He glares at me. "Looks like we forgot about yesterday and need a reminder."
I shake my head rapidly. "There is no need for a reminder. The damn kiss has been living rent-free in my head since yesterday," I blurted out without thinking my words through, and when it dawned on me what I had just said, my whole face felt as if they have been set on fire.
"Um...what I mean...you know," I stutter, trying to find the right words to save myself from this pit of embarrassment, but they all have deserted me.
"No need to save face. You are not the only one who can't stop thinking about this kiss," he purrs, his stare intensifying and lighting my insides on fire. "Your lips are the best I have ever tasted, and I want to kiss them again, but this time I will wait for you to ask."
His words leave my mouth dry, and my heart thundering in my chest. Is he always this blunt, or is it just something he reserves for me?
"Do you always say what you feel?" I ask curiously.
"Of course. I don't like games, and honesty is a virtue I appreciate in the people I associate with. I hate liars," he says with a snarl.
He looks like someone who has been hurt. I wanted to scoff at his words. Tempted to ask him about seven years ago. He claims he doesn't tell lies, but what about what he did to me five years ago? Did he magically forget?
"And your fiancée? What is she going to say about you kissing another woman?"
I asked the question to test him.
Let's see how his so-called honesty holds up in this situation. Last night, he cheated on his fiancée with me. Even though it was just a kiss, it is still something. Is he saying he told the blonde what happened? My head would be on fire if he did.
"I will ask her when next I see her," he says casually, taking the empty soup bowl to the kitchen and cleaning it.
I looked at him like he was insane. He is not seriously going to tell his crazy fiancée that he kissed me, is he?
The blonde will kill me.
"You are not seriously going to tell your crazy fiancée about last night, right?"
"I said that I like honesty, not that I am stupid. Honesty has its place. I will handle the situation between Melissa and me. It is not something for you to worry your pretty head about. Now drink your medicine."
I reach for the candy first, but he snatches it away. He shakes his finger at me while clicking his tongue. "Medication first."
I obeyed him, and he smiled at the face I made as the bitter medicine made its way down my throat. When I finished, I eagerly stared at him for my candy.
"So?" he asked, wiggling his brow at me.
I blush at his implication before pointing at the candy.
"Chicken," he mumbled, and I ignored him.
A few minutes later, he left my apartment, but not before giving me specific instructions. I must snap myself taking my medication when due and send it to him.
Daniel arrives at my apartment just as Ryan leaves, saying as he walks through the door. "Is that Ryan Blackwell I passed on the stairs?"
Unlike Ryan's calm entrance, Daniel's entrance into my house is like a whirlwind sweeping through. He looks messy, a cute mess, but Daniel has never looked organized since the day we met.
His dark brown hair looked like someone had run their fingers through it, giving that mop of hair on top of the front part of his head a gentle toss.
And his brown leather pants hug his firm gluteus like a second skin. Not that I am looking.
I followed behind him more gently, answering his question as we headed for the living room. I could see, as Ryan did, that he came bearing gifts.
"Yes," I answer vaguely, not adding any extra information.
Daniel dumps the bags in his hand on the floor of the living room, not caring where they land, and slumps down on the couch.
"Why is he here early? Did he fire you? And why are you not at work?" Daniel asked successively, his green eyes boring holes into my face.
I smile at his chaotic behavior. This is just like Daniel. Like a hurricane wind, blowing everywhere. I find comfort in his familiarity because, honestly, with Ryan, I am forever kept on my toes, not knowing what he will do next.
One moment, he is making me so mad that I want to kill him, and next, he is melting my heart with his words and actions that I want to kiss him.
Did kiss him.
I blush as I remember last night. I have never felt such passion before. Not even the first time we met.
Daniel coughs to pull me back to the present, and when I look at him, I find his green eyes twinkling at me with humor. "What were you thinking about?" He asked, wiggling his brow at me.
I schooled my expression blank, giving him a serious look, I answered. "Nowhere."
Daniel stares a little longer at me as if he were doubting my words, and then he relaxes back against the couch, his legs spread wide.
"So what is Mr. Arrogant Asshole doing here?"
Daniel has never hidden the fact that he hates Ryan, and the anger and sneer that laced his words made that obvious.
Anyways, though I understand Daniel's feelings toward Ryan, the man I met doesn't fit the arrogant bill. Although there are times when he sounds so confident that it borders on conceit, he is still one of the few down-to-earth men I have ever met.
Not that I will ever tell Daniel that. If he learns that my feelings are swaying, he would start to question my loyalty, which I don't. I am still very keen about our plans.
I know Ryan has changed, but he still has to pay for what he did to me. And the fact that he has never once mentioned the incident, instead choosing to act as if it never happened, makes me believe he hasn't changed that much.
"He brought me soup because I got sick this morning."
"Sick?" Daniel looks at me closer, and I guess that is when he actually saw my appearance. It didn't escape how different the two men are.
Ryan picked up my appearance the second he looked at me, while it took Daniel a while to notice.
If it is not about work, Daniel hardly notices anything.
"Yeah. I caught a cold last night." I narrate everything that happened last night, minus the unimportant details—the kiss, and when I finished, Daniel was gawking at me like I had discovered the cure to cancer.
"Wow! Well done, Lyra! I have to tell you, when you suggested going undercover in Dynasty, I was skeptical. I didn't think you could pull it off."
"Ryan is one guarded son of bitch. Hardly let's his guard down. And you are telling me he took you to his sister's house, where you saw her murdered husband?!"
Daniel looks like he is about to foam at the mouth. He looks so excited that I fear he will pass out.
"Tell me you were smart enough to have videoed the whole thing," he stared at me hopefully. I hate to dash his hopes, but unfortunately I do not have any evidence of what I witnessed last night. Like Ryan rightly said, it is my words against theirs.
I shake my head, looking down at the floor. I didn't want to see the disappointed look in Daniel's eyes. He has done a lot for me that I almost want our plans to work just for his sake.
"What!" Daniel stares at me with an incredulous expression as if puzzled by how I could have let such a golden opportunity pass.
"I am sorry, but Ryan took my phone before we went in," I explained, hoping he wouldn't think me stupid for letting Ryan take it away like a kid. But in my defence, Ryan is not an easy person to say no to, not when he wants something.
"Bastard!" Daniel spits with anger, flying to his feet. He begins to pace in my living room, while biting on the tip of his forefinger.
Daniel does this when he is thinking.
I wait patiently for him to finish. The little energy Ryan sparked inside me with his presence has been exhausted, and now I feel like going back to bed.
Or maybe it is the medication. I am actually feeling a little drowsy. I stifle a yawn.
"You are sure he was dead," Daniel asked, stopping his pacing to look at me.
I nod. "Ryan confirmed it. He called Tristan and asked him to deal with the body. We left them to it."
"So you didn't see what they did with the body?"
I shook my head.