Going Wild (The Wild Ones Book 2)(30)

I roll my eyes as Liam’s hand falls away from my hair.

“I stalked her here all the way from LA, so I guess she takes pity on me, since I love those curls.”

Nila’s eyes finally turn to take him in, and they widen as she says, “Hibbida Hibbida.”

Don’t know what that means? No one does. She tends to mumble gibberish when she finds someone attractive and tries to speak to them.

“What?” Liam asks with a grin.

Her eyes widen more as she blushes and darts a panicked gaze at me. Since she came over here to mock me, I just grin, enjoying the moment. It’s always fun to remember Nila is just as human as the rest of us, since nothing else seems to faze her.

Penny joins us, smiling wildly as she saves Nila. “All the hearts of the non-Wild Ones just broke,” Penny says on a long, mock sigh, gesturing back at a few women who are watching us with annoyed eyes.

I shake my head, not correcting her, because I want the she-wolves at bay. Only the Wild Ones should howl. Yeah. I know that sounds lame, but I’m in a mood. Lame is all I have right now.

“Non-Wild Ones?” Liam asks, frowning as he looks back at me.

“Oh, don’t worry. I wasn’t saying Kylie doesn’t still want you,” Penny laughs.

When I give her the eye, she stops laughing immediately, catching on.

“Anyway,” she goes on, looking back over at him. “I meant the non-Wild Ones would never be brave enough to go after a man in challenge. But a Wild One…wouldn’t back down if they wanted something, right, Nila?”

She elbows Nila, who clears her throat and nods, turning five more shades of red. She has no clue what she’s even agreeing with. She’s just ready to get the hell out of here.

Penny flashes a grin at me again, and I try not to smile back. Wouldn’t want Liam’s head swelling.

“Good thing you’re all friends, though. Otherwise, life would be complicated,” Penny goes on.

Nila squeaks a sound, then curses under her breath, giving up the hope of speaking as Penny leaves.

Nila finishes filling up her cup, and Liam looks adorably confused.

The young Wilder bumps her hip with mine, glaring at me like she’s mad I didn’t warn her. I hold a very straight face, even as she silently tells me all the things she knows her mouth won’t.

Then she’s gone, and I silently laugh to myself.

“She’s a Wild One?” Liam asks, confused.

Nila, for all intents and purposes, looks anything but wild. Her hair is blonde and beautifully straight. It hangs down to her waist. And her dress is actually a really nice one, for a change.

She looks completely polished and put together, despite the fact we just went to war. She’s the kind of pretty that makes you instantly hate a girl, but then she’s also really awkward and adorable, so you hate her more for making you adore her. And at the same time, you sort of freaking love her too.

She’s complicated like that.

Usually, she goes for the whole Jane of the Jungle look just to scare the hell out of people—make them worry about just how wild the Wilders have gone. Then she’ll have spells where she gets tired of that and dresses normal.

“Yep,” I say with a frown, noticing how he’s staring after her. “And her brothers would kill you dead for looking at her like that.”

His lips turn back up in a grin that is taunting as he faces me again.

“I’m just confused by the gibberish she spoke. I’m only into girls with Shirley Temple curls, who stay covered in paint.”

I grimace, remembering that I am, in fact, covered in paint. How did I forget that?

My legs are dripping with green, yellow and red. For some reason, my dad never buys blue. My dress is basically ruined, but it’s not like I expected any less. I’m going to shoot Nila a few times and paint her up a little when that damn song comes back on.

That’s what she gets for being so annoyingly pretty and awkwardly sweet.

A warm hand cups my cheek, and my face is tilted back up so that I can stare into Liam’s eyes that are twinkling with humor. His thumb strokes across my bottom lip, and he studies me like he always did, constantly trying to unravel every twisted thread that is knotted up to form me.

“I’ve really missed you, Shirley,” he finally says.

And I decide I’m going to need something stronger than beer to numb all the reactions I have to him. Because I almost, almost drag the tall bastard down so I can kiss him again, ready to throw my heart into the grinder.

With Liam? I learned I can’t just have fun. I let him slip inside uncharted territory, occupying more of my heart than I realized…until I had to spend the last year trying to get over a guy who consumed me in less than a month.