“Adrian looked away from me and down to where my hand covered his. I blushed and pulled away. “Sorry” I’d probably freaked him out”

“There. Now as long as I have my arm, I’ll remember to stay away from Livia McHugh.He rolled down the sleeve on his filthy shirt, covering the bloody, freshly tattooed word: Sorry.”

“What the—” This time when I snapped away from him, he let me go. I stared down at his dick, at his torn jeans, and managed to put two and two together. “Oh…”Riley groaned and glanced away from me. “Sorry,” he mumbled, covering his eyes with his hand. “Usually good at controlling myself, but not with you.” His shoulders hunched as the blush all over his body deepened. “I don't have any control when it comes to you.”Not shyness—embarrassment.His other hand began to tap a familiar rhythm against the couch as he kept his gaze averted from me. “Superstrength is such a drag, ya know? Had to replace half my furniture. Just fucked up your wall. And…this. Comic books never talked about how those guys handled hard-ons.”

“I pictured Phillip in the tree. How his arm stayed stretched out, his hand empty, long after my dad pulled me away.”

“Stay away from me, Nick." She held out a hand to hold him off. He grabbed her arm and pulled her against his chest. "I can't," he said softly.”

“I shift from one foot to the other, trying to get a good look at him. When I finally do, I look away. His eyes were already on me, probably drawn by my nervous movement.”