Chapter 4

~LEXI~

Enzo stared at me like I'd just grown a second head. The easy, teasing smirk from the kitchen was gone. Instead, his dark eyes narrowed, and a flicker of something—irritation?—crossed his face.

"Why Tyler?" he asked, voice low and tight. He uncrossed his arms, one hand gripping the doorframe hard enough that his knuckles whitened. "Why the hell do you like Tyler Brooks?"

Why did he have to say it like that? Like it was a sin to like someone like Tyler? Even though it was all a lie, it still bothered me that he acted like I was insane for liking someone like Tyler.

My cheeks burned instantly. I hadn't expected him to question it so directly. I scrambled for something, anything, that sounded believable.

"I. . .he's really nice," I lied, bending my fingers

together. "And he's always smiling at me during games. He's confident, you know? And tall. And. . .he has a great body from all the training. He is nice to look at."

Enzo's jaw ticked. He looked even more irritated, his broad chest rising and falling a little faster.

"Nice?" he repeated, almost scoffing. "That's it? Tyler's a cocky asshole who fucks anything with legs. You're telling me you want him?"

He also fucked anything with legs. Well. . .mostly the popular girls. Enzo had a type. And it definitely wasn't me.

I blushed harder, forcing myself to keep the lie going. "He's not like that with me. I think. . .I think he really sees me. Not just as the Moretti brothers' little sister. And I want my first time to be with someone who knows what they're doing. Someone on the team. That's why I need lessons. From you. You're the best at. . .everything."

The words felt clumsy coming out, but I hoped the flattery would help.

It didn't. Enzo's expression darkened, his full lips pressing into a thin line.

Why did that seem to make him angrier? I don't know what I was expecting from him but this was definitely not it.

"I can't do it, Lexi," he said flatly.

My heart dropped. I pouted, stepping closer even as my pulse raced. "Why not? Please, Enzo. I trust you more than anyone."

I did trust him. Too much.

He ran a hand through his curly hair, breathing harder now. "Because your brothers will have my fucking head if they find out I'm giving you sex lessons so you can go fuck Tyler Brooks. You're innocent, Lexi. Sweet. Protected. You should stay that way."

"I'm not a child!" I shot back, frustration and desire making my voice sharper than I intended. "I'm nineteen, turning twenty in a month. I'm old enough to fuck whoever I want. I don't need your lectures or your protection, Enzo."

He was breathing hard now, chest heaving, those dark eyes burning into me with an intensity I'd never seen directed at me before. Usually, around my brothers, Enzo was laid-back, always laughing, joking, the golden boy who never lost control. But right now? He looked like he was one second away from snapping.

"No," he growled, the word rough and final.

Then he shut the door in my face.

I stood there, gaping at the wood, my mouth open in shock. The click of the lock echoed in the hallway like a slap. My heart hammered wildly, a mix of humiliation, rejection, and something hotter, because for a moment there, I'd seen it. The crack in his control. The way his body had reacted to the idea of me with someone else.

He might have said no.

But his body, and those burning eyes, had said something very different.

I pressed my forehead against the cool door, whispering to myself, "This isn't over, Enzo Rivera. Not even close."

I would find a way to convince him to give me sex lessons. Enzo was protective. . .just like my brothers. He wouldn't want me throwing my life away for someone like Tyler.

I bit my lip. I think I knew what I needed to do to get him to come around.

I couldn't stop the smile.

Tomorrow. I would get him to agree. This plan would work. It had to.