Текст книги "Bend"
Автор книги: Alessandra Torre
Соавторы: Ella James,K. Bromberg
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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 41 страниц)
Chapter 3
“Hi, I’m Hope, and I’ll be your waitress.” Her voice was sweet and melodic, and I imagined it screaming my name. Her eyes scanned the table, a fake smile plastered on her face, but there was a flicker of recognition when her gaze landed on me.
Her breath hitched, pupils dilated, lips parting as I stared straight at her. The intense feelings that had taken all control at the church came surging back, and I gripped the edge of the table, jaw locked tight.
“Hello, Hope.”
Her eyes fluttered as I said her name, and she no longer seemed to be able to stand still.
“Umm, our s-specials today are the turkey melt, clam chowder, and two-dollar draft beer.” Her cheeks flushed. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
My cock got so hard, begging to be closer. What was it about her?
“You.” I couldn’t help myself. It was the truth.
Her eyes widened, and she nabbed her bottom lip between her teeth just as she’d done the other day.
Dex broke in, reminding us both where we were. “We have a tab going at the bar—can you get us a bucket of Dos Equis and some limes? That’d be great.”
She blinked and looked at Dex, who was trying not to laugh. “Right, will do. Are you r-ready to order?”
“Not yet.”
She stared, stuck for a moment. “Oh, okay, I’ll just… I’ll be back with the beer.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she walked away, and I almost launched out of my seat when she looked back at me.
“Wow. What the fuck was that?”
I turned back to Dex and flexed my hands into fists, attempting to keep myself in place. “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out for days.” I glanced back over at the bar where she collected our order.
“I’m beginning to believe your talk about deadly sins. You might die if you don’t get your cock in that girl!”
My jaw clenched. “Not funny, man. I’m two dick pulses away from finding her and fucking her right now.”
He held his hands up. “Sorry, sorry. You didn’t see it from my perspective, though. Talk about intense.”
“Let’s change the subject.”
“Okay… So, Monica?”
I twisted my head in an attempt to crack my neck. Even her name couldn’t subdue the fire. It only ignited another kind—hatred.
“She’s doing shit on purpose to piss me off. That boxing class isn’t the beginning, and I don’t see it being the end.”
Even his face dropped. “Yeah. She’s moved some of my clients as well. My girl is threatening my balls if I don’t start bringing in more money.”
An idea I’d been contemplating popped out of my mouth before I even thought about actually saying it. “If I leave, you’re coming with me, right?”
My sudden topic switch stopped him mid-sip. “You thinking about opening your own place?”
The beer arrived, but I didn’t even notice when someone brought it by because she didn’t deliver it. I downed the one I was working on, then popped the top off the next. It was half gone in seconds.
Dex didn’t say anything.
“Thinking. I can’t do it now, but when my mom’s better.”
He grinned. “You’re gonna decimate Monica, aren’t you?”
I finished off the second and pulled out a third. “Yup. I get a large portion of the money from those classes. If she thinks I’m just going to let her push me out, she’s very wrong.”
“You practically built that place. Hell, I was your client when you opened.”
I held my bottle up and smirked. “And look at you now.”
After the third one on an empty stomach, I started to feel good, and my muscles relaxed. That was when she returned—my siren.
She avoided me, looking at Dex instead as he ordered us an appetizer and pizza—the same thing we ate every time. The intense reaction I had to her crashed over me like it had never waned with her farther away. It crippled me. Every muscle tensed to keep me in place.
If she looked at me, there would be no way to stop myself.
From what?
That was the million-dollar question. All answers involved her skin against mine in some capacity—the more, the dirtier, the better.
Her hand shook as she scribbled our order, eyes looking down as they rotated toward me. She didn’t make it past the height of my chest before her lips parted and she stopped.
“The pizza will take about an hour, but I’ll get the appetizer out shortly.”
“Thank you, Hope.” My voice was harsh, thick, my dick twitching when she licked her lips.
I had something for her to lick. In fact, it had her name and hers alone on it.
The thought stopped me cold. Realization took hold, my fever for her burning me from inside.
She had to be the one to get me off. Only her touch, her lips, her pussy would do. Until then, I would continue down my maddening spiral into hell, lust consuming me until there was nothing left but a devil bent on taking her.
“You’re so fucked.”
I leaned forward and slammed my head against the table. “I think I need some air.”
“You need something, but air isn’t gonna help you.”
My eyes were glued to her as she moved around, noticing how she avoided looking in my direction. She recognized me from the church. Was she embarrassed?
Curiosity added to my already-insane attraction, and I wanted to know why.
Why was she avoiding me? Why did I need her so much? Why her?
Why couldn’t I stop wanting her?
By beer six, an appetizer, a passed hour, and my obsession avoiding me, I was pissed in both the British and American sense. I batted the newest empty bottle around the tabletop until Dex’s hand slapped down on it.
“We came here to drink, watch the game, and have a good time. Your moody, hyper sexed-up ass is fucking that up.”
“We also came to take a load off.”
“Not get a load off.”
I flipped him the bird. “Keep it up, and you aren’t coming with me. I’ll leave your ass with the bitch and the prissy boy.”
He smirked and passed me another beer. “Nah, you need me too much. I’m better looking.”
“Hell, no.”
“It’s true. The girls at the gym did a poll.” He flexed his muscles and grinned. Corn-fed Indiana farm boy with blond hair and blue eyes. Add in the body he spent too much time on and the tattoos, along with his ultra-friendly personality—he could be hotter than me. I’d never admit it to his ass though. It amazed me his girl put up with him.
“That’s because you’re always taking your shirt off and flirting with every female that walked in. Monica always got mad when I looked at another woman.”
“I still won.”
I shook my head. “I demand a recount.”
A shudder rippled through me right before Hope arrived at our table with our pizza in hand.
“She’ll settle this.” I pointed to her, shocking her enough to look up at me.
Her fucking doe eyes were a gut punch. I imagined them looking up at me with her mouth around my cock.
Dex shook his head. “Yeah, she’s not a good judge.”
“What?”
“Huh?” Her brow scrunched up, lost to the conversation I’d thrust her into.
Mmm, thrust.
My hips flexed, and I fought the incredible urge to touch her, to lean forward and lick her skin. Losing my inhibitions with her around was a bad combination.
Dex turned to her. “We’re having a debate on who’s hotter, but I already know who you’ll say.”
Her brow scrunched, and a clarity I hadn’t seen moved through her. “What does that mean?”
“Are you going to tell me you’d say me after the eye-humping that’s been going on between you two?”
Her mouth and eyes popped open as she stared at him. I wanted to give him shit for calling us out, but I’d become transfixed by her parted lips. The image of running my cock head against them before pushing into her hot mouth was squashed when she turned to me with an angry pout and attempted glare, then walked away.
“Thanks, man.”
He dished out a piece of pizza, grinning as he eyed it. “Truth is tough sometimes. Just seeing if your little obsession can handle it.”
I looked in the direction she went and sighed. “I don’t know if she can handle me.”
“There is that. You’re gonna have to fuck her before you can get to know her.”
I pulled a piece onto my plate and tossed some crushed red peppers on top. I sighed. “This didn’t turn out to be the relaxing night I’d hoped for.”
He tipped his head back and laughed. “That’s ’cause your dick isn’t being touched by that girl of yours.”
My brow furrowed. “She’s not mine.”
“Yet.” His smile fell, and he let out a hard breath. “In all seriousness, the chemistry is obvious. I wasn’t kidding about you fucking her before seeing if there’s something more permanent than the lust that’s pouring out of you.” He pulled the last beer out of the bucket and popped the top. “And instead of being the third bad thing to happen to you in such a short time, she could be the one good thing.”
Two questions went through my mind with his comments. Was he right about a good thing, and was I capable of handling all of that?
A half hour later, I patted my overly stuffed stomach and had a nice buzz going on. I texted Cassie to pick me up in about thirty minutes. There was no way I was going to attempt to drive. I knew my limit, and I hit it two beers and four pieces of deep-dish pizza ago.
Hope remained scarce while we ate, and refused to even look at us when she dropped off the check. I blamed Dex for embarrassing her.
When she reached for my credit card, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward me to whisper in her ear. “I’ll be back for you.”
A blush spread on her face as she looked at me. She licked her lips as she pulled away.
I continued to stare at her, my body buzzing. “I am so fucked.”
Chapter 4
The morning after seeing Hope at Union Jack’s, I awoke just after eight with a small hangover and dried jizz all over my skin and clothes. The memory of masturbating while thinking about her was clear, but I must have fallen right to sleep after I came.
After a shower, I headed downstairs. Cassie and Mom were playing cards on the dining room table. I smiled, happy to see Mom looking perkier than she had over the last few days.
“Morning.” Cassie smirked at me.
The devious tone in her voice set me on edge, and I narrowed my gaze at her before grunting in return. I poured a cup of coffee and grabbed a protein bar, then headed in to join the girls. Mom looked up at me, and I kissed her head as I walked around the table, making sure to ruffle up Cassie’s hair as I moved to take a seat.
Cassie slapped at my hand, scowling up at me. “Be nice. I left my warm, comfy bed to come pick your drunk ass up last night.”
“It wasn’t that late.” I peeked at the scorecard. The cards told me 500 Rummy, and the paper told me Mom was winning.
Go, Mom.
“No, but I was snuggled in bed with my husband.”
“Oh, you were gettin’ it on.”
She shook her head while Mom’s chuckle danced around the room. “So, you going to tell me about this girl?”
My brow scrunched up. “What girl?”
She rolled her eyes and set down a row of cards before discarding. “I had the unfortunate sight of a bulge in your pants when you got in the car.” She made a yacking sound.
“Hmm, that. Well…it’s complicated.”
“Good to know your equipment still works.” Mom didn’t even look up from her cards as she muttered under her breath.
Cassie and I turned to her with what had to be matching looks of horror on our faces.
“Eww!”
“I…I don’t know what to say to that, Mom. What the hell?”
She shrugged and laid down some cards, ending the hand. “Well, with what happened with Monica, I wondered if she might’ve given you something that made your wiener fall off.”
Cassie howled with laughter, banging her hand on the table and giving no care to the fact that she’d just lost their game. I couldn’t stop staring at my mother, who smiled as she tallied up their scores.
“And on that note, I’m outta here.” Cassie slid her chair back and stood. She leaned over and punched my shoulder. “Tag.”
I nodded and took a sip of my coffee. “Thanks, Cass.”
She mussed up my hair, getting me back for earlier. I glared up at her. She was lucky I hadn’t done anything with it yet.
“Later, cranky.” She hugged Mom and kissed her cheek. “Darren and I will be over for dinner tomorrow night.”
“All right.”
She waved goodbye, and silence filled the room. Mom looked around the room for something to do.
“You up for another game?” I motioned to the cards.
She smiled and began shuffling. Guess I had my answer.
–oOo–
Thirty-six hours after seeing her, I still had Hope on the brain. It was accentuated by the three-mile trek back to the parking lot to get my truck. Luckily, Dex checked for me, and it was still there and not towed.
I spent the entire day before with Mom, and completely forgot to have Cassie drop me off on her way to work. After all, her store was a block down Broad Ripple Avenue from Union Jack’s.
My attempt at running the distance was squashed by my hard dick trying to bounce around in my shorts. I should have put on some compression shorts instead of the boxer-briefs I wore. Hindsight was supposed to be twenty-twenty, but all I saw was Hope. I couldn’t stop—thinking about her, wanting her, needing her, and desiring her. It was too much. I knew where to find her, and I planned to see her again.
As I passed my sister’s shop, I banged on the window and stuck my tongue out at her, scaring some of her customers and their furry companions. She screamed “hoodlum” at me, but I pretended not to hear as I continued on.
I thought about going straight to my truck and getting to the gym, but I wanted to see her. When I stepped into Union Jack’s, the hostess perked up, staring a little too hard at me. Her appreciation of me could be used to my advantage.
“Hi, how many?”
I smiled at her. “One in Hope’s section, please.”
Her posture dropped, and she lost the vibrancy she’d shown when I entered. “Hope’s not in today.”
“Do you know when she’s working next?”
She shook her head. “I’m not allowed to say.”
I leaned forward, giving her a good view of my arms. “What’s your name?”
“Adriane.”
“Adriane.” Her name rolled off my tongue, and she shuddered, giving the effect I wanted. “Adriane, it would mean a lot to me if you told me when she’ll be back. I promise I won’t tell anyone you told me. She was a really good waitress, and my friend and I were a bunch of drunk asses the other day. I wanted to apologize.”
She blinked at me. “Oh. Well…” She looked down at a piece of paper. “Looks like she’s scheduled tomorrow.”
I smiled and took her hand in mine. “Thank you.”
“Y-you’re welcome.”
I walked through the restaurant and out the back door to the parking lot and my awaiting truck. As I headed off, I formed a plan. Dex was right, as much as I hated to admit it—I had to fuck Hope, and soon. Only after, with a clear head, could I take her on a date. That was if she said yes.
I’d given up trying to figure out what was wrong with me, and gave in to the devil in me that wanted her flesh.
When I walked into the gym with a smile on my face, I felt good. The emotion swiftly vanished when I saw our receptionist and scheduler, Dawn, leaning over the front desk and whispering frantically with Aaron, our youngest trainer.
My neck tensed and my jaw clenched as I walked forward. Something was wrong. Dawn’s eyes widened when she looked up and saw me.
“H-hi, boss.”
I looked between her and Aaron—who looked so nervous he’d turned white.
“What is it?”
“Well, Monica had me come in today for a few clients.”
Dawn bit her bottom lip. “Andrew, Ashley, and Teri.”
I turned my neck, my whole body tensing up, my fingers curling up to a fist. “Those are my clients.” They both nodded, and Aaron turned pale. “Is she here?”
Dawn shook her head. “She’s off today.”
“Then she just caught a break, didn’t she?”
Aaron leaned forward. “Jared, I swear I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
I held my hand out to him, and he slipped his in mine for a shake. “You’re good, man. Calm down.”
“If he’d been Shone…” Dawn trailed off.
I nodded. “That’s a different story.” I reached out for the week’s schedule. It was all marked up, many spots with my name crossed off. The following day was the boxing class, and I tapped my finger over the event.
“Dawn, I hired you, and you’ve been a great employee. That being said, I have to ask you where your allegiance lies.”
She wasted no time responding. “Monica talks down to me like I’m a fucking incompetent toddler. She’s always telling me I need to lose weight because I represent the gym.”
Aaron’s eyes snapped to her figure, and he slowly looked up and down the length of her body. Kid had it bad for her.
I stared at her and shook my head. Dawn was petite, five-two and maybe weighed 110 pounds soaking wet. She was healthy and looked good. Her brown hair and brown eyes added to the girl-next-door look she had going on. Many of our female clients saw her and wanted to look like her. They didn’t want to be like Monica.
I let out a strained breath. “Don’t lose a damn pound. You look great, and it’s obvious Monica and I no longer see eye to eye on what this gym represents.” She smiled at me and played with the zipper on her hoodie. I turned to Aaron next. “How about you?”
“I know I’m still a newbie and all, but you took me under your wing. I’ve seen the underhanded shit she’s done to you.” He held out his fist. “I’m all yours.”
I bumped his offered fist and nodded. “Okay, good.” I looked back down at that damn boxing class. “Do you have the list of people signed up for the Thursday class?”
Dawn nodded. “Yeah. There are six people, and most of them are new members.”
“Call them all up and tell them it’s been cancelled for Thursday and moved to tonight.” I looked to Aaron. “You up to teach a class?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You’ve been taking my class and helping me for months. Plus, I’ve been watching you with your clients. Time for the next level. Besides, it’s a small class—you’ll do great.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll be able to help out if you need me, and we can talk this afternoon if you need any tips.” I looked back to the schedule. Dex would be in later, along with Alexa. She’d had more than one blowout with Monica in the past, so I knew she would be on my side. By some luck, Monica’s followers were all off for the afternoon as most of their clients were in the morning.
“We’ll be good today, but not a word can be said to Candice, Jordan, Mike, or Stacie.” They both nodded. I looked up at the clock above their heads. It was almost noon, and Andrew wouldn’t be in for about an hour. “I’ve got to do some things in the office.”
I flipped the schedule around and pushed it toward Dawn before walking around the desk.
“Boss?” Dawn stopped me, and I turned back to her. “I know it’s been rough for you lately, and I’m pretty sure you’ve been thinking about your future here. If you leave, will you take me with you? I like working for you, but I’d have to quit if you left and Monica took complete control.”
Her words gave me a pick-me-up, and I smiled at her. “Deal.”
“Me, too!”
I rolled my eyes as Aaron raised his hand. “Back to work.”
I closed the office door behind me and collapsed into my chair. It felt great to have the support of my employees, and Dawn’s admission along with the support of some of my other employees had me thinking more and more about opening a place on my own.
The gym may have been Monica’s idea, but it’d been my skill that got it off the ground and gave it four successful years. With us no longer together, our working relationship had gone from strained to bad. Our business was suffering because of it and had become a sinking ship in my mind.
Dex had a large client base that Monica was shifting to Shone, and her degrading remarks to Dawn pissed me off. Dawn was the one to find and set up our scheduling software. She kept us a well-oiled machine. Alexa was not only a trainer but a nutritionist as well, and she and Monica did not mix well. Add in an eager Aaron, who was great with every member I’d seen him come in contact with, and they made for a great team.
I flipped through my contacts and pulled up the numbers for my lawyer, and my friend, Dave, who was a commercial real estate agent. It wasn’t the right time for it, but it was the necessary time to get things moving. For my own mental health, I needed to separate from Monica completely.
Chapter 5
Aaron did a great job teaching the beginner’s boxing class. So well, in fact, a few of his students signed up for personal training with him. He seemed so excited.
The call with my lawyer went well, and he started the paperwork to separate me from Title Fitness. Luckily, we’d been talked into a Partnership Agreement when we opened up, something I was very thankful for as it was going to make what would’ve been a messy separation so much easier. However, I wasn’t happy when he told me it would take about ninety days for everything to settle and that he needed to meet with both of us.
In other words, I needed to get a new place very soon. There was bound to be a shit storm when Monica found out I planned on opening my own place with half our employees.
We had signed a five-year lease, and there were only ten months left on the contract. She could hop along by herself in that time.
For the first time in months, I felt pretty good, and nothing was going to knock me down—not even Monica’s persistent phone calls. My phone rang again on the drive to the gym, and for the fifth time in a row, I hit ignore. I knew she was pissed about the cancelled class. Two could play her little game.
As soon as I walked through the door, she was on me. “What did you do?”
“Why, sweet cheeks, whatever do you mean?”
Her face dropped at my condescending tone. I wasn’t the beaten-down man she saw a few days ago. I’d come back with a vengeance and a devilish streak.
“You’re a fucking asshole.”
“And you’re a fucking bitch.”
Her anger surged. “I set that class up for Shone.”
“Who doesn’t know shit about boxing. He knows what little he learned in my classes and the few attempts by you.” I leaned forward and glared at her. “He’s a gym rat, not a trainer.”
“He’s a great trainer.” Her jaw jutted forward.
I arched a brow at her and turned to Shone, folding my arms across my chest. “Where’s the sartorius muscle located?”
He gave me a blank stare. “Umm.” He looked to Monica for help. “It’s in the forearm, right here.” He gestured near his elbow.
“That’s the supinator or five other muscles in that area. The sartorius is the longest muscle on the body.” I drew a line with my finger down and around my thigh, then ended at the inside of my knee. “I figured it’d be pretty easy one to remember.” I shook my head and looked back at Monica. “Why’d you hire him?”
Her whole body tensed, vibrating from the force. “Shut up!”
“Shut up? That’s a terrible reason.”
She screeched and stomped off to our office, slamming the door. Objects crashed against the wall, breaking, and I was happy I’d gone through and taken any personal items and personal information home the prior day.
Dex walked up, complete shock written on his face. “Dude, what happened to you?”
I shrugged. “I gave in.”
“Gave in?”
“Gave up fighting everything. I’m going to have Hope and get Monica out of my life for good.”
“Have you talked to Hope? Did you fuck her?”
“No, but she works tonight.”
Dex slapped me on the back. “Good to see you again.”
I swung my arm to the side and punched his stomach. “Back to work.”
He rubbed his stomach and smiled. “Aye, aye, Capitano!”
I leaned against the front desk, smiling at Dawn. “Who’s on my hit list today?”
She reached out and gave me a high five. “Welcome back, boss.” She beamed at me. Was I really that far gone lately? “You’ve got Jason at two, followed by Sarah at three.”
I nodded. “Plenty of time for a workout. Thanks.” I patted the desk as I stepped away. “Yo, Dex!” His head popped up. “Workout?”
He gave me the thumbs-up and I moved to the locker room, a bit of a skip in my step that I didn’t even realize I’d been missing.
–oOo–
Cassie and her husband were keeping Mom company for the night, so I was in no rush to get home after my last client. It wasn’t a family dinner—those took place on Sundays—so I knew I wasn’t expected to be there.
I had someone to visit.
Still clad in my workout gear and my black t-shirt with the word “TRAINER” written across the back, I drove back to Union Jack’s to see the girl who made me crazy.
The hostess, Adriane, remembered me from the day before and sat me in Hope’s nearly empty section. I vibrated just knowing she was near. When she came out from behind the kitchen door, I shuddered and adjusted my hardening cock.
She stopped a few feet from the table and stared at me. “What are you doing here?”
I had to bite my tongue to keep from moaning at the view of her cleavage in her tank top. A ripple moved through every nerve in my body.
“I can’t have dinner and a drink?” I quirked my brow at her. Her movements were slow and cautious as she closed the last few feet. “Why are you acting so afraid of me?”
She slammed a napkin down on the table in front of me and glared. “What can I get you to drink?”
I smirked at her. “I’m not sure I can have what I want.”
She looked away, the buzzing heat between us increasing. “Dos Equis?”
I was pleasantly surprised that she remembered. “Water will do me for now.”
She backed up, nearly tripping on her own feet as she turned to head to the bar, an embarrassed blush flooding her face. She looked over at me a couple of times, and I stared straight at her. Last time, I was unprepared to see her again, but tonight, I was going to make sure she knew I wasn’t afraid of the intensity between us.
When she returned with my water and set the glass down, it slipped, tipping over and sloshing water onto the table. We both reached for it, and I barely managed to keep from touching her. The static current was still through the roof with how close we got. I couldn’t image how bad it would be when I actually got some skin-on-skin contact.
“Sorry.” She wiped away the spilled liquid with some napkins.
“Nothing to be sorry about, Hope.”
Her eyes fluttered as I said her name, eliciting the response I was going for. The muscles in her jaw tensed.
“Are you ready to order?”
“I’d like the spicy veggie wrap.”
“For your side?”
“Chips are fine.”
I handed her the menu, and she started to go, then stopped. “Why?”
I sighed, knowing exactly what she meant—the same thing I’d given up on asking. “Fuck if I know.”
She headed back into the kitchen, and I was left with a nearly empty area, nothing good on TV, and a water. Maybe I should’ve gotten the beer. Then again, the calories alone from the other night equated to about ten extra hours of cardio for my week. As much as I loved their pizza, I couldn’t handle it twice in one week.
I pulled out my phone, distracting myself from thoughts of touching her, of letting my cock loose on her. Anything to keep me in check. Puppies seemed like a nice, safe subject.
“Fuck.”
My eye twitched, recognizing the voice of my vapid ex immediately.
“Really, Jared? You didn’t ruin things enough today, so you had to fuck up my dinner tonight?”
The hostess sat them directly across the empty space from me. Shone walked in behind her, ever the lost puppy.
“I was here first. Ignore me, and both our dinners will remain intact.” I glared at her, hoping my death ray beams would work, but they were fresh out of laser gas.
Unfortunately, Hope was their waitress as well. I hated that she was subjected to their poison. As she placed a napkin on their table, it fluttered to the ground. Without thought, she turned around and leaned over, giving me full view of her fuckable tits.
I groaned and palmed my cock, pressing against the hard-on coming back like it’d never gone down when Monica entered the room. The sight killed me and ended way too soon, so I focused on her round ass and fucktastic curvy hips.
Yeah, maybe not such a good idea with the hell-bitch so close.
Once she got their drink order, she came back to check on me. “Refill?”
I licked my lips. “I can’t stop thinking about what I really want.”
She reached out and grabbed my glass. “And for now, that means water.”
I leaned out of the booth to watch her ass as she walked away. No reason to be shy about it.
“A chubby girl, Jared? Really?” the evil voice called out from across the room.
“She’s not chubby.” I turned to glare at her, teeth grinding together.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “She’s packing on a few extra pounds.”
I swiveled in the booth to face her. “Are you saying that because you’re a super-skinny, muscle-obsessed bitch, you can’t see the beauty and sexiness in a soft, healthy, curvy body? I remember back when we met—when you were human—you weren’t too far off from her.”
“I was never that bad.”
“No, you were never that good. She’s a fucking goddess.” I smirked at her and grabbed my dick. “Are you jealous that she can turn me on just by looking at her?”
Her gaze narrowed. “Shouldn’t you be home with your mommy?”
“Shouldn’t you be shutting your fucking trap before you piss me off any more?” I turned to Shone, who sat there with stupid written all over his face, staring at us. “Dude, her pussy isn’t worth the hassle—I should know.”
Monica jumped up, hissing, her face red and angry. “You wouldn’t know good pussy if it jumped on your dick.”
I remained staring at Shone, ignore her tantrum. “And how the fuck do you put up with her bitchitude? I mean, there’s got to be tons of dim-witted girls out there that would be a perfect match for you color of crayon.”
“Man, shut up. Stop pulling me into it.” Shone shook his head and looked at her. “Babe, sit down and ignore him.”
“You should listen to your pup.”
“He’s twenty-four, asshole!”
“And you’re thirty.”
“Shut the fuck up.” She snarled at me, shaking, and by the expression on Shone’s face, he had no idea.
“That’s your comeback?” I quirked my brow at her and then tipped my head back, a strained laugh coming from my chest. “Thank God there are only ten months left on the lease.”
And there it was—the first hint of what was going down. She’d find out next week anyway.
Her expression was priceless—wide-eyed horror. It shocked me to see, because she was smart. How could she not see the writing on the wall? We were done as business partners.
“You think I’m afraid of you?” Her hand shooed at me. “Crawl on back to your mommy’s house.”
I stood up and faced her full on, every muscle tight. I was ready to fucking hit her, and there was no one to hold me back or calm me down—though Shone stood, moving to stand between us.
