Page 46 of Skin Deep

Did you eat this morning?

I sighed and rolled my eyes, though I was secretly glad he was checking in. Just seeing his text made me want to drop everything to go see him, even though I knew he was at work.

War

Protein shake.

Three little dots danced on the screen before another message appeared.

Pax

You better eat something more solid than that for lunch.

War

Will you punish me if I don’t?

Pax

It’s only a punishment if you don’t like it.

True, I thought.

War

I’ll eat.

Pax

Good boy.

I had to stop and take a deep breath to keep my stupid libido under control. It wasn’t fair that he could make me half hard with a text.

He had to have a lunch break. Maybe I could drive across town to meet him. I could pull him aside, get down on my knees for him. He’d be hot and sweaty, but I didn’t care. I’d care after, but that was later War’s problem.

My phone buzzed again in my hand, pulling me out of the fantasy I was sinking into.

Pax

How’s youre leg?

I sighed when he misspelledyour.

War

I’m fine. Stop fussing. I need to work.

Pax

Same. Miss you. Can’t wait to see you again.

I stared at the words on the screen and the kissing face emoji he sent after them, a strange feeling churning in my gut. This was going too well. He was being too good to me. As much as I enjoyed our time together, and the attention that he was giving me so freely, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’d seen it too many times. Either someone from my family would swoop in to interfere, or Pax would get cold feet and back out on me.

I had shared a part of myself with him the night before that no one else got to see. We were moving so fast, too fast maybe, but I was incapable of pumping the brakes with him. Pax and I were in a freefall, caught in each other’s orbit and waiting to crash.

BowenIvanskididn’tdomuch that first day. The house Xavier had tracked him to indeed belonged to ex-wife number three. I had to sit outside for over two hours once I arrived, waiting for them to finish fighting and then fucking with their blinds open. Gross.

When he left, he went straight to the ATM across from the Foxhole and then into the club.

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