Page 141 of Bona Fide

“What do you want, Lockwood?” I might as well just shut up because his name is a breathy, lustful gathering of shit I didn’t want to sound like.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Um, no. Hence why I’m fucking asking.

“You.” The scoff that freely leaks from my lips is a mask of confidence.

I’m not talking about what I did. It’s bad enough that I let things go too long with Jed. He was a soft heart, a hopeful romantic, I know all of this. Except I needed him to fill a void when I was in Connecticut that wasn’t Wade and his last name signed as Lockwood.

Jed was my pawn, my escape, the man I was going to hurt again, and he refuses to see the telltale signs that I lay out for him. I know my next step, just blurting it out, but I wanted to remain friends. I still wanted something in my life that was home and not memories caked in heartache and bitterness.

“I’m not for sale,” I bite out.

“Who said anything about buying? I already know you give out for free when the Hardison’s are around. Who knows—” My palms find his chest, and I shove him back as hard as I can. He goes backward, but I go with him, his braced fingers still gripping my dress.

“Still so angry,” he croons, brushing the back of his hand over my cheek. “I have a solution for that.” He can’t see me that well in the dark, but I hit him with a glare.

“What, your dick?”

“I’ve outgrown you and, no. I want your truth.”

“My what?” He backs me into the wall again, tightly grasping my chin and taking my bottom lip between his. His teeth bite down into my tender flesh as he tugs my mouth wider, just to slide his tongue inside.

His scent fills my nostrils as it takes everything in me to suppress a moan of pleasure. To reach out and stroke his cock because I want him.

I. Will. Always. Want. Him.

And I hate myself for it.

Hate my body for it.

It betrayed me a long time ago as Wade did some conspiracy theory that I’m still trying to solve and decipher.

My pussy clenches in need, begging for him to touch it. For his large hands to trail from my ribs and give me some sort of release so that I can be rid of some of the animosity in my body and brain.

A sharp inhale sounds between us and it’s his—remembering. Recalling how I taste and melt into him. His cock stirs against my lower abdomen, mocking my hands to leave the wall.

I won’t—I miss him, but I need to keep myself grounded and focused.

Before I can even argue with myself to just let go and give in, he breaks our kiss, his staggered exhale mixed with mine. Frazzled, turned on, and wanting more—just like me.

“You’re exactly the same,” he whispers. “But not.”

“Leave me...alone,” I mutter.

“Why?”

“Because...”

“Because you’ve found someone new.” There is no animosity in his words, which surprises me. And even more so, his thumb grazes my jawline in affection or remembrance.

“I haven’t spoken to you in over a year. I’m not—”

“Not only did I have to watch you fuck twomen a long time ago,” he proceeds flatly. “But you want to make it a thingapparently. If you were looking for praise on your performance, Miss Shelton, I’d be more than happy to write you a letter of recommendation on how weak your moans were and how limp you looked in Jed’s arms. Maybe the hot tub video was a sequel for me but—” I yank my face out of his palms.

“What are you talking about? Why do you keep mentioning them?”

“Was he that easy to forget?”

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