Page 55 of The Dollhouse

Crystal glanced back at me, and I gave her a tiny nod as Carter once again slipped out of the room. Carter already told her what the plan was, though I instructed him not to tell her that this was all about Zoey. As far as Crystal was concerned, she simply thought I wanted to watch her and Lake go at it like animals. She didn’t need to know all of the details.

She turned her gaze back to Lake, who sat a bit too straight on the couch, suddenly. She moved to stand before him, cocking her hip, drawing attention to every curve on her body—and there were plenty. Her body was the kind of body that riled up most men, blemish and tattoo-free. Though my eyes roamed over her backside, I found myself wishing she was Zoey, wishing I saw that tattoo on her side.

“Do you want to know a secret, Lake?” Crystal whispered, her voice purring out, all seductive and enticing, like velvet on your ears. She took another step towards him, reaching behind her to untie the fabric holding back her tits. “I’ve always thought you were cute.” The fabric was untied, and she held it to her side for a moment, making a big show of dropping it to the floor as her tits hung free.

I’d seen her body naked plenty of times to know what she looked like standing there before him, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a type of smug satisfaction when I watched Lake’s gaze drop to those big, round tits.

“Uh, that’s nice,” Lake spoke, sounding horribly awkward and again making me question Zoey’s taste. “But what—” He leaned back when Crystal knelt over him, laying a finger on his lips to shush him.

“The only thing that matters right now is making sure you’re feeling good,” Crystal spoke, and though her back was to me, I bet she gave him a wily smile with those red lips. She dropped her finger from Lake’s mouth, trailing it down his chest.

Lake’s face turned red as a cherry. Literally. He blushed like I’d never seen another man blush—but, again, that was probably because he was a boy and not a man, like I’d said. “Crystal, it’s good to see you, but I don’t…” He tried to get up, but it was impossible with Crystal bending over him.

Within a moment, she had her hand between his legs, cupping his manhood, beginning to stroke it as she went to straddle him on the couch, thereby blocking him from getting up and storming out.

Eh, I doubted he would storm out. He’d trip and stumble more than anything else.

“Shh,” Crystal cooed, her bare chest in his face as she ground once against him, her hands now on his shoulders. “Just let me take good care of you.” She went to kiss him, and I was expecting that to be that.

After all, who could look at a beauty like Crystal and shoot her down? Granted, I wanted Zoey, but I knew the ways of men. I knew how people with cocks thought; half the time, that’s what they actually thought with, so it wasn’t difficult to imagine Lake giving in and letting Crystal do whatever it was she wanted to his body, thereby cementing what I knew deep down all along—he was not right for Zoey. Zoey was too good for him.

But, much to my horror, that’s not what happened.

Lake set both hands on Crystal’s shoulders, careful to avoid touching her bare tits, and he pushed her back, stunning her so much that he actually pushed her off his lap completely. “No,” he said, jumping to his feet before Crystal could go at him again. “No, this is… this is insane.” He glanced at me, no longer as red in the face as he was before. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Crystal’s eyes were wide as she glanced between us, not knowing what to do, obviously. She breathed hard, looking like she wanted to make like a deer in headlights and bolt. When I lifted a hand and flicked to the door, she took the hint, gathering up her top and slipping out as she worked to put it back on.

I did not stand, but I did give Lake a sneer. “What was that?” My head tilted, and I waited for him to repeat himself.

“You heard what I said,” Lake spoke, standing his ground before me.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

Lake waved his hands through the air, shaking his head softly. “You know what? I must be crazy to think that you’d realize how messed up this whole thing is. I mean, look at you. You clearly do whatever the hell you want when you want, and somehow you want Zoey. That’s what all this is about, isn’t it? You were trying to scare me off, or get me to… do whatever with Crystal, but you know what? Not everyone is like you. There are some good people out there, as hard as it might be for you to realize it.”

I glared at him, my hands itching to get around his throat. Strangulation wasn’t a favorite of mine, as it was usually too up close and personal for my tastes, but it would get the job done.

“When I like someone, I don’t sleep with someone else,” Lake added. “And, besides, if you know anything about Zoey, that’s exactly what her ex did to her. I don’t know about you, but her ex is not someone I want to be like.”

I did not appreciate being talked down to, so even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I got to my feet, towering over him since he was a good half a foot shorter than me. Whatever else he was going to say, he didn’t, so I opened my mouth to mutter, “She likes you. Until now, I couldn’t see why the fuck that would be.”

And, even though I really didn’t want it to be, it was true. He might be no more than a boy who was barely a man, but he was not as weak as I thought he was. I stared down into the blue eyes of someone who was devoted to Zoey, even though he wasn’t with her.

How steadfast would he be if he was with her, officially? Would he do anything for her? Would he die for her?

Okay, that last one was unquestionably asking too much, but in time, I didn’t doubt it would be true. There was something in Zoey that inspired such feelings inside you; it seemed we were all helpless when it came to that one.

“You’re loyal, I’ll give you that,” I spoke. The frown I wore right now was mostly to myself; this was not at all how I imagined this going, and now I had to face the fact that this Lake wasn’t going anywhere.

“Uh… thank you?” Lake sounded unsure, which only caused my scowl to deepen.

“I will let you remain in her life, for now,” I said, breathing out evenly, knowing I appeared as intimidating as ever. “But know this: if you fuck up even a little, I will have Carter drag you before me, force you to get on your knees, and end your pitiful life.”

He made a nervous sound, his awkwardness knowing no bounds. “I don’t know how to respond to that.”

“Don’t,” I advised. “Get out of here instead and think about how you’re going to apologize to Zoey for ghosting her.”

“I wasn’t—” When he was undoubtedly about to tell me he wasn’t ghosting her, I cocked a brow, which caused him to stop immediately. Lake gave me a quick nod, taking a step away from me, and then he bolted toward the door, leaving, out of my sight not nearly soon enough.

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