Page 13 of Lulu

I had to admit that Lana had a banging body. She was tall and slim, but with the kind of curves that satisfied a man. High, perky tits, shapely hips, and a luscious booty. And her legs went on forever, especially in those fucking stilettoes she knew I liked. Apparently, she wanted me to see something.

I squinted my eyes and froze.

What. The. Fuck.

My eyes darted back up to hers, taking in the satisfied smirk in her brown eyes.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” She’d gotten my name tattooed on her hip. Lana wasn’t the kind of woman to put ink on her body, and I half suspected that it wasn’t real, but if it was... “Why the hell would you do that?”

She just looked at me and blinked as if she didn’t understand why I was so enraged. Finally, it began to dawn on her that we weren’t on the same page as far as our non-existent relationship went. It was just like a woman to think that sex developed into something more meaningful, but Lana was the last woman I’d thought would ever fall into that category. She was too independent, too power-driven and sensible.

Or so I’d thought.

Had I missed the signs?

I needed to break ties with her immediately.

“Look, I don’t know what’s got into you, but you and me aren’t happening. I never gave you any indication that the sex we’ve been enjoying would turn into anything else.” I took her by the arm and turned her toward her car. “It was good while it lasted, but you need to move on.” I knew that I was being harsh with her, but a clinging woman freaked me the hell out. My motto had always been to nip it in the bud before it was too late.

I steered her to her car door.

“I don’t believe you!” she huffed, trying to dig her heels in. “I’ve given you a year of my life!”

If she thought that I wasn’t aware that she was seeing other men, she was mistaken. Why did she want to get her hooks into me all of a sudden? I opened the door and she turned to me.

“We’re good together!”

I met the determination in her eyes, recognizing the same bulldog tenacity she adopted when she was talking about one of her clients before a trial. Lana didn’t play to lose, and once she set her mind on something she was a piranha. Well, I wasn’t a pushover either, and I didn’t play, period. When it was over it was fucking over, and I didn’t look back.

Looking into her hard, conniving eyes, I growled, “Yeah, it was good.” I’d give her that, because it was the truth. “And it might have continued if things had remained the same. But you knew the score—"

“Did you really think that I’d be happy with just sex after putting out for a year? After a while a woman expects more from a man, Brody.”

I paused from trying to force her into her car and scowled down at her. I didn’t want to get physical with her. Maybe I could appeal to her common sense another way. “Have we ever gone on a date?”

“No.”

“Have I had you over for dinner?”

“No.”

“Have I ever given you any gifts?”

“No.”

“Have we ever done anything but meet up, fuck our brains out, and go our separate ways?”

“No.” She released a loud sigh, clearly getting angrier, and crossed her arms, her eyes shooting sparks in my direction. “You’re a bastard, you know that?”

She didn’t sound all that upset, but then this was Lana. In spite of our yearlong association, I knew a lot about her. I’d done my research. I couldn’t afford to bring people into my circle without doing a background check on them. She was a beautiful and classy woman all wrapped up in a cold shell of an exterior that suited her well in life. She didn’t do anything without a good reason, and for some reason she wanted to latch her claws into me.

I’d have to keep watch over her, because my gut warned me that she wasn’t going to give up. The cunning look in her eyes was enough to worry me. Jesus, I hoped she didn’t become a problem.

Because there was only one way I dealt with problems.

With a huff, she climbed into her car. “It’s a good thing that tattoo washes off!” She started the ignition. “I just wanted to see what your reaction would be.”

“Well, now you know,” I snarled. Had she thought having my name tattooed on her body would sway me into a commitment with her? Maybe I’d missed the signs that she wanted more.

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