Page 115 of Destroying Everleigh

Everleigh

Can I wear normal clothes and just change wherever we’re going?

Asshole Landlord

No.

I clamped my eyes shut for a moment, willing myself to calm down. Rage was simmering beneath the surface of my skin, and I was half tempted to tell him to shove it. It wasn’t like I needed this house anymore. Tate, Emma, and apparently even Briley, weren’t staying here any longer. My mom was gone. There wasn’t really anything left for me here. I blew out a breath. But there was still the possibility that we’d need this place, at least until I could secure one under my name, and had a steady stream of income.

I made my way down the hall to the bathroom and fixed my makeup. My hair was a mess from my shower and was still kind of damp, so I just ran a brush through it a few times and calledit good. By the time we got to wherever the hell it was we were going, my hair would most likely be dry.

I grabbed my phone, tucking it in the pocket of my thin robe before making a beeline for the front door. My heart hammered wildly beneath my ribcage, unease trickling through my veins. The mere thought of what I was about to do had my stomach curling into knots. This wasn’t me. I didn’t sleep with people for materialistic items. But I didn’t have another option if I wanted to keep my house.

Once I made it outside, the cold air bit into my skin, making me shiver. A pair of headlights illuminated the driveway, bleeding across the overgrown yard. It wasn’t until I got closer to the vehicle that I realized it was a fucking Lamborghini. A dark blue one at that with black rims. He could affordthis, but couldn’t cut me any slack when it came to rent?

I jerked the passenger side door open and ducked to get in, pulling it closed behind me. He had the seat warmers on, which was a plus given the chilly weather. Dallas’s gaze roamed over me, that same bland look on his face that grated on my damn nerves.

“What?” I snapped. “Something wrong?”

His lips twitched ever so slightly that I could have imagined it happening at all. “Your hair. You could have done something with that.”

I scowled at him, annoyance punching through me. “This isn’t a date D-hole, and I told you I had a shitty day. If you wanted me to look more presentable, you should have given me that raincheck.”

This time, he opted to ignore me and peeled out of my driveway and onto the road. The drive was awkward and silent. Trees blurred by us as we moved at a speed that I’m sure was illegal. Either he was taking advantage of his fast vehicle, or he was in a hurry to get me alone.

My eyes fluttered closed the longer it took. Exhaustion seeped into every inch of my body. I wasn’t in the mood for this shit, and especially not with a stranger who made it his mission to be an asshole any chance he was given.

I must have ended up dozing off because when I opened my eyes, my head was discombobulated, and it took me a while to piece together where I was, or what was happening. Slowly, things started coming into focus. An arm was beneath my legs while another arm supported my upper body, carrying me bridal style. My heart lurched into my throat, and I frantically looked around. There was nothing but trees surrounding this place and a large wooden cabin sitting off in the distance with a porch light on. As beautiful as it looked on the outside, it also looked like a good place to be murdered.

I tensed up in his arms, my breath coming out quick and shallow.

“Relax,” he instructed. But it wasn’t comforting at all. In fact, he sounded annoyed by my inconvenient freak out.

“Fuck you,” I hissed.

He huffed a laugh—a laugh that I’ve never heard from him before. He was always so serious and dickish, acting like he had a stick permanently lodged up his ass. “That’s why you’re here.”

It took a moment for me to understand what he meant by that, but when it seeped into my mind, annoyance flooded my system again. His light blue eyes glistened as we approached the cabin, and I never noticed how intriguing they were until now.

When we reached the door, he set me on my feet. My knees were weak from the lack of use, and it made me wonder how long we’d been in the car for.

“Is this your house?” I asked as he worked to unlock the front door.

“No,” he replied simply.

I rolled my eyes, annoyed that he was being vague as hell and had no interest in helping me calm my nerves. The door finally creaked open, revealing a thick coat of darkness. Dallas led the way inside and flicked on the light, my lips parting in amazement as I took in the living room. It was much larger than I expected, with wooden floors, an open floor plan, and large floor to ceiling windows in the back near the kitchen area. A center island separated the living room from the kitchen and had a dining room off to the right with an average-size circular table.

There was a TV mounted above the fireplace, and a large leather sofa seated near the back. It was brown, much like the majority of the cabin seemed to be, but it fit.

Dallas closed the door behind him and moved to stand beside me. “Go into the bedroom, take off your robe, and lay on the bed. You’ll wait for me there.” He pointed to a hallway on the left side of the building. “Last door on your left.”

A lump formed in the back of my throat, my skin heating at how humiliating this felt. I was nothing but a whore—someone for him to sink his dick into whenever he felt like it.

“Why?” I asked, partially stalling, and partially because I knew he could get any girl he wanted without having to go to these lengths.

A crease formed between his brows. “Why what?”

“Why dothis?” I waved a hand around the room for emphasis. “You could easily get anyone you wanted. It doesn’t make sense.”