Page 85 of Romeo

“You keep thinkin’ that.”

She swallowed hard enough it was noticeable.Yeah, another sign he shouldn’t let it go no matter what she said.

“Why are you so damn stubborn?” she hissed.

“No more than you,” he answered.

“I can’t burn any bridges, Romeo. This job could determine my future.”

He considered her whispered plea. What kind of man would he be if he let her continue to suffer? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he just let it go.

Was he benefitting from whatever was going on? Of fucking course he was. It also drove him goddamn crazy that he didn’t know what was causing that suffering. And even if he found a solution for her, it didn’t mean the sex had to stop.

“You gonna help me out with my injury or you gonna make me findsomeone else?”

“I came to you because I didn’t want anyone barging into my life. I didn’t think you’d give a shit.”

Normally, he wouldn’t. However, he was finding this situation far from normal for him. “Guess you were fuckin’ wrong. I give a shit.”

“Can you not?”

“No.”

“If I tell you what it is, will you leave?”

“Depends.”

“I need a guarantee.”

“Then, no.”

She blew out a breath, closed her eyes and shook her head. “You’re an asshole, Rome.”

“Yep. And if you think callin’ me an asshole’s gonna bother me, that’s one guarantee I can give you… It won’t.”

Chapter Twenty-One

No matterhow tempted she was to call or text Romeo to hook up again, she refrained. She figured it would create less drama if she used her vibrator instead. A couple of nights she met up with Zeke at The Iron Horse for a drink and a few games of pool.

She spent last weekend with Gabi having a “girls’ weekend,” too.

Unfortunately, despite trying to find an alternative, the only way to get Roger completely free from her mind after a bad day was getting naked with Romeo. But after what he pulled at Smith’s, it made her hesitate.

If possible, she needed to find a substitute. Someonenota biker. With plenty of hookup apps out there, the right man couldn’t be impossible to find, could it?

Since the apps could be risky, she wasn’t really keen on them, especially since she preferred her skin not be turned into a leather coat. Or her teeth into a necklace. Or to be buried without her limbs in some random spot out in a field.

But if she could find someone to have sexwith—someone who was good—without dying or becoming a sex slave, it could be an option.

When Romeo came in for his initial appointment, Maddie had escorted him back to the receptionist desk and Maribeth assigned him to another physical therapist. She refused to let him be so damn intrusive and if he insisted, he could crack open his wallet and continue the injury ruse with someone else.

She also made sure Maribeth assigned him to a man instead of a woman he could flirt with. For her, that made him sticking his nose where it didn’t belong all a little more palatable. She had a feeling Romeo would soon get sick of having appointments with Chuck, as well as watching his wallet get thinner and thinner.

When she wasn’t busy with a patient of her own, she watched Romeo and Chuck work together, knowing full well the biker was faking his injury.

She had to give the man credit for sticking with it for the last two weeks and, despite it being annoying, for being so damn dedicated to discovering her “problem.”

Luckily, since he only came in twice a week, she managed to avoid Roger every time Romeo was in the building. So far. But that wouldn’t last for long. She was damn sure he’d witness her boss’s bad behavior if the Knights’ president didn’t throw in the white towel soon.