Page 49 of On a Fault Line

“How am I doing then?”

“You’re doing fine. It’s your mouth and your ass that are going to pay the debt.”

I give him another smirk and then saunter to the table that the girls chose, overlooking the river. I can feel Collins’s gaze burning into the back of my head. Good. He needs to know what it feels like to not get his way all the time.

He might own me in the confines of his home, but he doesn’t own me when I’m out in the wild. He just thinks he does.

I have free will and don’t need to determine at the moment if his threats are empty or not. That can be figured out later.

When the bell rings at the counter where we placed our order, Collins gets up and retrieves the prepared items, also grabbing us some napkins and silverware. Placing the pitcher of margaritas down in the center of the table and Claire’s virgin one down in front of her, I can already hear the mental groan he must be doing over our “bad choices.”

Whatevs.

He can deal with it.

I am tired of following some arbitrary rules that were never officially laid out in black and white in the contract.

So none of this is my fault if that man takes issue with how I’m handling today.

This is my life. I might as well start living it.

10

COLLINS

If Penny is trying to rile me up, it sure as hell is working. She has been hell-bent on proving some sort of point that I have yet to figure out. Ever since we walked out of my apartment today, she’s been different.

But so have I.

When we got to the Rose City Cafe earlier today, I got that same eerie feeling as I had the last time we attempted to dine there, and it’s only added to my shitty mood. It’s clear I’m being a jerk. Even I know that. But no matter how many times I try to convince myself that I can protect Penny from the evilness of this world, I’m starting to grow paranoid that maybe I can’t.

And that fucking terrifies me.

She’s getting to me, and it’ll be my emotions toward her that will get us all into trouble.

I need to keep a clear head. I need to remember my job. And I need to not allow lust to cloud my judgment.

Except wishful thinking is useless.

No matter how hard I try, Penny melts a layer off my heart that has been encased in ice for so many years. She’s different—special.

And being in public and around those we both care for has made it all become very real.

I’m falling for Penelope Josephine Hoffman, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it.

Except be fucking angry with the universe for giving me the most beautiful girl in existence and then making her be the one girl off-limits to me.

Even when Penny is irritated with what she probably thinks is a sudden mood swing on my part, she is still radiant and confident when she speaks to me.

I love her passion.

But it’s her innocence that makes me want to be the villain. And no matter how many times I can fuck her into exploding on my cock, she will always be the sweet girl that I can never corrupt.

She’s too pure of heart. And it’s that sweetness that causes me to go crazy at the thought of losing her.

As soon as we walked out of my apartment today, I felt the clock start ticking for the first time since we signed the contract.

We are finite. And finite things always have an end.

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