Page 72 of Better Late Than Never

I jerked out from under his hand and put some more space between us. “You don’t know anything except that you’re not getting me anymore.”

“You say that,” he said dismissively. “But we both know you’ll be back at my door once your new piece of ass gets tired of your bullshit.”

Anger flared behind my ribs, but I fought to keep it out of his sight. Okay, the gray rock approach wasn’t working. Time for the direct one.

“Why do you even want me?” I shrugged as flippantly as I could. “You know I’m not interested and I can’t fucking stand you.” I looked him dead in the eyes. “What do you want out of this? Hate sex? Or do you have a newly developed humiliation kink and you enjoy listening to me tell you no?”

Tobias worked his jaw and narrowed his eyes. “You can act like you don’t want me, but we both know you do.” He gave a quiet, ugly laugh. “You know you like what I do to you.”

It was a struggle to hold on to my poker face. I hated that he’d been so right for so long. But hewasn’tright anymore. “I liked it then. I’m not interested now.”

“Yeah? So who are you screwing?”

I barked a laugh. “What makes you think it’s any of your business?”

“What’s making you so secretive about it? Because you happily threw your Spanish Marine fuck buddy in my face.”

I shrugged again. “Maybe making you jealous just isn’t entertaining anymore.”

He rolled his eyes. “Come on. You’re hiding something. And you’re never at your apartment anymore, so I know you’re?—”

“What the fuck do you mean, I’m never at my apartment anymore?” I stepped closer, gritting my teeth. “Didn’t I tell you to stop coming around? Have you been stalking me?”

“Stalking you?” He gave a condescending laugh and showed his palms. “It’s just an observation, Alex. Relax. And I can come to Chipiona any time I want.” He half-shrugged. “No reason I can’t swing by in case you want to get drilled, but you’re never there. You used to be a homebody except when you were off with that Marine.” He grinned, and my nails bit into my palms as I balled my fists at my sides. Sounding way too pleased with himself, he whispered, “So what’s the deal? Is he married or something? Is he?—”

“Who or what I’m doing is none of your fucking business,” I hissed.

His laugh made my insides shrivel. Fuck. I’d stepped right into his trap, hadn’t I? I’d played his games a million times, and I still fell for it.

“Have fun with him, Alex,” he said with a smirk. “Just remember, we both know you’ll be crawling back for my dick sooner or later.”

And then he was gone, strolling out of the aisle and leaving me there, slack-jawed beside the trash bags, wondering how the hell he’d gotten the best of me again.

I shouldn’t have even been surprised by his audacity or his brazen dickishness. I probably wasn’t really surprised; just pissed off and ready to punch something.

Swearing under my breath, I snatched a box of trash bags off the shelf, tossed it in my cart, and continued shopping. I didn’t know how much hope I had of finding anything else on my list—not even the stuff that had been in the exact same locations the whole time I’d been stationed here—but it was something to do besides stand there fuming.

The worst part was how afraid I was that he was right. That sooner or later, I’d be back in his bed, hating myself but surrendering to the reality that Tobias was the only one who didn’t eventually lose interest in me.

I wanted to believe I wouldn’t let that happen again. I’d already let him string me along once, to the point that I actually got caught up in things and wanted—for the first time in my adult life—more than sex. It had all been a game for him, though, and it would be again. Even if I inevitably stumbled over his tripwires, I couldn’t fall forthatshit again. I couldn’t let myself be drawn back into that snake pit of a relationship, whether we were just screwing or he was gaslighting me into thinking there was more.

God. Why did I ever sleep with him in the first place?

Eh. It wasn’t my proudest moment. I hadn’t liked him, but he’d been attractive and available, and I’d been horny, so I’d figured if nothing else, he’d shut up once the clothes came off.

Yeah. Not so much.

On the other hand, his bullshit was the reason I’d connected with Connor, so maybe I should be thanking him.

The thought almost made me laugh, which I doubted would’ve gone over well if Toby the Troglodyte had still been standing here. Though I was getting better at telling him off, I mostly wanted him to just leave, not storm away in a rage and then start aggressively pursuing me again. Though admittedly, the temptation was strong to catch up with him and say,“By the way, thanks for being a douchecanoe because warning somebody off you led to me getting some of the best sex of my life!”

I didn’t, and I wouldn’t. But ooh, boy, did I think about it.

And thatalmostdistracted me from how low and awful I felt after our encounter. Almost. As I continued shopping on numb autopilot, my heart sank deeper into my chest, my good mood a distant memory.

What if Tobias was right about me?

What if I did go crawling back to him after Connor got bored with me?

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