Page 18 of Bound by Vengeance
“Yeah. Emery and I got an apartment.”
She makes it seem so hard to talk to me, which I don’t quite understand, considering she used to talk my ear off all the time.
I don’t like this change in her.
“And workin’ again at that hair place?”
This time, her eyes come to me, fire breathing out of them. If she were a dragon, I’d be scorched. “Don’t you need to get back to your date?” The last word is clipped and tight. She’s jealous. At least that’s a start in the right direction.
“No date, Austyn.”
Her head jerks and a curl comes to her lips. “I can’t believe you came here with her then kissed me. Do you know how gross that is?”
I must admit, I’m loving her jealousness. Tells me she cares. That she gives a fuck. What I don’t want it to do is hurt her.
“She’s my cousin, and that’s some sick shit, Austyn.”
“Oh, so you do have standards,” she snaps, then turns back to the window.
I should feel a twinge of guilt for that, but I don’t. It’s my life and I live it the way I want. I want pussy, I get pussy. I want to ride, I ride. That’s how it is when you come from a household that has so much control over you that you can’t piss without someone knowing exactly where you are and the approximate time you’ll be back.
Control is all I have.
I laugh it off, hanging my arm out the window. “Yep. Even little ol’ me has standards. They aren’t the best, but I still got ’em.”
“You’re an asshole,” she grunts out, crossing her arms over her chest and pushing up her pert tits.
Damn, they’re beautiful. Images of my cock running between them come to mind, making my cock harden, pressing against the zipper of my jeans. Fuck.
“I know. Been called worse.” I huff out a breath and leave the joking aside for a moment, getting serious. “You’ve known me for years, and I get your assessment of me. I’ve never done anything to prove you wrong. Women come and women go, but not fuckin’ one has stayed.”
“Couldn’t get your hooks in her, huh?” A small smirk plays on her lips like she thinks she one-upped me. Too bad.
“More like I didn’t want my hooks in any of them. They weren’t fuckin’ worth it.”
Her eyes meet mine, her mouth going a bit slack. It only lasts a moment before she looks at the clock. “Oh, look, it’s been ten minutes. You need to go.”
Ignoring her, I ask, “How are you really? Are you sleeping?”
Austyn closes her eyes, giving me the answer. She doesn’t sleep much. She’s thinking about what happened. Fuck.
Her head falls to the headrest. “Some.”
“So, not really.”
“Depends on the night.”
I hate that she has this. Hate that I’m not there to help her through those nights, something else she’s not ready for yet. It’s on me to figure out how to change that.
“Eating?”
“What is this, four thousand questions?” she clips, irritation dripping from each word.
“I’ve only asked you three, Austyn.”
The tension in the car is thick. Not only with the lust that I have for this woman, but from her anger, frustration, and fear.
It’s all there, plain as day, like all her cards are laid out on the table.
