Page 38 of Wild Side
As I yank the door open and stroll out into the darkened, narrow back hall to join the guys, I’m pondering who thinks tobring Wite-Out to a dive like this. No man is just wandering around with office supplies shoved in his back pocket.
“Hey, watch—” The voice hits me right as I crash into another body. On instinct, my arms shoot out, and I turn into a roll, taking the person with me as my back hits the wall.
I know I’m holding Tabitha before I look down. It’s in the way the pads of my fingers tingle and how she’s too short to even show up in my line of vision.
“Sorry,” I breathe, looking down into her startled, slightly glassy eyes.
“Are you? Or is this your big plan to take me out?” She makes no move to leave my grip. Instead, she inches closer, the peep of red paint on her toes butting up against my dorky fucking two-tone bowling shoes.
This woman. She never backs down. Every time she pushes me, I just want to push back. Too much pushing and we’re going to break something.
I drop one hand to her hip, meeting her challenge as I tug her closer. “You can stop making jokes about me killing you any time now. They’re getting old.”
She scoffs. “You know what’s getting old? You waltzing in here full of fucking opinions about me and my house and how much money I have and how qualified I am to take care of Milo—like you’re the anointed expert on all things ever in the history of the world.”
“Tabitha.”
She shoves me, hard. Both palms curl into my shirt as she presses my back against the wall with an alarming level of strength.
I wince, and she doesn’t miss it.
Before I get another word in, her hands have rushed down the front of my torso, gripped the hem of my gray T-shirt, and ripped it up to expose my stomach.
Her eyes scour me, and her lip curls when her gaze finds the welts on one side of my ribs. A forceful push into the turnbuckle caused the ropes to wrap around my back, leaving visible marks. Usually I’m not this banged up, but getting back into the swing of things after time off means selling it when I get my ass kicked in the ring. I can’t waltz straight into a title—I need to earn it.
Her palms stay flat, and warm, and distracting against my abs as she tears into me with renewed ferocity now that she’s seen the marks. “I’m done talking about me. Let’s talk aboutyou, Rhys. Let’s talk about the bruises. Let’s talk about the secrecy. Let’s talk about how the hell you’ve gotten to a place where you’ve convinced yourself you’d be such a great guardian for a three-year-old when you have the emotional intelligence of a rock and a penchant for something that is clearly violent. You are one big red flag, my friend. And I don’t think being raised by a full-time staff will fix the damage you’ll do to Milo by forcing him to grow up in whatever fucked-up porno gangland world you live in.”
Good god, this woman is infuriating. I should tell her, just spit it out. But I’ve had it go south before. First, I had foster parents who made contact, which was borderline heartwarming until they asked for money. And the last time I was brave enough to tell a friend, it became a running joke I had to grin and bear. It niggled at me—embarrassed me. And I don’t trust Tabitha not to take this little tidbit and use it to hit me where it hurts.
Not telling her just feels like self-preservation at this point.
So instead, I grip her waist with both my hands and flip us again. Now it’s my turn to push her up against a wall. “I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with me being a porn star. If you want to see me fuck someone, the bathroom is right there. Drag me in there right now, and you can watch in the mirror while I bend you over.”
Her plush, pink mouth pops open, but no words come out. We’re both panting, our breath mingling between us. Hers smells like lime and tequila, mine adding something sweet from the cola I left at my table.
Her lips fall together, then curve up into a confident smile. She sways a bit, and I can tell she’s extra uninhibited right now. Something that becomes clearer when she reaches forward and grabs my rock-hard dick. She squeezes, and I hiss, propping an arm on the wall above us as my head drops down over her.
“I knew it,” she whispers, tilting her face up to mine. “It must be exhausting walking around my house with a raging hard-on all the time.”
My hips thrust forward into her grip, pressing closer and trapping her hand between us. A shiver races down my spine, and a whimper spills from her mouth. She’s too late biting down on it, but that doesn’t stop me from watching the way her teeth sink into the pillowy flesh of her bottom lip.
She doesn’t miss a beat though. Taking full advantage with her free hand, she trails her fingers over my obliques and around to my back. “Poor little Rhys. I’d feel bad for you, except I take comfort in knowing you want something that you can’t have.” Her fingers squeeze harder around my cock—almost too hard. “It’s like how I want you to just”—squeeze—“go”—squeeze—“away”—squeeze.
Fuck. If she keeps this up, I’m going to blow in my pants.
In a desperate attempt to take back a shred of control, my hand shoots up, wrapping around her dainty throat. Gentle, but firm enough to keep her eyes on me. “That’s adorable, Tabby. Especially since we both know you’re lying. I’ve seen the way you stare at me. I bet you’re fucking soaked right now.”
She stares back at me defiantly, our chests heaving with exertion. Everything about her is ferocious. Commanding.Fucking hot as hell. If she weren’t so drunk, I would drag her into the bathroom and follow through.
But she is, so I step away. Only for her to taunt me with a smug tip of her lips and a parting shot. “Too bad you’ll never get a chance to find out.”
It’s just as well. I have a feeling we’d hate-fuck this entire building to the ground. And truthfully, I don’t really want Tabitha to hate me. I wish she didn’t.
Plus, my flight out is tomorrow, and I suspect if I go that far with her, I won’t want to leave at all.
So instead, I turn around. Go back into the bathroom. Lock the door behind me. And fist my cock while imagining being inside Tabitha Garrison.
Just to take the edge off.
