Page 17 of Tormented Bastard
Fish Out of Water
Eden
We rode in silence most of the way to town, the tension so thick I could hardly breathe. If I didn’t say something soon, I was going to word vomit something inappropriate.
“As a thank you for letting me stay, I’d like to make you dinner. Have any preferences?”
“I’ll eat anything that tastes good.” He glanced over at me for a moment before focusing back on the road, a wicked smile lifting one edge of his mouth. “You remember, right?”
I looked away, staring out the side window at the passing landscape. I had to clear my throat before I could speak. “I remember.”
Good Lord, did I. And it was something I needed to get out of my head. He’d always been an intense guy, and the orgasms he induced were no exception.
When I got back to New York, I needed to find a guy and get laid properly. But deep down, there was only one man that I wanted to cure this sudden case of horniness I seemed to be afflicted with. The only man that satisfied me every single time without fail. He sat less than two feet away from me in all his shirtless—I seriously hoped he’d cover up before we went into the store—handsome as sin, sexy devil, bastard glory.
“Doesn’t this thing have air?” I asked, my voice laced with irritation.
“The airison.”
I fanned my face then reached over to mess with the climate controls. But there were so many it looked like I was trying to land a damn jet. “Well, it’s like a sauna in here.”
He took his eyes off the road for a minute to reach over and turn the fan for my side of the cabin up. Cool air blew out, hitting my overheated skin. “Better?” he asked with that unnerving smile that said he knew exactly why I was suddenly on fire. And worse yet,whereI was on fire.
“Yes, thank you.”
When we came to a stop at one of the few traffic lights on the strip, he looked over at me, a brow raised. “You’re planning to drug me with dinner, aren’t you? So that I’ll say yes to your proposal?”
“Well, hell. You figured me out.” I threw my hands up. “Guess I’ll have to move to plan B.”
“Do I want to know what plan B is?”
It was my turn to give him a smirk that would put him on edge. “Nope. But if we want to make it back to your house any time soon, you’ll need to take your foot off the brake.” I gestured toward the windshield. “Green light.”
He drug his gaze from mine and stomped on the gas, making the truck lurch a bit. I rolled my lips inward to keep from laughing and looked out the window until we slowed to turn into the Island Grocery.
The parking lot was packed, and it appeared everyone on the island was making a last-minute run for groceries. Inside, there was a din of noise with all the people milling around, and it smelled of a combination of suntan lotion and cleaning products. We grabbed the last shopping cart available, and Chase—who’d finally put a shirt on—went left as I started to go right.
“Where are you going?”
“Beer cooler and meat department. You got the rest, right?”
He started to walk away, but I blocked him with the cart. “No, I don’t have the rest. You never told me what you wanted. How will I know what to get if I don’t know what you want?”
“Surprise me.”
Before I could respond, he sidestepped the cart and walked in the opposite direction of where I needed to go. My shoulders slumped, and I gripped the cart handle. I needed a list; I thrived on them. Chase knew this about me.
Infuriating jerk.
I blew out a breath, squared my shoulders, and pushed forward. “You can do this, Eden. You’re a professional business owner in New York. You can handle a single meal with your ex. Get over yourself,” I muttered.
The aisles were crowded, the shelves nearly empty, and a fight between two beehived bluehairs broke out in front of a toilet paper endcap. Not wanting to be anywhere near them when the rolls started flying, I took a left down the aisle next to me and grabbed a few things to put in my cart. I peeked around the endcap to see the plastic wrap of one of the packages rip and rolls of toilet paper drop to the floor.
“It’s a mess, isn’t it?”
I jumped and spun around. A beautiful, auburn-haired woman who looked as out of place as I felt stood behind me. The serene smile in the midst of the chaos was comforting. I nodded and blew out a breath. “Yeah. It’s a nightmare actually.”
She chuckled and looked around. “This is the busiest I’ve ever seen it in here. I tried like hell not to end up here, but”—she shrugged a slim shoulder—“kids always have other plans.”
