Page 20 of False Start

“You really think you have anything to say about my lang—”

“Take a deep breath,” he said, leaning into me, his forearm across the folded arms over my chest while his other arm wrapped around my upper back.

I closed my eyes, the image of us naked with his forearm over my throat while he fucked me mercilessly making me squeak in horny misery.

Take a deep breath, my ass.

Two vibrators tonight. Yeah, I said it. Use your imagination. The goal…to be walking funny when I started my shift in the morning. Not from the “rib” Mr. Fucking Manners was so convinced it was, but because I’d fucked myself ruthlessly with the best man-made dude parts my income at The Shipwreck could buy.

Before I could exhale, he snapped me back, probably not more than a few inches, but the click and searing pain tearing through me told me he either fixed it or he just broke me for good.

I couldn’t stop the grunt slipping from my lips. Fighting my urge to sink to the wood, I dropped my head forward, not even caring that it meant resting my forehead on his forearm. Would he notice if I just sunk my teeth into his flesh right now?

My eyes watered as his fingers probed my back again.

“Got it,” he said, finding the tender spot, only this time it didn’t make me jump when he pressed against it.

“Yeah, you think?”

“That’s going to be better. You’ll be sore for a while, but no more sharp pains.”

“This better not have ruined my orgasm plans.”

He choked out a laugh. Lowering his arm, he took a step back before cupping my elbows and guiding my hands off my shoulders. “Depends on your tolerance for pain and how ambitious you get. Your girlfriend doesn’t look particularly gentle.”

“My girlfriend?”

“Anarch-Eve,” he said as he unraveled his jacket.

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“You kissed her the other night,” he said, the arched brow of his silently calling bullshit. “Twice.”

“Observant of you to notice, but she’s not my girlfriend. She was, but that was a long time ago.”

He cocked his head and pierced me with his stare. “Not so sure about that if you’re still kissing her.”

I balled my fists at my sides but stopped short of stomping while sheer frustration rocketed through me, leaving a hot flush over my skin. “You’re not sure if I’m single after I just told you I was? Wow, you really are a pompous asshole, aren’t you?” And why did I care so much? Really? Did I need this guy to know I was single? No. I don’t.

Horny lies. All horny lies.

He shrugged off my assessment of his assholery. “I only meant maybe your business isn’t finish—”

I held up my hand to shut him up, but I did good and resisted the urge to smack him silly. “She’s my family. God, for a second I thought I saw signs of an actual human being in there. I almost thanked you, but now I’m back to wanting to knee you in the balls.”

And angry fuck you, but yeah, that will be my little secret.

“Good, our relationship is restored.”

“We don’t have a relationship.”

“I’m not your enemy,” he said quietly.

“Maybe not, but you sure as hell aren’t my friend.”

“Noted.” His mouth pressed into a thin, hard line and the muscle in his cheek jumped. He had so many things he wanted to say judging from his expression, but with the restraint of a saint, he didn’t let anything more slip past his lips. Turning away, he jogged down the first few steps to the lower parking lot.

“Is it true what they say about you?”

His hand locked on the railing, he stopped mid-step and glanced back at me over his shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. People decided what they believe a long time ago.”

I stepped to the edge of the stairs. “It matters to me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

He glanced away, his eyes shuttered, erecting a solid wall between the two of us. “Looks like it’s about to get busy in there,” he said, jutting his chin in the direction of two cars that had just rolled into the parking lot. “See you around, Mayhem.”

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