Page 60 of Hell Hath No Fury
Lucky me.
Pierce 3. Sullivan 1.
CHAPTER TEN
Derrick
Audra closes the door and I turn to look at her. At least she's got some color back in her cheeks, and her fiery self is showing again. When she first woke up, I didn't recognize the woman in front of me. So meek and submissive. So un-Audra-like.
Audra walks over to the chair in the corner and takes a seat, curling her legs beneath her, and snuggling into the robe. Timid. That's the word.
"What's going on?" I ask.
She gives me a look. "What do you mean?"
"You're being very un-you."
"I'm not sure what that means," she replies.
"You do. You're being so… reticent. Not the usual ball of sass."
"Oh, well, let's see. I wake up in your bed, the three of you standing there so imposingly shirtless, making me breakfast, and on top of all that I was drugged and woke up in your shirt! Excuse me for being a bit out of sorts," she roars.
Now I grin. "There you are."
"Look, Mr. Pierce—"
"Derrick." She gives me a look. "We're out of the office, you're in my home, you're wearing my shirt and robe, I think you can call me Derrick."
She huffs. "Look, Derrick. We don't talk outside of the office. How would you really know who I am or what I'm like?"
I sit on the edge of the bed. "Because, Audra, I see you."
"You don't see jack, pal. You see what you want to see. You don't know me. Why am I here of all places? You could have found Levi and he would have taken care of me," she argues.
"Levi was engaged in some serious tongue-on-tongue action with some dude in the corner. Jamie and Shannon were more than a bit tipsy. That left me. Not that I was opposed," I admit.
She tilts her head. "What does that mean?"
"You're asking that an awful lot for someone who claims to know exactly who I am," I retort.
She huffs.
"It means, I was there. I was more than willing to help you and take care of you."
"Why?"
I shrug. She's seriously putting me on the line here. "Why not?"
"You could have just sent me off to the hospital. All my information is in my purse, which is right there." She points to the top of the dresser.
"I could have, but what kind of guy would that make me?" I question. Not just to her, but to myself.
"The same kind of guy you've always been, 007."
"As men have been explaining since the beginning of time, I hooked up. Simple. Easy. That's how it should have been, but there are always clingers who think they can find a way to keep a guy. That's up to the man, not the woman, to decide."
"Valid, on every point, but there are so many. Maybe you need a set of rules like Malcolm Kyle Logan Preston Saint, or a contract like Christian Grey."
