Page 23 of PET

I let out a small laugh, grinning over at her. “Get the fuck out of my room, Lacee.”

She rushes past Billie, shouldering her on her way out. Billie scoffs and throws Lacee the bird, and I can’t help but laugh louder at that one.

“What’s up, little hellfire?” I ask, playing it off with a smirk on my lips.

She doesn’t move besides her chest rising and falling like she’s about to have a fucking panic attack. I find her gaze and hold my breath when I see the unshed tears there, but it’s the anger and hurt that kicks me the hardest.

“Listen, Billie—”

“Shut the fuck up, Christian. I saw what I saw. You can shove your proposition up your ass.” She turns to leave, but I can’t have that.

Rushing after her, I run into the hallway and grab her around the waist and haul her tight to my chest. She flails and kicks, screaming at me to release her. I love when she fights me as much as she does. There’s nothing fucking hotter than a good chase.

“Chill the fuck out, Billie!” I snap, pulling her back into my bedroom before I kick the door shut behind us and toss her onto my bed.

She lands with a bounce, turning her hard glare on me. “You’re exactly who I thought you were,” she snarls out as she slides off of my bed.

“You don’t know shit,” I tell her as I step in her way.

With a huff, she glares up at me. “So, this proposition—your rules state no other guy can touch me, but you’re allowed to fuck whoever you want? Sounds fair,” she adds in a flat tone, shaking her head.

I grind my teeth hard, balling my fists at my side as I crack my neck. I’m going to pretend she didn’t just say that. What she needs is my fist in her red fucking locks, tugging her head back so she can look me dead in the eyes when I tell her to shut her fucking mouth. But I don’t do any of that.

“What the hell are you even doing here, Billie?” I ask, turning myself back into the asshole from last night—the one who kicked her out of my bedroom.

She lets out another huff, straightening her school-issued button up when her lips morph into a flat line. Okay, so she’s not going to tell me. This is the fun part.

I stretch and crack my neck again, maneuvering seductively until her eyes are skating over my bare chest. Her features soften the more she looks at me, probably forgetting why she’s upset with me in the first place. But then she whips her hard glare up at me.

“You can’t distract me with… with your… fuckery!” she rushes out, waving her hand in my general direction.

I snort, holding my tattooed arms wide open for her. “I’m not entirely sure what you mean, little hell—”

“Don’t call me that,” she demands, cutting me off.

Cocking a brow, I ask, “And why not? You seemed to like it yesterday when I had you—”

“Don’t fucking say that either. You can’t be all cute and sexy to get out of what I just walked into.”

“Yeah? And what do you think you just walked into?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

God, she’s fucking sexy as hell when she’s angry. Her green eyes somehow get brighter when she’s pissed. Maybe I’ll keep her mad. Everyone knows hate sex is the best. I don’t need her to love me for what I want from her anyway.

She licks her lips, parting them before she tells me softly, “You were, um, finishing up with Lacee…?”

Now I’m smiling like the goddamn Cheshire Cat, feeling victorious as fuck. “You think I fucked her.” It’s not a question.

Her throat bobs when she swallows hard, following me with her eyes as I circle her. This is becoming a habit. “I’m sure she’s had better,” she says so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.

My grin is back when I stop behind her, telling myself not to burst out laughing or yank her head back. Better? There’s nobody better than me.

“We can eradicate those thoughts if you let me fuck you right here, right now,” I say in a husky voice, watching her back stiffen. “Let me prove to you that you’ll never have better.”

She says nothing at first, but when I circle back to her front, she finds her voice again. It’s cute, really.

“You wish.”

I bite my bottom lip and look her up and down. “Yeah, little hellfire, I fucking do.”

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