Page 40 of Lust

“Where is she?”

A frozen hardness stills his face. “How the fuck should I know? I just told you. She’s not in there!”

“So you broke in?” I hammer on the door, willing Rowena to come out. The thought of her in there, broken, somehow fills me with dread. I know what Felix is capable of when he’s sober. Drunk and as angry as he was last night, makes him downright dangerous.

He folds his arms and leans back on the doorframe, clearly irritated. “No.”

My heart is beating in double time and his vague answers are making this worse. He’s deriving some perverse pleasure from this situation. It's as if this is just another twisted game to him, and history has proven that Felix is a master at playing and winning these games.

With a growing sense of frustration, it becomes clear he’s not going to tell me what’s going on, so I pull the Hell Cell from my pocket and call Rowena. I let out a relieved breath when she picks up on the first ring.

“I’m having breakfast before the briefing,” she says, sounding remarkably chirpy. “Come join me if you like. We can both endure the porn pancakes and sexy syrup together.”

“Fuck!” I heave out in a rush. “I thought you were… I thought…” I glance up at Felix, who’s watching me with a mix of triumph and curiosity. I keep my eyes fixed on his as I speak. “Felix was in your room.”

“Was?” There’s a pause. “He’s gone?”

“You know?” I ask incredulously. I narrow my eyes in confusion as Felix pushes past me and steps onto the platform that’s still waiting. I jump on with him, much to his disgust.

“He was drunk,” Rowena explains. “He came to my room to talk dirt to me, then dramatically swooned onto my floor. You should have seen it. If I’d have known in advance, I would have brought popcorn and set up a mini concession stand. Maybe even sold tickets to the show—Felix's Fantastic Floor Fumble: A-One-Night-Only Theatrical Extravaganza!”

I gape at Felix with my mouth open. He clearly looks uncomfortable now that Rowena is telling her side of the story.

“I left him to it,” she continues. “Why do you think I’m having breakfast so early?”

“I’ll see you down there,” I manage, my mouth caught in a half smile. “Order for me?” I don’t hang up, though I pretend to. I want Rowena to hear what’s going to come next.

I can’t help my grin widening as I take in the look of unease on Felix. “You’ve been a naughty boy!” I wiggle my forefinger at him as though I’m chastising an insolent puppy.

His mouth pulls into a leer. “Shut it, bitch. Nothing happened and if you tell anyone that it did...”

He sounds like a high school kid who’s just been caught sneaking a quick joint at the back of the school. It’s way too good to resist. “Defensive much? You clearly don’t know if something happened.” I lean in to him and whisper just loudly enough for Rowena to hear. “What do you think happened between you and Rowena, Felix?”

I can practically hear Rowena holding her breath on the other end of the phone. I’m pretty sure that whatever comes out of his mouth is going to be complete bullshit.

He runs his hands through his hair manically, then straightens. I’ve seen him like this before. Once, when I confronted him about Jenny. This is the part where he comes over all superior. He’d pull it off too if he didn’t look like shit. Without his body guard and his rich bitch friends to bolster him, he’s actually beginning to look scared. Big bad Felix isn’t as cocky as he makes out when there’s no audience.

“I know nothing happened between me and your freak of a friend,” he blusters. “I wouldn’t go near her with a fucking bargepole.”

“I think you’re overestimating the size of your dick just a tad here, Felix, but whatever.” I lick my lips. “Here’s what I think. I think you liked Rowena sucking your dick and you can’t admit it to yourself because you’ve been a disgusting, slimy asshole to her for months. Maybe you need to take a good long look at yourself and think about who is the freak in this relationship.”

Felix’s face becomes taut and I can practically see the steam coming out of his ears. “There is no fucking relationship between me and Rowena.”

“That’s right,” I say, jumping off the platform as it comes to a halt on the bottom floor. “Because Rowena is so much better than you’ll ever be. At least she knows who she is. Maybe one day you’ll figure out who you really are and own up to your shit.”

Without looking back, I head through the door to the lounge, purposely not leaving it open for Felix. That felt good. I can’t do anything to him about what he did to Jenny, but I hope holding a mirror up to his conceited, self-centered face will make him atone for his actions. I doubt it, but it’s the best I can hope for.

22

I MIGHT HAVE KICKED HIM A LITTLE

QUINN

“Oh my god, I love you!” Rowena squeals as she jumps out of her seat and envelops me into a hug. “I only wish I could have seen his face as you stuck it to him.”

Juliette pushes a plate toward me. It’s full of heart-shaped pancakes covered in some kind of red syrup. “I kinda want to see his dick now. You know, just to see if it is the size of a bargepole.” She turns to Rowena, who’s beaming. “Your hair was in the way when they showed it on the big screen. They got the angle all wrong.”

Rowena holds her hands up facing each other and pulls them apart the length of her dinner plate. “Honestly, it’s not far off. I almost choked on the bloody thing.”

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