Page 71 of Withholding Nothing

“Well, his punches were weak and sloppy.”

I gave him a small smile. “I really do appreciate what you did for me last night, especially when you didn’t have to.”

“That’s the problem with people these days,” he said with a sigh. “People don’t get involved because they don’t ‘have’ to. Sometimes not getting involved could make a situation turn into a life or death one.”

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Whoa. Steve wouldn’t hurt me like that. He’s not necessarily violent.”

“I’m not talking about you,” he muttered, slapping the bread on top of his sandwich. “My sister was killed by her ex-boyfriend. It could’ve been avoided had the other people that were with her had gotten involved.”

My mouth dropped a bit, but I quickly recovered. This man was like an onion, layers upon layers that hid why he was the way he was. Now I could see why he was so protective of me.

“Wow…I’m so sorry,” I murmured. He shrugged and bit into his sandwich.

“Shit happens. All you can do is be the change you want to see in the future. So as long as I’m around, no one will disrespect the women I’m out with.”

I nodded, unsure of what to really say. Before he moved in, I thought he was just this gorgeous, macho asshole who loved getting under my skin every chance he got. The more I got to know him, the more I liked him.

“What?” he asked, his mouth full of his sandwich.

I blinked. I hadn’t realized I’d been staring at him. “So, um, did your mom say what day she was coming?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Not yet. She told me she’d let me know.”

“Well, keep me updated. Anyway, I guess I’ll see you this evening. I need to go take some calls,” I said and walked away.

“Cool. I want to see you in action,” he mused, following behind me. I looked at him over my shoulder with a smirk.

“See me in action? It’s just phone sex, you know that.”

“But still, I want to see you do it. It would be pretty cool to see what’s happening on this side of the line,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. I laughed as I entered my bedroom, grabbing the cordless phone off the charger.

“O’Shea, it’s not the same as it is with you. I just talk to the other guys; I don’t actually masturbate with them.”

He put a hand on his heart. “Aww. You’re making me feel special, sex kitten!”

“Whatever,” I said with a giggle and headed back to the living room.

“Oh wow. You’re coming out of your room to do your important work now?” he asked in sarcastic shock.

“It’s not like you don’t already know what I do.”

“This is true.”

“If you listen, you have to be quiet and don’t mess with me,” I warned as I sat on the couch.

“I’ll be quiet, but I can’t promise the last thing,” he said with a wink, sitting next to me. I put the phone down next to me, grinning in amusement as he looked at it, waiting for it to ring.

“You’re more ready than I am,” I teased. He ran a finger up and down my thigh. “I told you no messing with me.”

“And I told you I was making no promises on that,” he replied with a grin. “Besides, it’s not often that a guy is roommates with a phone sex operator.”

I shook my head and turned on the TV as I waited. He continued eating his sandwich, his hand never leaving my thigh as we watched a rerun of Law & Order: SVU. A few minutes later, the phone finally rang. He looked at me and licked his lips.

“Aren’t you going to answer?” he asked.

“This is going to be so odd.”

“Nope, just pretend I’m not here,” he said and smiled. I stuck my tongue out at him and cleared my throat.

---