A dark laugh strums from him as Knox steps in close. The soapy scent of his cologne demands I acknowledge his masculinity. I’ve always been a sucker for a good clean scent on a guy, but right about now the only thing that thick scent does is make me want to fill the gaping hole Justin left in my life. Which brings me to my nextpoint.
I pull Knox back a moment by the shirt and my hand accidentally grazes over that sheet metal he calls a chest. Justin has always been a bit doughy, unlike Knox here who has a full training schedule to adhere to. But, wow, who knew the human body could petrify solid without killing aperson?
He leans in and those heady blue eyes of his cast a spell on me a moment. If I’m honest, I’ll admit to wanting nothing but to lose myself in something as moronic as gazing into Knox’s ocean-colored eyes all day. But the fun of tormenting my ex awaits, so I move the partyalong.
“You do realize we’re both primed for a rebound,” I say it like the pathetic factitis.
Knox glares at the surroundings as if each girl in the room were a prospective rebound in the making. “I have thought about firing off a few one-night stands just to wash her out of mysystem.”
My stomach pinches with heat when he says it. There’s something inherently dirty and primal about Knox. Justin was more of a fake romantic, complete with grocery store flowers accompanied by a belch, of course. He wasn’t even that good in bed, not that I would have anything to compare him with, but God knows he didn’t knock my socks off or get my rocks off. Every single orgasm I had with the boy should be up for an AcademyAward.
“Don’t go slinging your penis around the bar just yet,” I whisper. “Keep it in your pants, would you? If I’m about to swap saliva with you, I at least want the comfort of knowing I’m not sharing my salivary enzymes with the masses.” I glance down to his crotch without meaning to, and holy hell, is that bulge a natural everyday occurrence, or did thoughts of getting down and dirty with a few stray coeds make him suddenly glad toseeme?
“My eyes are up here, honey.” He tips his head back and gifts me anobnoxiousgrin.
“I’m not your honey.” A dull cry of frustration rips from me. Dumb jock. “Look, normally I wouldn’t care how often and quickly your cock gun goes off. But since we’ll be playing more than footsies, I am formally, yet kindly, giving your penis a cease and desist as far as bouncing the cheerleaders off your lap like it was a pogostick.”
“Geez.” He turns his head away and winces. “Are you familiar with the King’s English, or do you only speak rude andcrude?”
An incredulous huff gets caught in my throat. “I’ll have you know I’m well-bred and well-read, and certainly not dead, thus the honor to attend Whitney Briggs while I stomp out my undergraduate work. But given the present circumstances, I will not only fire crude and rude on all cylinders, but I will cut a bitch if I have to.” I take up his hand in mine and a breath gets caught in my throat at how strong and thick his fingers are. Justin’s fingers were more or less like my own, only with shorter nail beds and misshapen nails because he snacks on them alldaylong.
Knox secures his grip over mine as we head to the obscure corner of the establishment that our exes chose tocowerin.
“Evening,” I say as we stop in front of their table. Justin looks every bit as boy band-a-licious, sans the fact I no longer harbor an appetite for the future frat brat. He’s planning on rushing a fraternity in the fall and I hope they tie his dick toarock.
His whore for the evening is sporting her blood red signature—eat-someone-else’s-boyfriend-for-breakfast smile. She sits back as her jaw goes slack and those tarantulas glued to her eyes bat manicallyatus.
“Ohh,” she drags it out in three equal parts as she glares at Knox a moment. Who the hell does she think she is glaring at the poor guy? Knox may be a douche in and of himself, but she’s out-douched him by a cock-sucking mile. “So we’re doing this.” She nods to the two of us as if expecting a showdown athighnoon.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Knox picks up my other hand and lands a soft kiss over my knuckles. A sharp jolt runs down my arm straight to my belly. There is something deliciously naughty about being kissed anywhere on your body in the presence of your boyfriend—ex to beexact.
“What the hell is this?” Justin pushes the table away a good foot, thus pinning his closet whore toherseat.
“Thisis none of your business,” I snipe. “Just like you thought it was none ofmybusiness while you were hooking up with that insufferable evilA-hole.”
Jen sucks in a quick breath, her scarlet lips quivering like she might cry. She shoots a quick look to Knox. “You’re not going to stand there and let her call me that,areyou?”
He gives a depleted smile. “Sweetie, that’s a compliment compared to what she calls you when you’re not around.” He nods to me, then to the table that just opened up next to them. “We’ll see you foolslater.”
Knox and I plop down and exchange a short-lived, dare I say satisfiedsmile.
“How was that?” I pick up his other hand from across the table. We’re close enough to give them the full visual, but not close enough to let them in on the fact we’re about to rip them anewone.
“They’re both pissed.” He gives a sly wink and my insides burst with heat. Most likely these flames of delight have more to do with the fact we’ve just driven a stake into the hearts of our respective new exes than it does the alarmingly good-looking boy seated across from me. Justin is a good-looking boy but in a girly kind of way, complete with the baby fat still in place on his cheeks and sad puppy dog eyes that have the power to dampen your mood if you linger on them too long. I used to love those sad eyes, those puffy cheeks. A part of me still does. You don’t just turn off your emotions for someone just because they hurt you. You hone them into something deeper, something far more meaningful and saferlikehate.
Knox, however, has quite the masculine features, complete with that three-day scruff peppering his face. His eyes are almond-shaped and bright, and dare I say they have that quality about them that actually makes you feel as if they’relaughing.
My eyes drift down to his broad shoulders, that chest I can already testify is tough as granite, and my heart thumps. But I don’t dare get started onthatbody.
“Pissed is a good start.” I steal a quick glance at our exes as the waitress drops off a couple of heaping plates of enchilada goodness their way. “But if we haven’t killed their appetites, we’re not doing a good enough job.” I ditch my seat for the one next to Knox, and Justin does a double take. My arms find themselves around Knox Toberman’s enormous chest and I’m shocked that he’s nearly twice the circumference Justin is. “You’ve really got a body on you, you know that?” I lean in until my chest butts into his shoulder. “And I’m not just saying that. Your Little Miss Sunshine over there has traded an ox for an otter. I’m sure she’ll come running back with her horns downturned and her pointed tail tucked between her demonic legs.” I make a face at the devil inquestion.
“She’s not coming back.” He glares out at the crowd. “She didn’t even bother with a simple text. I guess she’s not the person I thoughtshewas.”
“You mean you didn’t realize you had a lying ho biscuit on your hands?” I squawk out an obnoxious laugh. “Most people don’t. I wouldn’t go kicking yourself over it, though. Be glad she’s out of your lifeforgood.”
No sooner do I spit the last word out than the two chairs opposite us fill with a couple of unwanted bodies. Justin falls into the chair closest to mine with his eyes narrowed with hatred as if I were the one who cheated on him. The skank-bot sits across from Knox and glares at him as if she owns him. And judging by the mortally wounded look in his eyes, she still very wellmight.
“What’s going on?” She hones those razors she calls eyes on the two of us. “This isn’t real. It can’t be. It’s too soon, too fast, even for arebound.”
