He’s quiet for a second. When he speaks, it’s with an unnerving seriousness. “Is that really what I’m doing? Am I bothering you for real?”
No. “Yes.”
“Liar.”
I take a long sip of my coffee while I fortify myself against his charm. “I want to be left alone.”
He tucks a tuft of hair behind my ear. “That’s not what it seemed like the other day when my tongue was down your throat.”
The memory sends a wonderful warmth through me as I back away from him. “I must have been high on paint fumes.”
“Must have.”
When we reach the corner of Sunrise, I stop and face him. “This is where our walk ends, Jester.”
He clamps a hand around my upper arm. We’re not making a scene, but it’s impossible not to notice us. When two thirty-something-year-old women walk by, they give me a once-over before eye-fucking the hell out of Jester. Their loud whispering trails after them as they continue down Main Street. One woman glances over her shoulder and gives me a knowing, envious wink, and I shake my head with a loud, drawn-out sigh.
If she only knew what a pain in the ass he is. But hell, if she wants him, she can come and take him.
And as soon as the thought flickers through my brain, jealousy follows. As if I care if Jester screws every woman in Mayhem. I have a date tonight, for Christ’s sake.
And if I tell myself I don’t want him enough, maybe I’ll believe it.
Once the women are out of earshot, Jester steps in close to me, the rich, woodsy scent of him intoxicating. “This is going to happen. You. Me. Us. Yeah, I fucked up. I can’t take back what I did. But I was a kid, and I was stupid.” He grabs my chin with his other hand and forces me to stare at his face. His beautiful face. The one I missed so damn much while I was away. “Look at me, Faith. I grew up. I’m not that kid anymore.” He releases me but doesn’t step back. It’s as if I’m rooted to the concrete. A delicious heat skids up my spine as he stares so deeply into my eyes, I swear he sees my thoughts. “You’re mine, and I’m going to have fun making you accept this.”
“I’m not yours,” I hiss the words at him, but they taste foul. False. “I’m actually going on a date, so how about you go fuck yourself.”
He licks his lips, a slow and provocative movement that, for a reason I don’t care to acknowledge, robs me of breath. “We’ll see, Fizzle.”
I watch him stroll toward his Jeep with a swagger that makes me want to dump my coffee right over his arrogant head. But I don’t because I need the icy drink to extinguish the fire the smug asshole ignited in my traitorous lady parts.
7
Faith
It’s amazing what a hot shower can do for a soul. Seriously. I feel like myself again once I scrubbed off my second…encounter… with Jester. Of course, it doesn’t help that it’s been ages since a man’s been between my legs. I swear if my neglected vagina were a person, it would resemble the host from the seriesTales from the Crypt. Somehow, I pulled off a miracle and showed up to my date with Matthew looking halfway decent. Not fully put together since I’m still living out of suitcases and storage bins. Shame on me for putting off the inevitable. But I’m in a dress, and I even shaved my legs.
For the latter alone, I should get bonus girl points.
My Charger is loud as hell as I pull into Stanzia’s lot. It’s crowded, and the dichotomy of my car parked next to a sensible Kia is almost comical. Matthew offered to drive me, but I have two rules.
1. I always take my car on the first few dates. This way, if they crash and burn, I can haul ass out of there.
2. Always go to familiar and public places for safety precautions.
Tonight, however, I tossed in a third rule.
3. Make sure the coast is clear.
Jester is a sneaky bastard who has eyes everywhere. I scan the area like a hawk, prepared for an Unholy to pounce from the surrounding foliage. As if I’m doing something shady by meeting a nice man for a nice meal at a nice restaurant. God, I seriously can’t stand that sonofabitch.
Yes, you can.
Shut the hell up.
Oh Lord, I’m talking to myself again.
I grab my backpack and abandon the safety of my car. I’m almost at the restaurant’s door when my phone vibrates from inside the bag. Positive it’s Kerri since we’ve been texting almost nonstop since I told her about the date, I stop and fish out my cell. We’re already planning her next trip down here, with me teasing her mercilessly about Havoc. She, of course, has been denying how she was full-on drooling over him. What a liar, but whatever. I’m already laughing as I think up new ways to taunt her, and when I stare down at the screen—
