Situation?I turn so I can see her expression and Chase punches me in the gut.
I lift him off his feet and press him against the wall but the turd keeps yammering. “Yeah,mate.We’ve been engaged since high school. We were just taking a short break. She loves me, always has.”
Stunned, I drop him. After he adjusts his collar, he runs to a cupboard, retrieves a container of oatmeal, and pops off the plastic top. Inside, is a fuzzy box.
Engaged?Well, fook me dead. That’s a huge rock.
I stand and stare like some kind of idiot. Man, I had her pegged all wrong. The little turd is right. Itistime for me to move on. These two assholes are perfect for each other.
“Argh!” Coming to life, Calliope pushes Gerard out the door, slams it on his ass, and turns the bolt with a click.
I try to follow but she grabs my arm. Two sapphires cut to the center of my soul. “Wait, Lucky, no. You don’t understand.”
“Yeah, luv, afraid I do. You aren’t the first sheila that liked me accent and wanted a walkabout on the wild side.”
Everything is crystal clear. The key, the code, and our lovemaking? It all adds up to a lover’s quarrel.
At least she has the decency to look affronted and her voice goes up an octave. “You think I used you to make him jealous? Is that it?”
When I close my eyes, I recall how she screamed when she came and it fucking hurts like a mother. “What the hell was the other night, if not that?”
Her hands cup my cheeks. “Lochlan, I’ve been trying to let him down easy. He’s fragile.”
With my emotions finally under control, I grab her wrists, remove them from my face, and shoot her a steely gaze. “It doesn’t matter. You let me fuck you while belonging to another bloke. It’s not right.”
Twisting her arms free, she crosses them over her chest and steps back. “I haven’t slept with anyone, including him, for almost six months, if it’s any of your business. Can you say the same?”
I’m still not buying her shite.“Then, why does he have the code and the key to your bloody front door?”
“For heaven’s sake, because my mother is out of her mind!”
Bloody hell, that’s true. Too late, I realize I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion and like Chase, she tries to push me out the door.
However, I don’t budge. “Listen, luv–”
“Don’t luv me. Get out! Okay? I’m really sorry I let things go too far. Is that what you want to hear? You know what? You’re a, a, a snob.”
“Say again?” My mouth drops open. I’ve been accused of a whole lot of things, but never that.
“You think I’m shallow because I come from money.” Tears run down her face. “Please go. And... don’t come back. I’ve got enough problems without a crazy Australian in my life.”
I’ve been a jerk and should apologize but what good will come of it? In some alternate universe, she may leave the fuckwit and become independent of her mother. Then, we might have a chance.
In this reality, I need to stay clear. “All right luv, I’m out of here.”
Turning on my heel, I walk out the door, out of her life, and back to my hotel.
Unfortunately, my heart teams up with my cock and they pester me all night about being a complete arse. Under the circumstances, I figure I handled her two-timing pretty well. I’m dying to know if she’s awake, too. However, contrary to her opinion, I’m not a stalker.
In fact, unless her alarm goes off, I’m not checking her camera feeds or her GPS.
By morning, I’m a mess. Now generally, I don’t apologize because it doesn’t mean shit. I mean, if some bloke is an asshole, he shouldn’t be able to say a couple words and make it right. That goes for me, too.
It sucks she’s in trouble. Despite what her professor and Gerard said about her thesis, I still believe in her. She’s a bloomin’ EMF expert. My research indicates no one else comes close.
And then there’s Yuri. The way he questioned her yesterday sent shivers down my back. If Grayson was right, she was way too free about discussing her findings. She didn’t say anything that would threaten national security but I wonder how long before she slips, especially if she thinks her work is shit.
I text her:
