He leaned in until I could see nothing and no one but him. “Liar.” His eyes flicked to my lips and back, his own curling into a snarl. “Shall I take my payment now and remind you how much of a liar you truly are?”
My skin tightened at his threat, but I held his glare. “Careful, after last night, I might start to think you want it more than I do.”
“Sorry, writer, I take my pussy three at a time. You’ll never be enough for me. A payment is a payment, nothing else.”
And despite myself, I felt a rock form in the pit of my stomach. No, I wouldn’t be, would I. I sneered, leaning back from him. “Good, I wouldn’t want your cock anywhere near me. Fucking cesspool. What is it you men say? I want an experienced virgin,” I hummed. “Fucking disgusting.”
I saw the flash of absolute rage in his eyes. “Caking on the makeup to cover up your scars is fucking pathetic. Either wear them with pride or I’ll make them too deep to hide.”
My heart skipped a beat, but I held my glare. “Fucking three ata time is pathetic. Those two poor girls having to get each other off because you can’t last long enough to give them what they deserve,” I cooed. “It’s just sad.”
His hand snapped around my throat, jerking me forward. “They don’t survive long enough to get each other off,” he purred, his mouth inches from mine, my cunt aching. “And perhaps you shouldn’t challenge me over something like that, or I might have to do something stupid like prove you wrong.”
I swallowed against his palm, the scarf doing nothing to take away the bite from that collar. “I fucking dare you,” I spat, trying to hold his gaze like he held mine. “I doubt you’ll last more than 45 seconds.”
His smile widened, chilling and wild. “Is that all I have to beat to stand up to your dead ex-boyfriend?” He laughed. “It’s fucking pathetic. Now, go do as your told or I’ll take you to the nearest park, bend you over the table, and fuck you like the dog you are. Maybe getting caught will teach you a valuable lesson in following orders.”
He released my neck, and I jerked away from him, glaring death at him if only to hide the fact that I was so turned on, I was sweating. Fuck him.Fuckhim! He was so damn irritating, his face just asking to be punched.
I snarled and turned for the street. God, I just wanted this to be over with. I was too angry to even think straight. I should have just done it alone. “Fine, whatever. She’ll slam the door in my face anyway, since, once again, I’m the pathetic whore that got in the way, so let’s just go.”
I swallowed the anger the best that I could and headed for her porch. It was a small porch, enough for a few chairs with a wide banister to put plants on or sit on if need be.
I could imagine it. Stella standing on the top step drinking her morning coffee while watching Steven play with their young daughter.
I had never thought about actually having kids. I certainly never wanted any with Steven, but at the image of them as a cute little family, I felt a sadness fill me.
Maybe it was something I did want. In the future. Or maybe I was just in a state of constantly craving everything I absolutely shouldn’t.
I walked up to the door and lifted my fist but paused before I knocked. My heart was racing again. It was fine. This was fine, right? The worst she could do was slam the door and that wouldn’t be so terrible. I wouldn’t have to talk to her then. I wouldn’t have to do anything. I could just walk away. Leave this behind me, move on.
Move to a different city, start over again. Go by Abigail Ross and embrace my author life, forget all about this. Forget about everything that happened in The Springs altogether.
But just before I could turn around, Everett stepped up behind me, his presence blaring, his breath tickling the back of my neck. He reached up and slid his hand over my wrist, the motion far too intimate for my liking.
I could feel his body an inch away from mine. Solid and warm. The anger from earlier faded even more as I concentrated on how his hand wrapped around my wrist, the way his touch was so gentle, so different than before.
I wanted to hate it, but in this moment, I really,reallyliked it. More than I ever thought possible. More than what was rational.
He brought my hand down and knocked for me.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
He disappeared from behind me as quickly as he had come, and I stepped back, feeling Evelyn on my left, but Everett seemed to be gone now.
In fact, I found myself glancing back just to make sure he wasstill there.
He had stepped over to the edge of the porch, his hands in his pockets, his eyes cold as he watched me and only me, as if he were trying to solve a puzzle he hadn’t known existed.
I turned back to the door. No, I didn’t have friends, so what did I do? I called upon the sister of the man who was stalking me.
The door opened.
I straightened automatically but found nobody there. My brows furrowed, heart stuttering. “Um…hello?” I called, leaning towards the door.
