There’s every chance I utter the latter end of my sentence with a touch of seduction, a filthy little lilt to my words that says more than words ever could, that it’s not food I’m hungry for, and I almost melt against Caid when he chuckles lowly. He matches my vibe, the hand resting against mine sneaking around me as he suddenly tugs me closer to his back. My hands clench in his shirt, likely giving Toby a show he doesn’t want to see, and I actually shiver when Caid damn near growls, “I’ll feed you, baby. Don’t worry. Go wait for me on the couch.”
Phew, did it suddenly get hot in here? The hoodie I’m wearing grows too warm as a flush of heat pulses through my body, and it takes a Herculean effort to actually release Caid and remember I’m just using him to toy with Tobe the Chode.
My voice carries a deeper rasp than I can disguise when I answer, “Hurry up.”
Taking some liberties and hoping Caid won’t mind, I take my time releasing him, rubbing my hand over him like I’m a cat in heat. I count every single one of his abs, storing the feel of all eight of them in my mind for future bedroom endeavors, biting my smile when I’m sure I feel him intentionally tense beneath my fingers.
When I finally relinquish my hold on my neighbor, I eye Toby with a look of pure disgust before turning my back to him, heading for the couch like I was told.
“Madison, what the fuck?” Toby finally explodes, his voice both hard and whiny, giving me the ick all over again. Christ, he’s handsome, but what the hell did I see in him? It’s as though the moment I caught him balls-deep in another woman, everything about him made me sick. Sure, he’s good-looking, but he does absolutely nothing for me anymore. There are four people I now know who are a billion times better-looking than him, and one of them is currently blocking his view of me and the inside of my apartment.
Is it weird to swoon at that? Oh, who cares? I’m a-swoonin’.
“Look, whatever your name is. Chode, was it?” Caid starts, and I slap a hand over my fucking mouth when a startled laugh escapes. “Look, Chode. You’re harassing my girl at this point. It’s late, Maddie’s had a long day, and I just want to chill with my girl without dealing with the clingy ex. I don’t want to call the cops, but I’ll do it if you show up here again. Maddie wants nothing to do with you. You blew it, man. She’s moved on to greener pastures. Lose her number, forget her address, and move on.”
I slump into the couch with my hand over my mouth, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, but I keep it bottled so I can hear the reply that will surely come from Toby.
Sure enough, the idiot snaps, “Who the hell do you think you are?”
“The actual boyfriend,” Caid is fast to respond, like it was on the tip of his tongue.
Curiosity gets the better of me, and I turn to peer over the back of the couch, watching this train wreck unfold. Thankfully, Caid has taken a relaxed position, leaning against the doorway as though he hasn’t a care in the world, revealing a fuming Toby to my very amused eyes.
That gap allows me to see Toby shake his head in denial. “There’s no way. I would have heard something. Madison doesn’t date. Not ever. I was the exception. I don’t believe you.”
Caid shrugs. “I don’t care much about you believing me, dude. But that girl in there isn’t yours.”
“Because she’s mine,” a new voice counters, right before I catch sight of Rayne appearing behind Toby like a dark knight in a backward baseball cap.
“Don’t lie. We all know she’s really mine,” another voice counters, a challenge in his tone that sounds nothing like the gentle rumble I’ve received from him all day.
Baxter bumps his shoulder into Rayne’s, but his eyes are on Toby, glaring daggers like he’s begging the asshole to die where he stands. Oh, how I wish that superpower existed outside the world of fiction and fantasy. I’d pay a sickening amount of money to watch Baxter zap Toby out of existence with one perfectly aimed glare.
“I know you’re not all talking about my girl right now,” Ryan chimes in, because of course, why not? Where there is one, there are four. Not that I’m actually complaining right now. Hell, this is a reverse-harem fantasy come to life, even if it’s fake. This is a girl’s wet dream coming to false fruition, and I’m loving every second. Hell, the shitty day I’ve had is finally getting a glorious ending, with four dudes pretend-vying for my attention. I mean, I’d consider this a whole lot more romantic than if it were real, because they’re currently saving me the hassle of having to deal with the cheating scumbag ex I really wish would leave me alone already.
“What the fuck is this?” Toby snarls, and I watch as he turns to glare daggers at me through the gap Caiden has allowed.
Like a total bitch, I poke my head farther over the back of the couch, smiling like the devil I can sometimes be. I offer the man a wave, tilting my head like a curious kitten as I watch himtry to take a step forward, only for his steps to be halted in four different directions. Caid shoves a fist into his chest, Rayne nabs a shoulder from behind, Baxter grabs the opposite arm, while Ryan uses his arm to help Caid block Toby from stepping a single foot closer.
A girl could get used to this. It’s like I’ve accidentally gained four bodyguards who look like sin, the sugar hidden beneath the dangerous and scary exteriors they’re currently displaying.
Without attempting to push his way into the apartment again, Toby glares at me, seething, “This is low, even for you. I thought this behavior was beneath you.”
“What behavior would that be, Chode?” I ask, leaning over the back of the couch and crossing my arms all demurely and shit. Then I add, “Getting railed by four dudes who are happy to share? That behavior? Because from where I’m sitting, you have no right giving me a lecture on how I behave. We’re not together and won’t ever be together again. I’d rather dip my flaps in acid than go near you, not that I have any reason to anymore. If the cheating wasn’t enough to make me sick every time I look at you, the four guys currently surrounding you are plenty to keep me occupied enough that you never even cross my mind.”
I’m pretty sure his head would explode if it were even humanly possible, the red hue his skin has taken on looking a little concerning now.
“This is disgusting. If you’re trying to get back at me—” he starts, but I hold up a hand that stops him in his tracks.
“Trust me, I have much, much better things to do with my time,” I interrupt, and make a point to look at each man currently surrounding him. “I don’t care about you, what you think, or how you feel. You lost every single privilege I come with the moment you decided to stick your two-incher, and that’s mebeing generous, in a woman who wasn’t me. So fuck off, Toby, before I send your mother the meme again.”
Absolutely raging, Toby looks at the guys before taking a deep breath, looking over at me with a vile expression before he says, “We’ll talk when you come to your senses. I won’t hold this against you.”
Without waiting for a response, Toby shoves his body through the small gap Baxter and Ryan have allowed him, stomping away with a huff and an air tainted by anger. I’m grinning like a Cheshire cat, my bad day erased by that one single showdown, and I can’t help but offer a round of applause to the men who stepped in to save the day. Seems to be the theme of things today.
All four of the guys turn toward me as I clap for their efforts, absolutely beaming at them as though I haven’t had a day from hell. Man, just seeing how red Toby can actually turn made up for every bad thing that’s happened today. I wonder if we could have gotten him redder. Maybe a little more groping and he would have had an aneurysm. How would one explain that to a doctor?
“That was pure cinema,” I sigh wistfully, my cheeks actually aching from how hard I’m grinning, my glee impossible to dampen.
