Vexing.
Annoying.
Exasperating.
With every word that came to mind, I slapped more paint on the canvas. Thankfully, I’d put a drop cloth on the wall; otherwise, I would’ve had to do some touchups to the lackluster gray satin that was currently on them.
Not that I cared whether I destroyed Rule’s wall. He deserved it. The man was … maddening. Yes, that was another good word to describe him. I still couldn’t believe he had dropped me off here last night and left. After he kissed me like that!
Was the man insane?
No. He wasn’t.
That would imply he didn’t know what he was doing. And we both knew that quick departure was Rule’s way of running away from whatever this was.
He was an aggravation I didn’t need in my life. Why had I agreed to this in the first place? Seriously. I couldn’t figure out what had prompted me to go along with his crazy scheme. I still had no idea what this marriage was getting either of us.
Why? Why had I done it?
Oh, I’d had more than enough time to ponder that question and come up with a few good answers.
It was a knee-jerk reaction to finding dead bodies in my mother’s bedroom.
I wanted a job, but the interview process seemed too rigorous.
I’d ingested some kind of psychedelic drug at the party that night, and I didn’t have control of all my faculties.
Regardless of how I tried to rationalize it, the simple fact was I was crazy. If I’d been in my right mind, I would’ve laughed in his face.
Probably.
But no.
The bigger question was, why was I still here? Why hadn’t I left? It would be the work of a moment to call an Uber and get a ride back to my mother’s house. Rule wasn’t forcing me to stay. Not that I could tell.
I knew part of the reason I wasn’t in a hurry to leave, but I refused to give a name to whatever this was I was developing with Jinx. I wanted to say it was friendship because that was the only thing it could be. However, after last night and then this morning… after waking up in his arms, I wasn’t so sure it wasn’t something more. On my side, I mean. Not his. I could tell Jinx was merely trying to be a good friend, and I respected that. I had to.
Again, trying to rationalize any of this was doing me no good. I wasn’t leaving. In fact, I was making myself more at home. I’d moved all my art supplies to the recreation room at the back of the property—which was empty, by the way—and taken over the space. The first time Rule left me alone, I kept waiting for him to return. Now, I was moving on with my life. Only in his house. I won’t lie; I was pretending it was mine since I was alone with all this extravagance.
And yes, despite my initial accusation that the house was depressing, it wasn’t as bad as I’d made it sound. Sure, the furniture needed an overhaul because only hipsters bought pumpkin orange sofas and glass-top tables. But the concept was incredible, and the fact the builder had wanted to bring the outdoors in as much as possible proved they knew the charm of living in LA.
I stabbed the large brush into the green paint and wielded it like a sword before arcing it forward to spatter the paint on the canvas. When I finished, this would be garbage for sure, but for now, it suited my mood. Later, when I’d calmed down, I would work on the sunset painting I’d started this morning. It was still as vivid in my mind as that stupid kiss.
Several hours later, after I’d put away my paints and rolled my eyes at the result of my morning tantrum, I went in search of food. Thanks to Jinx, there were a few options in the refrigerator and pantry, but nothing really struck my fancy. I ended up with some cheese and crackers, which I ate in the outdoor living space, leaving the retractable walls open behind me.
No matter how hard I tried, I could not stop thinking about that kiss. About the way Rule had owned my mouth for that too brief time. The way his tongue stroked mine, his hand clutching my jaw, holding me in place. I’d never been kissed like that before. Never with so much domination. I’d loved every second of that kiss, and I wanted another, only now Rule ran away. And he could tell me otherwise, but it would be a lie.
It didn’t help that Jinx had left, too. Now Waldo was the only one here. And while he was great at keeping me company, he wasn’t quite as good at distracting me from my wayward thoughts. In fact, after last night, my thoughts were now plagued by Jinx, too. In my attempt to stop thinking about one of them, I inadvertently thought about the other.
But no matter what, I continued to dwell on that freaking kiss becausehello!I’d been married to the man for seventeen days, and that was the first time he kissed me. Just the thought of Rule’s mouth raised my body temperature until I was crossing my legs in an attempt to ease the ache. Even the brush of my arm on my breast drew a gasp from my lungs. My entire body was one giant nerve center, eager to be stroked.
I groaned, causing Waldo to lift his head.
“Ignore me, boy. It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
He didn’t appear impressed, but he dropped his head to his paws and closed his eyes.
If only I could do the same.
