Page 76 of In the Dark

I’m not proud to say I imagined Callahan in it again. Yet this time I got his pierced cock rather than his mouth.

It’d been a risky move to let him touch me right below my stitches, but I was wild with fury and desire and jealousy all wrapped into one.

Sometimes a girl just had to do what she had to do.

And that was getting hers even when he didn’t deserve his.

I sat in bed after trying to crochet, but I kept messing up the stitch as I thought about Demi and him in a rage. I knew I was messing up the colors of my yarn too, but it was the only way I’d fall asleep. I needed something to occupy my mind rather than the man that was in it through all parts of the day.

I told myself it was bound to happen. We’d slept together before. I’d always thought he was fantastic in bed, and I guess he liked to eat pussy.

That’s all that was.

And now the lines were established.

No others.

I could deal with that, because obviously I had a streak of jealousy when it came to him that I couldn’t contain. And I needed to contain myself. This was for the family. Not my stupid little heart.

Callahan wasn’t mine, I told myself over and over again. And I fell asleep to that mantra.

Yet bright and early the next morning, the man that wasn’t mine was already sitting at my couch with his laptop open typing away when I woke.

I was sure he’d probably barged in without knocking, but I couldn’t even complain because I’d fallen asleep well past midnight after trying to crochet away all my racing thoughts.

I was pretty sure the hook had been in my hand, but when I woke, none of it was there.

Instead, it was all neatly put by my crochet bin.

“Did you unknot all that yarn?”

Everything was wrapped up in balls that looked like they had just been bought from the store.

“They were very tangled,” he grumbled, like he didn’t want to talk about it.

“How long did that take you?”

He didn’t look up from his laptop, but he did say, “A lot less time than it would have taken Archer.”

Ah, still crabby from last night.

“He told you I asked him to unknot the yarn?”

“Among other things.”

“So much for allegiance.”

That’s when I finally got his blue-green gaze. “Well, it was either that, Jas, or I would have killed him for being in your room for as long as he was last night.”

“Still jealous, Cally baby?”

“Are you going to stop with that nickname?”

I shrugged and sat up.

“Goddamn it, woman.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “How many colors of that outfit do you have? Can you wear something else other than those pajamas?”

“Oh, please.” I had about five pairs because they were my absolute favorite. I got up out of the bed to go brush my teeth, and he groaned at seeing my shorts. “Quite frankly, you can be happy I had any on because I don’t especially like to feel constricted when I sleep.”