drink, and we can go,” she said with an eye roll as she raised her hand for the bartender.
“Why are we even here, Ren?”
“I had to make it up to Natalie.”
“Ah yes, calling her a project to her face probably wasn’t your best move.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
I snorted. “Yes, you did.”
“Honestly, I didn’t. I like Natalie,” Katherine said, and it almost sounded sincere. “It was just fucking Camden.”
“How is fucking Camden these days?”
She bared her teeth at me. “Don’t get me started.”
“Still as good in bed as ever?” I teased.
“If you consider hate sex good, then sure.”
I shrugged. “It can be if the person you’re hate-fucking isn’t a devious, manipulative, downright evil son of a bitch.”
She patted my cheek twice. “Ah honey, are we jealous?”
“Just don’t understand how you put up with it.”
“A lady never spills all of her secrets.”
“Are you considering yourself a lady now?” I said with a grin.
“Don’t mess with me, Kensington.”
The bartender appeared then, and Katherine asked for another round. I finished off my bourbon with pleasure. I’d need at least another to make it through the show.
Katherine’s hand landed on my knee, and I arched an eyebrow. She just grinned devilishly and slowly crawled her way up my pant leg. She was dangerously close to my dick. And goddamn her, she couldn’t just let it go. She had to keep going.
I grabbed her wrist hard in my hand. “That’s not a toy you get to play with, Ren.”
“You never like to have fun anymore.” She crossed her legs and let a creamy white leg spill out of the slit in her skirt. “I’m not wearing any underwear.”
“That’s great,” I said hollowly.
She sighed dramatically. “So, how’s it going on your end? Is she in love with you yet?”
“Guess you’ll have to wait and find out.”
“Well, that’s a no. Are you even fucking?” she asked with an edge to her voice.
Our drinks appeared, and I watched her down nearly her entire martini. She was pissed. I relished in it. Upsetting Katherine was like watching a ticking time bomb without the countdown. You never knew when she was going to explode.
“I have an idea,” I told her, ignoring her question. “Why don’t we end this bet?”
“Excuse me?” she gasped.
“I’m being a gentleman here. The stakes are high for you. And you’re going to lose. So, I’m offering you the chance to back out.”
“No.”
“It’s a stupid bet. And you don’t have to go through with it.”
In all honesty, I didn’t want her to. Things with Natalie were so natural. And that had nothing to do with the bet. I didn’t have to be anyone but myself with her, and we enjoyed each other’s company. Not to mention, the sex was incredible. Katherine was destined to lose this thing.
“Are you afraid you’ll lose?” she scoffed.
“Hardly. I know I’ll win,” I said confidently. The competitive side of my personality reared its ugly head. I wished that I could control that part of my character, but things like this just set me off. “But I’m giving you a chance to get out of marrying Camden. I’m giving you an out.”
Katherine leaned forward until we were mere inches apart and smiled provocatively. “You should know me better than that by now.”
“I do. But I thought I’d offer.”
“No need. I’m still going to win,” she said confidently.
I leaned back and downed my bourbon. “Lark was right. We shouldn’t have done this.”
“Fine. Then you back out of the bet,” she said hotly.
“You know I’m not going to.”
“Jesus, Penn, do you actually like her or something?” Katherine asked, fury in her voice. “You seem almost upset that we won’t back out. Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Penn Kensington?”
“You like her. You just said you did.”
“Of course I like her. She’s gawky and strange. She has silver hair. She speaks her mind. She’s not afraid to be whoever the hell she is. She’s hardly competition, Penn!” Katherine said in exasperation. “Who would ever look at her when we’re in a room together?”
I would.
I didn’t say it, but the urge to nearly ripped through me.
There was a difference between upsetting her and pulling the pin on the grenade yourself.
“But you…why would you like her?” Katherine asked with an eye roll. “She’s nothing and no one. She’s not special in any way. She’s like a cute small-town girl who stumbled on a gold mine.”
“That’s an interesting theory,” I said dryly. “Considering that your fiancé hit on her, Lewis finds her fascinating,