me is a fucking cliché?”
“It’s true!”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
Her temples were becoming red due to my harsh grip on her hair, so I let my hand fall. After everything she’d done to me, I still couldn’t bring myself to harm her. My frustration boiled until I eventually exploded, driving my fist into the wall next to her head. She didn’t even fucking flinch.
Even Bee knew when it came to her, I’d always be weak.
I’d shoved away from her and started for the door when her voice stopped me. “You have to stop smoking, Jameson. Before it kills you.”
I came to a screeching halt, and then slowly, I turned, my gaze narrowing on Barbette, still holding up the wall. She didn’t shy away and even lifted her chin. My nostrils flared in response as my chest rose higher and faster. What right did she have to make demands on me? If that was how she wanted to play it—as if we still cared for each other—then so be it. I had a few requests of my own.
“You want me to stop?” I taunted, closing the distance between us once more. “Give me something I’ll want more.”
I already knew what her answer would be but that didn’t stop me from dreaming. Although I hated the very air she breathed, it didn’t change the facts. I wanted Barbette, which meant I wouldn’t be turning down a night with her if by some miracle she offered. I’d even be generous and fuck her good in the morning before sending her worthless ass back to my cousin.
Barbette’s brows furrowed until understanding dawned. “You expect me to sleep with you in exchange for saving your own life?”
“And not just once,” I clarified, abandoning everything I’d said earlier. Moving on wasn’t an option. Barbette was it for me—my slice of heaven and my one-way ticket to hell. I could never trust her with my heart again, but maybe I was kidding myself thinking I could stay away completely. “Whenever, wherever, and however I want it. You game?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Didn’t think so.” I started to turn away when I caught her by surprise, trapping her against the wall with my hand around her lovely neck. Before she could react, I had my other hand down those tiny shorts, cupping her bare pussy. She wasn’t wearing panties today, not that they would have stopped me.
“Jamie!” she yelped when most of her shock finally cleared.
“Shut the fuck up.” She did just that, eyelashes fluttering when my middle finger teased her opening. Her pussy was practically salivating. I could have slid right in. “Not game? That’s the third lie you’ve told me today.” Strumming her clit and making her gasp, I yanked my hand free of her shorts the second she reached the edge. Cutting it off instead would have been less painful. “Make it your last. Ever.”
Standing back, I waited for her to beg me to finish it—to give us both what we shouldn’t want. Her blue eyes slowly drifted open and the desperation in them nearly stole my breath. She’d never looked more beautiful, and I was crumbling all over again.
Panicking, I didn’t look back when I walked away this time. If I had, the lust clouding her eyes and judgment right now would have me fucking her up the wall and into the middle of next week.
Not for the first time, I wondered if I was losing the war I started. I’d always been able to separate sex from emotions but with Barbette I wasn’t so sure. Most of the time, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to fuck her, kill her, or fall to my knees and beg her to take me back.
Summer… Six Years Ago
YOU’RE DEAD MEAT.
You’re dead meat.
You’re dead meat.
The three words Jamie had uttered seemed to echo inside my mind in time with my pounding heart as I ran, not for the safety of the house but the woods surrounding it.
Stupid! Stupid!
The last thing I’d heard before I disappeared among the trees was Ever, Vaughn, and Jason trying to restrain Jamie after he’d climbed from the pool. I had no idea if they had succeeded. I definitely wasn’t sticking around to find out.
I wasn’t sure how long or far I’d run before I was out of breath. Slowing up, I chanced a glance behind me to see if I was being followed. Seeing no one, I planted my hands on my knees and breathed a sigh of relief.
So much for fighting your own battles.
I’d