Big Dick Energy - Cindi Madsen Page 0,27
imagine Penelope ever wanting.
But he’d been inside her apartment, so… A toxic substance roiled through my gut, one I refused to call jealousy, but it sure walked and quacked like a duck.
Penelope lifted her chin, all signs of pain wiped clean as she flipped her blonde ponytail over her shoulder. “That’s why I’m a fan of the extra boost. Everyone seems to take in my short stature and assume they can just walk all over me.”
“Surely not everyone,” he said, and the corner of Penelope’s eye twitched in a way that clearly disagreed.
Did she hate men in general? Or were this guy and I just special? I wasn’t sure if the answer would make me feel better or worse. Indifference was the smart play, but the woman had piqued my interest and scrambled my brain to the point that sound logic no longer applied.
“Whoa,” hipster-bro dude said as his gaze dropped to Penelope’s ankle, and I followed suit, getting my first full look in hours, and whoa was right. Her ankle had disappeared in a swollen mess of black and blue. He bent, brazenly running his fingers over the injury, and before I thought better of it, a low growl escaped.
Three shocked faces turned toward me, and the dude’s eyebrows scrunched to the constipated level of tight. “Uh, who are you?”
The guy who’s gonna kick your ass if you touch Penelope’s ankle again.
The woman I’d gone all caveman over rubbed the side of her neck, and did that douche canoe seriously make her nervous? For the record, pink was a fine color, one Izzie loved, and I was secure enough in my masculinity to wear. On hipster-dude it just grated me the wrong way. How his socks perfectly matched his shirt and those stupid suspenders, as if his pants wouldn’t stay up otherwise.
Although that particular color of pink reminded me of being tongue deep in a woman. I’d bet Penelope tasted fucking amazing. She turned to me, a perplexed expression that left me worried I’d accidently voiced my thoughts aloud. “Archer’s working with me on my new project.”
“Ah, so he took my old position,” the guy currently ruining my night said.
“Something like that.” Penny readjusted the strap of her laptop bag, her thick-soled shoes bumping together, and I shrank away from the spiky studs on the toes, not in a hurry to meet any part of those shoes that doubled as weapons again. “Archer, this is Ron. He’s in the middle of a hotel project right on the waterfront. You’ve been working mostly on sight or in the upstairs offices, right?”
Rob put his hand on the lower back of the woman next to him. “Yeah, I’ve got my own office with an amazing view.”
There went Penelope’s eye twitch again, and was this elevator ride the longest one in history?
“Madison works in accounting, so I snuck downstairs to pick her up for dinner.” He put his hand to the side of his mouth and stage whispered. “We’ve been keeping it on the DL, but we’re dating. Don’t worry, though, Pen. She already knows about our past and that you’re not a threat.”
“What a relief,” Penelope snarked.
I thought Penelope had given me the full heat of her death glare, but satisfaction whirred at seeing it aimed at Ron. She’d been holding back, and while it was an odd thing to be proud about, the emotion swelled all the same.
No wonder she felt anger toward men if she’d dated a clueless prick who couldn’t read the room.
Hell, I wasn’t real proud of my gender with him around.
Ron also needed to stop checking out Penelope while rubbing his girlfriend’s back. He was definitely one of those guys who liked to keep his options open. My mom fell for that type over and over, which is why I never respected them. She assured me Kyle was different, and I honestly hoped so.
Finally, the elevator reached the bottom floor, and Ron and what’s-her-face began to exit. Ron hesitated with his hand on the door, propping it open for Penelope, so he wasn’t a total tool.
She looked at me.
I looked right back.
The woman who’d handed me my ass multiple times since we met seemed unsure of herself for the first time. Mere hours ago, I would’ve insisted that seeing her taken down a notch or two would be satisfying. Instead, a pang went through my chest.
Penelope made a shooing motion. “You all go ahead. I’d rather not have an audience as I limp my way to my