“Iiiiii,” I emphasized, “am having an aneurysm.”
“This is supposed to be a place of Zen, and you're polluting it with your negative energy,” Coop droned. “Don't ruin Mei's hard work.”
“Actually, she pretty when she's angry,” Mei disagreed. “Very nice color in her cheeks. Might work for her.”
“I’m not going.” Coward. Chicken shit. Wuss. I didn’t want to be within ten feet of Jake Whalen. I couldn’t trust myself.
“Don’t be a baby.”
My eyes narrowed. “I’m not. I’m being an adult, making a professional decision to not become involved with a coworker.”
“He’s not a coworker.”
“Technically, but the circumstance is the same.”
“Come on—just talk to him. What's the worst that can happen?”
“I could sleep with him again!” I exclaimed.
“Nobody cares if you do.”
“I do!” I jabbed at my chest pointedly. He didn't call me, and when he finally showed up, he made his feelings clear that he wasn't going to get involved with me. There was also the blonde in the photo.
Coop bit back a smile. “You're going.”
“No, I'm not.”
“Where else are you going to go? You don't have a car.”
I scowled cantankerously and glanced at Marshall. “Marshall will drive me home, and then come back for you.”
“No can do,” Marshall refused. "Can't leave Coop alone."
“This is all your fault,” I told him. “You told me you wouldn't let me do anything stupid.”
Em and Coop broke into laughter. “You can't trust a word he says,” Coop explained. “He told me the same thing about six months ago. I ended up in Vegas, married and pregnant.”
“I'll call my brother. He'll pick me up.”
Before I knew what she was doing, Coop reached out and dropped my cell phone into the foot tub. “Whoops.”
I gasped in horror, my eyes bugging out. I hadn't paid for it, but it was nonetheless a thousand-dollar smartphone. “I can't believe you just did that!”
“It was an accident.”
Accident my ass. “That's it! I quit! I don't want to work for you anymore!”
“Then you'll have no qualms with dating Jake.”
A half-cocked growl of frustration rumbled up my throat. I had to grasp the arms of the chair to keep from launching myself out of it. “O.M.G. I'm losing it. I'm totally losing it.”
I needed to get myself together. Every word I muttered caused the mud to crack and flake off my face. Jake Fucking Whalen was picking me up in an hour and I looked like Godzilla.
“Please help me get this off my face,” I asked the poor girl waiting patiently to finish her job. She nodded politely and retrieved another towel from the edge of the sink. With a deep breath, I sat back and rested my head along the edge of the basin.
“I think she's really mad,” Mei observed.
“That's because she's fighting fate,” Em explained. “If she would just listen to us, she’d be a happy, happy girl.”
“Ah, fate,” Mei said in understanding. “My mother always told me, ‘when fate throws a dagger at you, Mei, there are only two ways to catch it: by the blade or by the handle.’”
“Fate isn't throwing daggers at me,” I stated, “She's throwing men at me.”
Mei chuckled lowly. “Then grab him by the balls.”
♪♫♪♫
Hana Lee was just dabbing a sheer metallic tint to the center of my bottom lip when the front door opened and Jake walked into the shop. She had said something about making my lips appear fuller, but all processes of thought bled away as if I’d actually had an aneurysm.
Honestly, I wasn’t altogether positive I hadn’t.
“Loosen your jaw, sweetie, before you crack your enamel,” Em muttered. “You’re going to have nothing but stubs if your keep grinding your teeth like that.”
Growling under my breath, I closed my eyes. “You people are reprehensible.” They were sabotaging my strength of character. I was resisting Jake, but I wasn’t immune to him.
Lifting his head, Jake perused the salon. Only he could get away with the arrogance of having to find the girl with violet hair in a nearly empty shop. When his gaze stopped on me, he lifted his hand and jangled his keys. “Let’s go, Shaw. I have things to do.”
“I bet you do,” Em murmured, a smirk upturning the corners of her lips. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at me. “By the balls, kid.”
Stepping around the footrest of the hydraulic chair, I stood. “Your cooking stinks. Your meatballs are dry, and your pasta is…” I searched for a proper insult, “pasty.” I turned to Coop, but I had no insults to drum up. She was very nearly perfect. “You’re a terrible patient.” They were all lies, of course, bred by asperity over their matchmaking skills. This was peer pressure and they both knew it.
“Poor sport,” Em chided. She retained her smirk, but the second I turned for the door, I heard her whisper, “Are my meatballs dry?”
I didn’t wait for Coop’s reply. Striding to the front of the shop, I passed Jake and headed for the door. He fell into step behind me. The hairs on my neck stood on end, as if reaching out to him. Fucking magnetic attraction. Marshall was wrong; Jake and I were completely opposite poles. We were just two forces of nature, denying our attraction to one another.
Approaching the exit, he reached around me and pushed open the door. His hand brushed mine, making contact before I quickly jerked away. Not before a jolt of exhilaration raced up my arm and caused my heart to skip a beat. My reaction only stoked my ire.
“I’m not a dog,” I bit out. “Don’t shake your keys at me and expect me to come running.”
“I guess I shouldn’t point out that you just did.”
“I would strongly suggest you not fuck with me right now.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
I did a cursory glance over the parking lot, spotted his shiny red pickup off to the right. I stepped off the curb and headed in its direction at a fast clip.
“You’re in a pleasant mood today.”
“I quit.”
“You quit,” Jake repeated, as if he'd misheard me.
“I quit.”. Not that Coop took me seriously.
“What happened?”
“I don't want to do this anymore.” Slipping my fingers under the door handle, I lifted to no avail. And again. And again. Jake pressed the unlock button on his fob as I lifted it a fourth time, bungling my fifth attempt.
“Will you let go!” Reaching around me, he pressed the button on the handle and waited for me to move. “If you'd just chill...”
Huffing my contempt, I stepped aside. “You waited to unlock it until I was on top of it.”
“I wanted to get the door for you.”
I glanced up, met his eyes. It was the wrong thing to do. My insecurities surfaced like a slick of oil over the ocean. Before I could spout off a rainbow of obscenities, I climbed into the truck. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome.” Taking a step back, he closed the door, and then rounded the truck. Despite my mood, I stared as he climbed in, devouring every detail of his body. I hated myself for it. I didn't want to crave him like I did. It was why I was in the situation in the first place.
We didn't talk again until he pulled onto the street in the wrong direction. “Where’re you going?”
“My place.”
His place. Well that was awful presumptuous. Just because I quit didn't mean it was open season to sleep together. I hadn’t forgotten about the blonde from the newspaper, and whatever girls he fucked around with after me. He didn't wait long to move on.
“I don't live above the club.” Craning his neck, he peered over his shoulder to check oncoming traffic. “It’s a second property.”
“I didn't say anything.”
Jake snorted, seeing through my pretenses. “You didn't have to. It's written all over your face.” Flicking his blinker on, he
changed lanes and laid his foot on the gas.
“Why are you taking me to your place?”
“I’m in the middle of painting. My rollers are probably drying out as we speak. But we obviously need to talk.”
I hadn't noticed, but now that he mentioned it, he had small flecks of beige paint covering his hands and forearms.
“Are you serious about that guy from the other night?”
“Liam is none of your business.”
“Liam.” It came out derisive. His frown deepened to a grimace.
“Shut up.”
“Fucking pussy ass name.”
“That's mature.” I folded my arms across my chest and stared out the window. “If this is the way you're going to act, take me home.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, the color bleeding from his knuckles. “I'm sorry. The guy’s a dick, though.”
“Why, because he asked me out?” I snapped. “Is that so offensive?”
“When you do it right in front of…” Jake’s teeth snapped together, cutting off his retort.
“We’re not together, though, are we?”
“He didn't know that.”
“He did, actually. He asked. I told him no.”
“I told you it was temporary.”
“That was just something you said because you felt bad for not calling! Tate made you be nice to me so I'd take the job!”
“It's something I said because it was fucking temporary!”
“Like I'm supposed to believe that.”
“What fucking good would it do to remind you of that every five minutes? I've been trying to keep my distance so that it wouldn't make things harder for you!”
Harder for me. The guy was so stuck on himself it was obscene. “You're full of shit. You're just pissed off because I'm not pining over you like all your little fangirls.”
“Where do you come up with these insane notions of yours?”
“The only time you acknowledge me is when I insult you by telling you I'm not interested! Then you maul me just to prove that I'm attracted to you!”
“You have no fucking idea what you're talking about.”
My last salvage of control slipped my grasp. A frustrated tear tracked down my cheek. “I can't do this. I'm tired. Please take me home.”
“We’re just talking, Shaw. Why does it have to be like pulling teeth?”
“I’m not going to be the only one talking about how I feel. I talked damn it! I laid my heart out for you and you didn’t fucking call! Well, fuck you!”
“I'm sorry I didn’t call. That doesn’t mean I’m not interested.”
“Interested in me or interested in fucking me?”
“One is intrinsically related to the other.”
“No, they really aren't.” God, the guy was dense. “Were you interested in the blonde from Moses Lake?”
To my disgust, his eyebrows furrowed. He mouthed ‘blonde’ and then ‘Moses Lake’ as he was trying to drum up a face. As recollection set in, a slow smile spread across his face. “The one from the photograph in the paper?” he laughed.
Snorting, I looked out the window. “It’s not funny.”
“She’s the daughter of one of our sound crew. It was her sweet sixteen. We gave her and her friends box seats for the concert.”
Sixteen. She didn’t look it. “You never denied it when Em accused you of sleeping with her.”
“No, I didn't.” Pulling into a rather long driveway of a large craftsman style home, Jake shifted the gear into park and turned in his seat. “You were acting so unaffected by everything. I wanted to get a reaction out of you.”
“Ugh! Do you see what I mean? I’m supposed to be this fawning girl that swoons in your presence, but you can treat me like I’m the carpet beneath your feet. That’s so hypocritical!”
“Carpet beneath my feet…” Jake repeated, incredulously.
“I don’t have any idea why I even like you.”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
The air left my lungs. “Unreasonable? I’m not indistinguishable. Even though I might be a plebeian nurse from Seattle, the right guy will treat me like I’m a fucking Queen of England. If it’s not going to be you, then you have no right standing in someone else’s way.”
“We. Had. An. Agreement!”
“Fuck our agreement and fuck your fucking rules. I’m worth breaking them for!” Grasping the door handle, I yanked and shoved the door open.
“Where’re you going?” Jake shouted as I slid out. “We're not done here!”
“Yes, we fucking are!” I slammed the door shut and strode down the driveway at a fast clip. Behind me, Jake followed suit. Something made me break into a run. Strength of will, determination, ingenuity maybe. Jake Whalen was going to chase me one way or another.
I had a good lead, but when I reached the end of the driveway and changed my direction, I slipped on some loose gravel. Jake took advantage of my misstep and captured the sleeve of my shirt. With a sharp jerk, I yanked it from his grasp and took off running again.
“Goddamn it!” Jake panted, pounding after me. “You know you’re going to pay for this, Shaw. I’m going to tan that ass with the palm of my hand.”
“Up yours, Jake-off.” I was playing with fire.
He hit me from behind, his arms quickly wrapping my waist until my feet lifted off the ground. “Put me down, damn it!” I shouted, kicking my legs.
“Are you gonna walk?”
“Yes.” The second my feet touched the pavement, I was running. Jake captured me a second time as I reached the end of the block. This time he lifted over me his shoulder, and began toting me back toward his house. Not one to go down without a fight, I kicked my legs and pounded on his back.
“Put me down!”
“Not this time.” Placing his hand strategically on my lower ass, his thumb slid between my thighs and pressed against my asshole. I snarled in protest and buoyed my resistance with a few well-placed strikes to his kidneys. To which he responded by turning his head and sinking his teeth into my ass cheek. I yowled, striking notes known to shatter windows. Still, he kept walking, while shaking with laughter beneath me.
“Dickhead!” I hissed when I finally caught my breath. His shoulder was cutting into my gut, making it hard to breathe.
“You deserved that.”
“At least get your thumb out of my ass.” I spotted more than one set of curtains drawn with muddled faces peeking out the windows. There was no need to provide a show.
“I hate to tell you, Shaw, but I’m going to stick my cock in it for this little stunt you pulled.” He emphasized his words by circling his thumb against me. “Your ass is mine.”
I fell still. Was he serious? “In your dreams, buddy.”
“Not anymore. They’re about to be fulfilled.”
“I’m not sleeping with you.”
“I never said anything about sleeping.”
“What about your rules?”
“The rules are forfeit. You told Coop you quit.”
Well fuck.
Chapter 15
Jake finished knotting off a red satin necktie around my wrists with a sharp yank. The fabric tightened with a snick of finality. I immediately tested them, wrenching my arms behind me. “It’s all I have to work with on short notice,” he reflected with satisfaction, “but it’s holding rather well.”
“Untie me right now!” I demanded. “This isn’t funny! Asshole!”
Lifting his knee from my back, he straddled my waist. “Such ugly noises coming from such a pretty mouth,” he scolded. I moved one of the few things that wasn’t tied…my middle finger. “Oh, is that how you want to roll?”
“If you don’t untie me, I’m going to scream bloody murder! The police will come! You’ll be all over the papers! Fucking pervert!”
Climbing off me, he opened the closet and picked through his ties. He separated a yellow one from the bunch and stroked the fabric with his thumb. “This’ll do.”
<
br /> Returning to the bed, he straddled my back again—despite my flailing legs—and stuffed the tie into my mouth. He wrapped the ends once around and tied them at the back of my head. My screams were muffled to a low din.
“Ok then, I have a wall to finish painting. Maybe by the time I’m done, you’ll have cooled your jets a little.”
Doubtful.
Leaning over me, he lowered his head toward mine and pressed his lips to my forehead. I scowled and turned my head away. Persistently, he brushed the hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. “The things I’m going to do to you, Shaw… When I finally let you go, you’ll beg to be tied up again.”
Again, doubtful. When he finally let me free I was going to kick his balls so hard he’d be picking them from his teeth for a week.
After lugging me—at tooth point—into his house, the second the door closed behind us, he lowered me from his shoulder, then forced me over his knee and beat my ass. The first strike, he claimed, was for running away, the second, for making a scene. The third was for his own perverse enjoyment. And, oh, did he enjoy it. He'd said as much.
Yes, his balls were mine.
♪♫♪♫
What had to have been hours later, Jake finally returned to the bedroom. He placed a large brown bag onto the dresser and dropped a duffel onto the floor. “You fell asleep, so I ran out for some Chinese.”
Chinese. He was gone longer than that. I knew because I hadn’t been sleeping. I had pretended to be asleep so that I could buy some time. I wasn’t ready for what he had planned by a long shot, and was trying to figure out how to get out of it.
“Are you hungry?” Leaning toward the edge of the bed, he tugged the tie from my mouth. My lips felt dry and cracked. I ran my tongue over them, wetting them.
“You left the house while I was tied up and defenseless? Someone could've broken in.”
“I have a top of the line security system.”
“The house could've caught fire.”
“I've lived here for half my life. I doubt the house is going to spontaneously combust because I left you alone in it.” Dismissing my accusation, he began rooting through the bag, pulling out pint size cartons with red dragons imprinted on the sides. Do you like egg foo young or General Tso’s?”
Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing (Hautboy Series Book 3) Page 19
