Page 9

She frowns. “Perhaps if you took your time to make yourself clearer?—”

I crush my empty soda can in my fist, and she jumps at the sound. “You’re intelligent enough to know what’s going on between us, and yet you want me to spell out my feelings before you feel comfortable with admitting you want what you want. Isn’t that right?”

“Umm, no, wrong. I don’t give a rat’s ass about your feelings. And just because two people happen to find each other mildly attractive doesn’t mean they have to strip and fuck on the nearest flat surface.”

“Why not?” I counter.

“Because that would make them nothing more than base animals.”

“But I am a base animal. And so are you.”

“Keep your fucking insults to yourself, Rusty.” She glares hard enough to drill holes in me.

I take a deep breath to reel myself in. I remind myself that I’ve been out of the land of meaningless conversation and talking just for the sake of talking for over a year. She’s ironically right in calling meRusty. I’m rusty when it comes to fitting back into society. But I still want to teach her a lesson for that dirty mouth. For making me want to see more of that saucy body she’s hiding under the robe.

And as long as I remain this close to her, exchangingwordswhen I want to do something else entirely, that temptation will only grow.

I stalk toward the living room. “I need to get out of here.”

“You’re going back to the party?” she asks, trailing after me.

“God, no. If I have to smile and answer another question about my status on social media, I won’t be responsible for my actions,” I snarl.

“Wow, someone really went to town on your social skills, didn’t they?”

I don’t answer. I’ve reached the limit of my tolerance. I need to get out into some clean, clear air before it’s too late. I grab my leather jacket and punch my arms into it, wishing for the dead silence and the simple existence of Roraima.

My loafers are by the front entrance, and I shove my feet into them before I yank open the door.

“What the hell’s so urgent?” Keely asks, still following. “It can’t be your escort service situation since you left your phone back there.”

I suck in a breath and tunnel my fingers through my hair. “I just need to get some air, okay?” I step out and start to shut the door.

“Can I come with?”

I turn slowly, catch her gaze. “Are you sure you want to?” I don’t disguise the echoes of my turmoil.

She licks her lips and slowly nods. “Yes.”

My breath shudders out. I take in the short robe she’s wearing and the V-shaped gap at the front that shows a hint of her breasts. “I don’t have time to wait for you to change.” My gaze drops to her feet. “Or put on shoes.”

She replies with a shrug. “We’re not going far, are we?”

I don’t answer. I turn and skirt the pool. After a moment, I hear her behind me. The ennui evaporates from my veins, replaced by another equally dangerous drug.

Lust.

The unsettling kind. The kind that means I have to pay Hani double when I’m done with one of her girls. I quicken my steps and round the back of Zach’s house. Or the front, depending on how you view the property. I key in the code and the quadruple garage doors roll upward.

“You’re going out?” Keely asks.

I head for the indigo and black McLaren P1 GTR and slide behind the wheel. Throwing open the passenger door, I start counting silently. I reach eight before she slides into the seat.

I almost wish she didn’t. The moment she shuts the door and her scent engulfs me, I know I’m going to fuck her.

“Seatbelt,” I growl.

She complies.