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“Yeah, but…” I shake my head. “Okay, can I be real with you for a minute?”
“Always,” she says. “I prefer it actually.”
Turning to face her, I try to formulate my thoughts, but the longer I sit here and think, the more jumbled my head becomes. Finally, I spit out the first thing that slips off my tongue.
“How is it that a man is so damn good a sucking cock?”
Apple’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she throws her head back and laughs. “That is not what I wasexpecting,” she says when she composes herself. “And the only answer I can come up with is that he’s good at it because he has one.”
It feels good to talk to someone about this, even if it is a woman. But I’ve never seen Apple as just a woman. She’s my best friend, my sister-in-law, and my confidant. If I can’t talk to her about this, then I might as well throw in the towel before I go insane.
“And he’s patient, too,” I tell her. “Like, he made sure to check in on me throughout all of it, ya know? I thought I’d freak out because of what happened to me, and for a second, I did, but he and Jez grounded me.”
“That’s a good thing, Mark.”
“I know, but… I just… I want more, ya know?”
“Is that so?”
Apple and I jump to our feet, both of us startled by Phantom’s voice. Even from across the room, I can see the way his nostrils flare and his eyes darken.
“Uh, how long were you standing there?” I ask nervously.
Fuck, he makes me feel like a goddamn teenage girl.
“Long enough to know you like how I use my mouth.”
“And that’s my cue to go,” Apple says as she scurries toward the door. When she’s right next to Phantom, she stops and faces him. “If you hurt him, it’ll be me you’ll be meeting in the Confessional.”
With that, she smiles sweetly and leaves the two of us alone.
“Confessional?” he asks, eyebrow raised.
“Oh, prospect, you’ve got a lot to learn.
Phantom takes a step in my direction, then another, and another. “I’m looking
forward to it.”
A thought slams into my brain, and I clear my throat. “That, uh…” I nod at the couch. “That probably looked bad.”
He tilts his head. “Bad?”
“Yeah. Like we were doing something we shouldn’t be,” I offer.
Phantom chuckles. “All I saw was two best friends talking. Honestly, I’m glad you have her.”
“You are?”
“Of course. Jez and I are here for you, I hope you know that, but I’m not stupid enough to think that there aren’t things you might want to talk about that you’re more comfortable going to Apple.”
Releasing a sigh, I nod. “Thanks. You’re taking my friendship with her way better than my brother did.”
“I get the impression that there’s a lot of things I’ll take better than Malice.”
There’s an underlying heat to his words, and my cock twitches.
“Where’s Jez?” I ask, changing the subject so I don’t jump him right this second.