Page 80 of The Toy Maker

Ireallyhoped she was talking about a drink.

“So…” I raised an eyebrow. “She could be roaming the streets right now?”

“Nah, we called the fun police on her.” Before I could ask her anything else, she began to reverse the line of questioning. “Besides,” she said, crossing her arms, “I’m more interested in who your little ass got off with last night.”

Her muddy brown eyes locked onto me like a hunter zeroing in on prey. I never realized how intimidating she could be when she was focused on prying secrets out of people.

I stiffened. “I didn’t fuck anyone.” Although I wanted to.

Jade continued to stare me into the ground. “Why’d you leave in a hurry then?”

“Emergency,” I tried, offering a lame shrug of my shoulder. “My mom fell off the, uh, toilet. Nearly broke her stapes.”

“Isn’t that in the ear?” She gave me a disbelieving look.

“Exactly why it was so crucial that I left immediately.”

Jade stared at me, her bullshit detector working overtime.

Eventually, she let out a slow breath and rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” Just when I thought I was in the clear, she muttered under her breath, “Clearly, he didn’t screw the stupid out of you.”

I stalked past her, biting my tongue to keep from revealing the truth.

If I didn’t have bigger things to deal with, I would’ve had a great comeback about her stained dress and tangled hair.

But I had someone else to confront. And Jason was not going to like what I had to say.

I marched straight to his door, my heart hammering in my chest as I raised my hand and knocked loudly. I wasn’t leaving without answers.

A few seconds passed. Then, I heard movement inside and muffled voices. I froze, leaning closer, straining to hear. There was a woman’s voice.

My stomach twisted, jealousy settling in like a slow-burning fire.He already has another girl in there?I shouldn’t have cared so much. I shouldn’t have felt a sting of betrayal tightening around my ribs. But I did.

Before I could make out the conversation, the door swung open, and I was caught practically pressed against the wood like a desperate stalker.

I jerked back, straightening my spine and trying to regain whatever confidence I had left.

Jason stood in the doorway, shirtless, his dark hair slightly messy from sleeping. His sharp eyes flicked over me.

“It’s early, Tara,” he sighed. The way he said my name, like I was an annoyance, an obligation, only made my irritation spike.

I fidgeted with my sleeve and tried to remember my opening line. “Listen jerkoff,”—definitely not what I had planned, but I would have to roll with it—“you can’t just tie a girl up with the promise of an orgasm that would make porn stars jealous and then just skip out the fucking room?—”

“Tara,” Jason tried to cut me off, but I refused to back down.

“Oh, shut up for a minute, would you?” My words came out in a rush, anger bubbling over. “That kind of torture is rude on so many levels, and I don’t know how you were raised or if this is just another one of your sadistic little games, but?—”

Jason’s hand clamped over my mouth. I muffled a few swears against his palm, glaring up at him. I darted my tongue over it in defiance.

He yanked his hand away, his eyes narrowing. “Did you really just fucking lick me?”

I lifted my chin. “What about it?” I challenged.

He pulled the door shut and joined me in the narrow hallway. Now we were alone. Our bodies were only inches away from each other. I tried not to notice the heat radiating off his skin, or the way his muscles flexed when he crossed his arms.

“You’re a childish piece of work, you know that?” he snapped.

“And you’re a crafty son of a bitch.” I began another rant that had no foreseeable end before Jason slammed his hand back over my mouth.