Page 17 of Bitten By Desire (Crooked Point #1)

Monday

“Are you really not going to tell me what happened last night with Theo Gold?” Zoey asked as she picked up a cucumber and examined it.

Apparently she’d already managed to go through all her phallic produce, so we were back at the market. “Nothing happened,” I said and eyed the table piled high with baked goods. I’d prefer a cupcake over a cucumber right now.

“But something must have happened. You looked really upset last night.”

I was not going to tell Zoey that I let Theo finger me on his desk.

I was also not going to tell her that he offered me a job.

Because none of it mattered. “Of course I was upset, he didn’t offer me the job.

Darn. I really wanted it too.” I did not.

I’d never work for that God awful man. That beautiful awful man with the ice cold lips.

Damn it, stop thinking about him kissing you!

“You don’t even sound a little sorry about not getting the job. Come on, Emma. You really like Bennett. What would be so wrong with staying?”

I did like Bennett. Which was why what I did last night made me feel so sick to my stomach. I liked Bennett. I hated Theo. But I didn’t hate the way Theo had touched me.

“We’ll go house hunting again this Sunday.”

I groaned. “No. ”

“Then maybe we can go furniture shopping. I’ve been thinking of redecorating my guest room. It would be great to get your opinion on everything. Just in case you want to stay in that room indefinitely. As my roommate.” She placed a bunch of bananas in her basket.

“What is up with the phallic fruit?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why is everything you buy shaped like a penis?”

“Oh.” She laughed. “I hadn’t noticed. I’ve been teaching some of my clients how to prepare some healthier meals and snacks.”

I stared at her. “Do you mean you teach them by showing them how far you can shove a banana down your throat?”

She laughed but didn’t respond.

“That’s very inappropriate.”

“I didn’t say yes. But being healthy is never inappropriate, Emma. I’m just helping them in the best way I know how. And stop looking at me like that. I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“You’re kind of doing something wrong if your male clients are married.”

She walked over to the table of desserts, ignoring me. “Ah, here we go.” She grabbed a box of éclairs. “For you. And I bet you’ll indulge in them even though you also like Theo Gold. A little indulgence with multiple people is normal.”

Normal? No. “That’s not the same as what you’re doing at all.” I grabbed the box out of her hand. “And I’m not indulging in Theo Gold. I couldn’t possibly because Theo Gold doesn’t exist, he’s a vampire named Callum Walsh. ”

Zoey laughed. “Seriously? We talked about this. He’s not Callum. And he’s definitely not a vampire. It’s all about the eyes. And his eyes are a very normal brown.”

I hated that she no longer believed me. I slipped the éclairs into her basket. I was definitely going to need those later.

She raised her eyebrow at me. “Seriously, what happened last night? If you’re stress eating pastries, I know it was something big. So just tell me already and get it out.”

I sighed. “Fine.” I’d tell her part of it.

“Theo was incredibly rude the whole evening. He asked me very inappropriate questions that had nothing to do with the job. It was practically an inquisition about my relationship with Bennett. He thinks Bennett is dangerous or something. And a liar. And that I shouldn’t see him anymore. ”

“So they do know each other?”

“I have no idea. They at least know of each other. But obviously I’m not going to listen to that asshole. Because he’s the dangerous one. And the liar. And an asshole.”

“Hmm,” she said as we made our way into the frozen popsicle aisle.

“Hmm what?”

“Well, you called him an asshole twice.”

“Yeah, he’s a double asshole.”

She laughed. “Well, from the outside looking in, it seems like maybe you have a little crush on Theo Gold.”

I just stared at her. “Of course I have a little, dumb crush on Theo Gold! Because he’s Callum Walsh and I’ve been lusting over him for ten freaking years!

I never would have let him kiss me last night if I didn’t have a stupid crush.

And he can take his job offer and shove it up his double asshole. ”

She smiled. “That last part didn’t make any sense. But…I knew it!”

Damn it, had I said all that out loud?

“So…how did it compare to kissing Bennett?”

“It didn’t at all compare. It was like kissing the devil.” Saying it out loud made me swallow hard. It had felt like kissing the devil. Completely sinful. And wrong. But somehow oh so right.

Zoey laughed as she grabbed her popsicles. “That sounds incredibly hot.”

I hated this aisle. It was cold like Theo Gold. I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“Well, I’m all for this,” she said. “Now you have two guys trying to get you to stay in town. I say date both. Besides, you obviously can’t decide which one you want to be with until you’re intimate with both of them.”

I felt my cheeks turning red.

“Girl, did you already bang Theo?”

“No! No,” I said a little quieter. “He…he sexually harassed me in the workplace.”

She laughed. “Hot. Did you bang on his desk or something?”

“No. It was just hand stuff. God, what am I doing? It was all a mistake. I really like Bennett. Just pretend you didn’t hear any of that. I didn’t mean to tell you.”

“You were always going to tell me. Now…do you think they have any long goat cheese logs here? ”

“I don’t think long is how you’re supposed to describe goat cheese. It’s probably a weight thing. Like eight ounces versus four.”

“No, I order everything by length. I’ll go ask the sales clerk while you go to the bank for your date. Maybe you’ll let Bennett sexual harass you in his workplace.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I know…it’s just sexy. He has a private office. Not that you need privacy. You prefer the whole town to see you, right? I heard someone call you Ferris wheel girl in aisle three.”

What? I hadn’t heard anyone say that. “Really…no one said that, right?” I didn’t want that to be my new nickname.

She shrugged.

“I hate you.”

Zoey smiled. “You really don’t.”

I really did. She was the worst. And she gave terrible advice. I wasn’t going to date Bennett and Theo at the same time. I wasn’t going to date Theo at all. Because he was right, I didn’t date liars.

“Have fun at lunch. And this time I want the inside scoop immediately. Oh, and don’t forget to ask their investment guy about what to do with your money.” She wandered off and I heard her talking about the length of the store’s goat cheese logs.

What money was she speaking of? I didn’t have any. And yeah, I definitely couldn’t take dating advice from her. First of all because she didn’t date. And second of all because if she did date…it would probably be with a married police officer.

I walked down Main Street toward the bank.

And I did my best to not look around for a sleek black sedan.

I tried not to think about Theo at all. As far as I was concerned, we were a one-time thing.

I shook my head. A two-time thing. And now it was done.

I’d wanted to see him again and I had. So now I had closure.

Last night was the end of our story. We were past tense. Caput. Finito.

I took a deep breath and crossed the street in front of the bank. The building blended into the rest of the architecture perfectly. But unlike the other shops on Main Street, there were a few steps up to the front doors. It made it look more prestigious than the other storefronts.

The heavy double door just added to the prestige.

The heat was on in here, pushing away the chilly autumn air and any thoughts about Theo’s cold touch.

I hadn’t expected the inside to be so fancy.

The floors were marble and there were columns that made it almost look Grecian.

I looked around but didn’t see Bennett anywhere.

I made my way up to one of the tellers. One of the very handsome tellers.

Why did they both look like models? No wonder Zoey’s money was growing.

She probably spent all her free time in this bank.

Or at least all her free time with these guys.

I looked back and forth between them. Wait…

were they twins? Both of them had the same sandy blonde hair that hung in their eyes.

I would have been captivated by them if Theo’s words weren’t haunting me.

He’d told me to ask about the vaults in the bank.

About what Bennett was hiding in them. There were seven huge metal vaults lining the wall behind the counter.

I didn’t realize that banks had so many vaults. What did they need them all for?

“How can I help you?” the closer teller asked .

I tore my eyes away from the vaults to look at him.

And I swear his eyes dropped to my lips for just a second.

“Hi, I’m looking for Bennett,” I said. I realized I didn’t even know Bennett’s last name. In this fancy building, I probably should have said I was looking for mister someone. I heard Theo’s voice in my head: “Sir will also do quite nicely.” I shook away the thought.

“Bennett, huh?” The teller put his elbows on the counter and leaned forward slightly. “You must be Emma. We’ve heard a lot about you. Isn’t that right, Ace?”

The teller next to him stepped closer. “We definitely have. You’re just like Bennett described. I’m Ace.” He pushed his hair off his forehead as he put his free hand out for me.

I shook it. And I swear his eyes dropped to my lips too. Were bank tellers always this flirtatious? I mostly did my banking online, but I hadn’t remembered tellers acting this way. Or looking this way.

“And this is Huxley,” Ace said and gestured to his twin. Instead of dropping my hand, he placed it into Huxley’s.

Huxley pulled the back of my hand up to his lips. His eyes locked with mine as his lips brushed against my skin. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You really are just as Bennett described.”

“And how did Bennett describe me?”

“Beautiful. Intelligent.” His eyes fell to my lips again.

I felt my cheeks flush.

“Timid,” he added .

“Great tits,” someone else said from behind me. Another teller lifted himself up and casually plopped down on the counter. His smile made my heart race. Or maybe it was his piercing gaze. Or the words he’d just said.

“Shut it, Otto.” Huxley said.

“What? She does. He also said she was kinky as hell.” He winked at me.

Oh my God.

Ace hit him in the back of the head. “That’s Otto. You can ignore him.”

“And I’m Titan,” said a deep voice.

I turned around and looked up at the man towering over me.

He was as handsome as the other three, but there was a long, ragged scar down his left cheek.

It didn’t take away from his features though.

If anything it made him look more beautiful.

In a rugged way. His dark brown hair matched his dark eyes.

I was itching to grab my camera, but I felt like it would be weird to snap a picture of a virtual stranger.

We both just stared at each other.

He didn’t offer his hand like Huxley or Ace. And didn’t smile like Otto. He just stared at me. Everyone else seemed so cordial. But this guy just seemed…tense. Maybe he needed a visit from Zoey to stretch him out or something.

I cleared my throat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Um…so which one of you is so great with investments? My friend Zoey said I should talk to someone here about managing my money.”

“I can help you with that,” Otto said and slid off the counter.

“No,” Titan said. “I’ll assist her. ”

“Oh…I…I didn’t mean right this second. I’m having lunch with Bennett. Do any of you know where he is?”

“He’s running late. He had a mess to clean up.” Titan glanced back at Otto, his eyebrows lowering slightly. “Go wait in his office, Otto. He’s going to want to speak with you before his lunch.”

Otto sighed. “If Bennett needs to talk to me, he can do it here.” He sat back down on the counter with a smile, even though it kind of seemed like he was in trouble.

Titan shook his head. “Come with me, Emma. They’ll need a moment.”

Bennett and Otto needed a moment? What was happening? And if Bennett wasn’t here, why didn’t he text me to tell me he was going to be late?

Titan grabbed my elbow and guided me toward one of the offices. His hand was warm and comforting, even though I normally would have felt a little uneasy around someone so tall and domineering.

He opened the door to his office and I stepped inside just as the door to the bank opened.

I turned to see Bennett storm in. He looked really angry about something. Almost as angry as Theo had looked in the hay maze. Bennett didn’t even glance at me as he headed straight toward Otto.

Otto jumped off the other side of the counter and ducked behind it.

“Otto, I swear to God…” Bennett said.

Titan reached out and closed the door. “You really don’t want to see that, doll,” he said. His body was so close to mine that I could practically feel the heat radiating off of him .

Or maybe I just felt overheated as he stared down at me, caging me in against the door.

“What’s…what’s going on?” I asked.

“Business as usual.” He didn’t move.

“This is a normal day here?” This didn’t feel like a normal bank at all. “Because it seems a little…chaotic.”

“Honestly, this is a calmer day than usual.” He leaned in a little closer as his eyes scanned mine. “And chaos is a little fun, isn’t it?”

Was he about to kiss me?

I should have shoved him away.

But I felt frozen under his gaze.

The corner of his mouth ticked up. “Bennett was definitely right about you.”

I swallowed hard. What exactly had Bennett being telling his friends about me?

Did he really tell them that I was kinky?

Because that Ferris wheel thing was an outlier for me.

Not a normal occurrence. And Titan was staring at me like he thought I did Ferris wheel stuff on the regular. “What exactly did Bennett tell you?”

“That he was immediately drawn to you. He’s always had a good sense about these things. Now, where were we?” He took a step back. “Let’s move all your money to this bank and I can handle the rest.”

That sounded like something a mobster would say. Or a thief. What kind of bank was this? I looked over my shoulder at the closed door. And what was Bennett so upset about?

“Don’t worry, doll. I’ll take care of you while Bennett’s busy.”