Page 36 of Black Jack (Advantage Play 5)

“For dinner. I figured I should probably thank you for it.”

“You don’t need to thank me. It was my way of apologizing,” I remind her.

This girl has lost her freaking mind. How did we just go from discussing our monogamous relationship to her sucking me off?

“And maybe you did such a good job apologizing that I feel the need to suck your cock,” she offers with a coy smile.

There’s that damn carrot again. My dick throbs at the prospect, but I shift in my seat and pull up an image of the septic system I had to clean out a couple years ago. It staves off the onset of the imminent blue balls that I know I’ll be sporting in a few more minutes if we keep this conversation going.

Scratching my jaw, I replay our conversation, then ask, “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Pretend you’re a thing to be used and that I’m a sick bastard who’s willing to take advantage of it.”

The cab of the car is almost silent other than the rumble of the engine as Bianca sits paralyzed beside me. Apparently, she doesn’t like being called out for whatever game she’s playing. I just wish I could understand why.

She takes a deep breath. “I don’t––”

“You do. You’ve done it multiple times, Bianca. And every time you do, your eyes dim, and the real you disappears into thin air. Is it some screwed-up defense mechanism? Is that it?”

“How dare––”

“Why do you keep offering sex when it’s clear the idea of going through with it disgusts you?”

Lips pinched, a very rigid Bianca shrugs one shoulder. “Who says it disgusts me?”

I twirl my finger a few inches from her face. “This. You. I’m not an idiot, Bianca, so stop treating me like one.”

“You might not be an idiot, but you’re still a man.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you only want one thing from me, and I’d rather use that to my advantage than wait for you to chew me up and spit me out like a used piece of gum.”

“That’s funny. From what I’ve heard, you’ve already been chewed up and spit out more times than I can count. Why not add one more time to your list?”

Regret pools in my stomach as soon as the shitty comment slips out of me.

Shiiit. We’ve been down this road before, but keeping myself in check when she’s an expert at pushing my buttons is starting to feel impossible.

I pull into the parking spot, then turn off the ignition. “Listen, Bianca––”

The passenger door slams before I have a chance to apologize. She marches to the front of our building, nods to the doorman, then disappears from sight. With my chin to my chest, I turn the car back on and shove it into reverse.

Seems I have more guilty pleasure hunting to do, though it’ll probably just wind up in the garbage with the roses. I’m going to wind up broke even faster than I’d initially anticipated if I keep this shit up.

Annoyed, I find the burner phone and dial Kingston. It rings for a few seconds before a familiar, albeit feminine voice answers. “Jack?”

“Ace?” I return, my eyes widening in surprise.

“Yeah. Hey.”

“Why are you answering Kingston’s cell? You shouldn’t incriminate yourself like that, Ace––”

“Calm down, grumpy gills.” I can hear the smile in her voice as I shift my phone from one ear to the other. “Your name flashed across the screen.”

Blood boiling, I seethe, “He has my name programmed into his phone? What the hell is he––”