Page 59 of Dirty Roxie

Ronan

The plan, as Daria explained it to me, is for Viktor to meet with Andrei in the hedge mazes at sunset. We will intervene—Daria taking care of Viktor, I’ll handle Andrei. Vengeance will be had, and we all walk away satisfied.

Problem is, I don’t trust Viktor. I’m hoping Daria doesn’t either.

We’ve got a few hours left before sunset. I’ve taken care of any business that needed my attention, choosing now to sit here and watch Roxie clean one of her guns. Her T-shirt today says simply:

Don’t Be A Dick

The front cut low enough to showcase her magnificent breasts that jiggle as she rubs the barrel.

“You enjoy watching me manhandle my gun, don’t you?”

“It’s not boring.”

She laughs. “I like you, Ronan.”

“I know you do.”

“The appropriate response to that isI like you too, Roxie.”

I remain silent. Not to be an asshole, but because I don’t trust myself not to tell her I like her. If I do, it becomes more real in my mind. If it becomes more real, then I believe it and want to live it. I can’t live a reality where I like Roxie and she likes me. That will just get us both in a shit ton of trouble.

“What’s so wrong with liking me?” she asks.

“Absolutely nothing,” I tell her.

She smiles in response.

“And everything.”

Her smile turns upside down. “Tell me why.”

I surprise myself by taking a seat next to her. “I’m not good with women, Roxie.”

She scoffs. “Tell me about it.”

“Not like how you think. I mean, I’m notgoodwith women. I’m not nice. To them.”

“So, you’re a dick?” She smirks and points to her shirt.

“I like to hurt them during sex.”

She stills. “Hurt, how?” she asks, setting her things on the coffee table and turning toward me.

I allow myself a moment to graze her cheek with the back of my hand. She leans into my touch slightly, something I don’t think she realizes when she does it.

“Something happened to me when I was young. It changed me. Altered my perception of women and sex. Not in a positive way.” My hand makes its way behind her head to cup the back of her neck, then pull her forward until our foreheads meet with a light thud.

Her green eyes widen, searching mine for an answer. Only she will not like the one I have to give.

“I would love nothing more than to strip you down until every part of you is bare to me. Starting at the top of your head, I’ll feast on every inch of your skin until I reach your toes. Paying extra close attention to everything from here”—I touch her chest just above where her breasts begin—“to here.” I run my hand down the center of her chest, to just below the underwire of her bra.

“Then, from here.” My fingers find the button on her jeans, and I work to undo it one-handed, then pull the zipper down slowly.

Her breath catches.

“To here.” I slip my hand inside her jeans and cup the heat between her legs, not allowing my fingers to enter, barely pushing my thumb against her clit. Her thighs squeeze together, capturing my hand between them. I nuzzle the side of her neck with my nose, not moving my hand.