Page 69 of Shallow

She turns a cold eye my way as if she sees through me. “This is still about punishingme.”

Twenty-Two

Shiloh

My body is desperate,screaming at my conscience to just accept this for what it is—hot, meaningless sex. The old Shiloh would’ve told my newfound morality to haul its ass back into the hole it crawled out of and shut the hell up. However, the new Shiloh, who has lost her job, her best friend, her home, and her freedom, suddenly finds herself in unfamiliar waters too deep to navigate. Too deep to give my body to a man who only wants it because he assumes I’m already giving it to his bestfriend.

I’m in a no-win situation. As much as I ache for him, I refuse to be a ring in his alpha dick tossgame.

Cary’s blue eyes darken as I move my hands from my waist and lock them over my exposed chest. Being halfway naked makes me feel vulnerable. Vulnerability makes you weak, and no one survives in this world beingweak.

“Want to tell me what just happened?” He sits beside me, making sure to keep a safe distance betweenus.

No. I don’t. I want to crawl under my disgusting princess blanket and dream this whole night away. I want to go back to the first few days where Cary barely spoke to me. Now all he does is talk, and it’s starting to breakme.

Bowing my head, I rub my temples with the pads of my thumbs. “You seriously think I’m sleeping withWill?”

“Don’t hand me that shit, Shiloh. I see the way you two look at each other. Do you think I’mblind?”

“No, I think you’re amoron.”

“You’re way too friendly.” His words clip through his grittedteeth.

“Really? That’s funny, because friendly isn’t a word I’ve ever heard you pair with my name.” I smirk a little as his nostrils flare. “Besides, he’s a nice guy, and the last time I checked, who I fuck isn’t any of yourbusiness.”

That’s probably a little out of line, but I refuse to sit in my own home while he dictates who I see in my own free time. Not that I’m even interested in Will, but I’m also not interested in self-righteousassholes.

“So you admit it!” Cary leaps to his feet and stares at me with bloodshot eyes, pulling the ends of his hair until I’m sure he’s going to rip itout.

I’m on my feet just as fast, a severe lack of judgment clouding my ability to think rationally. “What? No! God, Cary, what the hell is it with you? You treat me like garbage one minute, then the next you act like I’m your property. Might I remind you that you’re still fuckingTaryn?”

“Wasfucking Taryn. And so what? Fucking is fucking, Shiloh. It meantnothing.”

“Does she knowthat?”

“Taryn believes what she wants to believe. That’s her problem, notmine.”

“Do you realize what a huge dick you sound like? Are you saying you’ve changed so much in seven years that you fuck for sport now? Emotion and heartbreak are just casualties of your sickgame?”

“Why so shocked? Whose pink playbook do you think I learned it from,Shallow?”

“Get out! Get out of my house!” So many emotions roll through me at once, I’m not sure which one is the strongest. Anger. Pain. Hurt. Embarrassment. Regret. Shame. Pity. All of them spark like lightning through my fingers, and Cary’s face contorts as I shove him toward the frontdoor.

“Shiloh…”

“Get out!” I scream again. I’m only seconds away from a breakdown, and I’ll be damned if I’ll give him the satisfaction of watching ithappen.

I’m so stupid. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of what life could be like starting over. No cameras. No limelight. No constantdemands.

Justsimplicity.

But that’s not the way God planned life out for me. Oh, who am I kidding. God has nothing to do with it. I sold my soul to Satan a long time ago, and he’s corrupted it with evil and darkness—which is exactly what Ideserve.

Salvation is everlasting. Penance is never-ending.

As Cary stumbles onto the porch, I reach for the door to slam it when his phone chimes. It’s Taryn. I know that chime. It’s some Taylor Swift song, and I know she programmed it herself into his phone. No one else on earth would pick something soobnoxious.

So, instead of granting myself the Oscar-worthy door slam I’d planned on, I hover over the entryway and wait. Cary curses under his breath and pulls his phone from his back pocket. I watch his eyes as they scan the message, noticing how they narrow with every line and how his lip curls into a dangeroussnarl.