“Don’t pretend you know fuck all about what’s goin’ on in my head,” I shot back.
“Maybe, you let the door to that fortress you built around you open an inch, I can get in and you’ll find I do know fuck all about what’s goin’ on in your head, I give a shit about you, and I wanna see you let it go and find yourself some happy.”
“That doesn’t happen for girls like me, Merry,” I told him.
“That’s bullshit, Cher,” he told me.
I jabbed my hand with the envelope at him. “You do not know what it’s like to live my life.”
“Open the door an inch, Cher. I get through, we’ll sit down and you can tell me.”
“Fuck that,” I snapped.
He rocked back on his heels, his eyes burning into mine, and murmured, “Right.”
Goddamn it!
It was time to end this, and at that moment, I didn’t care how much I was ending.
“You know, straight up, baby, I got a choice between Garrett Merrick, the guy I shoot the shit with, and Garrett Merrick, the man who gives phenomenal head, I pick door number two because you’re good with your mouth, but you’re better with your cock.”
No hesitation, he returned fire.
“You give it good too, sweetheart. Best I had in fuckin’ years. You’re ready to go again, you give me a call and I’m there.”
“Ethan’s next sleepover, or the next time I gotta eat shit and send him to my ex and his bitch, you’re on.”
“Find out you held out on me, after shift you’ll have a caller, and your mom can look after your boy while you’re takin’ my cock in my bed.”
“You’re on for that too.”
His eyes continued burning into mine as he rumbled, “I’m not fuckin’ with you, Cher.”
“Back at you, Garrett.”
“Then it’s on,” he announced.
“Oh yeah, baby. It’s on,” I agreed with enticing acid.
He lifted a finger my way and declared, “Then we got a deal. And you know how I deal, Cher. You know the man I am.” He dropped his hand. “You’re officially takin’ my cock, I officially take your back. I won’t say shit to anyone, but one goddamned thing happens with your ex and his bitch, you tell me. You don’t, we got problems.”
“Uh…think you forgot somethin’, boss. I take your cock ’cause I want to. That’s it.”
He shook his head, his eyes still scorching into mine. “Oh no,” he whispered, a sound that crawled over my skin in a way I couldn’t figure out if it was good or bad. “I’m seein’ you think you know the man I am, but you don’t fuckin’ know. Only way with me is my way. We made our deal. You got no choice now but to do it my way.”
“Don’t hold your breath for that to happen, gorgeous,” I returned.
“Yeah, one of us is gonna be breathless, brown eyes, that’s a guarantee.”
He could absolutely guarantee that.
Absolutely.
And it hit me at that juncture that I was in the middle of negotiating with Merry a friends-with-benefits—without-the-friendship-part deal.
How the fuck did that happen?
“We done with this bullshit?” he asked.
“We are absolutely done,” I answered.
“With this bullshit, you’re correct. Other than that, you are not,” he retorted, then turned and stalked out of the room, slamming the door.
I stared at it.
Then I sent voodoo vibes of evil I did not have the skill to accurately deliver (or any skill at all) in Peggy’s direction for being whatever the hell she was and doing it with very bad timing.
After I failed at that endeavor and got my head together, I shoved the envelope in my purse and got back to work.
*
Garrett
Garrett stood on the tiny balcony of his shit condo and lit a cigarette as he listened to the phone ring in his ear.
He snapped the top of the Zippo closed and looked out at his stellar view of a parking lot that led to another building of condos, none of which were remotely pretty.
“Yo,” his friend and brother-in-law, Tanner Layne, said in his ear.
Garrett exhaled and replied, “Yo, big man, you got a minute?”
“Sure,” Tanner answered.
Hold On
Kristen Ashley's books
- Holding the Dream
- Dance Upon the Air
- High Noon
- Moon Island(Vampire Destiny Book 7)
- Illusion(The Vampire Destiny Book 2)
- Upon A Midnight Clear
- Son Of The Morning
- MacKenzie's mission(MacKenzie Family Saga #2)
- Loving Evangeline(Patterson-Cannon Family series #1)
- A Billionaire's Redemption
- A Convenient Proposal
- A Dishonorable Knight
- A Headstrong Woman
- A Passion for Pleasure
- Atonement
- Beyond a Doubt
- Beyond Control
- Cavanaugh on Duty
- Colton's Dilemma (Shadow Breeds)
- Conceal, Protect
- Conflict of Interest
- Confessing to the Cowboy
- Dreams Don't Wait
- Explosive Attraction
- Find Wonder in All Things
- Forbidden Fires (Bondage & Breakfast)
- Galveston Between Wind and Water
- Game On
- Gone with the Wolf
- Honor's Players
- Illusions of Love
- Intaglio Dragons All The Way Down
- Just One Song
- Living London
- Lone Wolf (Shifters Unbound)
- Love Resolution
- Lyon's Crew
- Mountain Moonlight
- Need A Want Companion Novel
- Of One Heart
- Once a Bad Girl
- Once a Thief
- Once Again a Bride
- Once and Again
- Once Touched, Never Forgotten
- Once Upon a Kiss
- Once Upon a Prince
- One Desert Night
- One More Kiss
- One More Sleepless Night
- One Night of Misbehavior
- One Night Standoff
- One Texas Night
- Only Love (The Atonement Series)
- Operation Endurance
- Primal Bonds
- Questions of Trust A Medical Romance
- Reflection Point
- Retribution
- Savage Redemption
- Second Chance
- Secure Location
- Someone I Used to Know
- Son of a Preacher Man
- Soul Bonded
- Sunset Seduction
- Sweet as Honey (The Seven Sisters)
- Sweet On You
- Tempting Cameron
- That Carrington Magic
- The Bridgertons Happily Ever After
- The Demon's Song
- The Dragon and the Pearl
- The Lone Rancher
- The Millionaire Cowboy's Secret
- Translation of Love
- Twisted Perfection
- Vision In White
- When Love's Gone Country
- The Lost Tycoon
- Down on Her Knees
- Love, Your Concierge
- A Demon Made Me Do It
- Campbell_Book One
- The Lady of Bolton Hill
- Born to Ride_A Clubhouse Collection
- A Question of Honor
- Blood on Copperhead Trail
- Passion and the Prince
- Top Secret Twenty-One
- Dungeon Royale
- Make Me Bad(Private Lessons)
- My Fair Billionaire
- Writing Our Song:A Billionaire Romance
- Kissed by Moonlight
- Redemption in Love
- The Masterful Mr. Montague
- Diamonds are Forever
- Every Second with You
- If You Only Knew