13. Ribbon of steel
Ribbon of steel
Wade
She needs to stop with that ‘daddy’ bullshit before I bend her over my knee and—
With a groan, I push down on my tight crotch and dig out a beer from the fridge.
Every day her pouty fucking lip makes me crazier. What the hell am I going to do when she’s in my house?
At least there’s still a couple more nights I don’t have to worry about her being only a few feet away.
Popping the top off the bottle, I slump onto my couch and stare at the scattered papers across my coffee table.
Jesus, I have to readjust my zipper.
There has to be something I’m missing. All these photos of the farms and businesses that Mason has worked with doesn’t make sense.
Who is so crazy that they want to attack and harass innocent people?
“Huh. That’s a dumbass question,” I mutter. I’ve encountered some real loonies through the years.
But whoever is fucking with Black Gulch really takes the prize.
I should be trying to piece it together.
Yet I keep fixating on her .
Elena’s mugshot sits front and center. I can almost picture her poking out that lip, and the fire in the dark depths of her eyes as they rake me up and down.
Boldly.
Defiantly.
Begging me to break her.
She’s so different than her mother.
Maria was soft, timid.
Elena acts as if she’d fight me for control.
I know she’s hiding something. There’s always a fleeting glimpse of a deeper ribbon of steel running through her.
Maybe that’s what makes her so damn alluring.
No. She can’t be. It ain’t proper, or professional.
My palm runs up the tight bulge of my groin. There’s no denying the effect she has on me.
I won’t.
Pushing to my feet, I set down the empty beer and find myself in the basement, surrounded by weights and presses.
Time to work out and sweat some of this pent up need onto the treadmill.
When I peel off my shirt and shove my jeans down, my fingers linger over the stiff length of my cock springing free.
It’s going to be torture having her here.
In bare feet, I crank up the speed until I’m running so fast I can’t think.
At least my hard-on softens. If that’s the trick, I’m going to lose fifty pounds on this thing in the first week of her being in the same house.
Better to be safe then fucked.
Movement near the door almost makes me stumble.
Paige.
She’s wearing a skin tight blue blouse that stretches to hold her breasts in.
“What are you doing here?” I grunt through my footfalls.
Her smirk broadens as her gaze moves up and down my sweaty body.
For some reason, it doesn’t do the same thing to me that it used to.
Wrong eyes.
“I tried knocking, but there was no answer.” She steps closer, crossing her arms over the end of the machine and leans her chin on them.
“So you decided breaking and entering was the logical choice?” Tapping the “stop” button, I hop off the slowing mat to grab a towel.
“Oh, Wade. We haven’t had a chance to be alone in forever, so thought I’d come by and—” She moves in close enough to use the end of my towel to pat my chest. “—catch up.”
She’s right.
Ever since Elena showed up, I’ve been…distracted.
At first it was memories of Maria.
Now, it’s the taunting allure of her daughter.
“Missing me?” I dab the sweat streaking my face and watch Paige’s reaction.
Her ponytail bobs as she nods. “I have. It’s been so long.” She draws out the last word and reaches for my crotch.
Oddly, a wave of disgust takes me, and I catch her wrist before she can touch me.
“Show me,” I growl. “Get on your knees and beg.”
Her cheeks pale.
“Do it.” My jaw tightens.
“Wade…” She backs up a step, out of arm’s length.
“Go on. You want it?” I point at my limp dick. “Crawl on all fours.”
Her chin trembles. “Why are you being like this? I thought—”
“That I loved you? Paige, I’m not a white knight here to rescue you from your boring marriage. I don’t want to be the secret anymore.” I flip my towel over my shoulder and pick up my clothes from the floor.
“You want me to leave my husband?” Her jaw drops.
A sigh pulls from my lungs. “No, because you’d cheat on me, too.”
Her brows furrow as anger eats into her expression. “This is about that fucking bitch in lock-up, isn’t it?”
“Jealousy isn’t a good look on you, Paige. I think you should go. This was never gonna last forever.” Hell, it’s only been three times of weakness I’ve given in to her.
I lean against the side of the barbells and point towards the hall.
“Wait.” She falls to the tile, her knees making an audible thud when she lands. “Please?”
Hmm.
Bending over her, I reach out to tuck a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. My lips hover tantalizingly closer to hers.
There was a time I would have crashed into her with passion.
Lust.
An outlet for the endless nights of an empty bed. She’s a shallow substitute for what I really wanted.
Except even that has shifted.
Maria’s image keeps melting into Elena’s in my dreams.
I’m not one of those men. I can’t pine over more than a single woman.
And it isn’t Paige.
“I don’t want you,” I whisper, then stand.
It’s insane to walk away from a sure thing. I’m sure my cock will hate me later when I’m having to jack off in the shower.
Odd that it sounds like the better option.
Her cheeks mottle as she climbs to her feet. “We had a good thing, Wade. She ruined it.”
“She had nothing to do with it, Paige. We were never a ‘thing’!” I yell, following after her.
Don’t think that matters much when the house shakes from her slamming the front door.
I think I lied, though.
Elena does have a bigger part to play than I even want to admit to myself.
Watching the photograph of her drift slowly to the carpet makes the blood rush into my groin.
Fucking hell.
Shit is too complicated.