Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Henry
W e didn’t speak another word to each other the entire way back to the apartment, but I could practically hear the cogs turning in Phoebe’s head with every step she took until she’d scurried into her apartment with an embarrassed thank you and a blush that invaded every part of her exposed skin.
I had no idea if I’d gone too far, but when standing so close to her like that, feeling her breaths pouring over me, watching the way her skin pebbled against even the slightest touch, I hadn’t exactly had a fucking choice.
She was innocence wrapped up in sin she’d yet to discover, and all I could think about for the rest of the day into the night was exposing that sin to her and teaching her how to enjoy it.
Whoever had fucked her over and broken her heart deserved to be punched in the nuts several times for his deception.
I didn’t need to be a detective to know she’d been cheated on from the way she’d reacted to my disaster of a relationship with Lillie.
The heartbreak in Phoebe’s eyes had been clear for even an imbecile like me to see.
The thought of anyone ever thinking she wasn’t good enough for them was unimaginable.
I spent the rest of the day in my apartment, sitting on the balcony, thinking things over, wondering how I’d gotten here so quickly into our holiday.
Was I doing the right thing by her?
Was I doing the right thing by Andy and Lillie?
Was I doing right by myself?
Or deep down, was I really just a selfish prick, about to show his true colours by going after what he wanted without thinking about the consequences or anyone else’s pain?
The questions circled around in my head over and over until I couldn’t take them anymore, so I started getting ready, knowing it was pointless trying to grow too big of a conscience about it all now.
The seed had been sown.
Whatever happened now, happened, and all I could do was hope that despite whatever downfall awaited us, Phoebe still turned up tonight and said yes.
To us .
Even if we had an expiration date.
Andy and Jace shared a look of surprise when I knocked on their apartment door later that night, ready to go out.
“What?” I eyed them, playing dumb.
Jace shrugged. “Nothing. Good to see you're coming with us, man.”
“Why wouldn't I be?”
“Because your social battery doesn't normally cope well with too much people-ing in one week,” Andy answered for him. “Plus, you’ve spent most of this afternoon alone again.”
“Luckily for you guys, I'm fully charged and ready to go.”
That's what had led us to standing in another packed bar crammed with sweaty, writhing bodies.
'Fiasco' turned out to be exactly that: a fiasco, with wall-to-wall people all around us.
Random women at every turn came up to Jace and Andy, trying to flirt and make conversation.
Naturally, both of them latched onto anyone who would show them an ounce of attention, especially with no Bailey or Rhea in sight.
Me? I made a point of wearing a big ‘Fuck Off’ sign on my head that warned everyone to save their efforts.
I only had one girl in mind, and the minutes ticked by agonisingly slowly without any sign of her anywhere.
I needed an answer, and I needed it soon.
The more time went on, the more I worried I’d scared her back into her shell and I’d never get to see that fire in her eyes when staring down at her again.
I tried to play it cool by not asking Andy and Jace whether they'd arranged to meet up with Bailey and Rhea or not.
If I started asking questions, Andy would no doubt give me a lecture I had no intention of listening to anymore.
Not when my body was ready to go, to set itself free on a woman who'd done nothing but command its attention at first sight, let alone touch.
Andy threw his head back, laughing at something a busty woman in a barely-there dress said.
She leaned in closer to him, thinking she'd caught herself a nice little piece of meat for the night, when, as if by magic, Bailey walked up behind him, her eyes narrowed on Andy like he’d fucked up without knowing so.
It didn't take long for Rhea to appear beside her, her brow raised when she saw her precious Jace making conversation with a woman with pink hair.
The moment he saw Rhea, though, the other woman ceased to exist. I had to give Jace props for that.
He never double dipped. When he had his eyes on a woman, he kept them on her until he heard that definite ‘no’ fall from her mouth.
“Hey, look! It's my Ree-Ree!” he cried out, throwing his arm around Rhea’s shoulder and pulling her reluctant body against him. “Where've you been, girl?”
“None of your business,” Rhea said, pushing at his chest and stepping away from him. “I see you’ve been having fun without us.”
Bailey made a sarcastic comment to Andy, too, but I honestly didn't care what. My attention remained fixed on the empty space behind them, where no Phoebe waited for me.
I gripped my bottle of beer tighter, feeling stupid for having put so much expectation on seeing her. For thinking she’d accept my stupid proposal. But then, like a fucking angel stepping into a strobe light, she appeared a moment later, stealing the breath from my lungs.
Jesus.
Her eyes latched onto mine, and her small, shy smile grew as she sauntered closer, swaying her hips with the contradicting confidence of someone who held all the delicious secrets in the world.
It took everything in me to keep my jaw tight and not let my mouth open as I looked her up and down, noticing the slinky, silver, shimmering mini dress she wore that clung to her every curve, showcasing bronze, lotioned legs that had me practically drooling.
She had her hair scraped back into a tight ponytail, all black cat eyes and red lipstick, looking like a vixen ready to attack.
I devoured every fucking inch of it.
I swallowed as she approached, making sure she saw the way I puffed air into my cheeks and blew it all out as a sign of appreciation when I knew neither Jace or Andy were looking my way—they were too busy dealing with their own women problems to focus on Phoebe or me.
For just a second or two, she was all mine.
“Fuck,” I mouthed, making sure she noticed.
My dick stirred to life, and I had to concentrate like hell to force it down when she came to a stop beside me.
When Phoebe glanced up at me, her eyes twinkling, I struggled not to drop my beer, wrap her in my arms, and taste her everywhere in front of everybody, consequences be damned.
I had no idea how the hell she’d done this to me so quickly, but I knew for certain it was all her fault. She held magic in her aura, and she had no idea how powerful she could be yet.
“Hey,” she said, her naughty smile holding me hostage.
I cleared my throat. “That was quite an entrance.”
“Was it?” She batted her lashes. “I had no idea.”
“You certainly got my attention.”
Phoebe shrugged. “That seems to happen easily these days. You're not a hard man to please.”
My nostrils flared, and my heart raced faster at the need to bend her over and teach her a lesson or two in how to play this game.
Instead, I glanced around to make sure Andy and Jace were still occupied dealing with their own shit rather than listening to either of us.
Once I saw them engrossed in conversation, I stepped closer to Phoebe until my hips brushed against hers, rocking her body so she looked back up at me again with those eyes I was starting to think I could spend forever staring into.
“You should know I'm a very hard man to please, Phoebe Turner. You just happen to be exceptional at it.”
“Wait until I actually start trying.”
I raised a brow and tilted my head, saying so much without saying anything at all. Wherever she’d found this confidence from, I fucking loved it. The tension between us charged the air, making it impossible to think clearly amidst the blaze of it all.
Phoebe struggled to control her smile, and she looked down at my hand wrapped around my bottle of beer. “Look at that. Your hand is out of your pocket and you're managing to keep it to yourself. See? You do have some control.”
“This bottle is about to shatter in my hand if I squeeze it any tighter. It's itching to get to work on that dress of yours.”
“This dress?” She held out her arms, revealing it in all its glory.
I cast a quick glance to the guys again, thankful when I saw Andy with his back to us, his face buried in the neck of Bailey as he talked against her ear intimately, already clearly forgiven.
When I gave my full attention to Phoebe again, I leaned in, making sure only she could hear me when I said, “You're acting like you're ready to accept my earlier proposal.”
A shiver ran over her, and goosebumps she couldn’t hide rose to life along her shoulders and neck. Her lips parted, and she studied my face like she wanted to memorise every fleck of it.
“Are you ready for me to be your secret distraction for a while?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered breathlessly.
That one word from her lips felt like an injection of joy pushed straight into my bloodstream.
“You trust me to take care of your body? To make you forget everything you're trying to escape?”
“Yes.” Her chest bounced.
“To fix whatever that bastard broke in you when he betrayed you with another woman?”
Her eyes widened, like she couldn’t believe I’d put two and two together and gotten fucking four, but she nodded anyway. “Even if it makes me stupid, yes.”
“You could never be stupid, Phoebe. Don’t talk about yourself that way.
” I leaned in closer, brushing my lips across the edge of her ear.
To the others in this noisy club, it would look like I’d had to lean in to get her to hear me.
To Phoebe, it was a promise of how tenderly I intended to treat her until she begged me to get rough.
“And you’re okay with keeping it a secret between us? ”
She nodded against me.
“Then we walk away from each other. No hard feelings. No remorse.”
“None.”
“Just friends.”
“Maybe not even that.”
Her response made my smile grow even bigger, the love of her back and forth turning me on far more than it had any right to as I pulled back so she could see my face again. “It's going to be fun fucking you in private while pretending to hate you in public.”
“I can fuck you and still hate you, Henry.” She blinked up at me, teasing.
“You can try.”
She pretended to brush some hair behind her ear before she tore her eyes away from mine, turning towards Rhea and Jace at just the right time before we got busted.
The moment he saw her, Jace threw his other arm around Phoebe and pulled her to him, making me irrationally envious when I had no right to be.
I hated how he didn't have to hide his flirtation with anyone. I hated even more how he could do it with the one woman I’d claimed as mine from now until I boarded our flight home.
Phoebe, however, let him hold her for a second before she politely pushed away from him and stepped aside. “I'm heading to the bar. Anyone want anything?”
You. I want you , I thought, the urge to devour her stronger than my willpower.
“I'll go with you,” I found myself saying, acting the exact opposite of how I'd wanted to in front of everyone.
Phoebe raised a brow at me, quickly eyeing Andy to see if he reacted, and I found it sweet that she even cared about me getting shit off him when she had her own problems to deal with.
“Are you sure you two can be together for five minutes without biting each other's heads off?” Jace asked with a laugh. “I’d like a beer, but I’m scared one of you will end up launching it at the other.”
“Anything's better than listening to you four pretending you're not coupled up yet while arguing about those girls you shouldn't have been talking to,” I hit back, only for Rhea and Bailey to turn to Andy and Jace with another glare.
“Cheers for that, arsehole,” Andy called out, making me smile to myself as I gave him the finger and walked over to Phoebe.
“Come on. I'll even buy you a drink without any poison in it.” I grinned at her, faking my disdain in front of the others.
Playing her character to perfection, Phoebe rolled her eyes and turned away from me, but not before she made sure the others heard her parting words.
“Follow me all you want, Cohen, but I'd rather live in the armpit of a sweaty giant than accept a drink from you only for you to hold it against me for the next week. No, thank you.”
Andy laughed.
Jace muttered something I couldn't really decipher.
And me? I smiled the whole damn way to the bar, watching her sway that arse from left to right in that tiny silver dress I was determined to peel off with my teeth at some point later that night.