Promiscuous (Tease 2)

“Ivan. Roman’s gone after him.”

“Ivan? What the hell—” He stopped and turned to me, his expression one of disbelief. “Did he hurt you?”

I began to cry. The whole story tumbled out in a flood of tears.

“Jesus, Beth, why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I was angry. I needed someone to blame and I…”

“You blamed me,” he finished quietly.

“No! I was trapped in this neverending nightmare. I needed to project the hurt and anger I was feeling somewhere, and I felt deserted by you since you met Mia.” I took a deep breath, forcing myself to continue. “You canceled that night at the bar, and Ivan was there. He drove me home.”

Coop’s face went white. “That’s when this happened? Fuck, Beth, I’m so, so sorry.”

“I don’t blame you, Coop. He raped me, not you.” I threw my arms around him and wiped my damp cheeks.

“For what it’s worth, I hope Roman fucks him up really bad.” He shook his head. “That fucking bastard.”

The door opened, then slammed shut.

We both looked up as Roman walked into the room. I edged slightly away from Coop. I’m not sure why I did that. Roman stared at Coop, his expression hard. I swallowed.

“Roman, this is an old friend of mine, Coop. Coop this is…a new friend of mine, Roman.” They stared each other down, neither of them looking particularly pleased to see the other. “How did it go?” I asked nervously.

“You don’t need to worry about Ivan anymore.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn’t. I watched as he walked out of the room.

“Wait,” I said, getting to my feet. “What does that mean?”

“It means h

e won’t be bothering you again.”

I shot Coop an apologetic look and ran after Roman. I had no idea what his problem was. I caught up with him and grabbed his arm. He turned around, his face softening.

“What happened? What do you mean I don’t need to worry anymore? Did you…” I shuddered. I couldn’t even bring myself to say it.

“Beth, just let it go. You can finally work on getting over what happened. What I said or did to him, it’s better you don’t know.”

Well, that makes me feel better.

He sighed and took my hands in his. “He’s not dead, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Good.” I placed his arms around my waist, and my own around his neck. “Thank you for not giving up on me. I still don’t know why you were so insistent on helping me, but thank you.” I lifted my mouth to his, our lips melding together. I felt him relax.

“Mmm. I could get used to this.” He smiled, planting another kiss on my lips.

“Ahem.”

We both turned. I blushed. Shit. I’d forgotten about Coop. We all stood there awkwardly.

“I might go into town and get some food. Do you guys want anything?”

I shook my head, and so did Roman.

“Okay, I’ll check into my hotel too. If it’s okay, I’ll come over later?”