“Deacon...”
He stopped with his palm planted on the door, poised to push it open. He didn’t look back, but he did wait.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. When she opened them, she asked, “Did you fuck any of those sweet butts after I left?”
Every corded muscle in his back and extended arm went as hard as his eyes had been. “Would you be pissed if I did?”
Lord help her, yes, she would. And that thought did scare the bejeezus out of her.
Silence shrouded them. Reese could no longer hear whoever had been going at it down the hall.
Then she asked something stupid. A question which would intentionally cause a reaction. Anything to avoid admitting she would be jealous if he’d ended up with one of those women. “Would you be pissed if I accepted Easy’s invite?” She knew it was petty the second it escaped.
He spun around and she automatically took a step back, her breath catching in her throat.
“What invite?” he growled. His nostrils flared as he raked his gaze down her. “What the fuck you wearin’?”
She glanced down as if she’d forgotten what she had on. “Jeans.”
“No. On top.” He took a step toward her, his hands now clenched into fists, and she took another one back. “That goddamn thin, silky thing with no bra. No fuckin’ wonder he gave you a goddamn invite. Walkin’ down here in the middle of the fuckin’ night wearin’ that shit. I can see every fuckin’ detail of your nipples.” The last came out in a barely-controlled roar.
Dumbstruck, she glanced down again and realized he was right.
“Why you here, Reese? Were you lookin’ for me? Or any available dick?”
She picked her dropped jaw off the floor and knocked it back into place. “That’s not fair.”
“Yeah? Life ain’t fair. You of all people know that. And I’m just callin’ it as I see it.”
He took another step forward and she held her ground this time, snapping her spine straight and lifting her head.
“Why you here, Reese? You here to ride my dick, then disappear as soon as you get off?” He reached out and pressed his thumb to her lips. He dropped his head and stared directly into her eyes. “You here to give me just enough of you to make me want more? That why you here? Let’s talk about fuckin’ unfair.” He dragged his thumb roughly across her bottom lip and her breath swept over it. “Wanna know why there’s no one waitin’ in my bed right now?”
She didn’t. But she was pretty damn sure she was going to find out.
“’Cause I didn’t wanna use them like that. The way you’ve been usin’ me. Know what the fuck it feels like now. To want more from someone who don’t wanna give it. It sucks, Reese.” He tucked his thumb under her chin and tipped her face up. Their lips were now so close she could feel his hot breath mingling with hers. “You... fuckin’... broke... me.”
Her chest tightened to the point where she couldn’t breathe.
He released her and jerked away, spinning on his bare heels and slamming the swinging door with both his palms.
Reese blinked, frozen in place.
She broke him? What did that mean?
It was her fault that he couldn’t use a woman, like one of those sweet butts, and not feel guilty now?
Bullshit.
Oxygen flooded her lungs and she lunged forward, pushing through the still swinging door. She spotted him down the dark hallway, turning right and disappearing into the room at the very end. Down by the shared bathroom.
She kicked off Reilly’s flip-flops, ran down the hallway and just as he was shutting his door, she shoved it open.
“Oh no. No, you don’t. You don’t blame me for not being able to treat women like nothing more than a piece of fucking meat.”
“Keep your fuckin’ voice down or we’re gonna have an audience.”
“I don’t give a shit. Let them listen.”
He yanked her into the room, far enough to be able to close the door. “I don’t need my brothers ridin’ my ass ‘cause of some woman squawkin’ at me.”
“Some woman?”
“Yeah, Reese. Some woman.”
“Am I just some woman to you?”
“Just like I’m only a dildo to you.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be how it works?”
“What the fuck you talkin’ about?”
She waved a hand between them. “This thing between us.”
“This thing...”
“Yes, this thing... Oh wait. You’re supposed to be the one who usually disappears. Did I beat you to it? Did I damage your fragile ego when I walked away earlier?”
He huffed. “Don’t got an ego.”
“The hell you don’t.”
“You know who has a fuckin’ ego? You. Think you’re too good to have a man in your life. One man fucked you over and now they’re all trash.”
It wasn’t only one. “Tell me something... When’s the last time you’ve been in a long-term relationship?”