The Other Girl

nbsp; Sully stalks closer, his half-lidded eyes devouring me. “Dammit. I gotta be batshit crazy to fuck with you.”

Yes, he has to be, considering Carter would beat him to a bloody pulp—again—for even breathing near me.

“Shit though,” he continues, his speech slurred, “maybe that pussy-ass bitch just wasn’t man enough to handle you.”

I clear my throat and relax my tense shoulders, then inch my skirt up higher. “Carter doesn’t have to know,” I say. “Just me and you and the backseat.” I nod my head in that direction.

He spears his fingers into his hair and groans. “Christ, lady. You come on strong.”

I arch an eyebrow. “Does that mean you don’t want to play?”

He sways a bit, but his inebriated state doesn’t hinder his desire to get laid. Sully utters a curse under his breath as he trudges up to me.

I place my hand out, palm pressed to his chest. “First, you need a drink.”

He glances down at the bottle in his hand, and I smile. “Not that kind—” I reach behind me and grab my bag, pull out a silver flask. “A real drink. Try this. It’s aged to perfection, just like me.”

“Clever.” He sniffs the flask and blinks, woozy. “What is it?”

“Whiskey,” I answer simply. Whiskey and a few dashes of Xanax. A faithful cocktail that never goes out of style.

He takes a hard swig from the flask and coughs, wipes his mouth on his jacket cuff. After he sets the flask on the car hood, he places a clammy hand on my knee. I try not to cringe as I smile up at him.

“Let’s do this,” he says.

Bile coats the back of my throat. His breath wreaks of stale alcohol and his skin is slick with sour-smelling sweat. Still, I need him for this next step. He’s a link to Addison. So I swallow the rancid taste of disgust and place my hand atop his.

Uncrossing my legs, I spread my thighs and pull him between my legs. “Not here,” I say. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”

“Yeah, and where’s that?”

“The place where lovers go,” I say, walking my fingers up his chest. “Devil’s Bluff.”

His lips curl into a grin. “Lead the way, baby.”

The first time I came here, I had found the bluff by accident, and Carter had followed me. That was the first night we made love. It was beautiful and perfect and changed everything.

And I hate that I’m bringing this creep here now, tainting our place and memory, but it’s what has to happen.

As I drive through the branches and find a place to park, Sully finishes the flask. The cocktail works like a truth serum…right before it knocks you out. I just hope I didn’t dose him too hard.

Sully tosses the flask to the floorboard and turns toward me. “Come here.”

I cut off the engine and crack the car door. “Let’s go outside, where it’s cool and open.”

He blows out a long breath. “Christ. Whatever you want.”

I walk around to the back of the car, checking the vicinity for any other vehicles. “We’re alone,” I say.

The dark sky is blanketed with tiny white pinholes. The absence of stars along the mountain ridge shows the way to Devil’s Tooth.

Sully stumbles out of the car and gets as far as the trunk, where he leans himself and wipes a hand over his face. “So, are we going to fuck or what?”

Oh, how the girls must swoon over him. I smile to myself as I return to the car and scoot onto the trunk. “You don’t have a girlfriend?” I ask with a taunting tone. “You wouldn’t be a cheater, would you?”

He slides a finger under the tight hem of my dress and pops the material against my thigh. “Does it matter?”

My back teeth grind. They’re all the same. With a quick shake of my head, I clear the sudden surge of anger. “Come on. Tell the truth…” I urge, as I guide him between my legs. I reach around his waist in search of his back pocket, of his phone. “I thought you were into Addison—”