Smoke and Sin (The Perfect Gentlemen 4)

“But you thought it, didn’t you? Gus is good enough to fuck but dear god, don’t let my friends know I’m slumming it.” Her hands were shaking as she buttoned her blouse. “So you thought it was okay to fuck your way through the entire female law school population, but somehow I’m not good enough to be your political wife. Is that right?”

“You want to know why you can’t be my political wife? It has nothing to do with sex, baby. You are the be-all, end-all of sex for me and you damn well know it. It’s that you can be a righteous bitch and you’ll never learn how to play nice with others. That mouth of yours is a liability I can’t afford, so yes, I’m ending the relationship because I’ve got to grow up and stop playing around. You’re not the marrying type. Or the motherly type. So I don’t understand why you’re pissed at me when I’m merely being honest.”

The flat of her palm cracked against the side of his face. His head snapped around, the jarring smack ringing between his ears. His jaw ached. He rubbed it with tense fingers.

Damn but that woman didn’t hold back—not her opinions, not her advice, and definitely not when she decided to slap someone. Gus always gave as good as she got.

This was what they did. They pushed and poked each other until one of them backed down or broke. Then they always ended up in bed. Hell, angry sex had been a regular staple for them, and he hated to admit how much he loved it.

He had a feeling they wouldn’t be having that anymore.

“I hope you enjoy the rest of your life, Roman, you fucking coward.” She stepped back, grabbing her bag. “That’s what you are. You and Zack have a lot in common. You both need women who won’t challenge you.” She scoffed. “Good luck with that.”

She strode out of the room.

He let her go, watching every moment of the train wreck until she disappeared out of his bedroom.

It was done. They were over.

Well, they should be, but he followed her out, unable to find the slightest willpower to let her leave. “I’m a coward because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life like this?”

She didn’t turn around as she crossed the second-story landing and headed for the stairs. She merely raised her hand and gave him her middle finger. “Well, you can spend it kissing Zack’s ass. That’s what you’ve really prepped for all your life. Poor Roman. So terrified to have his own life, he needs to leech off Zack.”

She was halfway down the steep stairs that led to the main floor when he caught up to her. He reached out, intending to stop her because there was zero way they ended with this much ugliness between them. She could not have the last word.

The minute his hand touched her arm, she whirled around to face him with fire in her eyes and a curse on her lips.

That was the moment she slipped. Her eyes widened as she started to fall back.

Roman’s heart nearly stopped in his chest. He reached frantically for her, desperate to stop her tumble.

Her blouse was silky. He couldn’t grab on. She literally slipped through his fingers.

Gus crashed down the stairs, her body beating against the wood and the railing until she finally stopped at the bottom in a heap.

Roman raced down to her, so stunned he’d swear he had stopped breathing. “Oh, god, Gus. Are you all right?”

The door shot open, and Zack rushed in with Maddox right behind him.

“What the hell was that noise?” Zack asked, then saw Gus, who started to writhe and whimper. “Do I need to call an ambulance?”

“Yes!” Roman shouted, his only thought to get Augustine in his arms. To make sure she was all right. To fucking apologize to her and start this conversation over again. Because they couldn’t be over. He’d feared that letting her go was a mistake the minute she’d started to fall. He’d seen a world without her, and it had been bleak as hell. Cold. He hadn’t wanted any part of it.

She’d been right. He had been a coward. He had to own up to that, fix it.

“Don’t touch me,” she spat his way as she got to her knees with a groan.

“Augustine, please let me help you.” He had to know that she was all right. She looked so pale, so unlike her. His Gus was ballsy and full of life. He’d forgotten that sometimes she could be fragile.

“I want to know what the fuck is happening and I want to know right fucking now.” Maddox, the happy ne’er-do-well, stood at the bottom of the stairs like Gus’s avenger, glaring at Roman with one of the single darkest looks he’d ever seen.

Gus held a hand out. “I fell, Mad. I came over to pick up something before I leave town and asshole here ran true to form.” She sent a thumb in Roman’s direction. “I took the stairs way too fast and I fell. Don’t you dare call an ambulance. I’m fine with the exception of my pride. That’s pretty busted up. So if you’ll get out of the way, I’ll say goodnight.”

Mad was right beside her, taking her hand in his. “Let me help you to your car.”

“I walked here,” she said. “I’m fine.”

Roman couldn’t let her leave with things so broken between them. “Gus, we should talk.”

“I don’t want to speak to you, Roman. Not for a long time,” she said without looking back. “And if you try to come anywhere near me before I’m ready, you should know that I can be every bit the bitch you accused me of being. I’ll blow up your world and I’ll enjoy it. So fuck off. And Zack? Joy is a sorority sister of mine. She’s sweet and kind and good, and if you hurt her, I’ll kill you. Do I make myself plain? You boys think you’re the ultimate brotherhood. You have no idea what my sisterhood can do.”

She headed out the door.

When Roman hurried after her, Zack put a hand on his chest, holding him back. “Don’t. You will accomplish nothing except getting in another fight. You know Gus. She’ll do everything she threatened. Mad?”

“I’ll drive her home, take care of her.” Mad frowned Roman’s way. “If you keep your distance, I might not call Dax and let him know you fucked his sister over. I know you think she’s some kind of warrior goddess whose vagina isn’t attached to her heart, but she’s way more delicate and caring than you give her credit for.”

A chill went through Roman as Mad exited and slammed the door behind him.

“You knew?” Roman asked Zack. “Both of you?”

Zack sighed and walked over to the sideboard where they kept the good Scotch. He quickly poured out two glasses. “Did I know that you spent an enormous amount of time with Gus and it wasn’t all studying and talking about former professors? Yeah. You didn’t fool anyone. The two of you practically spark a fire when you’re in the damn room together.”

“Dax?”

“Is spectacularly unaware. And you’ll have to forgive Mad. He loves Gus. He lost his virginity to her, and they’ve been close ever since.”

Roman winced.

Zack pointed his way. “There it is. That’s exactly why you should have left Gus the hell alone and never touched her.”

Roman took the glass, his hand tightening around it. “What do you mean?”

After a long sip, Zack sank into the big leather chair he somehow always made look like a throne. “You’ll never accept the fact Gus has more experience than you.”

“That’s not true.” But maybe it was. He hated knowing that she’d slept with Mad. He loathed Zack for throwing it in his face right now. Though she hadn’t gotten naked with that playboy Crawford in years, it still bugged him. Then there was that pesky rumor about her and Zack… At the thought, jealousy burned through him.

“It is,” Zack replied. “And it’s hypocritical. But I don’t think it’s something you’ll be able to overcome. You resent anyone who looks at her twice, and she is one sexy woman. If you can’t accept that, you’ll make yourself insane. Then there’s the fact that Gus is smarter than you are. She’s funnier. She’s a better lawyer. She’s—”

“Could you stop? You know, if you want Gus to run your campaign, I can catch her for you.”

“You’ve made my poi

nt brilliantly. You can’t love a woman you’re always in competition with. Sit down and make a decision here and now. You’re either going to go after her and figure out how to make the two of you work, or you have to let her go.”

He knew exactly what he should do. Zack was right. He didn’t want to spend his life fighting with a woman. Or competing with her. Otherwise, his very existence would be a constant battle. As much as he lived for the political fight, he needed peace at home. Without that, he’d go insane.

He sank into the seat opposite Zack. This was how they ended most evenings—single glass of Scotch in hand, planning the future.

“So tell me about this new girl. Not Joy. I’ve read the dossier your father sent over. I’m talking about her friend.” A hollow place gaped inside him, but maybe that was better than always being on tenterhooks. It might be boring and devoid of passion, but at least he wouldn’t live in constant turmoil. He could think. He could breathe.

And he knew that made him weak. Zack was right.

“Are you sure?” his friend asked. “Maybe you should take a few days to think about this. I can handle the date with Joy alone. She’s likely nothing more than one of my father’s blindingly dull Jackie O wannabes. And now that I know Gus will murder me if I so much as lay a finger on this girl, I’ll likely end this evening early.”