Page 14 of Ruined

He stepped closer, our toes touching as he towered over me, his eyes narrowing. I tilted my chin up at him defiantly. “Get thefuck over it,” he snarled at me. I bristled. Joey was worried about me, and he was itching for a fight. Iknewthat. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to rise to the challenge. “Twice in the past ten fucking minutes, your life has been in jeopardy. Get your fucking ass in that goddamn clubhouse!” he barked down at me, pointing his finger in the direction of the clubhouse.

I spat in his face. He slowly closed his eyes and stepped back from me, using his shirt to wipe my spit off of his face. “You better watch who the fuck you’re talking to. In case you’ve fucking forgotten, I still hold a goddamn gun in my hand.”

He opened his eyes and arched an eyebrow at me, anger flaring in his beautiful eyes. “You threatening me, pretty girl?” he asked, his tone low and dangerous, the true, terrifying criminal within him coming to the surface.

I stepped up to him, glaring up into his handsome face. I wasn’t afraid of Joey. He knew that. Just as I knew he’d never truly hurt me. “I’m making a promise,” I seethed. “If you ever talk to me again like you just did, I will fucking shoot you, understand? I’m not one of your goddamn men.”

He took a step back from me. “Get the fuck out of my sight.”

Tristan gripped my arm and pulled me back from Joey when I reached up to jab my finger into his chest, ready to spew some more shit at him. “Come on,” Tristan told me, trying to deescalate the situation. “You both need to calm down.”

I ripped my arm from his grasp, almost stumbling when my skull pulsed from me moving too fast. “Don’t tell me what the fuck I need to do.”

He gripped my upper arms and snatched me against his hard, muscular frame, glaring down at me. I swallowed hard. I stillwasn’t used to this side of Tristan. “I’m not Joey, Addy. Watch yourself.”

I let a careless smirk twist my lips. “You going to hit me, Tristan?” I asked, almost taunting him.

He leaned his head down, so his lips brushed against my ear. I shivered, my breath hitching in my throat as my eyes closed.Oh, God, what the fuck was he doing to me?“I’m not that kind of man, Addy, but I will throw you over my shoulder, drag you into your room, and fuck you stupid,” he breathed into my ear.

My eyes snapped open as white-hot desire rippled straight down to my core. He leaned back up and reached up with one of his hands to brush the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. My breath hitched in my throat. “Got it?”

Rendered speechless, I wordlessly nodded my head.

I silently watched as Tristan leaned his muscular body over the pool table with his cue stick in his hand, getting ready to break the triangle of balls on the table. I couldn’t help but let my eyes linger on his ass for a moment because for a man, he really was gifted with a great, toned ass. It was the kind you wanted to sink your nails into or hell, even your teeth.

“You stare at that man any harder, gorgeous, and you’ll burn holes into his ass,” Jessie commented as she leaned over the bar to hand me another beer.

Dragging my eyes away from Tristan, I turned my head to smirk at her. “At least this way I can check him out without him trying to fuck me every time I turn around.” She released a loud laugh.“It’s been three years since I’ve seen him, much less been with him like that.” I shook my head. “I don’t exactly know how to deal with him.” A soft frown pulled at her lips as her eyes filled with concern for me. “He’s ten times cockier than he was when we were eighteen.”

Jessie sighed. “Maybe that’s a good thing, gorgeous. You need some sexiness like him in your life again,” she told me, trying her best to lighten the mood again.

I pursed my lips. “I don’t know. I think I’ve got enough of that in my life with your brother.”

Jessie snorted. “Look, I know Joey is my brother and all, but you don’t react to him the way you react to Tristan. That man comes within five feet of you, and everyone around you can see just how much he affects you.”

I rolled my eyes. “He does not—” I started, but I cut myself off, anger roaring through my veins when I saw Lacie, one of the club women, saunter up to Tristan and press herself against him, a flirty smile on her lips.

“Oh, he doesn’t affect you, hm?” Jessie teased, a knowing smirk on her lips.

I ignored her as I guzzled half of my beer down and watched him smirk down at her and whisper something into her ear that had her blushing and giggling. I clenched my jaw. “Two can play at this fucking game,” I snarled, getting up from my stool.

Worry for me flashed in Jessie’s eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid, Adelaide.”

I only shot her a smirk before I turned around to go to the pool table, sliding up to Joey’s side. I could feel Tristan’s eyes on me,but I completely ignored him as I smiled up at Joey. “I’m sorry about earlier,” I murmured. I knew I was trying to make Tristan feel what I was feeling, but I did mean those words to Joey. I truly was sorry.

Joey gave me a soft smile as he wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my jaw. “I know, pretty girl. We were both pissed at each other. I’m sorry, too,” he apologized.

That was one of the things I loved about Joey. He knew he had his faults, and he wasn’t afraid to admit that he had fucked up with me, just as I wasn’t afraid to apologize to him when I acted like a class-A bitch.

I splayed my hands over his muscular chest, looking up at him from under my lashes. “Makeup sex?” I asked him softly.

He smirked, his eyes flaring with his need for me. “I’ll never turn that down, pretty girl.” He thrust his pool stick at Charles, who hurried to grab it. “Charles is taking my place,” he announced to Tristan. “I’ve got something to tend to.”

Tristan’s glare settled on my back as I laced my fingers through Joey’s and tugged him toward his room, but I didn’t give a fuck. I might have originally started out wanting to piss Tristan off, but now, I wanted Joey.

I wanted that normalcy I’d always had with him, and I knew Joey would give that to me, would take care of me like I needed.

Joey would always be the one man that I knew I could rely on in my time of need.

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