Page 55 of One Good Reason

“How is that?” I stroked my chin and stepped beside her. “What did I do to deserve silence?”

“You were rude, rough, and arrogant last night.”

“Was I?” I queried. “Or was I taken aback and confused? Could it have been that I knew you would regret your actions as soon as the sun rose.”

“You tormented me. You chastised me like I was a child. I’m a grown woman, Lawton Harvey. One who is capable of those things you know.”

Cupping my ear, I asked, “Capable of what?”

“Forget it!” she huffed and walked off.

“Talitha,” I rasped, causing her to stop in place. “I don’t read minds.”

“Funny you say that,” she mocked. “It’s the same thing I’ve been saying to you.”

“You wanted to fuck and instead of saying that… you shied away like a child?”

Narrowing her eyes, Talitha pointed her finger in my face and hissed. “I fisted you in the back of a limousine with a stranger sitting inches away from us. If that wasn’t me showing you what I wanted, then I don’t know what the fuck you expected from me.”

“I expected you to use your words. You couldn’t possibly think I wanted the night to end that way, especially after you jumped me in the car. I asked you repeatedly what you wanted.”

“No, you didn’t ask, Law. You ostracized me which did nothing but make me retreat. Clearly, we were on two different pages last night. It happened… I’m over it, and don’t worry… it won’t happen again.”

“If that was me ostracizing you, then baby… you aren’t ready. That was me asking for your fucking consent.” Realizing that my voice had raised unintentionally, I looked around the packed station to make sure the passersby hadn’t heard the argument the two of us were having.

Slanting her eyes, Talitha flipped me off and spat, “I’m not a child.”

“You sure are acting like one,” I called to her back as she stubbornly strutted away. Tugging on my ear, I turned and followed behind her like a lost puppy. Fucking woman was going to drive me insane.

After our showdown in the middle of central station, Talitha was back to not speaking to me. I asked her if she wanted to finish exploring the city and instead of answering me, she instructed the driver to take us back to the hotel.

When Poppa called a few hours ago and invited us to The Modernfor dinner, she smiled and readily agreed. My ass wanted to decline because of my sour mood but I refused to ruin our last night here.

Sitting here next to her while she laughed and joked with Poppa had me regretting even agreeing to this bullshit. I don’t know if she was intentionally trying to piss me off but she was tap dancing on a fine line.

“You mean to tell me you’ve lived in Georgia your whole life and never been to a Demon’sgame.”

“I haven’t.” Talitha shook her head. “I’m not big on sports.”

“That don’t mean shit! You ain’t gotta be big on sports to enjoy a game.”

“I guess that means you should invite me to one,” she flirted.

The way I cut my eyes at Poppa had his ass laughing. He knew not to fucking play with me. That’s why instead of agreeing, his ass said, “Law is a club owner. Make that nigga bring you out for a game.”

“Club?” she asked and peered over at me. “What kind of club do you own?”

I guess I’m not invisible after all.“Not that kind of club. I own a box at the stadium. Instead of sitting in the stands with everyone else, I can enjoy the game from my own private suite.”

“Oh,” she hummed. “I guess that’s another one of those rich people things.” Her eyelashes fluttered. “Poppa are you a club owner?”

“I am,” he confirmed. “But my suite doesn’t hold as many people as his does. I’m small time compared to him.”

“Yeah, I bet,” she surmised. “I forgot he hasunlimitedfunds.” The way that shit rolled off her tongue, I knew she wanted a reaction and got damn it I tried not to give her one.

Dropping my hand from the table, I reached under the tablecloth, gripped her exposed thigh, and leaned over. “I don’t lose Talitha. Make sure you keep that in mind the next time you try and goad me.”

Talitha cleared her throat, stood, and excused herself from the table. My eyes remained fixed on her until she was out of view.

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