Page 56 of Burn

Scotty lowers his voice to barely above a whisper, “She says her name is Rosie, and dude. This is the hottest girl I’ve ever seen in my life. Holy fuck. Where do you find these girls? She looks like she stepped out of a por—”

“Okay, Scotty. I got it. You can send her up.” I interrupt him. I know exactly how she looks. I hang up on the kid downstairs, stand, walk to the bedroom, and try the handle. It turns, but she’s wedged something under it, so it catches, refusing to open. She started this earlier in the week, and instead of breaking it down, I’ve given her space, hoping it would keep the peace between us. I allow my forehead to fall into the door with a thud, and my voice is low when I grit out, “Public enemy number one. Your friend is on her way up.”

At the same time, silence responds to a playful knock on the door:Shave and a Haircut.I stroll to it, twist the lock, pull the door open, and step aside, allowing Rosie in. She steps over the threshold, a broad smile on her face. I close the door behind her, leaning into it. She spins, her gaze scanning the room before they scan my entire frame. She has an almost hungrylook in her eyes, something I suspect she perfected over the years of convincing men to pay her for sex.

If she has a problem with me, she hides it well. She steps forward, reaches up, and gives me a brief hug, saying, “Hi Adrian!”

“Rosie,” is all I have the patience to say.

“Got anything to drink?” she asks, hands clasped in front of her in a way that pushes her tits together. I can’t help that my eyes drop to them, and her smile only grows when she catches the movement.

I motion toward the fridge, “Help yourself. There’s beer.”

She throws her small purse onto the table and literally skips to the fridge. When she leans in, looking for the beers that are front and center, her short dress pulls up, and I catch a glimpse of sheer black panties. This woman is attractive, but of no interest to me, still I allow myself to fully take in her outfit. She’s wearing a short black dress that fits like a second skin, one designed to provoke. It’s black, but it shines in the light, there’s a slight iridescence to it.

“Rosie,” I say.

She stands, a beer in hand, closes the fridge, and pops the tab up. She takes a sip and replies, “Mhm?”

“That doesn’t look like a quiet night on the couch watching movies with a girl friend kind of dress.”

She looks down at her body and sways back and forth. “Well, I guess not! Do you like it?” Her voice is light, high, and so flirty. Not surprised she has a lucrative career in sex work.

“It’s something.”

She laughs. It’s the first real laughter I’ve heard all week. “Youreallyare a bear, aren’t you?” She shifts her attention to the closed bedroom door and calls out, “Lex! Get out here before your bear eats me!” She skips past me, lightly knockingon the door, and cooing, “Come on, Alexandria. Open the door.”

The door opens, and I’m going to need another fucking drink. Lex wraps her friend in a warm, tight hug, and when they separate and I can see her entirely, I suck my teeth hard enough to make a loud click noise that draws both of their attention.

“Absolutely not, Lex,” I hiss, as if I have any right to control what she wears.

But, come on. No.

I don’t even know where the dress came from. I didn’t buy it, and she came here with nothing, but this dress covers so little of her skin that I’m seeing tattoos I’d never noticed before.

I’ve fucked this chick. Raw.

And this fucking dress is showing me lines of ink on her skin that I’ve never seen or noticed before. The straps are thin, leading down to a neckline that plunges low, displaying the outline of her breasts. A blue anchor tattoo sits low on her sternum. The sides are cut out, revealing the edges of the flowers that cover her stomach. The skirt barely covers her ass and pussy, and the slit goes up so high that she would have needed to shave to wear this.

I don’t mean her legs.

My heart pounds, and heat floods my body. My dick pulses. She’s so fucking sexy. There’s no fucking way she’s leaving the house in this. My eyes drop down her legs, taking in the bold lines that cover them. A bright pink peony on her thigh. A vibrant blue rose on her knee, a rosary around her delicate ankle. An ankle wrapped in the straps of the highest heels I’ve ever seen. They have to be six inches, and the boost puts her nearly at eye level with me.

I fucking hate it.

“Take it off,” my tone is a staunch warning that I’m not to be fucked with on this.

They both laugh, and Lex steps forward, stilling when she’s inches away, looking directly at me — not up at me like she usually needs to. She slings her arms over my shoulders, her fingers tracing lazy circles on the back of my scalp, sending a chill down my spine. She holds eye contact, and she’s wearing more makeup than I’ve ever seen. Her stormy eyes are rimmed with dark, smoky-looking stuff. I have no idea what it’s called, but it’s intense, and it makes her eyes even more intense. It reminds me of the ash and soot that coated her skin during the fire.

My skin crawls.

There’s something so different about this version of this girl.

She’s baiting me.

Her lips, plump and glossy, twist into a half-smile, and her voice is low and husky when she says, “We’re going out, Adrian. You can either get your shit together and come with us, or you can get the fuck out of my way. It’s your choice.”

With that, she leans forward and presses a soft kiss to the side of my mouth, and there’s no question, I will be spanking her for this. For this bratty fucking behavior. I should let her go. She obviously wants me to come, so I should tell her to go and fuck with her head, but those heels, that dress. There’s no fucking way I’m letting her go alone.

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