Page 6 of Tarnished Hands

“Quite happy.”

“Who were you fucking before me?” Ezra questions.

“Do you really want to know that?” I turn to face him.

“Yes.”

“Before you, I had a one-night stand. I can’t remember his name. So knowing your name is a big point to me.” I smile.

I watch his jaw twitch.

“You asked,” I inform him. “Who did you fuck last?”

I want to know.

It’s only fair.

Tit for tat and all that!

“Her name was Sabrina, and it was over three months ago. I met her at a bar.”

“Is that the only place you meet women?”

“I met you in my shop,” he states.

“Touché.”

He slows down and parks his car in his driveway. The last time I was here, I didn’t pay much attention. But tonight, I look at his house. It’s nice. A large, white older-style home with a brown roof, wrap-around porch, and well-maintained yard and garden. It’s just outside of town, the same as his shop.

Ready to get to why I’m here before he needles his way under my skin more with his niceness, I get out of the car before he can come around to open my door, and he waits for me to meet him near the hood. My boots click on the stoned driveway, and I stop just short of him. He plucks the food from my hand with a glance I can’t read—gentle, but expectant before he walks up the few stairs and opens the door.

The last time I was here, his hands and his mouth were all over me before we even got inside. I can’t even remember how we made it to the bedroom. But somehow, we did.

Leaving the door open, I follow him in and watch as he walks to his kitchen. The room gleams—cold, white, untouched. Like, no one lives here. Like he’s only ever passing through. He opens the refrigerator and puts my food inside before he shuts the door and returns to where I stand under the threshold of his front door. His hand reaches out behind me and shuts the front door, but his eyes remain firmly on mine.

Men have never intimidated me. I’m used to being around powerful men.

My eyes always hold steady. Not tonight. Until Ezra. I look away first. And I hate myself for it.

Powerful men are who I grew up with, and I work for one of the scariest men there is.

And yet, I can’t hold Ezra’s stare. I have to look away.

He leans in at the same time as I do, his breath tickling my neck. “Did I tell you how good you smell tonight?”

I gasp, and he leans forward more and touches his lips to my neck. Ever so slowly, he places a soft kiss there, and one of his hands presses against my back, holding me still.

“You didn’t,” I manage to say.

“What about how good you look?” he murmurs, his lips moving up my neck. The whisper of warm breath causes me to shiver.

“Failed to mention that as well,” I mumble back.

“I’m terribly sorry.” His mouth moves against my jaw. “I’ll be sure to tell you every chance I get.” And before I can say anything else, his other hand comes up and cups my jaw, gripping it hard, before his lips smash down on mine.

Fuck.

Chapter Four

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