Page 38 of Bad Medicine
“You’resureyoudon’tneed me to go clean up?”
I was reclined on the couch in the office, my arms stretched across the back like always, but there was nothing comfortable about my position tonight.
Everything was fucked.
“Not yet,” Enzo said, and although he spoke to me, his eyes never left Francesca. “The fed said he’d handle it and Francesca believes him. I’m gonna choose to believe her.”
Running my hand down my face, I sighed.
“Seriously? You’re just gonna believe that the fed who fucked over your girl in the worst way possible is gonna cover your ass when there is a dead body in a warehouse somewhere in the middle of the desert?”
Still not looking at me, Enzo simply nodded.
“Yup.”
Well, fuck.
Turning my head, I followed his gaze to where Francesca sat, her battered face and dislocated shoulder being tended to by Mia. I could see the flush spread across Mia’s cheeks as she felt my gaze on her, loving the way she suddenly lost her confident doctor manner and fiddled nervously with her hair where it hung loose around her shoulders.
Remembering the way she had felt, the way she had tasted, had me crossing my arms and clenching my teeth.
She’d been wild under my hands, passionate and responsive and so very tempting. And then she’d once again shut down right before my very eyes, cutting herself off from what we could have together without so much as a ‘thanks for the orgasm.’
Why the fuck did her words from earlier bother me so much? I wasn’t a relationship guy; shit, I barely made it a few hours before I was moving along, leaving whichever woman I was with firmly in my rearview. So why the hell did Mia dismissing me piss me off so fuckin’ bad?
Was it because I didn’t like being rejected? I mean, it happened—not often, mind you—but everyone struck out at one point or another. Hell, Mia’d already turned me down plenty, and I’d never gotten my nose outta joint about it.
No, tonight had been different. Tonight, she’d let me get my hands on her and she’d enjoyed it just as much as I had. She’d come apart for me beautifully and I wanted so much more.
What had been different was her shame afterward.
She didn’t want anyone to know she’d been with me. She didn’t want her fancy doctor friends to know she’d been fingered in the closet by a criminal and that just pissed me the fuck off.
I was so sick of people judging me by what they saw on the outside. No one ever took the time to reallyseeme.
No one except Enzo.
He’d been the first person in my life to look at me and see something other than the troublesome kid no one wanted. I wasn’t just a problem to be dealt with to him, but someone to be valued.
That shit was priceless.
Fine, if Mia wanted to see me as the playboy jerk you didn’t bring home to your parents, then that’s exactly what I’d give her.
“Hey, boss lady,” I hollered, pasting on a cheeky grin when both women looked up at me. “Seeing as your man here says your ex has everything well in hand, is it alright with you if I take off? The night is still young, and I can probably score at least a blowjob if I head out to the club right now.”
I kept the smile in place, telling myself I didn’t care about the disappointed frowns I received from everyone in the room.
Fuck that and fuck this.
Standing from the couch, I cracked my neck to the side before making my way to the door, pausing with my hand on the knob as I waited for someone to say something.
“Uh, sure, Rock,” Francesca hedged, her eyes cutting to Mia.
Mine did too, and for a second, I stared into those blue depths, hoping—fuckingbegging—for her to say something, anything, to stop me.
Toseeme.
But after a few seconds where I offered to show her my soul, Mia only looked away, her hands fussing with the supplies she was packing up.
