Page 32 of Together We Burn
Alex chuckled. “I think you succeeded with that.”
I hummed in agreement as I thought about the possessive way he followed me into the elevator and kissed me so I knew who I belonged to.
I don’t belong to him.
Say it enough times, and it's bound to stick, right?
“And the marks?” Alex prompted.
“He was there tonight, but you already knew that,” I began. “He saw me dance, and followed me to where I was with Martinez in the middle of using my garrotte. Oh, that reminds me, can you clean my heels for me? I may have gotten brain matter on them.”
Alex choked, thumping his chest as beer dripped down his chin.
Coughing, he said, “He saw you kill your target?” I nodded. “And he still wanted to fuck you after that?”
I nodded again, and with a small laugh, said, “With the body in the room.”
“Jesus Christ, you two are fucking made for each other.”
“I highly doubt that, Alex. Everything was… is… superficial. I don’t know anything real about him. Nothing.” I sighed and traced the scar on my eyebrow with my fingers. “Why am I drawn to him, Alex? I'm better than this, stronger even, but with him, I'm a weak-ass bitch who spreads her legs on command.”
I groaned, leaning against the backrest of the bar stool and dropping my head. Alex dragged a hand down his face.
“I’m going to hate myself for saying this, but everything about his brother, company, and his charity work was all true. I asked Will when you were still out of it, and I actually think he was the ‘real Jake’ when he was with you,” he said with quotation marks. He paused, then huffed a laugh. “Well, maybe more, so now that he’s shown he has a hidden sexual asphyxiation kink.”
I dropped my head to the counter with a groan. “You did not just say that. That’s not what it was.”
Alex’s big hand landed on my head and tickled my scalp. “Sometimes superficial is okay, Stevie.”
I looked up and narrowed my eyes in disbelief. Where was my best friend? The “you’re fucking dick-blind,” chastising asshole, and who was this imposter?
“Prince Charming fell for Cinderella after one dance and didn’t even know her name.” He smiled.
I laughed. “Yeah? Well, Disney fucked up my fairy tale. I certainly don’t remember the story where the princess was abused as a child by her father, kidnapped and stabbed as an adult by her mother, and then betrayed by the love interest.”
Alex stood in contemplative silence for a beat before shouting, “Frozen!” His smile was huge as he continued, “That Hans guy wanted to kill the ice queen, and he was a love interest.”
Shaking my head, I burst his bubble by saying, “Pretty sure that isn’t an accurate retelling of the story, nor does it apply in this situation.”
His smile fell. “Okay, fine. But the bottom line is some epic love stories start with a connection, the insta-lust. The rest just falls into place. Like destiny or fate.”
He pushed off the counter and looked in the oven window. Seemingly happy, he grabbed a dish towel and pulled out the spring rolls.
“Alexander Jones, aren’t you a soppy bastard tonight,” I teased, half wondering if he was drunk. “Are you saying you want Jake and I to have an epic love story?”
My mouth suddenly watered as the smell of the Thai food Alex placed in front of me, along with sweet chilli sauce, permeated the air.
“Fuck no. You deserve better. But I can tell you liked him andstilllike him.” Reaching over, he pinched one of the spring rolls, using it as a pointing tool while he continued to speak, not allowing me any time to argue. “But he fucked up, and yes, I know, technically, it was Will who was the engineer of said fuck up…”
I interrupted with a scoff, dipping the roll into the chilli sauce and taking a bite, instantly spitting it back into my hand. That was fucking hot.
Alex passed me a tissue as he made a show of blowing onto his spring roll.
“All I’m saying is Jake has some major grovelling to do.” He straightened and dragged a hand over his bare chest. “I’m thinking something along the lines of delivering your bitch of a mother’s head on a silver platter…”
“Hell no, that bitch is mine,” I muttered from behind my scalding hot food.
Coming to my side of the counter, Alex dropped a kiss to the side of my head.
