Page 28 of Make Me Bleed
CHAPTER 8
ABEL
I can’t takemy eyes off him.
He plays like a fucking dream—even better than high school, of course—so I grit my teeth and finally force myself to turn off the T.V. right as the game comes to a close.
It’s gotta be some sick twist of fate that Harvey’s work is what it is. That he brought me here tonight, of all places and times.
God—if there even is a God—must really fucking hate me.
With a sigh, I flop back on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. The textured tiles blur together after a while, and I feel my eyes starting to cross the longer I look up at them.
Irritated, I shove up and away and stomp into the bathroom to get myself dressed. If I’m going to be here, I might as well look damn good and try to feel it, too.
It takes me a good hour to get showered and ready, makeup in place and outfit flawless, but once I am, I feel good. With one last look at myself, I spin on my Converse-covered heels and make my way down to the lobby bar to get myself a good buzz before Harvey comes back for the night.
It’s busy but not over-crowded as I situate myself toward the far end of the bar.
“What can I get for you?”
“A tequila sunrise, please.” I need something strong and sweet that will hopefully give me a good buzz quickly.
It tastes pretty good when I take my first sip, and I find myself drinking it much faster than I should, but then again, this is practically a fucking vacation for me, even though I’m working, so why the hell shouldn’t I enjoy myself?
Harvey told me to—and, well, I’m getting paid to. So, fuck it.
I’m on my second glass before I realize and have a nice little buzz warming my veins when fingers graze the shell of my ear, making me shriek.
I jerk away from the touch with a startled, “What the fuck!” leaving my lips, only to see none other than Peris fucking Baxter staring back at me with a glare hot enough to melt steel, and my groin swarms with a buzzing warmth.
“Abel.” He seems to choke on my name, and my heart clenches painfully in my chest. I never thought I’d hear him say it again, and it feels so good to…
“What…” My eyes widen when I finally take him in. I can’t help it. He looks so fucking different. He’s thin, maybe even more thin than the last time I saw him, but he’s got more muscle somehow, and he’s taller. And he’s covered in tattoos that go together so well. And his fucking nose is pierced.
It doesn’t help that I already knew all of this, but seeing it on him in person isotherworldly.
“Peris,” I finally manage to choke out after a while, my brain catching up to my mouth. That’s when I notice Peris’s eyes drifting down to my exposed stomach, his pupils widening before his eyes snap back to mine.
I lift a brow, amused even as my head is spinning at all thewhat the fucks?
“What are you doing here?” he snaps, and I almost laugh.Almost.
Oh, baby boy…
You don’t want to know.
“Working,” I drawl, feigning nonchalance.
“What do you mean working?” he asks, sounding so confused, poor thing. And I can’t help the way my face twitches in amusement because, I mean, come on. He can’t be that fucking daft.
It’s a sick kind of entertainment to watch the realization wash over his face like a bucket of ice water. “It will never end, will it?” he rasps, and the words take me for surprise. There are so many ways I can answer that, but honesty is probably the best policy going forward—if there even is a forward.
“Not likely,” I tell him just as my phone buzzes, pulling me from the moment. It’s Harvey, I already know. He’s probably on his way home, which means I need to get back to the room and get ready for him.
Well, that kind of sucks.I pull in a breath to center myself. “I have to go,” I tell him truthfully, and ithurts.I don’t know why I didn’t expect it to, but fuck. “Goodbye, Peris.”
“Wait,” he says, arm snapping out to grab me. I yank away from his touch with a hiss, hating it as much as I need it. “You’re not going anywhere,” he snaps, like he didn’t justtouch me.He touched me… like it was nothing.
