Page 7 of Forged in Rain

Across the way, I spot Tim approaching. In a desperate, and frankly pathetic, bid to show Cyn I didn’t give a fuck about his ice out, I invited Tim to fuck me at the party from hell. Not only could I not get past the fact that he wasn’t Cyn, but he abandoned me quickly enough when Jagger told him to get lost.

So, yeah, he’s a little bitch, and my glower as he drops beside me on the log says as much. He graces me with a sheepish smile, but I look away. I could’ve been seriously hurt. Coward.

Even so, I’m glad we didn’t get any further that evening because there was zero chemistry, at least on my part. Besides, I still feel stupid for entertaining the idea to begin with. I’d like to hope I can fuck some other dude someday and not think of Cyn, but clearly, Tim wasn’t the guy.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” I mutter, glancing across the fire at my target.

He looks up when I do, and I smile, lowering my eyes shyly. I’ve no real clue how to flirt, but I think with this guy, he’d be suspicious if I went the less subtle route, especially since I just rolled up with the local enforcer or whatever he is.

“You wanna pick up where we left off?” Tim says, glancing between me and the red-haired dude.

“Really?” I ask, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Well,” he mutters, shifting on the log, “I mean we never got to finish—”

“No thanks,” I say, standing and walking away with a glance at my mark.

He watches me go, his eyes wide. His friend cuffs him on the shoulder and motions in my direction, and he looks between his friend and me before standing and approaching me cautiously.

Twirling a lock of hair around my finger, I wait for his approach. My voice is breathy when he stops before me. “Hi.”

“Um, hey,” he says, shuffling his feet.

Hiding my smile, I glance away and pause when I meet Cyn’s murderous glare.

He could light a fire with the heat behind his eyes. He can talk shit all he wants, but he’s enraged by what I’m doing, which gives me power. Maybe the fucker doth protest too much.

Turning back to my mission with a grin, I touch my new friend’s arm lightly. “What’s your name?”

“Um, Peter. You’re Rain?”

“Yes.”

Up close, I see his eyes are a pretty deep blue. His mouth twitches into a shy smile, and he takes a deep breath, saying, “You wanna sit?”

Randomly, I wonder what this pussy could have done to rouse Cyn’s attention but push it aside. The particulars don’t matter. I’m here to do my job and show these fucks I’m not a plaything.

“Sure. Maybe we could go somewhere quieter?”

There’s an awkward pause while Peter swallows nervously, and I mentally roll my eyes. Do I not have game, or is he really that shy?

“C’mon,” I say, grabbing his arm.

He stumbles into the forest behind me, and we walk several yards before I find a log and pull him down beside me.

As soon as we’re sitting, he turns to me with a greedy grin, and I raise my brows. Whoa.

“Mm, you’re so hot,” he says, leaning in and gripping my neck in his surprisingly large hands.

Rearing back in surprise and unprepared in the face of his supposed shyness, I push my hands between us, but it’s no use as he mashes his mouth against mine.

“Hey,” I try to speak, but he’s having none of it, and in his eagerness, he pushes me backward until I’m on my back on the forest floor.

Unfortunately, he also topples over, right onto me, and I gasp as the air leaves me in a painful whoosh before he’s air born and Cyn’s punching him in the face.

Dazed, I stare at the sky, and I try to catch my breath, with Peter’s protestations ringing in my ears. “She wanted it. She came on to me.”

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