“I haven’t been at work since I’m enjoying some time off with my girlfriend,” I bluntly tell her.
A soft, “Oh,” tumbles from her lips.
Fenna strolls back from the bathroom. The woman notices her and anger slips over her features, face turning red along with it.
A man with some similarities to the woman appears next to her and grabs her elbow. “Come on, Kayla. Time to go.”
The woman’s brows furrow and she softly struggles against his hold but reluctantly lets him pull her away.
The man locks eyes with me and grunts, “Stop flaunting women around my sister. Have some decency to tell her it’s over before you jump to another chick.”
“What the fuck?” I growl and rise from my seat.
“No, no, no. Sorry for the misunderstanding,” the woman squeaks and jumps in front of her brother to try and push him away.
We glare at one another for a few breaths before the fucker turns and takes his sister along with him.
“What the hell was that about?” Fenna gasps, the both of us staring at the door where the two people just walked out of.
“I don’t know but I’m going to find out,” I vow and grab my phone. Jabbing Decker’s number, I hear him pick up on the second ring. “Decker, hey, it’s me. Listen. There’s this chick showing up at the bar every single night I’m working. She was also there the day Fenna entered my life, when she was attacked in the bathroom. We don’t know who attacked her because she was grabbed from behind. The chick and her brother just showed up at the diner in town and made a scene. It’s fucked-up, she’s acting as if we’re together or something, her brother insinuated as much. I’m getting the feeling the chick or her brother hurt my old lady. Check with either Dinand or Ewald, I’ve pointed her out to them so they know what she looks like.”
“I’ll check the tape from the security cam of the bar’s parking lot and see if I can pull some details from facial recognition. Talk later, brother,” Decker says and hangs up.
Fenna’s eyes are on me when I put my phone back in my pocket. “Your brothers…aren’t they going to be mad when they find out what we have is fake?”
I can’t help the slight wince.
She catches it and gasps, “They know? You told them about our arrangement?” She buries her face into her hands and grumbles, “Great. Forget about the barbeques and other parties you want me to attend, I can never show my face to those guys.”
“Hey.” I reach out and wrap my fingers around her wrist to pull her hand from her face. “I told them the truth because I can’t lie to my brothers, no matter how small or harmless the lie is. Besides, I’ve also mentioned I want this between us without the fake shit. They are aware I’m in this for real. If I have to walk the trial run path with you first? Fine. But you do need to realize we’ve already become friends in the past few days. This has already gone past the point of being fake.”
The waitress shows up and I take this moment to rattle off our order. Fenna stays quiet until our food arrives and we eat in comfortable silence, both processing the next step we might take because like I said; I’m all in when it comes to this woman.
CHAPTER FOUR
– FENNA –
“This is insane,” I mutter to myself and keep my gaze pinned on the man who spikes the insanity.
Redding. He’s working on the fence of Houdini’s pasture. It’s late but still light outside and he’s been going at it ever since we got home from the diner. He’s avoiding me and yet he’s not.
I still can’t believe he agreed to us faking the whole boyfriend, girlfriend thing and then let all of his friends know about it and how he’s playing for real. I mean, how is that even possible? It feels like he’s double-crossing me, yet…he’s not.
Ugh. Maybe I’m pissed because this past week I’ve not only felt good about having him around, but I’ve felt good about myself. But this fake relationship we put in place was supposed to be light, easy, no freaking strings because it’s not real and there he goes, adding complications.
Complications I’m seeing because the man is funny, sweet, hardworking, attentive, caring, and a load of other things besides being ridiculously sexy. Because if this is real between us instead of fake it means I’m putting my heart on the line.
And I already know deep down it would devastate me to catch him cheating or if something else happens that causes for us to part ways. The man has managed to become my friend at rapid speed, coming over each night since we met. Add the fact he knew Grams and appears to be a good man…I would be a sucker to pass this up.
He knows it. It’s why he’s not said anything else about it and is working hard while stealing glances my way. The man shoots me a smile every now and then while I’m sitting here brooding over everything.
Then there’s the woman who I saw that night at the bar; the reason I kissed Redding. The way she was standing near our table when I came back from the bathroom today was creepy. My gut is telling me it was her who slammed me headfirst into the wall.
Another thing adding to my insecurities about making this real. With my cheating ex in mind, it’s no fun to see women throwing themselves at the guy you’re with. I mean, at the time we were fake, but she didn’t know that. We were real for the outside world and that says something.
I’m feeling confused, frustrated, stressed, and all of it is so not what I need right now. Oh, for the love of all that’s holy. Why does he have to rip off his shirt, showing me a very naked upper body. Thick biceps, a six pack, a sheen of sweat making his skin glisten. And that large tattoo on the left side of his chest, going over his shoulder and down his upper arm and all the way over his back.
He’s doing this on purpose. It’s working, though. Screw fake if I get to screw him, right? Shit. I jump to my feet and rush inside to grab a beer from the refrigerator. I try to pace myself when I stroll back out. He’s in the middle of swinging a sledgehammer to knock a pole into the ground when I get closer and closer.
Muscles flexing, grunts ripping from him to add force, all of it makes my body and soul sing. I want him. Call it instant lust or an itch I need to scratch; in this moment I just want to jump his bones and not stop humping until my body is drained from the lust he spiked inside my veins.
I faintly notice the hammer landing in the grass when his six pack comes strolling my way. The beer bottle disappears from my hand and I hear rather than see it fall down into the grass. I’m roughly pulled against his body, one of his hands slides into my hair to grip my head and angle it to slant his mouth over mine while the other is on my back to keep me in place as he devours me.
He swallows my moan and I finally get to roam my hands over those thick muscles I’ve been practically drooling over. Our tongues battle and it’s a fight I gladly surrender to. His taste is enticing, his scent and warmth enveloping me, the feelings and craving inside me skyrockets and there isn’t any reason within me rising to object to having this man as mine.
The hell with heartache or pending aftermath if this goes wrong. If something feels this good it’s worth exploring to keep life going instead of staying frozen in place. Our kiss is more frantic than the first one we shared and I can’t stand the way my body is on fire for this man.