AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’ve always been such a terrible liar.”
“I’m not lying. And besides, it’s none of your business. As long as I’m discreet, I can do whatever I want in the dark.”
“Is that so? I thought I was very clear the other night.”
“You don’t own me. This isn’t a real relationship,” she whisper-yells, her eyes glowing with rage.
Crowding her space, my lips graze her cheeks. “Real or not, you belong to me. So behave, or there will be consequences.”
Zoe has always been stubborn, and she won’t back down from a fight, especially if she knows she’s in the right. Which I respect the hell out of, but she also won’t win this fight with me. She will obey, one way or another. Even if what she’s saying is valid. We never agreed that she’s not allowed to be with other men, but I don’t give a shit about that. No one else is allowed to touch her.
“Whatever, Lewis. I’m not afraid of you or your small words,” she says before storming off toward the party.
I should have arranged for her to stay at Tristan’s house while her parents were in town. But there was no chance in hell I was going to allow Zoe to stay anywhere but with me. I wanted to be there for her, to protect her in case her walls came down one night and she needed someone. In case she needed me. But that still hasn’t happened, and my grasp on control continues to slip away.
I’m going to have to talk to Aaron about these living arrangements because I’m not sure how much longer I can pretend to be the good guy. Although, I don’t trust myself around Aaron right now either, worried that the first time we come face-to-face, I might say something I’ll regret. The way he treated Zoe when his parents showed up out of the blue was just uncalled for and downright unacceptable. He should have offered to pay for them to stay in a hotel. Instead, he got rid of Zoe without a thought, as if she was a dirty secret he needed to sweep under the rug.
I push through the doors and walk inside the modern apartment. A black marble bar dominates one corner of the room, overcrowded with people, as two servers prepare and serve cocktails to guests.
It’s packed in here. Way more than our normal crowd.
I spot the guys, all gathered around the sofa in the back corner of the apartment. Noa glances up at me as I get closer, a strained smile tugging at his lips as the girl beside him leans in to whisper into his ear.
I look around, trying to spot Zoe, but don’t see her anywhere. She couldn’t have gotten far. If I find out she fucking took off after our spat, I’m going to riot. She wants to meet a primal who will chase her through the woods? She doesn’t have to look hard. I’m amped up and ready to go.
“Hey, Lewis, you made it. Are you here alone?”
I curse myself internally before turning to face Noa.
“No. Zoe is here, but I don’t know where she ran off to.”
“How are you two doing? I’m surprised you’re still together, even though it’s only been two seconds. Figured you’d be on to the next already.”
“Hilarious, Noa.”
“Ah, come on, man. You don’t do relationships. You’ve said it yourself.”
I narrow my gaze at him. “This one is different.”
“Seriously though…how’s it going?”
The guys haven’t asked much about Zoe since I introduced her after our game earlier this week, but I knew, sooner or later, they would start poking around. They’re trying to gauge my sudden change of heart and how quickly Zoe popped up after my personal life started trending online. The guys aren’t dumb, and they probably know this is all a front, but I’m not about to come clean. There are only three people in this world I trust with my life, and there is no need to expand that number. People have an easy time disappointing you once you let them in.
I’m not sure what to say, but I know it’s always best to stick as close to the truth as possible.
“It’s going well, but we’re treading slowly since both of us are new to all this.”
Noa quirks a brow at me. “Her too?”
“Oh, yeah, she’s worse than me.”
He’s taken aback. “Seriously? She’s a smoke-show. Figured she could pull any man she wants.”
“She can, but she likes to bail. It’s her thing. Her way of protecting her heart.”
Understanding fills Noa’s face. “Ah…one of those. Get out before they get in.”
Zoe’s always the first one to leave, and that has everything to do with the way her entire family abandoned her. Everyone she has known and loved always leaves. So she gets out before they have a chance to. Before anyone finds a way to infiltrate her heart and make a home.
