His face instantly reddens, not with embarrassment, but anger. His fists ball up at his sides, and his jaw tightens.
“That’s an awful lot of reactions for someone who doesn’t care,” I say, leaning back against wall. “Or a guy who says he doesn’t care at least.”
“I care about this land,” he snarls. “That’s it.”
“And so do I,” I coo.
I could tell him the truth. That nothing happened between me and Riley and that I’m going to do everything I can to make Ironbound leave his family alone. I could say a lot of things to make him feel better, but after he walked in here, hotheaded andaccusing me of the worst, I don’t really want to make him feel better.
He takes a step closer, and I swear that smoke rolls off his body. Now, he hovers over me, glaring down.
“Did you really suck my brother’s dick, Stella?” He slaps his palm against the cupboard above my head.
I glare back, angry because it’s none of his business. I could say yes and hurt him, but for whatever reason, I can’t bring myself to do it.
“No, asshole,” I say through gritted teeth. “I would never give someone a blow job to close a deal. I was being sarcastic.”
His chest continues to heave, but I watch him sigh in relief. His gaze sweeps over my face, dropping to my lips, and my body grows weaker as I drag in a few shallow breaths of my own.
He could kiss me right now, and I wouldn’t tell him to stop. He could tear my clothes off, and I’d probably help him. But something tells me that’s not going to happen.
“I have to go,” he breathes out. “And you should go back to New York.”
“Don’t worry, Outlaw. Tomorrow night, I’ll be gone,” I whisper, feeling my heart beating out of my chest.
I want him to kiss me. I want him to push me up against the kitchen counter and have his way with me.
After he showers the smell off him, of course.
He doesn’t do either of those things though. Instead, he swallows shallowly. “I have to go,” he mutters before slowly backing away from me.
When he gets back to the door, his hand lingers on the knob. “Have a safe flight back, Stella. And don’t come back. You’ll never get what you’re looking for.”
Within seconds, he’s gone. And I’m hit with the realization that this was likely the last time I will ever see Ridge Adams.
And like so many other times before, he’s leaving me clenching my damn thighs together.
Fuck, I wanted to kiss her mouthy lips.
Right when she confirmed she didn’t suck Riley’s dick, I wanted to shove her down onto her knees and force my cock so far down her throat that her eyes were rolling back while she choked on me. Because that’s the punishment she deserves for even saying that she had his cock in her perfect mouth.
This anger inside of me, it’s rooted so deep. And the roots, they continue to grow, wrapping around every single part of my being, making me an even angrier son of a bitch than before.
I can’t be trusted to be alone with that girl because every time I am, I can hardly keep my hands off her. I know she’s not right for me, yet when I saw my little brother’s truck there, I raced over to see what the fuck had happened between them. And I know damn well it doesn’t have a thing to do with land and everything to do with not wanting Stella to be with anyone else.
I pull in front of my house and kill my truck engine. Throwing my head back, I groan loudly.
Once she’s back in New York, life will go back to normal.
That may be true, but until then, I have to try not to kill my own brother.
The airport is a ghost town, but I’d prefer this to the alternative. My flight isn’t due to take off for another five hours, but when it started spitting snow in Holiday Harbor, I panicked that the roads would be a mess if I waited until the afternoon to leave. I guess I forgot to take into consideration that this airport is tiny, and there’s only one restaurant, a small shop, and a place to get snacks and coffee.
Self-serve coffee … ew.
I may go through multiple packs of Toaster Strudels a week and love Coke, but when it comes to coffee, hell yes, I am a snob. I want the steamed milk. I want the cold foam. And I even want the sprinkled cinnamon on top. Give me it all.
I look out one of the large windows and cringe as I watch the heavy snow blowing around the runway. As the night goes on, the wind is supposed to pick up, and the snow is going to get heavier.
