“She asked you to move. What did you not understand?” Silas says. I glance at him to find his dark blue sapphire eyes on Ben, who looks to be on the verge of tears as he stands there with his hand trapped in Silas’s.
“Fuck, man, let it go. You are going to break it,” he screams.
“Good,” Silas says, then snaps Ben’s wrist. Nessa gasps loudly. The crack is loud, and Ben’s screams follow closely behind. Silas removes his hand and shoves Ben to the ground so he’s no longer in my space.
Glancing up at him, I hit him with my biggest “what the fuck was that” stare and find him smirking. “Are you mad, Doc?” he says.
“I didn’t ask you to do that,” I snap at him.
“No, you’re not the forthcoming type…” he says over Ben’s sobs as he stares down at his limp hand. Nessa has thrown herself beside him, panic in her gaze as she looks between me and her new boyfriend. But if she’s chosen to sit in the dirt with a piece of shit like him over our friendship, then so fucking be it.
“Nessa.” Her head snaps to me.
“What?” she yells back, tears springing to her eyes as she removes her robe and tries to wrap it around Ben’s hand as if to support it. Though it’s useless because I am sure that Silas broke it.
I realize then that it doesn’t matter what she has to say or what I have to say, for that matter. She’s very clearly made her decision, and whatever I have to say beyond this point is nothing short of vicious. I just hope she still lets me see Larissa.
Silas’s hot hand touches my elbow, bringing me back from that furious, betrayed version of myself that doesn’t entirely have to do with Ben and Nessa. But of a life I ran away from, of people who hurt and betrayed me more than I care to admit. I thought I’d buried all those feelings, so I intentionally shove them back down.
“Doc, maybe we should go?” Silas says.
I glare down at the pathetic couple, the hurt still there but numbing as I say, “Yeah, maybe we should.”
What was I expecting? This is human nature. Everyone always looks out only for themselves. I’m no different, but for Nessa and Larissa, I was willing to do anything to protect them. Looks like I’m only the fool once again.
“I’ll get you back for this,” Ben seethes, and immediately, Nessa covers his mouth with her hand. I watch as she leans in and whispers something to him. His eyes go wide, and he looks at Silas. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry, man.”
Ha, that’s a first, watching the victim to the man who just broke his hand. I bet Silas is used to that.
Fuck it, if everyone else is doing whatever the fuck they want, then I should just do the same. Consequences be damned.
“You can come back to mine, on one condition,” I say to Silas.
“What?” he asks, seemingly surprised.
“You let me examine your body,” I say to him with a mischievous smile. He raises a brow in question, and I ignore Nessa’s stare that I can feel.
“Done.” He nods. “Do you want me to drive, or you?”
“You can follow me.”
“I already know where you live.”
Of course he does.
I turn back to look at Nessa one last time as she panics over Ben, who curses under his breath through his sobs. It’s pathetic really, and I only grow more saddened by the fact that someone as squirmy as him was able to come between us. But it’s not my fucking problem. I slam the car door behind me and drive away.
24
SILAS
Did she really think I was going to turn down her offer to examine my body? Absolutely fucking not. I would pretty much let her do whatever she wants with my body. If she asked nicely enough, that is. Who the fuck am I lying to? She doesn’t even have to ask nicely, because I’m as equally attracted to her inner psycho, which I can tell she is very much battling with right now.
Part of me wanted to watch what she might do to him, knowing full well she’s capable. But the moment he tried to touch her, my body was moving on its own. She’s my temptation alone to play with.
When we reach her house, she doesn’t wait for me to get out of my car before opening her front door and leaving it slightly ajar as she goes inside, expecting me to follow. As soon as I push the door open, I see her shoes on the floor and slip mine off. I close the door and lock it, then follow her. It’s kind of what I expected—simplistic, dark furnishings with a few pops of color. There’s a slight chill in the air, and I can’t help but feel like I’m walking into a lion’s den.
I find her in the kitchen, clearing the island counter. She turns and looks at me and then nods to the kitchen counter. “Get undressed and get on it.”
