Page 68 of Anthem of Love and Loathing

The starting flutters of my orgasm barrel down on me. It explodes behind my eyes as it takes me under.

He continues to coax my orgasm out until my thighs are quaking and my mind is jelly.

“Better?” He draws his fingers out of me and adjusts my skirt.

“Yes.” I lean into him.

“Good.” He kisses my temple. “Because I may have just signed my death warrant. Or at least my resignation letter.”

“He wouldn’t.” I glare at the back of Riot’s head, which is when I notice how rigid his shoulders are. He’s aware of something.

“He has to be able to smell your sweet pussy. It’s a fucking addictive scent.” Golden runs his fingers under his nose and sniffs them before sucking them clean. “Fucking tasty too.”

A feral sound comes from the seat in front of me.

He gives me a devil-may-care grin.

I almost laugh.

He tips up my chin. “That’s what he deserves for leaving you on edge.”

Well, I’m not on edge anymore. And any adrenaline I had from my run in with the guy in the alley has completely dissipated. I’m exhausted. I rest my head on Golden’s shoulder. A yawn escapes me.

And then another.

“About that party tonight...” It’s the last place I want to go after today. “Any chance you could talk Riot into letting me stay at the hotel this one time?”

“I can try,” he says into my hair and then kisses me on the top of my head. We fall silent for a couple of miles. “I know neither of us are his biggest fan right now, but he’s hurting too. Perhaps if you got everything off your chest and he did too...” he pauses. “You were such great friends.”

“We were... but that’s over now.” And there’s nothing Golden can say to convince me otherwise. Nothing Riot can do to make up for all the terrible things he’s said and done.

“Speak to him,” he urges in a voice quiet enough that only I can hear. “You owe each other that much.”

“It’s not that easy.” How do I begin to tell Riot that I lost our child? How do I forgive him for shattering my heart into a million pieces when he cheated on me with Sonatina? How do I get past how easy it was for him to sacrifice my heart and our friendship for fame? Every time we talk, I get angry.

And so does he.

Which makes me that much more furious. Where does he get off blaming me for the things that went wrong between us?

“Perhaps not.” Golden holds my hand. He slides his fingers between mine and squeezes. “But he is not the same man without you.”

“I can see that.” But he wasn’t the man I thought he was back then either.

“Yeah.” Tight-lipped, he rests his neck on the back of the seat.

His music switches to gritty rock. A smoky, haunting voice comes through the earbud in my ear. I turn my attention to the buildings outside the car. How long to the hotel?

“It’d be a terrible idea to take her to the party tonight,” Bronx tells Riot. Their heads are bent toward each other. “It’s already painful enough. But bringing Kelsey would be asking for trouble. You know how she’ll react.”

How I’ll react?

“I’m sick of her bullshit anyway,” Riot says while he does something on his phone. “I’m going to get fucked up tonight.”

“Aren’t we all?” Bronx grins.

Bronx is sick of me too?

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