Page 22 of Suit

Jade has been nothing but a memory for a long time now, and what happened with her has nothing to do with why I want to keep Elena at a distance or why I don’t want to get attached to anyone.

I love my life.

My freedom.

And I’m not going to give that away for a forced alliance.

ELENA

“What happened?” Xanthe asks, catching up to me as I storm out of the bar and into the kitchen.

“He kissed me!” I growl.

“Bear? Isn’t that what we wanted?” she asks, sounding confused.

“No, Suit. He doesn’t want me, but he doesn’t want anyone else to have me either.”

Xanthe’s lip twitches, and a small smile plays on her lips. “How was the kiss?”

Sighing, I open the refrigerator and take out a bottle of water. Sitting on a chair, I open the cap and take a sip. “I don’t have anything to compare it to, but…”

“But?”

“I mean, it was a good kiss. He obviously has a lot of experience because his mouth knows what it was doing,” I grumble.

Okay, the kiss was more than just good. It was amazing. But his skilled mouth just pissed me off, because he’s probably kissed a million women, and I’m stuck with the one who doesn’t want me.

A pity kiss.

He sees me as his property, and that’s all it is.

He didn’t even come after me.

He is probably still in the pole room.

How unfair it is that he gets to sleep around, and I don’t even get to kiss another man?

“The night is young. I might be able to get a second kiss in tonight.” I grin evilly, just as another good-looking, rough biker steps into the kitchen.

“Hello, who are you?” I ask boldly. I don’t know what’s come over me tonight. Maybe it’s my anger, the alcohol I’ve been drinking, or the way I saw some lust in Bear’s eyes when he looked at me. Maybe it’s the sexy outfit. Either way, I’m feeling good and more confident than I’ve ever felt.

“Pyro,” the man replies, nodding his head at Xanthe. “Sorry to interrupt. The ladies said they hid some cake in here for me.”

Xanthe opens the refrigerator and pulls out a tray. “Yep, here it is. You aren’t going to stay and party?”

He shakes his head. “Nope, not really my scene. One of my rescue dogs is pregnant and should be delivering any day now.”

“You have dogs?” I ask, perking up.

“Yeah.” He grins.

“Can I come see them sometime? I love dogs,” I reply, getting distracted from my original goals.

Pyro rakes his teeth over his bottom lip before replying. “Sure. Ask Suit to bring you over.”

“How about anyone other than Suit?” I mutter, and Xanthe laughs. Pyro can’t seem to get out of the kitchen fast enough, and when I glance up, I see Ghost leaning against the doorframe, watching us. Xanthe smiles at him, her eyes soft.

Meredith suddenly sticks her head in. “There you are. We’re all playing a drinking game. Are you coming?”