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T hadn’t liked hearing no, and I’d prepared myself for his displeasure, but he hadn’t gotten very far with his beating before he’d been interrupted.
Phoenix.
Even thinking about the man’s unique name had me searching him out. I found him watching me intently and I suddenly realized I’d asked him to excuse me for a moment, but hadn’t heard his answer. Shit, how long had I been standing in front of the coffee maker, my finger on the start button?
“Sorry,” I mumbled as I pressed the button. “Be right back,” I added as I hurried from the kitchen. There was a private bathroom near the storage room where the non-perishable food items were kept. I avoided the mirror as I searched out the small bottle of mouthwash I kept beneath the sink. I’d gotten smart after the first time T had confronted me on my way to the soup kitchen and bought a couple of bottles of the strong antiseptic-style liquid in the hopes it would offer some protection against any diseases T sent my way, in addition to helping get rid of the disgusting flavor that no amount of juice, water or coffee could mask.
Once I’d gargled for several minutes and spit the mix of mouthwash and blood into the sink, I looked up to study myself in the mirror. All in all, the damage wasn’t as bad as it usually was. I guess I had Phoenix to thank for that. My thoughts drifted to the man waiting in the other room for me as I began dabbing at my cut lip with some wet paper towels.
For starters, the guy was huge. Not that that was a surprise since at 5’9, I couldn’t even be considered average. Phoenix had to be at least six inches taller than me and probably outweighed me by 75 pounds or more. Even Gun hadn’t been that big. I hadn’t missed the tattoos on the man’s dark skin where the collar of his shirt had shifted as he’d knocked T to the ground, nor had I been able to look away from his piercing eyes which were so dark, they looked almost black.
Phoenix’s hair was cropped short and he had a neatly trimmed beard that framed beautifully wide, full lips. I was inexplicably intrigued by those lips, which wasn’t the norm for me since I tended to shy away from guys like him…hell, any guys these days, since my only experiences with sex were something I’d rather forget, but was condemned to remember and apparently repeat if T got his way.
Which he would.
I sighed as I studied my reflection. Why was I even thinking about all this? Not only was the man in the other room likely not even gay, but the last thing I wanted was to get involved with someone.
Involved?
I laughed out loud.
Guys didn’t get involved with me. They fucked me. They used me. My body was my form of payment and nothing more. Hell, my body wouldn’t even react to my own hand anymore. In what universe would I have a normal reaction to a good-looking guy like Phoenix?
Yeah, I’d felt a little flutter of excitement when I’d first gotten a good look at him, similar to what I’d felt when I was a kid and I’d gotten assigned Kyle Verona, the most popular kid in the eighth grade, as my lab partner. Back then, I’d often found myself battling to keep from popping a boner whenever Kyle would brush up against me as he leaned in to study the contents of our beaker, but nowadays, unwanted erections weren’t something I had to worry about anymore. I’d thought that the mysterious flutter was gone too, but apparently not, because my stomach was currently doing little somersaults and I was eager to get back out to the kitchen at the same time that I wanted to hide out in the bathroom for the rest of the evening.
I shook my head and dismissed my errant thoughts that were clearly just a result of Phoenix riding in on his white steed to rescue me. I should have told him he was far too late.
Seven years too late to be exact.
I forced myself to finish cleaning up and made my way back to the kitchen. A shimmer of disappointment went through me when I saw the chair Phoenix had been sitting in was empty. But the unexpected sadness only lasted long enough for me to round the corner and nearly run right into him where he was standing in front of the coffee machine. He put his hands out to catch me by the arms just before my body made impact. Electricity danced beneath my skin at the contact, despite the fabric of my shirt separating us from being skin on skin. I couldn’t stifle the gasp that escaped my lips as the sensation shot throughout my entire body.
