I throw the covers off and get out of bed. I’m wearing a pair of boxers and nothing else. My cock is semi-hard because of the doll just sitting here with me and the fact she offered up her ass like she’s done it a million times.
She has that effect on me, and that’s why I have to let her go. I lied to her. I love her just as much, if not more, than Scout does, but I could never give her what she deserves. She knows it. I know it. Scout is the best choice. The safest choice, even if that’s a shitty option. “I didn’t have the time.”
“Bullshit!” he hisses. “Will could have killed her.”
I smile around the joint hanging from my lips. “And I saved her. You’re welcome.”
Grabbing my shoulder, he spins me around and punches me in the face, knocking me back into my dresser. The joint falls from my lips. He grips my shoulders, and I ram my forehead into his nose, knocking him back. “You don’t want to play this game with me, Scout.” I’ve got so much pent-up aggression right now; I could snap his neck just like I did Nicholas.
He runs his hand underneath his bloody nose. “Yeah? Why’s that?”
I lean down and pick up what’s left of my joint. He stepped on it. “Because if I wanted your doll, I could take her from you.” His nostrils flare. “I could make her completely mine, and you wouldn’t be able to do a single fucking thing about it.” I saw that look in her eyes in my car on the way back. It was still there when she sat on my bed a moment ago. She’s falling for me. It’s shocking and the most awful fucking thing that could happen.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snaps.
I run my fingers across the small cut on my lip from when he hit me outside earlier. “Why don’t you take her home with you? Oh, wait. That’s right. You can’t. Your daddy might call Mr. Monroe. And well, don’t want them to know she’s not actually dead. And …” I step into him. “What would she do if she knew you set her house on fire?”
“We set fire to her house,” he snaps.
I shake my head. “I was nowhere close to it that night. But you? You left the bar pissy and went to her house to set that fire that put her here under my roof.” I smile. “And you know what, Scout? She came running to my room.” I bump my chest into his. “She begged me to fuck her however I wanted. It was my name she screamed that night when you stood outside her balcony in the rain.”
He begins to laugh. “You think I give a fuck what you did with her?” He shakes his head. “I’ve watched you with her many times, Law. That doesn’t mean she’s yours.”
“We’ll see.” I wink at him. “Now run along, Scout. Go and fuck your little doll while you can.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
HENLEY
STANDING UNDER THE sprayer, I’m washing away the night when I hear the door open, and Scout enters. He’s got his hands fisted as he locks the door that adjoins Law’s bedroom. Then he starts ripping his tux off and yanking his boxers down his legs along with his socks. He opens the door and steps inside the shower, pulling me into him.
“How do you feel?” he asks.
“Feeling better already. Just tired,” I lie.
“Don’t lie to me, little doll,” he says, running his knuckles down my bruised cheek.
I flinch at his touch; it wasn’t as soft as Law’s was.
“He hit you.”
I take in a deep breath. “He saved me.”
His clouded eyes drop to my busted lips, and I try to fill the silence. Meeting his eyes, I ask, “Did you know?”
“No.” He sighs heavily.
I bite my bottom lip, not wanting to believe him. Law said he didn’t, and so does Scout. But I find that hard to believe. The paper I found states that Brenda’s body had been found on the property of Death Valley. She was missing underwear and had handprints around her neck. It was evident she had been strangled to death. Although no rape test had been given, it was clear sexual assault took place.
“I should have believed you.” He sighs, getting my attention. “You told me a hundred times that you saw him.”
That’s because I did. “You convinced me that it wasn’t him,” I grind out.
“I’m sorry,” he says, softening his face, looking sympathetic, pushing my back into the cold shower wall.
“Scout …” My hands go to his chest, trying to push him back.
“Shh.” He presses his lips to mine. His tongue finds mine, and our lips close.
It feels wrong to kiss him right now after what has happened tonight. I still don’t know what to believe or who to trust. And not to mention, my body hurts like hell. He goes to deepen the kiss, and my hands push against him harder. He grabs them and pins them above my head.