“Mum!” Charlie called out.
“What?”
“Come here.”
“No, you come here if you want me.”
She went quiet for a moment before yelling, “God, why do you have to be such a pain?” She stomped out to the kitchen, glaring at her mother. “I need to know which lipstick looks better on me.” She held up two options.
Jesus, all that for lipstick.
Tenille pointed at one of the lipsticks. “That one. Why?”
“I’m Facetiming with Jamie tonight. I need to look my best.”
I scowled. “I thought that little shit was in the doghouse.”
She gave me an unimpressed look. “We moved past that.”
“What happened to leaving him out in the cold for a while like Monroe said?”
Tenille’s eyes hit mine. “Monroe?”
“She’s cool, Mum.”
Tenille’s brows arched and her body snapped straight. Something was going on here, but again, I had no fucking idea. “Who is she?”
Charlie frowned at Tenille’s sharp tone. “She was at skating last night with her friend’s daughter.”
“So she’s not your woman?” Her icy gaze penetrated mine. Fuck, she ran hot and cold.
Before I could answer, Charlie said, “They’re not together. They hardly know each other.”
Monroe wasn’t my woman, but Tenille didn’t need to know anything further about our relationship. The last fucking thing I needed right now was to revisit the fact I’d come home straight from fucking another woman. That conversation hadn’t gone so well the first time; I could guess where it would lead if mentioned again. A man didn’t need to issue any invitations to break the peace in his own home.
Chapter 18
Monroe
“You’re walking like you’ve been thoroughly fucked. Is there something you’re not telling me?” Tatum said on Friday night. We’d skipped drinks at the pub after work because Nitro had asked her to lay low due to some club stuff going on. She’d arrived at my place about an hour and a half ago carrying a bottle of Jäger and cans of Red Bull. Jäger wasn’t her favourite drink, but she’d recently started doing Jägerbombs with me because I loved them so much.
I made us another round of drinks. I’d lost count, but it was probably our sixth round. Passing her glass, I said, “That’s because I have been thoroughly fucked this week. And can I just say, I’m pretty fucking sure it was the best sex I’ve ever had.”
She looked at me over the rim of her glass. “Fuck me, you slept with Hyde?”
I sagged against the kitchen counter where we sat. The thought of sex with him made me swoon. I’d hardly thought about anything else over the last two days. “I did.”
“And?”
The breath whooshed out of me as images of fucking him ran through my mind like a video—a video I’d been watching like a crack addict since Wednesday night. “Sister, the man knows what the hell he’s doing.”
She laughed and drank some of her Jäger. “Are you going to go back for more?”
“I don’t know. He tried to boss me into saying yes to more, but I’m not sure I want to go down that road.”
“Why not? If it was that good, I’m surprised you haven’t already called him. You don’t usually say no to good sex. Plus, you told me you’re sick of one-night stands.”
“I want more than casual sex with a guy, Tatum, and I think that’s all Hyde is offering. Honestly, why would I put myself in the situation where I get attached to him when he’s not interested in getting attached to me?”