“Stay out of it, witch.”
“You sweet talker, you.”
Shiloh closes the distance between us and pokes my chest. “Answer the damned question. Now.”
“No,” I bite out. “We’re not monogamous.”
“Have you had any negotiations about having a say in each other’s love lives?”
“No,” I repeat.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” She glares up at me. “And, as you are my friend and nothing more, you certainly don’t get a say on who I let into my bed. Fuck off, Broderick.” She spins on her heels, flips me the bird, and is gone.
The sound of slow clapping fills the room.
I turn to find Monroe practically giddy with amusement. “Wow. You really fucked that up all on your own. I barely had to help.”
“You are such a bitch.”
“Takes one to know one.” She starts for the door.
It’s as if my brain skips. One moment, I’m ready to tear into her for pulling such an underhanded move. The next, I’m watching my hand reach out and snag her wrist. All thought and reason take a back seat as I drag her behind me to the door she and Shiloh emerged from. One blink and we’re inside. Another and I have Monroe pressed against the closed door. “Did you have her just like this?” I wedge my thigh between her legs.
She lifts her brows, completely unbothered by the manhandling. But then, of course she is. She got off on it last time, too. “Yes, actually.”
“Such a smart mouth on you, Monroe. I ought to shove my cock in it and shut you up.”
“Not interested.” She laughs. “I already played the saint and kept my hands off your little girlfriend’s pussy.” She arches against me. “Make me come, Broderick. You want to use your cock to punish me? I’m ready and willing.”
“Ready and willing,” I repeat.
“Mmm.” She runs her hands up my chest and leans forward until her lips brush my ear. “Getting Shiloh off got me so fucking wet. She’s so pretty when she orgasms, husband. I’ll have to show you sometime.”
“Stop calling me that,” I grind out.
I can hear her smile. “Make me.”
Those two little words snap the last bit of leash holding me back. I pull away from her and yank her to bend over the sink. I undo her pants and shove them to the floor. I don’t care if they get dirty. I don’t give a damn about anything but fucking her until I expel some of the frustration turning me into a goddamned monster. “I ought to have bent you over the bar and fucked you right there.”
“Better have charged for it, then.”
“Always a snappy comeback.” I grip the front of her shirt and jerk it down, baring her breasts. With only the little top thing around her hips, she looks like a sex goddess. It doesn’t matter if we’re in a dingy bar bathroom. Monroe owns this space just like she owns every space she occupies. I can’t blame Shiloh for being drawn to her. I’m right here, in the exact same spot, acting outside of my best interests because of this woman, too.
I grab the back of her neck and bend her forward. She spreads her legs even wider. I can see how wet she is, her pussy pink and glistening. Gods, it’s like she was built to tempt me. It doesn’t matter what I think of this woman. It doesn’t matter that she’s the enemy and I resent this handfasting binding us together
All that matters is that I need to get inside her right this fucking second or I might die.
I wrap a fist around my cock but manage to stop myself. “I don’t have a condom.”
“You’re cute when you’re trying to put your leash back on.” She laughs. “I told you already—I’ve been tested, and I have an IUD. You can do anything you want to me, Broderick Paine. No brakes. No consequences.” She presses against my hold so she can meet my gaze in the mirror. “That scares you shitless, doesn’t it? Nothing holding you to that honorable mask you wear. You can be just as feral as the rest of us.”
“Shut up.”
“Prove me wrong.”
Proving her wrong means crossing half a dozen lines I’ve drawn for myself. Lines I crossed on Lammas night. I’ve been avoiding her solely to resist doing what I’m doing right now. I meet Monroe’s gaze in the mirror, and the victorious expression on her pretty face feels like a bucket of cold water dumped over my head.
I’m playing right into her hands.
I tighten my grip ever so slightly, and she shivers. No matter what else is true, she’s as affected as I am by this thing between us. I can use that. I have to use that. “It’s a shame Shiloh didn’t make you come.” Saying Shiloh’s name nearly trips me up, but I force myself to continue. “Because I’m not going to, either.”
The shock on her face is nearly as good as sinking into her tight cunt would be. Or that’s what I tell myself as I release her and step back. “Put yourself back together.”
Monroe turns around and leans against the sink. She doesn’t seem bothered by her nakedness, but why would she be? She’s perfect; at least physically. It takes everything I have to keep my attention on her face as she slowly fixes her top and then pulls up her pants. She runs her fingers through her now-messy blond hair. “You’ve really fucked things up with Shiloh.”
I suspect she’s right, but I’ll never admit as much aloud. “Stay out of it.”
“No, I don’t think I will.” She fixes her hair. Her expression goes predatory. “After all, I’m your Bride. Your business is my business.”
“Monroe.”
“Yes, husband?” She must see me clenching my jaw hard enough to shatter teeth, because she grins. “Don’t worry, Broderick. I’ll get really up close and personal with Shiloh and save your friendship.”
“By save, you mean destroy.”
She shrugs a single shoulder. “It’s not my fault you can’t get out of
