Beneath This Ink (Beneath #2)(24)

She blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“I’d have to check my calendar isn’t giving me a shot, princess.”

Hitching her purse higher on her shoulder, she stared me down. “Would you rather I agree and then blow you off later? I’m trying to be honest. If I’m supposed to trust you, then I guess you’re going to have to trust me, too.”

I crossed my arms and huffed out a laugh. “Guess you’re right. But it’s a little hard to trust someone who tried to sneak out of my bed so she wouldn’t have to look me in the eye and admit we’d slept together.”

As soon as the words were out, I wanted to snatch them back. Fuck. I hadn’t meant to bring that up.

Instead of turning on her heel and climbing in her car, she followed my lead and crossed her arms over her chest. I tried not to notice the way her tits plumped up under that orange dress. Tried—and failed.

“You’re the king of the one-night hit it and quit it program. It’s rich that you’re giving me hell about something you’ve probably done dozens of times.” On a roll, she uncrossed her arms, stepped forward, and poked a finger into my chest. “The only reason it pisses you off—”

I didn’t let her finish. I grabbed her hand and dragged her closer. “The only reason it pisses me off is because I wasn’t done with you.”

That shut her up. For about five seconds.

“That’s not how I remember it, Constantine.” The way she spat my name heated my blood.

I wrapped my other arm around her and pulled her flush against my body. I stared into those arctic blue eyes when I said, “I don’t f*cking care how you remember it, Vanessa. This time, we’re not done until I say we’re done.”

Her delicate nostrils flared, and I smiled.

“You like it when I tell you how it’s going to be. Don’t you, princess?”

It was the kind of line I’d throw at a girl I’d just met if I wanted her to drop her panties at my feet. It was the wrong thing to say to Vanessa.

She struggled against my hold, shoving me away. “Let. Me. Go.”

I squeezed her tighter until she stilled. “That’s the problem. I can’t. I’ve got nothing but blanks when I try to remember that night. It eats at me. Do you have any idea what it’s like to know I’ve touched you and tasted you—and I don’t remember any of it? It’s f*cking torture.”

The sucker in me thought I could feel her heart hammering against my chest. For several minutes, she said nothing. I said nothing. The silence that stretched between us was heavy, but I didn’t care because I had my arms wrapped around her, and she wasn’t trying to pull away.

But she would.

A few more seconds passed before she said, “I have to get back to work.”

I had to force myself to release her. She stepped back, looking a little unsteady on her heels. Good. I wanted her as affected as I was.

“I’ll let you know—about tomorrow night. But then, we need to set some ground rules for…whatever this is.” She gestured between us.

I didn’t like the sound of that.

“I don’t like rules.”

“Too bad. I do.”

“Clear your schedule for tomorrow night, and maybe we’ll discuss your rules.”

“Like I said, I’ll let you know.”

“Fine.”

She turned away, and a thought occurred to me. I wrapped my hand around her elbow.

“If you’re blowing me off tomorrow night, it better not be for Lucas Titan.”

Her head jerked up. “Why would you say that?”

My eyes narrowed on her. “You got something going with him, too? He’d be right up your alley after Duchesne.”

She tugged her arm out of my grip and dug into her purse. Keys in hand, she looked back up at me. “That part of my life is none of your business.”

I closed the space between us, pinning her against the Mercedes before she could yank the door open.

“If you’re planning on f*cking him, then I consider it my business.”

Her gasp was pure outrage, but I didn’t care. She needed to understand something about me. My voice was low and harsh when I said, “I don’t share. You better know that up front. You f*ck Titan, and our deal is off.”

She didn’t turn, and she didn’t reply.

“Look at me, Vanessa. Know that I’m goddamn serious right now. Don’t you let him f*cking touch you.”

She spun, and her blue eyes could have frozen the Mississippi.

“I’m looking at you, Con, but you better hear me. I might have agreed to give you a shot, but I didn’t agree to anything more. And if you ever speak to me like that again, you can live the rest of your life with the torture of not knowing, because you won’t be touching me again.”

“Then you’ll be kissing your deed goodbye.”

“If the only other option is sacrificing my self-respect, then so be it.”

“Your self-respect isn’t going to get your precious foundation’s building built.”

Her knee shot up and caught me unaware. I stumbled back a step, grunting, and bent over as the sick feeling in my gut twisted. “Fuck, woman. Did you have to crush my balls?”

She must have lowered her head because I could feel her breath on my ear when she spoke. “One, don’t ever talk to me like that again. I’m a f*cking lady. And two, don’t make fun of my precious foundation. Oh, and three, I don’t have any intention of f*cking Lucas Titan, or you, for that matter.”