Beautiful Bitch (Beautiful Bastard, #1.5)(5)

“Chloe,” I started, walking over to her and setting my champagne down on the kitchen counter with a shaking hand. I scowled at her hair, tied back in a sleek low ponytail.

Her eyes sparkled with amusement and she stretched to reach my ear so only I could hear. “You can take it down later.”

“You should count on it.”

“Do you want to grab it? Pull it?” she asked, kissing the shell of my ear. I nodded, eyes closing. “Or do you want to feel my hair down and loose on your stomach while my mouth works your cock?”

I reached for my champagne with a shaky hand, downed it. “Let’s go with yes.”

Need coiled low in my stomach and I was torn between wanting to smash something and wanting to drag her back into her bedroom and peel those jeans down her legs. Absolutely no part of me felt like spending an evening drinking wine and eating cheese and listening to girl talk. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep it together.

As if reading my mind, she whispered, “It’ll just make it better when we get home.”

“I doubt that is even possible.”

Her fingers lightly scratched over my chest. “I’ve missed that surly face.”

Ignoring her, I asked, “How about you come to my place later? Go out with the girls, enjoy this night. I’ll be there when you’re ready.”

She stretched and slid a slow, warm kiss across my mouth. “What happened to not letting me out of your sight until Christmas?”



I’d expected a dance club, maybe something fancy with twenty-dollar drinks and miles of twenty-something coeds in tiny black dresses. What I hadn’t expected was a low-key bar in the suburbs, with darts and what Julia called “the best sampling of beer in Illinois.”

As long as they could make me a vodka gimlet and I could be in constant physical contact with Chloe, the night might not be too much of a disaster. I followed the girls inside, shooting daggers at every leering douchebag in the place as we made our way up to the bar. Julia plopped herself down on a worn leather stool, shouting something to the bartender about the usual for the ladies and something pink for the pretty boy.

On second thought, this was going to be a long night.

Sara—clearly still a bit unnerved by my company—sat on the other side of Chloe, and made her recount every last detail about her defense. Chloe told her about Clarence Cheng, about how I’d barged in there and been an *, how she’d presented both projects, and even been offered a job.

“Two jobs,” I clarified, staring her down so she knew I was thinking she’d better damn well f*cking take the job at RMG.

She rolled her eyes but none of us could miss her proud smile. With their beers and my pink Cosmo raised in the air, we toasted Chloe on a job well done.

Beside me she downed her beer and then wiggled off her seat. “Who’s up for some darts?”

Sara raised her hand and jumped a little. After a single beer, she seemed tipsy and loose enough to not act like we were still in the office. I slid my gaze down the length of Chloe’s body. I rather liked the idea of watching her stretching and moving to play darts in that tight little number.

“You coming?” she asked, leaning down and pressing her breasts into my forearm.

Fucking tease.

“Hoping to, very soon.” I let my eyes linger on her mouth before dropping to her chest. Beneath the thin fabric of her top, her nipples pebbled.

Her laugh brought my attention back to her red lips and she pushed them together in a playful pout. “Is Bennett a little keyed up?”

“Bennett is a lot keyed up,” I said, pulling her between my legs and kissing the curve of her ear. I wanted to be patient and let her enjoy this night, but patience had never really been my strong suit. “Bennett wants Chloe naked and touching his cock.”

With a giggle, she danced away and to the back of the bar, her arm linked with Sara’s.

Julia put her hand on my shoulder, glancing quickly behind us to make sure Chloe was out of earshot. “You did good.”

I was uncomfortable discussing personal issues with all but a few people in my life, and this most personal of all conversations was the last thing I wanted to have with a virtual stranger. Still, Julia had taken the time to track me down for Chloe’s sake. That definitely took balls.

“Thank you for the call,” I said. “But I do want you to know I would have gone to her anyway. I couldn’t stay away anymore.”

Julia took a sip of her beer. “I figured if you were anything like her, you were about to head in for another round. I called because I wanted you to have that confidence you needed to go in and just be your best bastard self.”

“I wasn’t too much of a bastard.” I frowned, considering. “I don’t think.”

“I’m sure,” Julia drawled. “You’re the portrait of compromise.”

Ignoring this, I lifted my fruity girl drink and drained it.

“She’s so happy tonight,” Julia murmured, almost to herself.

“She’s thin.” I glanced at where she stood, poised and ready to throw a dart. She did seem happy, and for that I was thrilled, but the difference in her body was also hard for me to ignore. “Too thin.”

Nodding, Julia said, “She exercised too much, worked too much.” Her eyes searched mine for a beat before she added, “It wasn’t good, Bennett. She was a wreck.”