Frayed (Torn #2)(20)

“Excuse me, but you’re leaving with my woman.” That stopped us walking; the voice of Taylor was quite close behind us.

James spun around, pissed off. “I have spent the last hour with her, kissing her. From where I’m standing, she’s with me.”

Taylor sent me a murderous glare before he looked back to James. “We had a misunderstanding. Trista did that to make me jealous. Well, mission accomplished. That doesn’t change the fact that she’s mine. So, if you don’t mind, could you kindly take your hands off what’s mine and scurry off?”

Mortified didn’t even come close to what I was feeling at the moment. My cheeks suffused with blatant embarrassment when James gave me an accusing glare. “Bloody f*uking hell, women! I would rue the day!” He shouted as he started to walk away from us.

I gently pushed his chest, angry and frustrated. “What are you now? Cock Nazi? It’s none of your business, Taylor. What the hell! That was uncalled for.”

“It was for your own good. You’re obviously drunk. I didn’t want you to regret it the next day. Especially after yesterday, I couldn’t risk it. I had to stop you from making that error.” Taylor slipped his hands inside his pockets while he regarded my reaction.

True, I was drunk, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have a damn clue about what was about to happen. Heck, I initiated it. “There were never going to be regrets, Taylor. I asked him to take me back to his room. I wanted to have sex with him. I knew what I wanted and I just went after it. I wasn’t a drunk damsel in distress that needed saving from you.”

His eyes flicked from my head to my feet, and back up again. “Why? Last night, you told me you were so f*uking in love with Harry. f*uking another man is a stupid solution to that, Trista.” Taylor frowned at me.

An irritated laugh came from me. “This wasn’t about love. Maybe I just like sex. Have you considered that?”

“Let’s go back to the villa. You need to rest. You look tired.” Taylor placed a hand behind my back and pushed me forward. “I spoke to Lindsey earlier. She’s with a bunch of girls from New York. She also has her cellphone with her, so we can reach her anytime. Now, let’s get a move on.”

The short fifteen minute walk was silent. The fact that I was hyper-aware of his movements, his breathing and his smell, dampened my mood even more. The fact that his hand never left the warmth of my back, didn’t help at all.

When we got to our villa, he refused to leave my room just as he had the night before. After his quick shower in his own bathroom, he came back to mine and sought the opposite side of the bed.

After ten minutes or so in bed, his phone started ringing. After a few rings, it died. The sheets made a crisp sound as he moved, reaching for it. “I wish I could put this on silent, but Lindsey might call.” His considerate, protective nature stretched to Lindsey as well, though, that nature didn’t seem to be as bad as it was towards me.

I was a tad intrigued. “Who called you?” When my eyes made a quick pass to his face, I saw his frown. Okay, now I was f*uking curious.

He stretched out and placed his hands behind his head. “My ex, Megan. She might call again, so I apologize ahead of time.”

His honest revelation surprised me. Most men wouldn’t be too quick to respond about something like that. Most of them deny their pasts and cover up other women in their lives, but not Taylor. In that one moment he showed me that he’s straightforward as hell. I was a bit ticked off. Why? I wasn’t sure, but it bothered me to know that he’s talking to his ex. Of course pretty boy was attractive, and I’m sure he had tons of women at his beck and call, however, I didn’t want to see him that way. To me, he was just Taylor—the guy I just recently had met—who saved me and infuriated me.

“Were you guys in love?” I whispered, staring at the ceiling, like him.

“For a couple of years, we were, but somewhere along the way, things fell apart. We agreed that breaking up was the best thing for both of us. She started calling three months after, that was six months ago.” Taylor sounded like his thoughts were so far away, like he was remembering his relationship with Megan and their love.

What would it be like to fall for someone who could freely love you back? To have them openly declare their love and affection. To be able to openly show people how much you care for each other?

A one-woman kind of man.

“If she asked you to give it another go, would you go back?” I wondered out loud.

He took a good minute or two to consider my question. “I’m not going to lie and say that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. Our relationship was great. Megan and I understood each other. We’re both competitive in nature, and we both thrived on it. I guess we were good together, but somewhere down the line, we drifted apart.”

Why did it feel like I was being poked each time he mentioned her name?

My prodding about his past didn’t ease my curiosity. In fact, it got worse. I was imagining all sorts of things in my head. When his phone rang again, breaking the silence in the room, I reached out above his body for the phone. “Hello?” I answered the call.

“Trista!” Taylor hissed behind me. His hot body almost touching my back, but he was careful not to touch me.

Nah uh, he messed with my night with James earlier. It was my time to mess with his.