Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
“Hey, baby,” she purred.
“Get out of the pool, Ivana.”
“But me and Lonnie wanna play.”
“Play somewhere else. This is taken.”
She reached out to touch Carnage, and I knew I had to say something. “Excuse me,” I said, trying to be polite. I’d seen the women around here -- club girls, they were called -- and knew what this one and possibly her friend wanted. “You’re interrupting.”
She didn’t even turn her head to acknowledge me. “Wouldn’t be if you could keep a man like Carnage satisfied. But everyone knows you can’t.”
There was a splash as another naked woman dove into the water to swim to us. Probably Lonnie.
I looked at Carnage. He seemed to be waiting for… something. That was when I realized how much trouble I was in. Three things occurred to me. First, Carnage was testing me. Seeing what I would do. Second, I had two choices. Leave or behave like I thought these women would behave in the same situation. And lastly? The whole fucking scene hurt me like nothing I’d ever experienced, and I would never, ever put myself in the position to experience it again. Once was enough.
So I was left with two choices. Cut and run, or do battle with two women. In the water. Over a man.
“Fuck this shit,” I said, turning to leave. Then one of them giggled. And I just… snapped.
Before I fully realized what I’d done, I snagged Ivana by the hair and pulled with all my might, unbalancing her in the water and shoving her under. Lonnie gasped, surprise on her face when I lunged for her. She was ready, though, splashing me with a faceful of water before attacking.
Before she could touch me, Carnage stepped between us, putting himself between me and the two women. “That’s enough,” he growled menacingly.
“It’s not nearly enough,” I hissed. How could I have gone from the high of my life to cat-fighting with two club girls in the space of a few seconds? “Yeah. Fuck this shit.” I swam to the side of the pool, pushing myself up on the side, acutely aware of my nakedness but refusing to be ashamed. With my head held high, I marched back to the lounger I’d claimed and wrapped myself in the towel.
“Not another step, Calliope,” Carnage snapped.
I whirled around. “This arrangement you so thoughtfully dictated to me a while ago. The one where I don’t go to anyone else for pleasure. Does that extend to you? Because it looks like you plan on getting your jollies off with every club girl in the place.” I didn’t bother to hide my anger, needing every single ounce of it to keep from crying again.
“You think I’m handing down a double standard?”
“Sure the fuck looks like it. You’ve got two of your little tarts all over you even now. Not even a full five minutes after you laid down the law to me!”
“I’m not fuckin’ either of them, Calliope. I think you know that.”
“Well, you sure as shit ain’t turning them down!”
“So? You gonna run? Or you gonna stake your claim?”
“Do you want me to fight for you? Is that what this is about? Why didn’t you just shut these two down from the start?”
“Not at all. I just wanted to see how serious you were.”
“You saying you’d fight over me if one of the men around here came on to me the way these two did with you?”
“No. It wouldn’t be a fight. I’d just kill the motherfucker and be done with it. No fighting to it.”
I blinked. “Well. OK, then.” I looked at the women in the water. Intently. Needing to memorize every feature I could about them. “I’m not a good shot with a gun, and I can’t kill a person with my bare hands. But from this moment on, I’m carrying a knife with me. I may not kill anyone making a move on Levi, but I will cut a bitch. And yes. You can pass that on. Or not. Makes no difference to me.” I glanced at Carnage. “Come with me back to my suite or stay with these bitches. Right now, I don’t much care.”
I stomped off, not waiting to see what happened with Carnage and the two women. I was horrified I’d gotten physical, but it had felt good. Like I was fighting for what I wanted. Hell, who was I kidding? That was exactly what I was doing. I realized he’d declared he’d kill anyone in the club who made a move on me and thought that probably wasn’t something men said in a club like this. Maybe he was really serious. I knew I was. I was going to buy me a knife and do exactly what I promised. If that got me kicked out or locked up, I’d deal with it later. I needed Levi. The boys needed him. So I’d fight with my last breath for him.