Perfectly Toxic (The Sterling Shore Series Book 9) (14 page)

Chapter 27

ETHAN

It’s late when I finally get out of the office, but I count on Bella still being awake, since she said she had to stay late again.

I call her phone, but it’s not her voice that answers.

“Hello?” some fucking guy asks.

“Um… Is Bella there?” I ask, confused as I pull my phone back and check to make sure I’ve called the right person.

“Yeah,” he drawls, sounding oddly familiar. “She’s in the shower. Is this—”

“Who the fuck is this?” I ask, past the point of pissed off.

“Who the fuck is this?” he parrots, and I almost feel him grinning.

Instead of answering, I hang up, trying not to crush my phone in my hand. Yeah, sounds like she’s a
tired
girl. I’m gone for a few days, and some guy is answering her phone while she’s in the shower.

It’s Star Morgan all over again… Fuck that. Nothing is worth that shit.

Pocketing my phone, I get in my car, cursing myself the entire time. A fucking girl was never supposed to get into my head. I was on the verge of playing house after promising myself I’d take the chance to live out the years I lost being the good son.

My fist flies out before I can stop it, and I punch my steering wheel three times, hearing the horn explode each time as though it’s screaming in agony.

Fuck this. Fuck her.

Chapter 28

BELLA

ME: You won’t believe what happened tonight. I worry about people.

ME: If you send that suit pic, I’ll send you that dirty pic tonight.

ME: You’re not texting me back. I’m getting worried.

ME: Hey, is everything okay?

ME: Seriously? Silence is all I get?

ME: I heard Wren tell Allie you talked to him yesterday, so at least I know you’re okay and it’s just me you’re ignoring. Way to be classy and end things. Fuck you and goodbye.

My phone looks like a disgruntled stalker’s phone with the one-way conversation I’ve had with Ethan since the last time he actually spoke to me.

It’s not like I expected anything any different, yet I keep checking my phone every three seconds like he’s going to message me with a damn good reason as to why he hasn’t contacted me in over five days now.

Nine days he’s been gone… That’s how long it took for him to put me out of sight and out of mind.

I curl up in my room, turn on a movie, and debate spending the night binge watching TV instead of going out with the girls the way I planned.

Unfortunately, Allie walks into my room, looking me over like she’s confused.

“Why do you look like you’re in breakup mode?”

I’ve become too readable.

“Because I’m considering breaking up with work. This is my first day off in a really long time, and I’m exhausted.”

She laughs while sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I’ve thought about going back to work several times, but it’s nice being at home with Angel so much. And Wren really needs an assistant, but he won’t hire one, so I’ve been handling everything he refuses to get help with. It’s… nice. I never thought I’d like it so much, but I do.”

“Can we have a slumber party instead of going out?” I ask her, sprawling out dramatically.

She laughs while lying down beside me. “I can ask the girls. All the guys are over at Ethan’s tonight. He’s having another wild party, so they’re hanging out until they can’t handle it anymore.”

My entire body turns to stone, and I slowly turn my head toward her. “Ethan is back?”

“Yeah,” she says with a shrug. “He got back yesterday, I think.”

I nod slowly, letting that sink in. It’s not like I can explode right now and tell her everything. I already feel stupid enough for letting him fool me.

“So, how about Silk instead?” I ask her, deciding I’m sure as hell not going to waste time sulking at home while he’s partying like a frat boy and probably screwing with some other chick’s head by now.

“Silk sounds good, but you just said you wanted to stay in.”

I get up, looking for the sexiest thing I have in my closet, and I settle for a new little number I got from the Pretty Posh samples Bo gave me.

“I changed my mind,” I tell her while pulling out the skimpy leather skirt and a red shirt to go with it.

“If that’s what you’re going to wear, then I need to go home and change,” she says, pointing at her jeans and t-shirt.

“Bo sent over some things, so feel free to raid my closet.”

She claps her hands together and jogs over to my closet to start changing. Me? I go for extreme sexy girl on a mission. Ethan Noles reminded me who I am. Some girls get the fairytale and the prince. Those are the good girls.

Some girls are just meant for empty sex. Those are the bad girls. I guess it’s time to accept my role, because not everyone gets the fairytale.

Chapter 29

ETHAN

“One party every other weekend for the next eight weeks? Are you serious?” Wren asks me on a groan?

“Yep. And you assholes will be there,” I inform him.

“Man, I can make a few, but I have a kid. I can’t be at a raging party every other weekend.”

I’m still too pissed to really give a damn about too much, so I shrug it off.

“Yeah, well, the announcement has been blasted across some chick’s social media, so the partying will persist. Come or don’t. I really don’t give a damn at this point.”

“What the hell? Why are you being even more of an asshole than usual?” he growls, but I ignore him as I chug down a beer.

My eyes land on a tight ass that is covered by a little denim skirt. Unfortunately, my dick doesn’t seem pleased with the choice, so my eyes continue to roam. There’s really only one way to get over a girl…

“The girls are at Silk,” I hear Dale saying to Corbin as they walk away, and my jaw grinds. I’m sure Bella is with them.

“Star Morgan is here,” Maverick says, grinning as he comes over to me.

Sure enough, I see her as soon as the words leave his mouth, and she sees me. She bites down on her bottom lip, acting unsure. I have zero interest in her. She’s just as bad as Bella—actually, she’s worse. I had a future planned out with Star. High school bullshit is all it really was.

I chug the rest of my drink before narrowing my eyes, letting her know to stay far away from me.

Her lips tighten and she takes the hint, walking away. Maverick is smirking at me when I turn toward him.

“What?” I ask, sounding overly pissy.

“So, what do you think of our Bella?” he asks, causing me to strangle on my beer.

Clearing my throat, I aim for nonchalance. “I don’t really think about her at all, to be honest,” I lie.

He nods, but he’s studying me with a wry smile on his lips.

“See, I could have sworn it was you who called her a few nights ago,” he goes on, still watching me warily.

I look around, noticing Wren has moved to the corner where Rye looks miserable and ready to bail. It’s just Maverick over here with me, and no one can hear us over the music.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tell him, confused.

“I had Bella play my wingman the other night after she had a long shift at the hospital.” He sips his beer as I play his words over in my mind. “Some guy named ‘Asshole’ in her phone called and he freaked out when I told him she was in the shower. By the way, she’s the best wingman ever, in case you’re ever looking for one. She’s a hell of a lot better than Dale.”

A chill rides through my spine, and I get a little sick as he continues watching me.

“It wasn’t me,” I lie, forcing a cool external that I don’t feel.

I’m such a fucking asshole. No wonder she has me programmed like that. Motherfucker.

“Could have sworn it was you,” he says with a shrug. “It’s good though. I mean, she had no problem hooking me up with girls, which means she isn’t into me. But I kind of noticed her differently that night. I didn’t make a move because I thought it was you who called her and got all crazy on me. But since it wasn’t, I think I’m going to make a move.”

My blood goes from ice to fire in that instant, and my fists ball in my lap.

“Her ass, dude… Fuck me. And her mouth… She literally says whatever she’s thinking, even if it embarrasses the shit out of her in the next instant. And I can’t help but—”

“Star!” I bark, hearing the word leave my mouth before I even realize I’ve said it.

“Yeah,” he drawls, still smirking. “I know she’s here. I’m the one who pointed her out to you.”

“No, I’m calling Star on Bella,” I snap, grabbing his shirt and fisting it with one hand as I get in his face. “Star. Star. Star!”

His lips curl up in a taunting grin. “I fucking knew it was you! What the hell, man? When did that shit happen?”

Is he serious right now?

Releasing his shirt, I put a little distance between us, just enough so that I don’t punch that smug look off his face.

“You mean you’re not going after Bella?” I growl.

“Hell no,” he says, swatting his hand. “She’s more like a new sister type of friend to me. I don’t see her like that. That was me fucking with you.”

I’m going to kill him and hide the body.

“So what the hell did you tell her?” I ask him as I stand up, putting my beer down as I pull up my phone.

ME: Hey, kind of need to talk to you.

Yeah, that sounds lame as hell, but that’s what I send her.

“What do you mean?” Maverick asks, reminding me I asked him a question first.

“I mean about the phone call you shouldn’t have answered… The one where I flipped out on you.”

“I didn’t tell her anything. I figured you’d tell her I answered, and I figured you two were keeping things on the down low since neither of you have said anything. I was trying to respect your privacy.”

He grins, and I shove at him to move out of my way.

“You respect privacy by not answering someone’s damn phone.”

“It said ‘Asshole!’” he announces loudly, acting like that somehow makes it all better. “I thought it might be some guy hassling her. I had no idea it was her pet name for you until I realized it was you on the other line.”

He makes a ridiculous kissing noise, and I internally groan.

“So is it because you’re such a dick, or is it because she fingers your asshole?” he asks me. “The pet name, I mean.”

“It’s my sunny disposition,” I grumble, still making my way through the endless throngs of people.

“Where are you going?” he asks me as I move toward the door.

“Silk. Thanks to you, I really fucked shit up with her.” I curse while grabbing my keys and tossing them to him. “And you’re driving because I’m drunk and you’re not.”

“Where are we going?” Rye asks as he and Wren follow me out.

“Silk,” Maverick says. “Because Ethan—”

I slam my elbow into his ribs, and his words end on a painful sound as the air leaves his lungs in a loud, dramatic rush.

Rye and Wren look at me, confused, as Maverick drops to his hands and knees to heave for air.

I shrug.

“He invited Star to my party,” I tell them by way of explanation, once again lying.

Bella has turned me into a damn liar.

Maverick’s lips move, but only painful sounds of catching his breath leaves them. I smirk, feeling a little better about life, and snatch the keys from his hand before tossing them to Wren.

“On second thought, you drive. Maverick looks like he needs a moment.”

Maverick flops onto his back, still releasing pained breathing sounds as he flips me off, and I follow Rye and Wren to my car.

Dane and Corbin walk out, seeing us about to leave.

“Thank fuck,” Corbin groans, acting as though he can’t get out of here fast enough.

“What about your party?” Wren asks me as Rye cranks my car.

“I have security in there to keep things from getting out of hand, and they’ll start tossing people out in about an hour when they see I’m not coming home.”

“And why are we going to Silk?” Rye asks as we head toward the club.

“Because I’m bored,” I say with a shrug.

They both snort, but I see Wren texting someone.

“Fortunately for you, that’s where the girls are,” Wren grumbles. “Or else we’d leave your ass on your own.”

I’m counting on that.

I decide to text Bella again, wondering if she’s going to toss a drink in my face or knee me in the balls when I ambush her.

ME: I’m sorry. I fucked up. I’ll explain later.

When my phone buzzes in my hand, I swipe the screen immediately to read it.

BELLA: The person you’re trying to reach is in the middle of an orgasm, but will contact you as soon as she’s able, if you’re not someone she wants dead.

Something tells me that’s not a legitimate autoreply, and I might possibly lose my balls after all. I should have hit Maverick harder.

ME: Seriously, I want to talk.

BELLA: Seriously, I’d rather catch chlamydia and crunch on a pint of bloody needles.

I guess that means I’ve fucked up pretty badly.

When Rye pulls up, I’m the first one out of the car, taking brisk strides toward Silk’s entrance. They wave us in, letting us bypass the massive line full of people who are protesting our immediate entrance.

My eyes are scanning the busy club furiously, searching for the one girl who probably hates me right now.

I can fix that. I’ll just remind her how good I am at sex or something.

When my eyes finally land on her, my hands turn into fists. She’s dancing between two guys, and Allie is standing off to the side, looking a little worried as Bella dances like she’s on a mission.

Her little black leather skirt is riding high on her legs, almost showing too much, and her shirt shows a lot of skin up top and around her midriff. It’s all I can do not to get pissed about the fact one guy is now holding onto her hips and saying something in her ear.

Allie is suddenly in front of us, but I barely notice her because I see Bella’s hands coming up, wrapping around one guy’s neck. Is she trying to get someone killed tonight? Because I’m damn close to making her dreams come true, if so. Starting with that prick.

“What’s up with Bella?” Wren asks her as Allie casts a worried glance in her friend’s direction.

“I don’t know. She got a text, and the next thing I know, she’s dancing like the world is on fire. It’s almost like she’s Bella from years ago—pre Angel.”

My eyes close as my jaw tics. It was
my
text that set her off.

Either she’s making a statement or punishing me.

“Do I need to toss her over my shoulder and haul her out?” Wren asks Allie, brushing a piece of hair away from her face.

“She’s a grown woman. It’s her life to live. I just worry this is because I left her and she’s lonely.”

And now Allie feels guilt over something that’s my fault. Fucking great.

Wren goes stiff beside me as Allie heads back toward Bella, and he curses before running a hand through his hair.

“Anyone know what’s up with Bella?” he asks me, deliberately glaring at me.

“Grab a drink and grab your girl. I’ll see if I can talk to Bella. Seems like she’s a lot like me,” I say with a shrug, not bothering to wait on his reply as I head down to the dance floor.

This will probably be ugly.

She’s in the middle of spinning, when I knock the guy dancing with her to the side, and he walks away without a fight. Bella stumbles into me, and I grab her hips, lifting her up my body and pinning her against me as her eyes lock with mine.

“Nice skirt. It won’t take much to push it up and fuck you against a wall,” I drawl, smirking down at her.

Sex is always a good angle.

The surprise on her face wears off in less than a second, and it turns to anger.

Okay, so maybe sex isn’t such a good angle…

“I really hope you don’t think I’m touching you ever again. I’m not playing this game.”

She struggles to get down, but I hold her closer, laughing under my breath as her attempts to get free are in vain. For some reason, I thought she’d be a little harder to restrain.

“Sorry. I’m making sure you don’t have enough room to go for my balls,” I tell her, amused. “And as for my fuck-up, I own it. It’s on me. Maverick answered your phone one night, and—”

She laughs bitterly, and I arch an eyebrow as I put her down because she starts flailing in my arms. She staggers back, shaking her head the entire time.

“Really, Ethan? I’m so not in the mood for misunderstandings being the reason for your childish silent treatment. I’m too old for this, but wait! That’s right! You’re a grown man who wants to be a juvenile asshole. Have fun with that. Me? I’m already done, so you can save the excuses.”

She pats me on the chest patronizingly, and she glances over her shoulder before returning her chilly gaze to me. “But thanks for reminding me I’m done playing these games. At least you were good for something. I
do
deserve better.”

I almost wish she had kneed me in the balls, because there’s literally nothing but coldness in her eyes right now.

I don’t chase her as she walks away, because I have no idea what to say to fix this. Instead, I’m stuck running a hand through my hair in frustration.

I managed a multi-million dollar company with fewer problems than I’ve created in less than a month with Bella.