Wet: Part 2 (22 page)

“It would be really, really bad. I’d hate it if you—if the reason you freak out about being touched ended up having anything to do with me.”

“But it doesn’t. I don’t freak out with
you
anymore.”

“I
know
!” He raised his eyebrows, trying to convey how that fact was the root of his problem. “And I’d like to keep it that way.”

She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on the arms she folded over her knees. 

“Rhees, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He rolled his eyes. “I either drank too much for this,” he mumbled, “or not enough.”

“What is angry sex?”

Paul swallowed wrong and coughed.

“Why are you asking about that?”

“Because you’re angry, and it reminds me of what I’ve heard your groupies talking about. I’ve been curious for a while.”

“I’m not angry.”

“Yes you are, or maybe more like ornery.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Am not.”

“Are.”

“Not.”

“You big baby.” She giggled.

He laughed. “I thought
you
were the big baby. I could have sworn that was you on that mountainside today, ripping my heart to shreds, making me about
die
inside because I didn’t know what the hell to do or how to make it better.”

“Yep.” She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “We’re both big babies. I guess that means we deserve each other.”

He chuckled but glanced down, knowing he’d never deserve her.

“So,” she pushed. “What is angry sex?”

He sighed. “Angry sex is something you’ll never have to know about.” The last thing he needed right then was to sit next to the most beautiful, and yet, the most untouchable woman in the world, and talk about one of his favorite sports, at least it used to be. It’d been so long, he wasn’t sure he remembered. He smirked.

“And I don’t have groupies. Not anymore. You’ve disbanded the club.”

“Oh, the club lives on, believe me. They’re just waiting in the wings for you to—” She didn’t finish the thought, but she knew what the other girls knew—he wouldn’t be hers forever. “But what is it? How do you make love to someone if you’re mad at them?”

“I’ve never made love in my life.” He laughed, sardonically.

“But you—”

“Yeah, I’ve fucked every woman on the planet.” He beat her to the punch. He thought it best to say it himself before he had to hear it from her lips, again. She’d said it before and even though she’d meant it as an exaggeration, the point of it rang true. It had stung coming from her. “But I’ve never
made love
.”

“Anger and sex don’t go together.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I’ve been angry at the world for a while. I’ve told you that.” Against the better judgment he might have had if he hadn’t had so much to drink, he started explaining, because the beautifully confused look on her face at that moment would have made him do just about anything.

“I like to mess girls up—actually, no. I’ve never
messed
anyone up. The girls I’ve been with were already messed up before I got there. That’s the problem with you and I. You’re saving yourself for—” Paul sighed and looked down again with a frown on his face. “For someone who deserves you—Mr. Right—whoever the lucky
pud
turns out to be.”

Paul hated the image of Rhees with any other man. In his book, any man she’d end up with would be a pud, better than he, but still a pud.

“Sometimes it can be fun to play. Yes, angry, rough play, instead of just straight up.”

Rhees looked so innocent, so clueless, so shocked. He continued, like an idiot who should shut up, but he didn’t.

“There’s a reason I’ve always preferred wild girls, okay? If she’s brazenly forward, she’s more likely to want to play. If I’m drunk and in a bad mood—”

“You used to always be drunk and in a bad mood.”

Paul didn’t know if he should be happy, or scared to death at how well she knew him. Of course, his bar hopping had never been a secret, but no one ever really noticed—well, they noticed the way he looked—that was just the curse of his DNA, but they never did see him. Not the way Rhees saw him.

“So . . . what? It’s like you pick a fight with some random girl, but instead of storming off, you take them home, yell at them, scare the crap out of them?” She seemed to be remembering something. Yes, she’d seem him scary and angry. “You fight, yell, and then, what? Bam! You just force—” She didn’t finish her sentence.

“Yeah, you nailed it.” He closed his eyes. His lips tightened into a thin line before he started running through his mouth exercises. “Actually, angry sex, for me, never had a whole lot to do with who I spent the night with. It was just for fun and more a product of my bad mood—my past . . .” His voice trailed off as he thought through the reasons he’d always been so angry. The last time he remembered
playing
, he’d actually been angry with Rhees—not a smart memory to have right then. “Damn it.”

He looked over at Rhees and his desire smoldered. His hormones and his logic were in direct conflict. “
Pleeease
, go to bed!”

“I wanted us to progress, but this isn’t the first time you’ve turned me down.” She paused and sighed. “Never mind, I get it. You’d rather have blue balls.”

She stood and wanted to storm off with nothing but her rejection, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to him, cradling her on his lap. “When we’re back home, things will return to normal, and we’ll both feel better about this. Now, one more kiss.”

He held her tighter and pressed his lips tenderly to hers, holding them there longer than usual for such a chaste kiss. He kissed her again, sweeping his tongue across her top lip.

“Oops. That was two more. I’m such a liar.” He helped her to her feet.

“Yes, you are,” she said, before stomping off toward the house.

oOo

The two men from the shuttle service carried the luggage from the porch to the van and loaded it into the back. Ashley followed them and climbed in, but Liz and Jeannie actually took the time to give an affectionate good-bye to their guys for the day. Rhees gave Paul a warm hug.

“I need you to promise me something,” he said.

“Okay. What?”

He looked at her, surprised she would agree to a promise before she knew what he wanted, but her spirits were much higher than the night before.

“Promise me you’ll spend the money I gave you.”

“All of it?” She looked like he’d just asked her to cut off one of her arms.

He smiled. “Yes! And if you need more, use the credit card I gave you.”

“Paul. You just gave me a thousand dollars.”

Each girl had found an envelope with a thousand dollars cash, sitting on their breakfast plates that morning. The girls were to use the money to pamper themselves and buy an outfit for a night on the town. Paul had also slipped a credit card into Rhees’ envelope, something none of the other guys would have ever dared to do.

“—On top of the ten thousand that you slipped into my account last time—at the wage you pay me—I’ve only had to spend a couple hundred dollars of that.” She narrowed her eyes at him, baring her displeasure. “How can that not be enough?”

“You’d have to find an ATM to access that money. Good luck finding one. Please, Rhees, I’d normally never ask this, but please, just be like the other girls, and spend the cash.”

“A thousand dollars,” she muttered while rolling her eyes.

“I don’t think any of these other girls are as reluctant to spend money as you are. A thousand dollars isn’t going to last as long as you think it will.”

“I can’t waste money on things I don’t need.”

“See? That’s exactly why I made you promise. You already agreed, so it’s too late.” He smiled again. “I want you to get some nice things for yourself. Promise me you’ll buy anything—everything you like.”

“What if I don’t find anything I like? How can I spend that much money if I don’t like anything enough to buy it?”

He sighed. “Promise me you’ll
try
to like things, and then buy them—no matter how much they cost.” She furrowed her eyebrows in protest but agreed with a nod. “Good.” He kissed her forehead.

Liz and Jeannie finished with their own good-byes and headed toward the van where Ashley waited. Rhees started to pull away, but Paul didn’t let go.

“Promise me something else.” She wasn’t as eager to agree again, and he grinned. “Buy a new dress, since the brown one got ruined.”

“You really liked that dress, didn’t you?” She smiled.

“I
loved
that freakin’ dress!” He bared his teeth and snarled. His right eye did the involuntary wink thing.

“I do need something to wear tonight. I’ll do my best.”

“That’s the spirit. Find something you can dance in—maybe something with fringe?” His eyebrows danced up and down.

“What if
you
don’t like what I buy?”

“I’ll like whatever you like.”

“You sound like me, and you say it drives you crazy when I’m just being accommodating. What if you don’t?”

“Then I’ll rip it off of you, and you can go to the club nay-ked.” He snarled again. She glared at him, blankly, and it made him chuckle. “If you like it, I’ll
love
it.”

“You should always be so easy to please.”

“I’m always easy to please!” He really did wink.

She rolled her eyes, remembering the night before. “Except when you’re drunk. You get ornery when you drink too much.”

“Ornery, or brutally honest?” He hadn’t been drunk enough to forget the night before. He picked her up, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him. “I already said I was sorry, and I came to bed the second I knew you’d be safe—as soon as the alcohol wore off.”

“Thank you. I was in the middle of a terrible nightmare until you showed up. I don’t think you understand how much having you there helps.” Taylor’s hug bomb really had upset her more than she let on. “I’m glad you’ve had fun this week, but I’m also happy we’re going home tomorrow. Like you said, I can’t wait to get back to normal. You’re weird when you’re around your friends.”

“Weird?” He smirked.

“You drink more, swear more, get riled up faster . . . you’re shaggier.” She tugged a lock of his long hair.

“You said I was cute around my buddies.”

She giggled. “I said that as we left the airport. You guys had been together a whole ten minutes. The cuteness wore off before we got to the house.” She tried not to smile, but couldn’t help it.

“Look at you. One day after upgrading this relationship and you’re already trying to change me.” He laughed, but she looked taken aback.

“I didn’t mean to sound like I wanted to change you. I don’t want you to change.”

“Hey!” He squeezed her tighter. “You
have
changed me, profoundly, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I haven’t done anything. You’ve done it all, unsolicited.” He kissed her to shut her up.

“Shh . . . let’s not waste time on that.” He perked up. “Testosterfest is only once a year and it means a lot to me to know you’d come and put up with all our shenanigans. The hair and beard go tonight, deal? I know you like a clean cut man.”

“How do you know that?”

“A little—a pretty big bird told me. Tracy mentioned it when you first showed up at the shop. I cut my hair and shaved before showing up at Ray’s that night—I was out to get my trophy.” The look in his eyes grew solemn. He squeezed her again.

“I do like you best with shorter hair, and a little less beard, but I think you’d be beautiful bald. I kind of like you like this, scruffy.” She dragged a finger along his hairy jaw and winked at him. “Just don’t take to one of those bizarre do’s where you grow it all long and comb it over your face so you can hide behind it. I want to see your eyes. And, I know how hard you try to keep shaved, but your five o’clock shadow can’t tell time. It shows up hours early.”

Paul clicked his tongue with a tsk. “Yeah, sorry about that. Mom used to get flustrated with me. She expected her children to be more presentable than I could manage.” He smirked. Little snippets about his family had started creeping into his conversations with her. He never liked to even think about his family before Rhees came along.

“One more promise,” he said.

“Sorry. You’ve used up all your carte blanche promises for . . . at least a year.”

“This one is the most important.”

“I have to hear what it is before I’ll agree this time.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

He looked down and smiled the shy, little boy smile she loved. “Promise me you’ll stay close to the drivers at all times.”

She didn’t understand the request and looked confused.

“Just promise me you won’t let the other girls talk you into doing something stupid, like ditching the drivers. Stay within their range of vision no matter what the other girls do, all right?”

“Paul. Why?”

“Let’s go. It’s not like you guys aren’t going to be
doing
each other tonight,” Ashley called from the van. “You act like you’re never going to see each other again. Let’s go.”

Paul gave Ashley a dirty look. “I hate that bitch.”

Rhees put her hands on both sides of his face and drew him back. “Ignore her.” She looked into his eyes. “Are the drivers bodyguards? Are we in danger?”

“We hired them to drive,” he assured. “But I specifically asked for the biggest, most intimidating men the agency had.” He chuckled and only partially lied. He’d hired a security agency to do the driving. Paul and his friends usually hired someone to look out for the girls on their shopping day. This trip, however, Paul had personally hired an extra man to watch out for Rhees, exclusively. 

“You’re worried.” She didn’t let up. “What’s wrong, Paul?”

“Nothing. You know I always worry about you.” He shook his head, she knew him too well. “Okay. A few years ago, one of the girls decided it would be funny to get flirty with a local. She thought she was being cute—making Taye jealous. The guy didn’t know she was just fooling around. He called three of his buddies, and they followed the girls around the rest of the day. The girls panicked and did some stupid things.” Paul grimaced.

“They should have just gone back to the hotel and security could have handled it, but instead, they worried about leading the men back to where they were staying. It was a fiasco.” Paul shook his head. “Ever since then, we’ve hired drivers to intimidate any sleazy
creepazoids
.” He smiled, trying to assure her. “The drivers are just a
precaution.
Just don’t—” He sighed. “Please, just don’t try to ditch them. Okay?”