Read Online Relentless Rhythm (Tempest #4) by Michelle Mankin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michelle Mankin
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not to laugh.
Well at least she hadn’t taken offense.
“What’s the difference?” I fired back.
“I don’t know. Not a whole lot, I guess.” I could feel her staring at me even though my eyes were back on the road. I tried not to look at her again, but I didn’t last more than a couple of minutes. She cocked a brow at me. “You’re one of those guys who doesn’t believe in relationships, I take it?”
“You got that right.” I made a scoffing sound.
“Why’s that?”
Her question blasted me with more force than it should have. I’d been asked that one loads of times. No reason I should tell her the truth though. I feed her the usual lie. “Chicks are only good for one thing in my opinion. And that’s something I’m very good at. So I give them what they want, and they give me what I need.”
“Like a business transaction?” She snorted inelegantly through her delicate nose.
“Yeah.” I lifted my chin and gave her a challenging side stare.
“A mutually beneficial arrangement without the traditional exchange of currency, hmm?”
I nodded.
“Bartering with sex,” she concluded.
It was my turn to raise a brow. I’d heard her dishing out snappy comeback’s to the guys who hit on her in the bar. I knew she was smart, and she’d just slapped me in the face with it. It stung a little bit, but I wasn’t mad. She was just calling it the way she saw it, but sometimes humor had a way of cutting unmercifully close to the truth.
She ran the tip of a finger back and forth over the full bottom lip that I’d imagined tracing with the end of my dick. “Do you offer them a warranty?”
I barked out a laugh and almost ran through a red light.
She giggled her eyes dancing with mirth, and I found myself treasuring the sight and sound of her happiness as if it were a priceless commodity.
We were both silent for a while, passing through rows of traffic lights before leaving the small town of Squamish in the rearview mirror. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Seeing her laugh had broken down the wall of tension between us, making me feel lighter and more relaxed with her.
In the grand scheme, maybe that wasn’t such a good thing.
“So you’ve never been in love?” she asked softly.
“No,” I replied immediately, but that wasn’t quite true. “In high school there was someone once, but it didn’t work out.” It had been a huge mistake. One I’d never repeated. I should’ve known I wasn’t cut out for the normal relationship stuff. I’d gone into a bad place after that. So far off the rails that I hadn’t been there for Lace when she’d really needed me.
“I’m sorry.” April held my gaze, hers soft with empathy.
“Don’t be. I like things just the way there are.”
“Alright.” She turned her head away. “I’m sure it makes your life a lot easier.”
I heard a trace of pity in her voice. But why did I get the strange idea it was as much for herself as it was for me and my screwed up philosophy? I stared at the back of her head wondering.
“But what about Mel?” she asked low but with enough volume for her voice to be heard over The Clash.
“What about her?” I returned.
“Oh, come on.” She turned her head, her eyes darker now, shadowed like the wall of grey granite on her side of the road. “You have to know how she feels about you.”
“She’s a nineteen year old girl. It’s a crush. She’ll lose interest in me and be onto a new guy in a couple of weeks.”
She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but shut it instead.
“Go on.” I lifted my chin. “Spit it out. Don’t start retracting the claws now, Kitten.”
“To her it’s very real.” She looked at her lap twisting both hands together, the left one with the band remaining on top. That band. That unassuming piece of metal. It might as well have been a fifty foot wall of steel. “You can be very charming, and she’s my friend. I just…please be careful with her. Don’t give
Well at least she hadn’t taken offense.
“What’s the difference?” I fired back.
“I don’t know. Not a whole lot, I guess.” I could feel her staring at me even though my eyes were back on the road. I tried not to look at her again, but I didn’t last more than a couple of minutes. She cocked a brow at me. “You’re one of those guys who doesn’t believe in relationships, I take it?”
“You got that right.” I made a scoffing sound.
“Why’s that?”
Her question blasted me with more force than it should have. I’d been asked that one loads of times. No reason I should tell her the truth though. I feed her the usual lie. “Chicks are only good for one thing in my opinion. And that’s something I’m very good at. So I give them what they want, and they give me what I need.”
“Like a business transaction?” She snorted inelegantly through her delicate nose.
“Yeah.” I lifted my chin and gave her a challenging side stare.
“A mutually beneficial arrangement without the traditional exchange of currency, hmm?”
I nodded.
“Bartering with sex,” she concluded.
It was my turn to raise a brow. I’d heard her dishing out snappy comeback’s to the guys who hit on her in the bar. I knew she was smart, and she’d just slapped me in the face with it. It stung a little bit, but I wasn’t mad. She was just calling it the way she saw it, but sometimes humor had a way of cutting unmercifully close to the truth.
She ran the tip of a finger back and forth over the full bottom lip that I’d imagined tracing with the end of my dick. “Do you offer them a warranty?”
I barked out a laugh and almost ran through a red light.
She giggled her eyes dancing with mirth, and I found myself treasuring the sight and sound of her happiness as if it were a priceless commodity.
We were both silent for a while, passing through rows of traffic lights before leaving the small town of Squamish in the rearview mirror. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Seeing her laugh had broken down the wall of tension between us, making me feel lighter and more relaxed with her.
In the grand scheme, maybe that wasn’t such a good thing.
“So you’ve never been in love?” she asked softly.
“No,” I replied immediately, but that wasn’t quite true. “In high school there was someone once, but it didn’t work out.” It had been a huge mistake. One I’d never repeated. I should’ve known I wasn’t cut out for the normal relationship stuff. I’d gone into a bad place after that. So far off the rails that I hadn’t been there for Lace when she’d really needed me.
“I’m sorry.” April held my gaze, hers soft with empathy.
“Don’t be. I like things just the way there are.”
“Alright.” She turned her head away. “I’m sure it makes your life a lot easier.”
I heard a trace of pity in her voice. But why did I get the strange idea it was as much for herself as it was for me and my screwed up philosophy? I stared at the back of her head wondering.
“But what about Mel?” she asked low but with enough volume for her voice to be heard over The Clash.
“What about her?” I returned.
“Oh, come on.” She turned her head, her eyes darker now, shadowed like the wall of grey granite on her side of the road. “You have to know how she feels about you.”
“She’s a nineteen year old girl. It’s a crush. She’ll lose interest in me and be onto a new guy in a couple of weeks.”
She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but shut it instead.
“Go on.” I lifted my chin. “Spit it out. Don’t start retracting the claws now, Kitten.”
“To her it’s very real.” She looked at her lap twisting both hands together, the left one with the band remaining on top. That band. That unassuming piece of metal. It might as well have been a fifty foot wall of steel. “You can be very charming, and she’s my friend. I just…please be careful with her. Don’t give
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