“No, that won’t be happening,” Blaise informed him as he came to stand beside me.

  The bartender looked at Blaise, then at the man before walking away to get someone else a drink.

  “What the fuck?” the man shouted.

  Blaise moved in closer to him. “You need to leave,” he said in a low voice.

  The man’s face paled, and it was then that I knew Blaise was pressing a knife against the fucker’s ribs.

  The man swallowed hard and barely nodded his head. “Okay,” he whispered, clearly afraid to move.

  The man stepped back, then turned and headed for the door.

  “I had it handled,” I told Blaise, not liking that he’d dealt with this.

  Blaise glanced back at me, then at Shiloh. “None of us needs to end up in jail tonight.” He said the words in a low voice while shifting his gaze back to mine.

  Shiloh’s antics had caused several instances that ended with me needing to be bailed out.

  Shiloh moved in front of me then and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Dance with me,” she said, smiling up at me like none of this shit had happened.

  Blaise turned and headed back to our table.

  I stared down at her, wishing like fuck I wasn’t so damn obsessed. She made me insane, but the thought of someone else touching her sent me into a blind rage.

  I brushed her hair back off her face. “You love pushing me.”

  She licked her bottom lip. “Maybe I think it’s hot. Seeing you be possessive turns me on.”

  I wrapped a strand of her hair around my finger. “You flirt with anyone else tonight, and I’ll kill him,” I warned her. I’d probably have to protect her from Blaise if she did anything else to set me off. I didn’t say that though.

  “Everything good?” the bartender asked, and I turned my head to him and nodded.

  Garrett had the owner of this bar under his thumb.

  “Let’s go dance, and then I’ll sit in your lap to keep those mean girls away from you,” Shiloh teased, knowing she shouldn’t have tested me.

  When I scowled, she laughed and took my hand and pulled me toward the dance floor.

  Eleven

  Shiloh

  Present Day

  Uncle Neil walked me to my apartment and made sure I was good before he left me there. Today had been somewhat easier, but only because Gage had seemed to accept my being there. He still loathed me. When he had let me ask a question, I should have asked if I had been a crazed stalker who screwed up his life.

  A knock on the door came before Wilder opened it and stuck his head in.

  He smiled at me. “Neil asked me to check on you this evening,” he explained. “Can I come in?”

  “Of course,” I replied. It would be good not to be alone.

  “I’ll go get us some dinner. What are you in the mood for?”

  I didn’t have to think hard about that. Eating at that house wasn’t easy for me. I’d barely touched any food. Tomorrow, I was going to take some protein bars with me. I was pretty sure the lack of calories was why I had gotten dizzy, and I’d told Uncle Neil as much in the car.

  “Thai,” I told him.

  He grinned. “Pad thai with tofu?”

  I nodded.

  “I’ll call it in.”

  I leaned back on the sofa and reached for the television remote while Wilder called in our order. Replaying every moment I had spent with Gage was clearly not healthy, but that was what I kept doing. He had been confusing today. I still wasn’t sure why he’d wanted me to return.

  “Done,” Wilder said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Want to watch another episode of that zombie detective show?” he asked.

  I flipped on Netflix and scrolled until I found what he was talking about. “Warning: I might have watched a few episodes without you,” I admitted.

  “That’s not cool,” he replied, but I knew he was teasing.

  He truly didn’t care about the plotline. I was invested.

  We were halfway through an episode when he left to go get the food. I paused it and went to get a bottle of water from the fridge. My phone dinged, alerting me of a text message, and I picked it up from where I’d left it on the counter.

  I didn’t know the number. It was probably some spam, but I opened my phone anyway to read it.

  What else is wrong with you?

  I read that several times, trying to decide who this was exactly. Could this be Huck? I doubted that Gage would have my number, and if he did, he wouldn’t text me.

  I typed back:

  Who is this?

  The response was almost immediate.

  Gage. Put my fucking number in your phone. You’re my nurse.

  Oh. Well, I was wrong then. He would text me. I saved the number under a new contact before replying.

  Is this about my dizzy spell? If so, there is no reason to worry or be concerned. I can handle the job. But if you don’t feel comfortable with me, I don’t have to return.

  It annoyed me when people thought I couldn’t work. I got migraines or dizzy. The seizures could be an issue, but I hadn’t experienced one in months.

  That’s not a fucking answer, Shiloh.

  This man was infuriating.

  My brain suffered trauma. I get migraines and dizzy occasionally.

  I was not telling him about the seizures. Not his business.

  Is that it?

  No, that’s not it, but that’s all I’m telling you.

  When I wasn’t there, I didn’t have to deal with his attitude. Yet he was now texting me when I was at home, relaxing.

  Yes. Is there anything you need help with? Should I call my uncle?

  There was a pause, and I picked up my bottle of water and took a drink. Still no response, so I laid my phone back down, then picked it back up, just in case. Sinking back onto the sofa, I glanced down at the back-and-forth texts with him. If I was being honest, I was more annoyed with me than with him. Because I wanted those little dots to appear to show that he was texting me back. That in itself was dangerous.

  The door opened, and Wilder walked in with a white bag in his hand. I started to ask him if they had the fried sweet potatoes today, but my phone dinged. My stomach did a little flutter thing at the sound, and I winced. What was wrong with me? I should not be reacting like this.

  Pulling my phone out, I saw his name on the screen and debated on ignoring it. Just eat my dinner and watch some more television. For a moment, I thought I could do it, but that passed when I opened my phone, unable not to give in.

  What are you doing?

  I stared at that and reread it three times before replying.

  Eating pad thai and watching iZombie.

  My thumb hesitated over the phone before I gave in and pressed Send then slipped the phone into my pocket.

  “They had the fried sweet potatoes you love,” Wilder told me, putting the bag on the coffee table.

  “Thank you!”

  I reached for the bag and pulled out the boxes of food. When my phone dinged again, I didn’t get it out of my pocket. I finished setting up our places, then sat back with the fried sweet potatoes in my lap. My phone felt like it was a magnet, pulling me to it.

  Unable to keep this up, I took my phone and opened it up.

  That sounds fucking awful.

  A laugh escaped me, and I covered my mouth, then put my phone down.

  “You never text. Who is that?” Wilder asked, sounding curious.

  I glanced over at him as he sat down beside me, opening a bottle of water. We were friends, but I had to be careful what I said about Gage or my job. I’d read the NDA, but it made me nervous that I would mess up.

  “The patient I’m taking care of,” I said.

  He frowned. “The guy you said despises you? He texted you?”

  I shrugged. It had surprised me too.

  “Guess he doesn’t hate you if he’s making you laugh. Today must have gone better. Although I wish you had told him no and not returned,” Wilder replied.

  “It’s a job, and he’s still not fond of me.” I said before putting a fork full of pad thai in my mouth.

  “He wanted you to come back, and now, he’s texting you,” Wilder pointed out. “He doesn’t hate you.”

  I finished chewing my food and started to respond when my phone dinged again. My eyes swung over to Wilder’s, and he was giving me an I told you so look.

  Opening my phone again, I bit my bottom lip to keep from smiling. Why was this making me want to smile?

  She eats fucking brains from a morgue?

  I had to bite down harder to keep the grin that wanted to break out on my face.

  Are you watching it?

  I stared down at my phone in disbelief. The thought of Gage Presley lying up in his bed, watching iZombie, was funny. If I laughed, Wilder would hear me.

  Yes, unfortunately.

  I couldn’t help it. I laughed. I could feel Wilder’s eyes on me, and I knew he was going to ask questions, but I was as confused by this as he was.

  Give it a few episodes and see if you don’t get hooked.

  This was when I needed to put my phone down and eat my food. Instead, I stared at the phone screen while my stomach did strange things. The little dots appeared, showing that he was texting me back.

  I can promise you, I won’t be getting hooked on this shit.

  I should leave it at that. Not say anything more. I placed my phone down on the coffee table and picked up my pad thai. Wilder was still watching me, so I looked over at him.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” I tell him.

  He raised his eyebrows. “What do you know about this man?”

  Not a lot.

  “NDA,” I replied.

  He frowned. “Just be careful.”

  “Trust me, I am. What just happened was weird, but he’s probably had his pain meds for the night, and they’re making him loopy.”

  Wilder didn’t seem convinced. I picked up the remote and turned the show back on. Talking about this with him was not a good idea.

  Twelve

  Gage

  Texting her last night had been fucking stupid. I’d ended up dreaming about her, and that shit had to stop. I should have let her go and kept Carmichael here and forgotten she’d ever shown up. My head was fucked.

  The more awkward she acted today, the more I got off on it. She hadn’t brought up the texting, and I wasn’t about to.

  I was curious about this version of Shiloh. The more I lay around here, unable to fucking do anything, the more time I had to think about it. She wasn’t the same. Sure, she was still the hottest woman I’d ever laid eyes on, but the other things were gone. The way she’d used her beauty to control and manipulate. How she had loved to fucking flirt—and not just with me. The rush she had gotten from getting close to danger. I hadn’t seen a glimpse of any of those things in the woman currently getting shit ready to change my bandages.

  “I need to piss.”

  Her cheeks turned pink, and damn if that wasn’t funny.

  “I’ll go get someone,” she replied.

  “They’re gone,” I lied. Why the fuck was I lying? I didn’t know where the hell they were.

  “Oh, well …” She looked unsure of what to do now.

  “You’re the nurse, Shiloh,” I said harshly. I didn’t need her thinking this was something I wanted her to do.

  “Right,” she replied and went to get the urinal.

  I watched as she got the other supplies. When she slipped the rubber gloves on, it made me fucking angry. She was worried about touching my dick? She’d had it shoved down her throat more times than I could count.

  She walked over to me and pulled back the covers to find me naked. She gasped and turned her head away. That was funny as fuck, but those damn gloves kept me from laughing.

  “You’re gonna have to look at my dick in order to help me,” I taunted her.

  She nodded. “Yes, right. I just, uh …” Then, she picked up the urinal and started to slip it into place.

  My semi was starting to grow with her this close. “Gonna need to help my dick out. Seems to have other ideas.”

  Her eyes flew up to meet mine, and I smirked. She dropped her gaze back down to the situation at hand and took a deep breath. When she started to reach for my cock, I snapped and grabbed her hand.

  “I’ll do it,” I snarled, grabbing and positioning it.

  Her small gasp was distracting. I clenched my teeth and thought of anything but her. She was making this harder than it needed to be, just by standing there. My dick was wanting to do other things. Like sink into her mouth.

  STOP! I closed my eyes and managed to shove her out of my head.

  When the flow finally started, I was relieved.

  I opened my eyes and watched her when I was finished. She took a wet cloth and wiped between my legs, then paused, glancing up at me, as if to question if she was supposed to clean my dick. I snatched the cloth from her and cleaned myself while keeping my gaze locked on her.

  “Done,” I said, handing her the cloth.

  She pulled the covers back up, but she didn’t miss the fact that my cock was hardening. I’d done this shit to myself. I was a sick bastard for even wanting her to do it, but she made me unhinged.

  “It’s a dick, Shiloh. When a female looks at it like that, it’s gonna get hard.”

  She wasn’t fucking special.

  “You got a pussy and a mouth. That’s all a man cares about.”

  She went to the bathroom to flush my piss. I glared at the ceiling. What next? I’d fucking texted her, had her help me piss. How much more of her being near me could I take before I did something really fucking stupid?

  When she walked back into the room, I didn’t look at her. I closed my eyes and tried like hell to shove her out of my thoughts. My cock was throbbing, and I was gonna need relief. I’d tried jacking off last night, but that had hurt my chest and ribs too bad.

  “Hand me my phone.” The tension in my voice made it sound like a growl.

  Shiloh jumped up and got my phone, then brought it to me. I snatched it from her hand and didn’t look to see her reaction. I wasn’t gonna look at her any more today.

  I sent a text to Destiny, a stripper at one of the clubs we visited. We’d all used her many times. She came with no strings or drama. We enjoyed fucking her, and in return, when she needed her ass spanked with a belt, we did that for her. It was some fucked up fetish she required every week or so. Seemed weird at first, but I liked spanking the shit out of her, and so did Levi.

  Her text came back almost immediately.

  Be there soon.

  I might have her suck me off a few times before she left. Get this shit with Shiloh under control. I was horny because I hadn’t gotten off in three days. That was all this was about. Shiloh had been the only female around. Destiny would get my head cleared.

  Closing my eyes again, I managed to drift off.

  “You got company.” Huck’s voice woke me up, and I turned to see Destiny behind him, smiling at me from the doorway. “Did you ask the nurse if this is safe?”

  I could see the smirk he was trying to hide from Shiloh.

  “Shiloh, the lovely Destiny is going to suck my dick. Is it okay if I come?” I asked her sarcastically.

  There was silence for a moment, and I turned my head to look at her.

  She was wide-eyed as she nodded. “Uh, yes, um, that’s okay. I, uh … you, uh, shouldn’t put any pressure on your chest, but, uh, yeah.” She finished stammering and looked at Huck. “I’ll just go to the kitchen.” Her words were rushed before she exited the room, only pausing to say, “Excuse me,” softly to Destiny so she could get by.

  Huck shook his head. “Fucked up son of a bitch,” he said to me, then turned to leave the room.

  Destiny was wearing a zebra-print halter top that barely covered her tits and a shiny black skirt as she sauntered into the room. “Heard you got all messed up,” she said. “I’m glad you called. I missed you.”

  Destiny was full of shit. She liked being fucked. The girl had daddy issues, and I took complete advantage of it.

  “Of course you have. I won’t be able to beat your ass the way you like for a while, but Levi can handle it.”

  She pushed her lips out in a pout. “I like it better when it’s you. I’ve always told you that you’re my favorite.”

  “You get off on Levi spanking that ass as much as when I do it. Not to mention, you ride on Levi’s dick just as much too.”

  She leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips. “All you ever have to do is tell me my pussy is yours. Then, it’ll just be your dick I’m riding.”

  Not ever fucking happening. Where the fuck was this coming from anyway? She’d never said shit like that before. I beat her ass with my leather belt, and she spread her legs when I needed a fuck.

  “Just suck my dick,” I said with a growl.

  She winked at me, then pulled back the covers, then licked her lips.

  I closed my eyes, and the moment her lips slid down over me, I groaned. Fuuuck, I needed this. I tried not to think about Shiloh, but the struggle to forget what it’d felt like when she was sucking me off was too much. I gave in.

  Seven Years Ago

  Bringing her here was a fucking bad idea. Blaise’s parties always got out of hand. The last time she’d come to one, she had been on Jackson’s arm. After I’d eaten her pussy, I hadn’t been able to stay away from her. She was all too willing to do whatever I wanted.

  I glanced down at her in the candy-apple-red bikini she was wearing and fought the urge to cover her ass up. There were topless females here, and Levi was currently fucking one in the corner. None of them looked like Shiloh, and the males were gonna look at her. They’d take home the image of what she looked like in this damn bikini and put it in their spank bank.