I pulled out my phone, distracting myself from thoughts of touching her, of letting my cock loose on her. Anything to keep me in check. Puppies seemed like a nice, safe subject.

“Fuck.”

My eye twitched, recognizing the voice of my vapid ex immediately.

“Really, Jared? You didn’t ruin things enough today, so you had to fuck up my dinner tonight?”

The hostess sat them directly across the empty space from me. Shone walked in behind her, ever the lost puppy.

“I was here first. Ignore me, and both our dinners will remain intact.” I glared at her, hoping my death ray beams would work, but they were fresh out of laser gas.

Unfortunately, Hope was their waitress as well. I hated that she was subjected to their poison. As she placed a napkin on their table, it fluttered to the ground. Without thought, she turned around and leaned over, giving me full view of her fuckable tits.

I groaned and palmed my cock, pressing against the hard-on coming back like it’d never gone down when Monica entered the room. The sight killed me and ended way too soon, so I focused on her round ass and fucktastic curvy hips.

Yeah, maybe not such a good idea with the hell-bitch so close.

Once she got their drink order, she came back to check on me. “Refill?”

I licked my lips. “I can’t stop thinking about what I really want.”

She reached out and grabbed my glass. “And for now, that means water.”

I leaned out of the booth to watch her ass as she walked away. No reason to be shy about it.

“A chubby girl, Jared? Really?” the evil voice called out from across the room.

“She’s not chubby.” I turned to glare at her, teeth grinding together.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “She’s packing on a few extra pounds.”

I swiveled in the booth to face her. “Are you saying that because you’re a super-skinny, muscle-obsessed bitch, you can’t see the beauty and sexiness in a soft, healthy, curvy body? I remember back when we met—when you were human—you weren’t too far off from her.”

“I was never that bad.”

“No, you were never that good. She’s a fucking goddess.” I smirked at her and grabbed my dick. “Are you jealous that she can turn me on just by looking at her?”

Her gaze narrowed. “Shouldn’t you be home with your mommy?”

“Shouldn’t you be shutting your fucking trap before you piss me off any more?” I turned to Shone, who sat there with stupid written all over his face, staring at us. “Dude, her pussy isn’t worth the hassle—I should know.”

Monica jumped up, hissing, her face red and angry. “You wouldn’t know good pussy if it jumped on your dick.”

I remained staring at Shone, ignore her tantrum. “And how the fuck do you put up with her bitchitude? I mean, there’s got to be tons of dim-witted girls out there that would be a perfect match for you color of crayon.”

“Man, shut up. Stop pulling me into it.” Shone shook his head and looked at her. “Babe, sit down and ignore him.”

“You should listen to your pup.”

“He’s twenty-four, asshole!”

“And you’re thirty.”

“Shut the fuck up.” She snarled at me, shaking, and by the expression on Shone’s face, he had no idea.

“That’s your comeback?” I quirked my brow at her and then tipped my head back, a strained laugh coming from my chest. “Thank God there are only ten months left on the lease.”

And there it was—the first hint of what was going down. She’d find out next week anyway.

Her expression was priceless—wide-eyed horror. It shocked me to see, because she was smart. How could she not see the writing on the wall? We were done as business partners.

“You think I’m afraid of you?” Her hand shooed at me. “Crawl on back to your mommy’s house.”

I stood up and faced her full on, every muscle tight. I was ready to fucking hit her, and there was no one to hold me back or calm me down—though Shone stood, moving to stand between us.

“Say another fucking word about my mom, bitch.”

“What? What will you do, dickwad?”

I’d become so lost in the blazing anger that I didn’t notice the surge of lust that suddenly pumped through me. It wasn’t until a scream echoed off the walls that my vision cleared and I saw Hope at their table.

“Oops,” she said, picking up a now-empty cup of soda.

“You idiot!” Monica’s screech could be heard blocks away.

“I’m sorry.” Hope remained calm and collected, nothing like when she was near me. A glance my way with a small smile was all I needed to understand she’d done it on purpose.

It was the first sign she’d given me to show she was interested in me for more than the strange, overpowering attraction between us.

The manager came out and asked us to either calm down or leave. There was no way in hell I was leaving, and Monica didn’t back down either. Instead, in her soaking wet clothes, she finally stopped talking and sat back down. She and Shone stayed on their side and left me alone.

Peace at last.

Well, as close as I would get to peace with the fire that ripped through me every time Hope came back in the room. Serving more tables meant she swung by more, and the lust was compounded with each pass. All control was fast slipping from me—I wanted to tear her apart. My muscles flexed, begging to touch her, consume her and burn together. I wanted to take her on the floor right there in front of Monica.

“How’s your wrap?” She tipped the water pitcher in her hand, refilling my glass.

I finished up my bite and stared into her blue eyes, another shiver running through me, cock twitching. “I didn’t come here for the food, but the wrap is good.”

Her hand tightened around the handle, lip caught between her teeth again as she shook her head. “Stop.”

I grabbed hold of the pitcher, afraid of what I would do if I touched her skin. “I wouldn’t even if I could.”

She gave me one last look before turning and walking away. Something inside me got angry every time she left, but at the same time, I loved to watch her body move. Each stride of her long legs begged me to follow.

After she refilled my water and I paid the bill, I figured I’d worn out my welcome for the day, especially by the glares I got from the manager. There was always tomorrow. As I exited the bathroom, ready to jump into my car, her melodic voice filled my ears.

“Mac, I’m going to take a break. Table two has their check.”

She walked past the restroom alcove and out the back door. My cock twitched as I stood there, deciding what to do. Truth be told, there was no decision. I’d already started following her.

I knew what I wanted to do, what I needed. The devil was winning again, because I was going to get it.

She’d reached the edge of the building by the time I got out the door, my pace even, measured, letting the thirst for her fill me. When I rounded the corner, she was leaning against the brick wall, looking down at her phone and typing away.

She shivered, her gaze lifting to me, lips parting. “What are you doing back here?”

I stopped a few feet in front of her. “Are you saying I can’t be back here?”

Her gaze flitted around, trying not to look at me as she squeezed her phone. “No, but you should leave.”

The nervousness radiating from her only fueled the energy moving in waves between us.

“I was walking to my car, but I felt you calling to me.” I step forward and caged her with my arms. The vibration, the desire-filled excitement, skyrocketed.

So close.

Inches apart.

All sense was gone, replaced by a greedy hunger to touch her.

“You need to get away from me.”

“Why? Because you can’t control yourself?”

She reached out and pressed against my chest. A shudder rocked us both at the contact. Tiny, dick-twitching whimpers and a hitched breath had me moaning. The skin beneath her hand burned.