“Fuck,” Tazen grunts, pulling out of me quickly.
My knees wobble as I push off the car and turn to him. “Who is that?”
“That is Sheyenne. You should go.”
He leans down and lifts my jeans, tossing them at me without a glance. My heart burns as he doesn’t even give me a second glance as he walks towards the door, buttoning up his jeans. “Get those clothes on,” he orders, not looking at me. I swallow the hurt rising in my chest, as I watch the man who just fucked me turn cold as ice.
“I … I have to go out that door.”
He stops as he reaches it and looks over his shoulder at me. “Fine. Just tell her you work here.”
Why should I tell her anything?
She’s not his girlfriend … is she?
I’ve heard her name thrown around a bit lately and Murray said something about them dating for three years. Is there something I don’t know? My body fills with anxiety as I put on my jeans and stand, pulling them up. I run my fingers through my hair, pull the sheet off the car and watch in horror as Tazen tucks the condom into his back pocket. Then he reaches for the door.
I scurry towards the female bathroom, not wanting to make it seem obvious that we just had some seriously amazing sex. I get in just as I hear him say, “What are you doing here, Shey?”
The door shuts behind me and I press myself against it, taking a few panting breaths. I press a hand over my heart, steadying my breathing, before walking over to the mirror and splashing some water on my face. I’m midway through doing this when the door swings open and Sheyenne comes charging in.
I stop abruptly and take in the stunning woman in front of me.
She’s possibly Italian, or maybe Spanish. She has long, raven hair that is tack straight and falling to her waist. Her eyes are as dark as the night and her skin is coffee and cream. She’s tall, she’s lean and she’s so fucking beautiful it hurts to look at her.
“And he tells me he has no one in here,” she says, waving a hand at me.
“Sheyenne,” Tazen barks, taking her arm and hauling her backwards as I stand, confused. “Get out of here. She’s my employee.”
Sheyenne throws her head back and laughs. “You think I’m stupid? I know how it looks after you’ve been fucked by Tazen Watts, because I’ve been fucked,” she stares at me, right in the eye, “by Tazen Watts.”
Oh boy.
This is getting awkward fast.
“Ah,” I say. “I’m just leaving.”
“Damn right you’re leaving, bitch,” she hisses.
My back straightens. I can handle a nasty woman, but a woman that calls me names when she doesn’t even know me … I don’t think so. Tazen notices my shift, and tugs Sheyenne harder.
“You know,” I say in a sugar sweet voice. “You’re right, I did fuck him just now. Last time I checked, he was a free man. Oh, and it’s rude to call someone a bitch when you’re one yourself.” I wave a hand between us. “Pot, meet kettle.”
Her eyes flash with a level of crazy I have never experienced before. This woman is wild, and she doesn’t do anything to hide it.
“What did you just say to me?”
I step forward. “You heard me.”
“Enough,” Tazen says, stepping between us, and then he looks to me. “Quinn, you should probably go.”
I blink at him, but he’s giving me nothing. He’s shutting down around her and I want to know why, but right now I feel too hurt to think about it. He wants me to leave. He’s just kicking me out. That hurts.
“Yes, bitch, you should go,” Sheyenne yells. “Because if you don’t go, I’ll lose my shit and that won’t be pretty. I’ve been trying to contact you for weeks, Tazen, and this is how I find you.”
She goes from angry to pouting in about three seconds.
“Told you, Shey,” he mutters. “None of your business.”
“You’re always my business,” she says in a way that freaks me the hell out. “Now get rid of your little toy so you can play with a real woman.”
Oh. My. God.
I open my mouth to retort but Tazen looks to me. “I’ll call you later.”
I blink and hurt swells in my chest.
He is kicking me out, even after she just insulted me. He’s just going to let her treat me like a dog. I look to her and she’s smiling at me. I give her a cold smile back. “You’re welcome to him, I don’t really go for the quick fuck type anyway.”
“Quick?” She scoffs. “Tazen Watts isn’t quick, honey. He’s slow and thorough.”
“Oh,” I say casually. “Well maybe he was like that with you because you’re so,” I look her up and down, “boring. It must be hard not being able to excite a man enough that he can—”
“Enough,” Tazen barks, cutting me off.
I glare at him, and then I step past the two of them. “Have fun. You deserve each other.”
With that I rush out the front door, horrified, humiliated, hurt and most of all, angry. How dare he treat me like that as soon as she comes in?
Maybe I was wrong about Tazen.
Maybe a leopard really never changes its spots.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“So it’s been worth it then?”
I’m out to dinner with Jace, because I haven’t seen him for a week. Besides it’s a good distraction. I don’t want to think about what happened with Tazen tonight. I don’t want to think about Sheyenne and what role she plays in his life and I certainly don’t want to think about how much it fucking hurts.
“It’s been a great experience,” I tell him, which is the truth. Working with Tazen has been amazing.
“And you got to build?” he says. “Lucky bitch.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I must admit that part is fun.”
“Fun,” he scoffs. “That shit is epic.”
I nod and look down at my half-eaten burger.
“You’re not yourself tonight, Quinnie.”
I shrug. “It’s been a long week, Jace.”
He reaches over the table and taps his finger on my hand so I look up at him. His eyes are concerned and he studies my face. “But that’s not all it is.”
I sigh, slumping. “No, it’s not.”
He frowns. “Tell me it’s not Tazen…”
I swallow and look away.
“Ah, Quinnie … you didn’t.”
I continue looking away.
“You did,” he declares. “Shit.”
I nod turning back to him. “That about covers it.”
“So, was it one time or…”
My cheeks burn. “No, it’s been a few.”
“Quinn,” he says, seriously. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Coming from the guy who probably has an entire bed with notches on it.”
He gives me a look and I snort.
“I don’t work with the women I fuck, and I certainly don’t like them.”
“You just made yourself sound like a giant douche.”
He shrugs. “At least I don’t pretend to be something I’m not.”
“Okay, so Tazen’s my boss and we took things a little too far, but I like him, Jace. A lot.”
“Jesus, woman,” he says, titling his head back and muttering some curses.
“You can’t help who you … like.”
He stares at me, unamused.
“Let’s change the subject.”
He crosses his arms.
“Ack,” I mutter, throwing my hands up. “Come on, Jace, let’s just talk about something else. I’ve had a bad enough day as it is.”
“Fine,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “But we will be talking about this.”
I don’t get the chance to answer him, because a text flashes on the screen of my phone.
T—Where r u?
Oh no, he does not get to text me when he’s ready to acknowledge that I exist.
I reply before thinking.
Q—Eat a giant DICK
Jace snort laughs and I look up to see he’s reading my message. I snatch my phone away and glare at him. “Uncool, Jace.”