Wild Card

by Elsie Silver

Must be fucking nice because I’m ready to crawl right out of my skin.

is what it is. I’m going to make the most of it! When life gives you lemons…” It squeezes the acid right in your fucking eyes.

shake my head as I turn away and heave my bag onto my shoulder, deciding she’s altogether too happy. It’s not normal.

“Yeah, it’s like when life gives you lemons, don’t be an

asshole to the service staff. Or something like that.”

Loose, platinum waves fall next to full cheeks and a button nose. But it’s her big blue doe eyes that are a fucking kick to the gut. They’re so vibrant, I swear they trend toward a lavender tone.

“No bag. No phone. And you are giving off some serious stay-the-fuck-away energy.” I quirk a disbelieving brow at the woman. “Stay-the-fuck-away energy?”

“Yes. If you were a house, I would sage you.”

So, no, Bash, the grump whose dark, heavy brows are tugged down tight with an adorable little wrinkle at the top of his nose, does not put me off at all.

A grumpy lumberjack.

It feels strange to be holding hands with a woman I only just met. And yet, as she leads me out of the restaurant, I don’t pull away. I let her thread her dainty fingers through mine, as though we’ve done this a thousand

times before. Heat hums through my hand, racing up the veins in my arm.

The way her brain works is…refreshing. And I want to know more about it. I think I’d like to spend some time in her brain just so I can get the hell out of mine.

She brightens, like a ray of sunshine in the middle of a dark winter night. Her entire body lifts with the simple compliment,

Her face breaks into the most heartrending smile. And all it does is make me want to pay her more compliments.

Maybe it was just a little bit of magic. Inexplicable and undeniable all at once.

“You just might be the most thoughtful asshole I know. Cheers, to you and that big soft black heart of yours! And to Crazy Clyde!”

thanks to Gwen Dawson, turning regret and self-loathing into an erection appears to be my new superpower.

“Goddamn, you must be good with your hands.”

she adds, “I mean, you must be handy.” “I’m both.”

I am those things. In fact, I pride myself on being dutiful—reliable. But with Clyde, it’s more than that. I care about him. I mean, I haven’t told him that. But I gave him my fucking kidney. What more does he want? A tattoo across my forehead?

“Careful what you wish for, Gwen. I’ve got a laundry list of ways I’d like to watch you work for it, and none of them involve poker.”

The man might want me, but he definitely hates that he wants me. I’m not oblivious to the fact that he’s torn up about it.

“Fuck it,” I mutter. Then I kiss her.

“Listening to him talk about you made me want to come home and take you just to prove to myself that I could. Does that make me jealous, Gwen?”

But Bash cares a lot. Beneath that stony exterior, he has the biggest heart. It’s one thing I’ve come to love about him.

She’s fucking breathtaking. And the fact that she didn’t roll out of my bed is downright criminal.

“But what if you live?”

“Sorry, concentrating is hard right now. Have you heard of competence porn? It’s kind of my thing. And you, Bash, are extremely competent.”

“Just trying to keep you safe.” “You will,” I say simply. There isn’t a single doubt in my mind that Sebastian Rousseau would do anything to keep me safe.

“Wow,” I sigh. Because no other word seems to do this view justice. “This is beautiful.” “Yeah. It is,” Bash agrees. But when I turn back to face him, he’s not looking out the window. He’s looking at me.

I’m going to need you to use your words. Because I’m about to snap and fuck you right here in this plane, but I need to know you want it first.”

“It’s about fucking time, Rousseau,”

“Lose the fucking jeans, Gwen,” I bite out, trying to hang on to some shred of control. “Or what?” she taunts, twisting her grip again and giving me her best bratty look. “Or I’m going to blow all over your hand instead of in your tight little cunt.”

“She Drives Me Crazy” by Fine Young Cannibals plays.

“Good god, you and Clyde with that Oscar the Grouch metaphor. That really needs to die.” “Why? It’s so cute. Everybody secretly loves Oscar. Yeah, he’s grouchy, but it’s part of his charm. Just like you. If you were too happy, it would just be weird. I would wonder if you were sick or dying or something.”

When he looks at me like this, I feel like I might be the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. I feel like I’m his.

He looks vicious, rugged, and downright feral. “The only thing I’ve been able to think about is that I don’t want him so much as looking at what’s mine.”

Been dreaming of this

pretty little cunt for months, so you’re just going to have to suffer while I take my time enjoying it.”

need you to shut your mouth and take this cock like the good girl I know you can be.”

“I’m fucking obsessed with you. Do you know that?”

“I’m never going to get enough. I can promise you that much. I’ll always be coming back to you.”

Gwen, I need you. Like my next breath. It’s… I can’t breathe without you.

Where you go, I’ll follow. I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together.”