Sweet Perdition by Cynthia Rayne Page A

I—”
    “Carl that is hardly appropriate talk in the library!”
    Their relationship had fizzled a long time ago, mostly because she’d never been able to satisfy him sexually. He’d wanted her to try new things in bed, but she’d never been really interested. Maybe she’d never had the right chemistry with Carl to begin with, because Ryker had excited her sexually right from the get go. He made her willing to explore new sexual avenues with him. She’d been eager to please the biker in bed. But Carl? Not so much.
    “Come on, talk to me,” Carl implored.
    Why pursue her now? Had she become more attractive because she no longer wanted his attention?
    “Carl, I’m not really sure what you are doing here or what you want, but I’m not interested.” She squared her jaw, her tone becoming sterner. “I want you to leave now.”
    “Don’t be like that. I didn’t come here to upset you. I wanted to see you. Talk to you.” He smiled at her. “Besides, this is a public place. It’s not like you can kick me out.” He splayed his hands. “Can’t we talk a bit? Like old times? You and I go way back. No reason we can’t be friends.”
    She hesitated, not wanting a scene and she could feel this encounter leading to an embarrassing one, at her place of business, no less.
    “At least hear me out,” he coaxed, seizing on her indecision.
    “No, we can’t be friends. I’m not one of those people who believes you can actually be friends with your ex. There is no we anymore Carl. You and I are done. End of story.” She couldn’t be any clearer about her feelings on the matter.
    Just like that, he turned off the friendly vibe. “Why are you being such a bitch?” He scowled.
    Moments like this? She had trouble remembering why she had found him so attractive in the first place. “You thought wrong.”
    “You are still hurt, aren’t you? That I married her and not you? I know that you’re jealous.” He smiled. “That’s a good thing. It means you still want me, deep down, even though you won’t admit it.”
    “Oh, please!” She rolled her eyes.
    “And I’m jealous of that biker you’ve been running around town with.”
    She froze. The Hellacious grapevine rears its ugly head. Again.
    “Don’t act all shocked, babe. This is a small town and everyone talks. Your car’s been spotted at their bar. Overnight.” His voice lowered an octave. “Never knew you could be so wicked,” he murmured. “I might not have broken up with you if I’d known you were such a dirty girl. Screwing bikers and staying out all night.”
    Her mouth fell open. Oh, ick. Definitely time to end this toxic relationship. For good. She pushed past him, all pretense of politeness gone. “Our conversation has come to an end. Goodbye, Carl. Don’t call, don’t text. Don’t show up here again. In fact, forget I’m on the planet.” She stomped to the end of the aisle.
    “Come on, babe, don’t be like that,” he said, trying to turn on the charm. “You know you don’t really want me to go.” He got in her space again and she shot back against the shelf, knocking a few books off. “Give me a little of that dirty girl side you kept hidden,” he murmured, bending down to kiss her.
    Last. Freaking. Straw.
    She reached out to slap him, but he grasped her arm. Holding it still. “Don’t do that. You’ll be very sorry, if you do.”
    His eyes were cold, something reptilian in their depths and it made her shiver. She’d never seen this side of him before. His fingers dug into her arm, hurting her.
    “Let me go,” she hissed.
    “I will when you stop being such a bitch.”
    “Let. Go,” she gritted out between clenched teeth.
    After a tense moment, he finally did and she backed away from him. “The only thing I’m sorry about? Is wasting my time with you. Stay away from me, Carl!” With that, she turned on her heel, told the student assistant, he would have to close up by himself, and marched out the door.
     

Chapter