CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ice
“SHE’S SUCH A pain in the ass,” I said to the guys as we were putting the finishing touches on Sinner’s house. Today was painting day. After that, Sinner and Cara could move in and start getting new furnishings. It had been a lot of work in shitty weather, but it was the only way to get Sinner back in his house before summer. This was my first week being up and around after our last job. My leg was still killing me and I was still limping, but there was no way I was staying at home anymore. Especially since Lindsey was off working at her house. “What’d she do this time?” Chris asked. “She got all cut up by a tree branch at her new place,” I said in irritation. “How’d that happen?” Jules asked. “Apparently, it had something to do with a raccoon. And then this douchebag showed up-” “Whoa,” Chris said, putting down his roller. “What douchebag?” “Some plaid handyman wanna be. He had her shirt off and he was touching her.” “I hope you beat his ass,” Jules growled. I shrugged. “I would have, but that would have pissed Lindsey off.” “Why? Wouldn’t she be grateful that you were getting rid of the asshole?” Jules asked. “She says he was helping her.” I poured more paint in my tray, determined to work out my frustrations on the wall. “Helping her what?” Chris snorted. “Get out of her clothes.” “Precisely. He was running his hands all over her back when I walked in.” “Like in a massage kinda way?” Jules quirked a brow at me. “No,” I muttered. “He was cleaning up her back.” “Wait a minute.” Chris grabbed me by the arm and turned me to face him. “Was he groping her or cleaning her up?” “What the fuck does it matter? Either way, he had his hands on her.” “The difference is that one is assault and the other is being a decent person,” Jules pointed out. “If you want to look at it that way,” I muttered. “Jesus, you have it bad for this woman,” Jules swore. “I do not. I just…well, what the fuck is she thinking, taking off her shirt in front of a stranger?” “She was probably thinking she wanted her cuts cleaned up, seeing as how she hates the sight of blood.” I glared at Chris, pissed that he was pointing out the obvious. “It doesn’t fucking matter. Nobody sees my woman without her clothes on.” “Your woman?” Jules grinned. “Since when is she your woman?” “She’s not.” “But you just said she was,” he pushed. “That’s not what I meant.” “But that’s what you said.” Chris joined in on mocking me. Too fucking bad. It wasn’t going to work. I would not let them rile me up. “What I meant was that Lindsey is a single woman and she shouldn’t be alone in a house with a man she doesn’t know.” “Yeah,” Jules laughed. “Just kidnapped by some asshole and then dragged halfway around the country.” “That was different. We were trying to protect her.” “As I recall, I wasn’t the one that hauled her over my shoulder and threw her in the truck,” Jules said. “I was doing what was necessary. Any of you would have done it.” “But we didn’t do it. We also didn’t invite her to come live with us. That was all you,” Chris noted. I slammed my roller into the tray, splashing paint across the plastic. I started rolling angrily on the wall, pissed that these guys were trying to make this into something it wasn’t. “Look, I was trying to be nice. Everyone in that town was shitting on her. And if I recall, I was going to head out of town, but you,” I said, stabbing a finger in Jules’s direction. “You told me to turn around, that I couldn’t leave her behind.” “And you would have done that?” Jules questioned. “In a fucking heartbeat. She’s a fucking pain in the ass.” “From what you’ve told us, she’s a pain in the ass several times a night.” “I told you that in confidence,” I snarled at Chris. “Look, there’s nothing wrong with liking this one. Hell, even if you enjoyed her company, we’d understand. She’s a nice person.” “I never said anything about enjoying her company. Just because we fuck and have amazing chemistry doesn’t mean I enjoy her company.” “If you don’t enjoy her company when you two are knockin' boots then maybe you both need some lessons in the art of satisfying the other sex,” Jules said. “We don’t need lessons. That part we have down just fine. In fact, it’s better than fine. It’s the best fucking sex of my life.” “Better than the woman you spent three days with in Cancun?” Jules asked. “Definitely better than that.” “What about Ms. Tie me up, tie me down?” Chris asked. “Are you fucking kidding me? That was five years ago. I’d like to think we all get better as we get older.” “Alright,” Jules drawled. “What about the woman you took home from the bar that was whispering all kinds of dirty things in your ear a few months ago. I heard some of the shit she wanted to do to you and it was all filthy as fuck.” “Way better.” “Better than a -” “Let me put it this way, there’s no fumbling around to see what she likes or asking her what she needs. I just know and so does she. It’s like when we’re fucking our bodies are fused together as one and nothing else exists. I could get lost in her. And the steam between us, fucking hotter than hell. I can’t get enough of her. Every time I finish fucking her, my dick goes hard again just to get back inside her. She’s the perfect blend of sex and passion.” I realized when I finished my little speech that I was staring at the wall and it was dead silent in the room. I looked over at the guys, who were fucking grinning at me. “Just fucking, huh?” Jules said. “You’re so fucked. You can’t walk away from this woman, and she even said she loved you.” “The man’s right. You think this is all casual? I can guarantee that you’re already in love with her, even though you won’t admit it. And if she isn’t in love with you, she’s well on her way.” I looked at Chris, seeing the truth of what he was saying in his eyes. He one hundred percent believed it. Shit. I took a stuttering step backwards and Jules grabbed the roller before I dropped it. “Hang on there, buddy.” Chris grabbed my arm and shoved me to my ass on the ground. “Sit down and tell us what the fuck is really going on.” “I…I…” “See?” Jules smirked. “Fucked by the love bug. He’s gonna be useless to us now.” “What?” I asked in confusion. “Why would I be useless?” “You’re the one we always use to charm the ladies. You’re fucking useless now that you’re in love,” Jules snorted. “In love?” I felt like my stomach was going to bubble over. I got to my knees and took in deep breaths. “Oh, I don’t feel so good.” “Shit, he’s gonna lose it,” Chris muttered. He left the room and returned a few seconds later with Sinner and Cap. “What the fuck is wrong with him?” Cap said. “Realized he’s in love,” Jules smiled. “Really?” Sinner knelt down in front of me and slugged me in the shoulder, practically sending me to my ass. “That’s fucking awesome, man. I never thought I’d see the day that Iceman was taken down.” “Uh, that might not be the best thing to say to him right now,” Jules said warily. “I think we need to tone down how fucking great this is for him. Maybe get him some strippers or something?” “Strippers? You want to celebrate him being in love by showing him strippers?” Chris grumbled. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” “Hey, I’m thinking about what an everyday guy would want. You’ve all lost your dicks,” Jules waved his hand at Cap, Sinner, and Chris. “I really don’t feel so good. Maybe I should sit down,” I said as I started to sweat through my shirt. “You’re already sitting down,” Cap pointed out. I looked around me and realized that it only looked like the floor was six feet away. I was losing my fucking mind. “I can’t…I don’t do love. Do you think…” I looked up at the guys pleadingly. “Do you think she knows?” “She probably knows, but she also knows that you’re too fucking stupid to admit it to yourself,” Sinner said. “So, I can pretend like this isn’t real,” I said hopefully. “This never happened. We never talked about love or any shit like that and I can go on with my life like I always did.” “Sure,” Cap shrugged. “And then one day, she’ll get tired of waiting around for you and she’ll go find some other guy to keep her warm at night.” “Maybe the handyman,” Chris suggested not so helpfully. “They’ll probably have plaid children together,” Jules said. “And he’ll have a tool show,” Chris added. “Is his name Tim?” Jules asked. “Jake,” I muttered. “Damn, that’s a shame. You could have called him Tim the Toolman,” Jules said thoughtfully. “You asshole,” Sinner glared at Jules. “Tim wasn’t the one that wore plaid. That was Al.” This was all getting a little weird. I could hear the conversation going on around me, but I just couldn’t manage to actually let the words penetrate my skull. All I kept thinking was, I love her? Is that possible? Have I become one of those guys that falls in love and loses himself to a woman? Little beads of sweat trickled down my face, dripping from my jaw. I could feel every irritating drop. Each one teasing me and telling me I was no longer single. That I would never be single again. I would never feel another woman’s pussy wrapped around my dick or find out if anyone gave head better than Lindsey. Yeah, right. Like that could happen, I snorted to myself. “Do you think we should do something?” Chris asked as he stared at me. “He’s flipping the fuck out.” “Yeah, his eye’s going all twitchy,” Cap nodded at me. I wanted to respond and tell them I was fine. I’m right here and I haven’t lost it. I’m just trying to figure out how the hell this happened to me. I’m the Iceman. Cool as Ice. I never break under pressure. Until her. I’ve completely cracked. I’m literally sitting here on the ground, staring at these guys and trying to talk, but I can’t do anything but sit here and stare at them. I have lost it. Oh, shit. This is very, very bad. My life is over. I’ll never have sex with another woman again. I’m going to be spending my Friday nights on the fucking couch with Lindsey. We’re going to watch Lifetime movies and she’s gonna make me bake cookies. And I’ll do it for her because I’m completely fucking whipped. I can see that now. I do love her. In fact, if anyone ever tried to touch her again, I think I might actually commit murder. Fuck, I’m screwed. “See?” Sinner said. “He’s coming around. He’ll be fine once he finally admits to himself that this is the end of the line.” End of the line. I fell over and passed out right there on the fucking floor.
✯✯✯✯✯
Going home that night was fucking hell. I didn’t know what I was going to say to Lindsey. After I passed out, the guys took turns drawing on my face with paint. They thought it was fucking hilarious. They said I deserved it for being such an asshole. Maybe I did. I just couldn’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that I was actually falling in love. I had thought I was in love before and look how that ended? I realized the hard way that what I felt wasn’t the kind of love that you would go to the ends of the earth for. It was respectful love, in the sense that I loved her as the person she was, but I wasn’t in love with her. It had torn us both apart. She ran crying from my apartment and I went back to serving overseas. I hadn’t even felt bad about the breakup. I knew that it was coming when she started asking me to give up who I was. Would Lindsey ask me to do that? And what would I do? I shoved the door open and tossed my jacket on the chair. Shucking my shoes, I headed for the bathroom, tearing my clothes off as I went. I turned the shower on hot and stepped underneath, letting the water wash away the shit I was thinking. Love, I couldn’t actually be in love could I? But I did love her. I was as sure as I was about anything that swirled in my gut. “Hey, sexy.” Lindsey’s hands slid around my chest, pulling me into her breasts. I jerked out of her grasp, afraid that I would say something really fucking stupid if I wasn’t careful. “What are you…I mean,” I cleared my throat and giggled. Shoot me now. I just fucking giggled. “Is everything alright?” “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” “You’re acting weird.” “I just wasn’t expecting you to be in the shower with me. You know, I just came home from work and I wanted a fucking shower.” Nice, asshole. Be a dick to her so that you don’t have to admit you love her. “You’ve never minded in the past when I joined you in the shower. In fact,” Her hand slid down my abs until they wrapped around my raging cock. “I seem to recall you being more than happy to have me in the shower with you.” She sank down on her knees and took me in her mouth. My eyes rolled back in my head as she started working my cock with that sexy mouth of hers. I wasn’t going to last. Fuck, if I came, I would shout out that I loved her and it would all be downhill from there. I shoved at her shoulders, pushing her off of me and turned around. I knew I was being an ass, but I wasn’t ready for this yet. “Is something wrong?” she asked angrily. “Nothing’s fucking wrong. I just came in here to take a fucking shower, not be mauled. Take a fucking break. You’re not on the clock.” “Excuse me?” she shrieked. “I’m not on the clock? What do you think I’ve been doing? Paying you for services rendered?” “Can you just leave and let me take a fucking shower in peace?” I growled. She left me alone and I sighed, thunking my head against the wall. I was a total fuckup. I could guarantee that none of my friends handled love as badly as I just had. I quickly washed off and threw a towel around my waist. I needed to talk this through with her and figure out where to go from here. I just hoped she didn’t start seeing stars and shit. We didn’t need this getting out of hand. When I opened the bathroom door, shit was flying all around the house. My pants were flung against my face and the belt hit me in the fucking head. “What the fuck is going on?” I yelled. “You need to pick up your shit. I’m not the fucking maid!” “It’s my goddamned house! If I want to throw my shit on the floor, I’ll fucking do it.” I shouted back at her. “You’re a fucking guest, not my fucking girlfriend.” Yep. That was the end of it right there. Way to put up those boundaries and really show her what an asshole you are.