Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
My only response is to sigh and shake my head, hoping to God she doesn’t notice the tightness behind the zipper of my jeans.
Whether I like it or not, Ling is a beautiful woman. Fucked up as they come, but beautiful.
Sighing herself, she looks out the window, and complains quietly, “You never want to play with me.”
A startled laugh escapes me. “Four years later, and you still haven’t figured that out. I don’t shit where I sleep, Ling Ling.” I chance a look over at her. “Besides, I don’t play your particular variety of games.”
Her almond-shaped brown eyes find mine, and although she doesn’t smile, her eyes do. “What? You never ached to put your hands on a woman? Make her feel just how much you want it? That even if she didn’t want to give it to you, you’d take it by force?”
As we stop at a red light, I fight to roll my eyes at the naïve words from an equally naïve woman. I make as though I’m thinking hard. “That sounds a little like… hmmm… what’s the word?” My face sobers as I go on. “Oh, yeah. Rape.”
She waves a hand at me, her shoulder-length black hair swishing as she does, and makes a noise that suggests I’m being silly. “Oh, please. It’s completely consensual, and you know it.”
The light turns green, and we’re off once more. “What kills you more? That I’m not into it, or that I’m just not the bad guy you think every guy is?”
“Julius,” she starts, “it’s not about being a bad guy.” Her voice is soft. “I can make any good guy bad for the evening.”
This is not gloating or pride. This sounds weary and worn on the lips of a dangerous woman. A predator. And she sounds tired of her own game.
It’s not very often I feel sorry for Ling, but right now is one of those times.
We drive on in silence, stopping at a gas station for necessities before reaching our stopover. The motel is quiet, as it should be at almost 3:00 a.m. As we make our way inside, a young man appears at the sound of the bell attached to the door. “Help y’all?”
A slow, greedy smile spreads across Ling’s lips, and her eyes flash excitedly. “My, oh-my. They sure make ‘em big out here.”
The young man doesn’t take his eyes off Ling, but he swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing awkwardly as he does. She only makes it worse when she makes a show of licking her cherry red lips. From the way the man-boy follows her tongue, I know he’s wondering if she tastes as good as she looks.
She does.
Ling and I have never made it to the bedroom, but there have been instances where her lips have coaxed mine.
She’s cherry-flavored. I can vouch for that.
I slap my wallet down on the counter, and the young man jumps back, looking up at me in shock. I take my time looking him over. Nearly as tall as myself, Ling was right. He is a big one. “You got vacancy?”
The boy immediately knows his place. “Yes, sir.” But he can’t resist the walking, talking Aphrodite at my side. He sneaks one quick look her way. “One room?”
At the very moment I answer “Yes,” Ling answers, “No.”
I pause to glance at her. “One room.”
Her brows rise in a way that tells me she doesn’t like my tone. She looks back at the young man and smiles an all too welcoming smile. “Two rooms please, honey.”
But the boy remembers me, if not a second too late. “Sir?”
I look over at Ling once more. Her eyes narrow dangerously. I glare at her a moment before I turn to the clerk. “Two rooms. But you make sure they’re next to each other, son.”
He swallows again, his Adam’s apple jumping. His voice squeaks just a little bit. “Yes, sir. How will you be making payment?”
“Cash.”
“I need to see some identification.”
I nod. “Sure thing.” I open my wallet, but rather than taking out my driver’s license, I pull out a hundred and slide it over the counter. “You’ll put down Mr. and Mrs. Sonny Jones. The reason we’re staying in separate rooms is because we’re not speaking right now, as my wife—” I gesture to Ling. “—Laura, is pissed at me for checking out a waitress at the local diner.” I pause a moment to let that sink in. “You get me?”
Without skipping a beat, he pockets the cash, nods, and then answers, “Got it.”
I take hold of my bag and reach for Ling’s, but she snatches the handle out of my grasp. She turns to the clerk. “Can you help me with my bag, uh…?”
He takes the bait. “Yes, I can. And I’m Cory, but you can call me Chip.”
Ling’s low laughter sounds. “Oh, of course you are, darling. How old did you say you are?”