Underneath It All (Sexual Misconduct Volume II) by Bethany Bazile Page B

saw my face.
    “ Shh…” I held a finger over my lips, then released the hold I had on her mouth and took a step back.
    She gave me a crazed stare and shook her head. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
    “ We need to talk.”
    “ No. We don’t.” She pushed herself into a seated position and sat back against the headboard. A defiant look on her face.
    “ Don’t tell her about us.”
    “ She needs to know.” She crossed her arms and smirked at me.
    “ She doesn’t need to know. And you’re going to do as I say.”
    “ No, I’m not. We’re done, Xander. You can’t screw me and tell me to get the fuck out anymore. Here…” She pointed around the room like she was marking her territory. “I’m in charge.”
    She looked so young with her hair in pigtails, without the stripper persona. I couldn’t believe I never saw how immature she was. She’d told me she was twenty-six. With the makeup and sexed-up hair, she’d passed, but her whining and tantrums should’ve put me on to her real age. Going by what Avery told me, she was younger than her.
    “ You lied to me. How old are you?”
    S he glared at me and said, “Sort of like the way you’re lying to Avery.”
    “ I wasn’t lying to her until about an hour ago when you walked in. I’m not completely convinced I’m lying now. I’m just omitting the facts around us meeting before.”
    She chuckled. “If that makes you feel better about yourself, then…” She shrugged as her sentence dropped off.
    I crossed my arms and leaned back against the wall. “I’m sort of accustomed to feeling like an asshole so this won’t add much to my burden.”
    She narrowed her eyes and looked at me with disgust. “Why are you messing with her head anyway? Do you have to fuck over everyone?”
    I straighten ed and held out my hands. “I’m not just… It’s not just about the sex.”
    “ What ? Don’t lie to me, Xander. How many times did you text me because you needed to fuck? It’s what you do—sex with no attachments. You stopped calling or responding to my texts so I figured you found someone else. But Avery… She would never agree to that kind of arrangement. I didn’t give you her card so you could hurt her. I thought she could help you. Obviously, you’re too much of a douche to accept help without using someone in return.”
    “ That’s not what I’m doing. Avery is not just some one-off to me. She’s…”
    “ She’s what? I gave you her card a little over a month ago. Are you trying to tell me you already care about her?”
    I r an a hand through my hair and stared at her. It was harder than I thought to admit I cared about Avery, especially to Gabriella, who was at one point an inconsequential fuck to me. But she’s irreplaceable to Avery, and if a choice were going to be made, Avery would turn her back on me in a hurry.
    Our eyes locked , and maybe she read what I wanted to say in my eyes, because she shook her head and laughed dryly. “I don’t believe you, Xander.”
    I didn ’t care if she believed or not. “Just don’t tell her…” I paused, swallowed hard. “Please.”
    She gave me a surprised glance because me begging her was way off for us. “How am I supposed to keep this from her?”
    “ She raves about you, Gabriella. Wait… is Gabriella even your name?”
    “ Yes,” she sighed. “You asked me for my real name that first night and I gave it to you. Ellie is a nickname Avery gave me.”
    “ They called you Angel on stage, right?” She nodded and looked away uncomfortable at my mention of her stage name.
    “ Does she know you strip downtown? Does she know you do dirty things to strange men who throw a few bills at you?”
    “ That’s not fair. I only ever did that with you.”
    “ Why me?”
    She hung her head, a hand rubbing her forehead. “Because you’re rich, famous, and attractive. Half the girls do it, and the other half takes their tips and leave. I was like that until you came in.”
    “ Again,