Page 56 of Rough

“Where are you going?” Felix demanded, a wounded flare lacing his voice.

I decided not to dismiss him. He deserved the truth from me.

I stopped and turned around. “I need to climb down from this massive anger.”

Felix strutted toward me with a lust-glazed filter in his eyes. He stroked his fingers down my chest.

“Which is exactly why you need me to help you unwind. I know just the trick.”

I pulled away from him, although I tried to do it as gently as possible. Still, somehow, I managed to offend him.

“Don’t worry about it. I need to vent this frustration some other way right now. It’s nothing against you.”

I rejected Felix’s attempt to seduce me, and I saw a flame of bitterness in his eyes because of it. He had worked so hard to get the club reopened for me, and here I was fucking everything up with him once again. I needed to figure out a healthy way to let him into my life, one layer at a time.

“I’m sorry, I really am.” I gave him my sincerest smile. “I’m just too out of control tonight. It really has nothing to do with you. I love being with you. I can promise you that.”

Felix tossed me a diplomatic nod. He wasn’t going to argue with me. He had a patient expression on his face.

“No problem,” he relented.

“I’ll call you in the morning and we can figure out the plan to visit the mayor and expose him for exactly what he is,” I promised.

“Sounds good.” Felix nodded.

He turned around without even offering to give me a kiss goodbye. I was screwing with his head, but no matter how much my mind screamed at me to call him back and ravage him, I just couldn’t do it. Not until I had worked through the kinks in my mind and calmed down from my fury.

I sent Bubba and the rest of the staff home, locked up the club for the night, and jogged upstairs. The first place I went once I closed my apartment door behind me was my workout room.

I turned on the treadmill and hopped on. I was still fuming and running would be the perfect release of that anger.

I turned on my favorite workout playlist and cranked up the volume on the speakers, ready to lock myself in a zone until I felt better inside and out.

I had been on the treadmill for about forty-five minutes when the music stopped, interrupted by a call from Felix.

I hopped off the treadmill and walked to the closet door to get a towel to pat some of the sweat off my body. My heart rate was through the roof, but the conditioning had worked. I felt enormously better. I paced the hallway back and forth as part of my cool down session.

“Hello?” I answered on the third ring.

“It’s me.” Felix’s voice was low and alluring.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Waiting for you,” he whispered.

“What are you talking about?” I chuckled, wiping sweat off the back of my neck.

“I want you to come over,” Felix said.

His voice was sexy and enticing, making my heart pound for a different reason now.

“You do?” I was tempted. “Even though I was such a jerk to you earlier?” I joked.

“You can make it up to me,” Felix said.

His voice was fiercely attractive.

I was calmer now, so I decided to take the bait. “You want me to make it up to you?”