Page 113 of Intolerable Bishop

Picking up a handful of water, I poured it over her shoulder to keep her from getting chilled. If we hadn’t fucked twice already, I would’ve had a hard time keeping my hands to myself with her ass in my crotch as I stared down her body to her nipples just visible under the water. She was pushing all sorts of new buttons inside me, and trying to navigate them was baffling.

I glanced at my split knuckles. When had I ever fought anyone who didn’t threaten the family or one of my guys? Never. When had I ever participated in so much PDA, not giving a fuck who was around? Never. When had I ever put this much thought into someone else’s wants and needs other than Liam? Again, never. And even with Liam, it was different. He liked the control of where we went, what we did, how much affection was shown, when and how we had sex, all the way to the aftercare. Liam gave orders. He rarely took them. He was a natural Dom, and I suspected that as he explored more of that side of himself, I’d end up his Sub and strapped to a wall. It didn’t bother me, I loved it, but…I was a switch. I liked to top as well, and that was never going to happen with Liam.

Moving Ren’s hair off to the side so it hung over her shoulder, I softly kissed her neck, mindful of the bandage that covered her new tattoo. She’d mentioned wanting to get one, so I’d booked us for a late appointment with a guy who had been recommended in the area by some of the local racers. His place wasn’t huge, but it was clean, and the artwork was on point. I was tempted to come back later and get one for myself. She had an adorable string of birthmarks on the side of her neck that made the phoenix constellation. Rather than cover it, she had him use them as the center, and he turned each one into a unique and beautifully shadowed blue snowflake.

Picking up my drink and taking a sip, I laid my head back and soaked in the classic jazz music. I loved the road name I’d given her tonight. As if she knew what I was thinking about, she shivered, and my heart warmed as she snuggled closer.

“I’m falling in love with you, Ren,” I said, tossing it out there into the steamy air. I waited for her to respond. Heart pounding, I tilted my head and almost burst out laughing as I noticed her lax expression while she slept. “Just as well you didn’t hear that.”

Setting my drink down, I slowly stood, picking Ren up as I went and stepped out of the water before we both passed out and drowned or something else stupid. Carrying her into the massive bedroom, I laid her down under the covers just as my phone buzzed. That better not be Nash.

Grabbing the phone, I stared at the message from Liam, not really sure I believed what I saw.

L: I miss you.

Of all the things he might’ve said…this shocked me. I didn’t remember him ever saying he missed me, even when I was gone all summer with my family on vacation. My thumbs hovered over the keypad, and I had no idea what to say back.

T: Is everything okay?

L: Yeah

T: You sure?

L: Yeah, just want you to know.

This was strange. It felt like one of those final confessions just before the other person died tragically. Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it around my waist, then made sure Ren was tucked in before hitting call. I walked out of the bedroom, closing the door. I almost expected him to ignore me, but he picked up on the third ring.

“Hey, you didn’t have to call,” Liam said, his voice thick like he’d been asleep.

“You never say I miss you. Figured I better call and make sure you don’t have a gun to your head or something.”

Liam was quiet for so long that I checked to make sure the call didn’t drop. “I’ve been an asshole, haven’t I?”

“You want me to be honest?”

“I don’t know…Yeah, tell me.”

“I love you, Liam. But you can be a real fucking piece of shit when you want to be. You’ve gone out of your way to make my life difficult since I got back from Canada. Do you realize that Ren is the first thing I’ve asked you to concede on in our relationship? You’re fighting me and actively trying to make me feel guilty. I don’t get it. I wouldn’t do that to you. So yes, you’ve been an asshole.”

“Am I losing you?”

I shook my head and walked over to the window to stare out at the city that would be bathed in sunlight in a couple of hours.

“That’s up to you. You know I want you and that I love you. Do you want out?” My heart hammered as I waited for him to answer.

“No.”

“Then, stop being a dick about Ren and we’re good.”

“You’re different with her.” Running my hand through my hair, I took a deep breath and tried to put what was in my heart into words.

“Look…I’m like one of the poker chips from your special edition set,” I said.

“What?”

“On the one side, they are black with a shiny golden spade. On the other side, they are gold with a black spade.”

“I’m not following,” he said.