Page 65 of Playing Hard to Get

Mitch

Something tugged at the edges of my dream. My nightmare. The blood, the death. It had been two months since I’d suffered through one. Two months since Vivian’s body silenced these constant tormentors.

It’d been days since I’d heard from her. A week since I touched her last.

I fucking missed her. Missed the way her eyes lit up and shone when she looked at me. Missed her laughter, the way she fluttered her hand at her neck as she blushed at my jokes. Missed the flush of her cheeks, the smell of her skin, the need of hers for me that matched my need for her.

Without her, the nightmares returned. They choked my breath and made screams crawl from my throat. Those dark blue eyes haunted not just my sleep but my every waking hour.

Something was wrong. She promised me she wouldn't run. Promised to stay in touch. But it was going on three days without a word, and the nightmares kept encroaching.

I couldn't lose her.

That tug was there again. A pull at my waist, a press against my thigh. I jumped, threw myself out of my tormented sleep. Found myself facing a dingy white wall. It took me a second to remember where I was, and before I did, another tug pulled at my jeans. I looked to my lap, found hands fumbling with my zipper.

My hands clamped down on the thin, bronzed wrists and I yanked them away from my crotch.

“The hell are you doing, Anna?” I demanded, my voice low as I tried not to draw attention to us. A stewardess whizzed by, disappearing behind a royal blue curtain without a glance our way.

Anna’s hazel eyes were rimmed in red as they stared at me. The alcohol and drugs she consumed the last couple days had taken their toll. It didn't stop a cocky grin from gracing her lips.

“Oh, come on, Mitch. Let's have a little fun.”

Pushing her hands away from me, I pressed myself against the wall of the plane. The edge of the window dug into my shoulder, the armrest into my back.

“Keep your hands to yourself.”

She laughed, too loud in the quiet, early morning cabin. The lady across the aisle sat forward and lifted the ivory sleep mask off her eyes, throwing a frown my way.

“You need to lighten up, babe. Didn't you have fun this weekend?”

I fumbled for my phone in my pocket, then remembered I shut it off before takeoff. Pulling it out anyway, I hit the power button. I checked the time, flicked my thumb across the screen. Another hour before we landed. Just another fucking hour and I’d be done with Anna and free to worry about Viv.

“Aren't you going to answer me?” Anna tried to bat my phone out of my hand, but I yanked it away before she could reach. “Will you put that damn thing away? I'm trying to talk to you.”

Glaring over at her, I slipped my phone in the breast pocket of my suit jacket. Anna slid her hand to my thigh, and I gripped her wrist hard before shoving her hand back where it belonged.

“Quit.”

She whined like a child. “I thought we could have some fun. Don't you want to have some fun, Mitch?”

“Not with you.”

She frowned. Pulled the face I’d seen her give her father when she was trying to get her way. “We could join the Mile-High Club. Come on.”

“Not interested.”

Anna sat back in her seat with a huff. Crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip, like she was minutes from breaking out in an all-out tantrum.

I sat back in my chair, angling my body away from her to keep as much space between us as possible.

A couple days after Vivian left, I got the call I’d been dreading. Another trip with Anna.

This woman… Ever since she saw Vivian in my hotel bed, her attitude toward me changed. Instead of the barely concealed disdain, the snippy comments and rude, obnoxious behavior, I’d been bombarded with obnoxious chatter, unwanted touches, and crass comments about what she’d like to do to me. Comments about how she could do it better than my girl.

Like she could ever compare.

Her unwanted advances got worse each day that I was near her. Accidental touches against my ass and legs. Going out of her way to press her body against mine. Tearing off her clothes while I was in the room so she could change into something else. I cringed every time. Looked away when she tried to bare herself to me. Walked away whenever I could manage.