Free London Calling: BWWM New Adult Romance (Chase Brothers Book 2) by Nana Malone

“I’m not going to hurt you. Jesus, Imani. We had been drinking. And you—you were looking so beautiful and you were my girlfriend. And you wanted me. I know you did. It wasn’t like I was trying to hurt you. I just wanted to be close to you. I never—Fuck. I didn’t know you were a virgin. I thought you were messing me about.”
    Hearing those words from him was like having a bucket of ice poured over her. “What part didn’t you understand, asshole? When I said no? Or the part where I begged you to stop? Or the part where I said that you were hurting me? Or maybe it was the part where I was crying uncontrollably as you kept going?”
    He tightened his jaw. “You need to know I’m not that person. If I’d known, I never would have—“ He inhaled deeply. “You were my girlfriend . It wasn’t like you said. I’m not a monster, for fuck’s sake. I loved you. I still care about you. But I can’t have you saying these things about me.”
    “So what? You plan on shutting me up somehow? You’ve already done the worst thing you can to me.”
    “No. I just want to make sure we can work together. That’s all. I wouldn’t hurt you.”
    She raised a brow. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you. As for working together, you can forget about it. There is no way in hell.” She tried to brush past him, but he reached out and snagged her upper arm.
    “Imani—”
    A voice from the auditorium door interrupted Ryan. “Ellison, I’ll be needing our star now.”
    The ice in Xander’s voice chilled her to the bone. How much had he heard? Ryan’s grip tightened for a moment, then he released her. “We were just catching up on old times.” His voice dripped with venom and he glared at Xander.
    Xander leaned into the open doorway, his camera slung around his neck. He looked entirely relaxed, but there was something in the way he narrowed his gaze at Ryan that told her he was anything but. Ryan shoved past them, leaving them in the doorway.
    They all stood like that as if in a silent play. But finally, Ryan exited through the main entrance. Even with him gone, she didn't relax. “I guess you’re ready for me?” She asked him quietly.
    Xander nodded slowly. "If you're done making out with your boyfriend, I'll need you on stage.”
    She flinched as she thought about how they must have looked. “Not your business.”
    His voice low, he said, “Even after what happened last night? Tell me, can he make you come like I did last night?”
    She scowled at him.
    “I’ll take that as a no. Just tell me, what are you doing with that cunt?”
    Did he really think she wanted to be there with Ryan? To have his hands all over her? She spoke through clenched teeth. “Screw you.”
    Xander smirked. “Does last night count? Because I feel like we’ve already done that.”
    In that moment, she wasn’t sure whom she hated more, Ryan or Xander. As she walked toward the stage, she heard a voice behind her. “He’s kind of an ass sometimes. But I promise you, he has some redeeming qualities, you just have to find them.”
    Imani glanced up when Abbie joined her in the aisle. “I assume you mean Xander. And if that’s the case, I’m going to have to take your word for it.”
    “I wasn’t the biggest fan of his when I met him either. I promise you, he grows on you.” The other girl nodded reassuringly. “Like a fungus.”
    Despite the morning she was having, Imani laughed. “Thanks. I was sort of in need of that.”
    “Anytime. His heart’s mostly in the right place. He can just be an ass sometimes.”
    “I don’t know how you manage to work with him.”
    “Between the women literally running over me to throw themselves at him, to the assitude we just discussed, I expect canonization any day now.” Imani wondered if she’d gotten it wrong. Maybe the two of them weren’t a thing. Or at the very least, as far as Abbie was concerned.
    “You’ve got my vote.” They climbed the stairs to the stage. “Where