Free Safe Word by Teresa Mummert Page B

ring pulled me back from my fantasy.
    “You don’t like it?” Amber had pulled back from my dick and was looking up at me through contact blue eyes.
    “Fucking try harder.”
    Her lips wrapped around me again and to her credit, this girl could suck like a fucking hoover, but I couldn’t get my body to comply.
    “Too much fucking whiskey,” I mumbled and pushed her back. I zipped up my pants and yanked the door open, leaving Amber sitting alone on the floor.
    I hurried back to my apartment, pissed off and feeling more stressed than when I’d left. A lot of women have been in my bed over the years and I haven’t given a single fuck about any of them, so why Lily? I’d never even slept with her, yet somehow she had gotten inside my head. As I slipped through my window, I listened for any sounds coming from the apartment. It was silent and she had slept right through my leaving as anticipated.
    I pulled off my shirt and kicked off my sneakers as I headed into my bedroom. My jeans were still unbuckled and riding low on my hips as I fell back onto my bed and scrubbed my face with my hands. All of these years I wanted to find Rose, and now she was a few feet from me. If I managed to keep her alive through all of this, she would never want to talk to me again.

Chapter Five
Two Fucking Weeks
    I opened my eyes as I listened. The apartment was silent and, for a moment, I wasn’t sure if I had dreamed Rose being here. I sat up and stretched before digging into my pocket and pulling out the keys that unlocked the padlock on her door.
    Curled up on the small mattress on the floor was Lily, wearing only my oversize white T-shirt and panties. She must have taken the sweatpants off last night due to the heat. Her long, tan legs stretched out below her. I walked slowly toward her, making sure she really was asleep. When she didn’t stir and her breathing remained steady, I crept closer, pausing to allow my eyes time to adjust to the darkness. This room didn’t have any windows and was technically not considered a bedroom by code, but it worked perfectly for what I needed it for.
    Her breathing caught and I stared down at her as I watched her eyelids flutter before finally opening and landing on me. For a second she didn’t seem to know where she was. I smiled down at her and her mouth curved slightly like she was about to do the same. Recognition washed over her and she quickly sat up and backed away from me.
    “Sleep well?” I asked as she grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it down over her knees to cover herself. “It’s only gonna get hotter today.” Her eyes danced over my body and I realized my jeans were still undone and I wasn’t wearing anything underneath. “Sorry.”
    I zipped up my pants, leaving them unbuckled before turning and leaving the room. I left her door wide open, hoping she would act a little more civilized today. It was asking a lot. I usually would not allow the women to leave the room unless they needed to use the bathroom. It made things easier for me. If things ended badly, I didn’t want Rose’s last memories to be of being locked away like a prisoner.
    I made my way to the kitchen, dropping my phone on the coffee table along the way, and grabbed a box of cereal from the top of the fridge. The bedroom door creaked. I grabbed two bowls from the cupboard and a couple of spoons from the drawer.
    “I don’t have much in the way of groceries.” I grabbed the milk from the fridge. Lily had begun pouring the cereal into the bowls. “Lucky Charms okay?” She nodded and I filled the bowls with milk before putting the carton back in the fridge. She sat down on one of the stools and I opted to stand on my side of the counter. I didn’t know what her attitude was like this morning, and I didn’t want to risk being stabbed with a fucking spoon.
    We ate in silence as I fished out the marshmallows from my cereal. It didn’t get past me that Lily hadn’t put her sweatpants back on. The heat