Twisted Hate: An Enemies with Benefits Romance

If I tried…would she succumb to what her eyes told me she wanted?
Would she let me bend her over and take her like I’d said earlier, or would
she fight me for control every step of the way?
My lips curved.
Something told me I already knew the answer. Jules never made things
easy. It was one of the things I secretly liked about her.
“You’re an arrogant ass.” Calculation entered her eyes. “Since you’re so
confident in your abilities with women, let’s play another game.”
Intrigue bloomed. “What kind of game?”
“It’s simple. We see which one of us can get the most phone numbers in
an hour.” Jules cocked her head, her hair spilling in waves of coppery silk
over her shoulder. “Winner gets bragging rights.”
It might seem low stakes to an outside observer, but bragging rights for us
held the same cachet as a Rolex or Lamborghini. Maybe more.
Nothing mattered more than our pride.
“Deal.” Cockiness filled my smile. Jules was good, but I was going to
win.
I always did.
“Good.” She glanced at the giant clock hanging on the wall. “We
reconvene at ten to seven.”
I was gone by the time she finished her sentence. I’d been scanning the
room since she brought up the game rules, formulating a plan, so I didn’t
hesitate in beelining toward a group of twenty-something women in the
corner.
Lucky for me, the bar’s female to male ratio was about two to one, giving
me the upper hand even if I stayed away from women who were with their

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significant other.
I kept my conversations brief and flirtatious. I never promised more than I
could give, and I made the women I talked to feel good enough they had no
qualms about parting with their numbers after only a few minutes. I suspected
a few knew I was up to something, considering how quickly I was moving
through the crowd, but that didn’t stop them from flirting back.
By the time six-thirty rolled around, I’d secured well over a dozen
numbers. I should’ve been thrilled, but suspicion trickled through me when I
noticed Jules hadn’t moved from her seat. She sipped her drink, her face
serene as she watched me work the room.
What was she up to?
Unable to take it anymore, I ended my conversation with the woman I
was currently talking to and stalked over to Jules. I planted my hands on the
wooden tabletop and narrowed my eyes. “Okay, what’s your game?”
“What do you mean?” Jules asked, innocent as a newborn lamb.
“We have…” I checked the time again. “…ten minutes left and you
haven’t even tried to talk to a guy. Don’t tell me you’re banking on them
approaching you first.”
A few had, but Jules wasn’t the passive type. She liked to go in guns
blazing, no matter the situation.
“I’m not.”
“Forfeiting, then? If you’re scared of losing, just say so. No need to go
through this whole song and dance.”
“Oh, I’m not forfeiting.” Jules finally set her drink down and unfolded
herself from her chair. She slipped out of her jacket, her movements like
honey gliding against the gentle curves of a glass bottle.
Slow, smooth, sensual.
Fucking hell.
My throat dried at the sight before me.
Jules wore a standard professional uniform—a white button-down shirt
tucked into a gray skirt, black heels, and a discreet gold necklace that peeked
out from beneath her collar. But with her body and confidence, she might as
well have been wearing the world’s sexiest lace lingerie.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop my eyes from devouring her
flash of cleavage and the way her outfit hugged her ample curves. Her
voluptuous figure wasn’t toned and lean like so many of the women in my
gym, but it was soft. Lush. And entirely too appealing.

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Heat scorched my blood as an image of me pushing her up against a wall,
yanking up that tight little skirt, and fucking her until she screamed flashed
through my head.
I shoved it aside the minute it popped up, but it was too late. My cock
was already hardening, and arousal thrummed low in my gut.
Tension hardened my jaw. I hated this newfound effect she had on me.
I’d gone years without being turned on by her, and now, I couldn’t stop
fantasizing about her. I didn’t know what changed, but it was pissing me the
fuck off.
“I’m winning this bet. Watch and learn, Chen,” Jules purred before
sashaying over to the DJ.
The view of her walking away did nothing to ease the ache in my groin.
Of all the horrible things that could happen to me, being sexually
attracted to Jules Ambrose topped the list. No question.
Need, frustration, and curiosity battled for dominance as she said
something to the DJ. He nodded, his face creasing with sympathy.
A burst of suspicion entered the mix when he cut off the music. Why
would he…
I shot up when I realized what she had up her sleeve.
She wouldn’t. No fucking way.
“I’m sorry for interrupting your happy hour, but I’ll keep this quick.”
Jules’s voice rang through the now silent bar, clear and strong but with a
touch of vulnerability that had everyone leaning in to hear more.
“Long story short, I just got out of a long, terrible relationship, and my
friend”—she gestured toward me, causing dozens of heads to swivel in my
direction—“reminded me the best way to get over someone is to get under
someone else. So I’m looking for a rebound.” The mix of studied hesitation
and suggestiveness in her voice was enough to drive any red-blooded male
crazy. Goddammit, she was good. “If you’re interested in a no strings
attached night or two, give me your number. Thank you.”
Straight to the point, even if the point was a false one. Classic Jules.
The bar reverberated with stunned silence for one, two, three beats before
pandemonium broke out. Cheers and applause rang through the space while
dozens of men rushed toward her, nearly tripping over themselves in their
haste to be her “rebound.”
I shook my head, unable to process what was happening. I felt like I’d
just been dropped into the middle of a farfetched movie scene. I wouldn’t

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have believed it had I not witnessed it with my own eyes.
Of course that was Jules’s plan. She was the only person I knew who
could pull off such a move.
She caught my eye over the crowd, her face glowing with triumph. Sucks