Twisted Hate: An Enemies with Benefits Romance

Shit. 
“How are you feeling?” I didn’t ask for details about the visit; they
weren’t important. What was important was how Josh was handling the
aftermath. 
I opened the door wider so he could enter. Stella was at work, and I had
the place to myself for the next few hours.
“Like how you’d expect.” Josh shot me a lopsided smile, but his muscles
were visibly tense. His eyes fell on my open laptop and textbooks. “Sorry, I
didn’t mean to barge into your study time. I know you’re busy…”
“Don’t worry about it. I was due for a study break anyway.” I’d been
studying for six hours straight, and my eyes were blurry from staring at the
screen so long. 
I welcomed the distraction, though I wish it were a happier one.
I sank onto the couch next to Josh. “Do you want to talk about it?” I

---

asked. “Usually, I charge for my therapeutic services, but you’re hot, so I’ll
give you a complimentary fifteen-minute session.” 
“I am hot.” He nodded. “I like you. We’re off to a good start.”
“Well, I have a lot of experience with delusional narcissists. I live in
D.C., after all.”
Josh’s rough laugh wrapped around my heart. “That’s a valid point.”
My smile lingered for another moment before I sobered. “Seriously, how
are you?”
He leaned his head against the backrest. “Sad. Pissed. Resigned to the fact
my father and I will never reconcile. And…” His throat flexed with a hard
swallow. “Relieved that I can finally put it all behind me. I read his letters. It
was just bullshit emotional manipulation. Michael will never change, and
seeing him and cutting ties was fucking painful. But I got what I needed.”
“Closure,” I said softly. 
“Yeah.” He turned to face me, his eyes dark with self-deprecation. “I
realize how stupid it was to put off confronting him for so long. I put my life
on hold for two years when I could’ve just gotten it over with and moved
on.” 
“It’s not stupid.” I curled my hand around his and squeezed. “You
weren’t ready. It’s not just about the confrontation. It’s about giving yourself
time to prepare. Figure out what you want.”
“Yeah.” He knocked his knee against mine. “You’re not as shitty a
therapist as I thought you’d be.” 
I placed a hand over my chest in mock outrage. “I give you a free session,
and that’s how you repay me? By insulting me?” 
“You love it when I insult you.”
“Newsflash, genius. No one likes getting insulted.”
“You want to test that theory?” Josh’s voice lowered.
Just like that, the air shifted. Heavy emotion gave way to a crackling
electricity that buzzed over my skin and surged through my blood. It’d been
way too long since I’d had sex, and every look, every word, kindled another
spark of arousal. 
But it wasn’t just about sex. Sometimes, the only way to purge the
emotional was through the physical. Catharsis in its rawest form.
If this was what Josh needed after his visit with Michael, I would give it
to him.
“What did you have in mind?” Josh had been there for me when I needed

---

a distraction from Max. It was time for me to return the favor…not that that
was a hardship in any way.
A shadow of tension remained in his eyes, but his smile was all silk and
wickedness. “Take off your clothes, Red.”
An insistent beat pulsed between my legs at his soft command.
I stood and kept my gaze on his as I slowly slid the top button of my shirt
out of its hole. Banked heat incinerated the shadows in his eyes and engulfed
me in its flames. 
“What kind of man makes the woman do all the work?” I unbuttoned the
second button. “I didn’t realize you were such a slacker, Chen.” Third button.
“Or is it performance anxiety that’s holding you back?”
I cast a pointed glance at his groin, but my mouth dried at the size of his
arousal.
I’d forgotten how big he was. How rough he liked it.