Twisted Hate: An Enemies with Benefits Romance

It’s just the mountain air. Get yourself together.
“Jules,” he said softly.
“Yeah?” The word stuck in my throat before it came out all wrong. Weird
and raspy and not at all like my normal voice.
“On a scale of one to ten, how badly do you want to fuck me right now?”
The moment shattered into a thousand pieces.
My skin flamed as I shoved myself off him, making sure to jab my elbow
into his face as I did so.
“Negative one thousand,” I hissed. “Times infinity.”
Josh’s laugh erased any goodwill he’d accrued during our ski lessons.
I couldn’t believe I thought he might be somewhat tolerable. One semi-
decent morning didn’t change the fact he was the same insufferable, cocky
ass he’d always been.
The worst part was, he wasn’t entirely wrong. There had been a moment,
just the briefest one, when I’d imagined what his hands would feel like on my
skin. What his mouth would taste like, whether he liked it long and slow or
fast and hard.
A ball of angry embarrassment formed in my throat. Clearly, I needed to
get laid, and fast, if I was fantasizing about freaking Josh Chen.
“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.” Josh pushed himself up, his
mouth curved into a smug grin even as his eyes simmered with banked heat.
The sight made me feel somewhat better. At least I wasn’t the only one
affected by our proximity. “We can make it happen, you know. I’m no longer
opposed to the idea. Our relationship is progressing.”
“The only relationship we have is in your dreams.” I yanked my cap off
and ran a hand through my tousled hair. “We’re done with lessons.”
“Quitter.” The soft mockery prickled against my skin, but I didn’t take
the bait again.
“I’m not quitting. I’m postponing.” I jutted out my chin. “I’ll sign up for
real lessons with the resort tomorrow. Maybe I’ll get the guy from the lobby
as my instructor.” Blond hair, eager smile, muscled body. Lobby Guy might
as well have Ski Bro stamped on his forehead. “I’m sure I’ll actually enjoy
my time with him.”
Josh’s grin took on a hard edge. “Whatever you need to tell yourself,

---

Red.”
Instead of responding, I turned on my heels and stormed away as
gracefully as I could in skis. I should’ve taken them off before my grand exit,
but it was too late now.
The dull ache of irritation throbbed in my stomach and intensified the
closer I got to the lodge. God, I was an idiot. I should’ve known better than to
—
Out of nowhere, the ache escalated into blinding pain. It ripped through
me like a serrated blade and forced me to double over with a small gasp.
No. No, no, no.
My pulse roared in my ears.
It was too early. It wasn’t supposed to happen until next week.
But when another spike of pain caused tears to form in my eyes, it was
clear Mother Nature didn’t give a damn about my schedules.
It was happening now, and there was nothing I could do about it.

---

12

---

JOSH
A
FTER
J
ULES
STORMED
OFF
, I 
SQUEEZED
IN
ONE
RUN
DOWN
THE
ADVANCED
ski slope before I met up with Alex and Ava for lunch.
I assumed Jules had returned to the lodge after our failed ski lesson, but
the fourth spot at the table was conspicuously empty.
I eyed it, distractedly answering Ava’s questions about how my morning
went, before I asked, “Where’s the redheaded menace? Off sticking pins in a
voodoo doll somewhere?”
Considering the way she’d stomped off, I wouldn’t be surprised if the
voodoo doll was of me.
I didn’t know what possessed me to offer her ski lessons in the first place.
I blamed it on the mountain air and the champagne I’d imbibed on the flight,
but spending a morning with Jules hadn’t been as terrible as I’d expected.
Plus, it’d been worth it for her reaction alone when I asked how badly she
wanted to fuck me.
My mouth tugged up at the memory of Jules’s crimson cheeks. She could
deny it all she wanted, but she’d thought about it. I’d seen it in her eyes, felt
in the shallow rise and fall of her chest against mine.
She hadn’t been the only one thinking impure thoughts.
Our fall had been an accident, but the way her curves molded to my body
had been a revelation. We’d both been bundled up in winter clothing, but in
my mind, we might as well have been naked. I could picture it so vividly—
her silky skin, her lush curves, her aggravating snark melting into a moan as I
fucked her senseless…
Fuck.
I snapped open my napkin and placed it over my lap. My cock strained

---

against my zipper, and I prayed neither Alex nor Ava noticed my uneven
breaths as I reached for my glass again.
I didn’t know what was in the air that made me fantasize about Jules so
much today, but it was fucking with my head. I’d been this close to doing
something crazy earlier, like—
“She texted and said she’s not feeling well.” Ava sipped her water, her
expression cagey. “She’s resting at the cabin.”
My arousal cooled at the new information. “She was fine an hour ago.”
Alex arched an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
Shit. “I, uh, ran into her on the slopes.”
“Jules said she didn’t go skiing.” Suspicion flared in Ava’s eyes. “She
stayed at the lodge after she picked up her phone from the cabin.”
Double shit. “Maybe she went to the ski run first, then changed her
mind.” I lifted my shoulders in what I hoped was a casual shrug. “Who
knows? Her mind works in strange ways.”
A tiny smirk touched Alex’s mouth.
Luckily, the waiter arrived and saved me from further interrogation. After
we placed our orders, I shifted the conversation to Ava’s latest assignment at
World Geographic magazine, where she worked as a junior photographer.
Nothing animated her more than talking about photography.
I half-listened as my sister rambled on about her project documenting the
city’s street art scene. I loved her, but I gave zero shits about photography.
My eyes strayed again to Jules’s empty seat. Knowing her, she had a
minor headache and was claiming near-death symptoms.
Probably.
Maybe.
She’s fine. I cut into my chicken with unnecessary force.
Whether Jules was being her usual dramatic self by forgoing lunch or
actually dying, I didn’t care. It had absolutely nothing to do with me.
B
Y
THE
TIME
LUNCH
ENDED
, I’
D
PUSHED
J
ULES
OUT
OF
MY
MIND
…
FOR
THE
most part. I didn’t blink when Ava left to check on Jules and bring her lunch,
but my muscles knotted when she insisted Alex and I hit the slopes without
her.

---

I’d avoided one-on-one interactions with Alex all morning. It seemed my
luck had run out.
I fixed my eyes on the horizon as we walked toward the triple black
diamond, our conversation consisting of nothing more than the soft crunch of
our boots in the snow.
We’d exchanged a few sentences here and there at lunch, but Ava and I
had dominated the discussion while Alex ate quietly.
That had always been our dynamic, even before our falling out. I talked,
he listened. I was the extrovert, and he was the introvert. Ava used to
jokingly call us yin and yang.
I could say the same for her relationship with Alex. Her sunny optimism
was as far removed from Alex’s icy cynicism as the sun was from the moon,
but they somehow made it work.
“Fifty bucks says Ava stays with Jules and doesn’t join us,” Alex said as
we approached the ski run.
I snorted. “No bet. Jules always drags her into shit. I wouldn’t be
surprised if we returned to the cabin and found the place on fire.”
Unless, of course, Jules really was incapacitated. Ava hadn’t elaborated
on what she’d meant when she said Jules “wasn’t feeling well.”
Was it a migraine? A stomachache? Was she hurt after she’d crashed into
me earlier?
Worry clawed up my throat before I forced it back down. She’d stomped
off well enough after my joke. She was fine. If she wasn’t, Ava would’ve
freaked out more.
Before Alex could answer, our phones emitted simultaneous pings. We
checked our messages, and I shook my head when I read the texts.