Twisted Hate: An Enemies with Benefits Romance

“You’re so cute.” He gave me an indulgent smile, like I was a child who
announced I would be running for president. But let’s be real, babe, you
don’t want to be a lawyer.”
I twisted my shirt harder around my finger. “I’m serious.”
“Then be serious.” Max ran his hand over my shoulder and rubbed my
arm soothingly before he squeezed my breast, his eyes taking on a familiar
lusty gleam. “You’re way too hot to be stuck in some musty courtroom all
day. You should be a model. Capitalize on that face and body. Not everyone
is lucky enough to be born with your looks.”

---

I forced a smile. Yes, I’d been blessed with above average looks, but I
didn’t feel lucky. Not when that was the only thing people saw when they
looked at me, and not when my own mother viewed me as competition instead
of family.
But maybe Max was right. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself. What
made me think I could be a lawyer? I did well in my classes, but there was a
difference between getting a 4.0 at a small high school in Ohio and
succeeding at a top-tier law school.
“Come on. Enough boring talk.” Max’s breath roughened as he popped
open the buttons of my shirt. “I can think of something better we can do with
our mouths…”
A sour taste filled my mouth. I’d been so young and naive. I wasn’t the
same person I’d been at seventeen, but sometimes, the whispers from my past
reasserted themselves, making me question everything I’d achieved and
strived for.
Max’s recent texts didn’t help, either. He was like the ex that wouldn’t
die. Figuratively, not literally.
The alcohol-induced buzz in my head grew louder. Maybe I should call
him to see what he wanted. Then I could put him behind me once and—
“Jules!”
Josh’s panicked shout pierced my ear at the same time squealing tires
screeched through the night. I lifted my head, my eyes widening at the sight
of headlights barreling toward me.
I’d been so caught up in my thoughts I’d wandered into the middle of the
street without looking.
Move! my brain screamed, but my body wouldn’t obey. I just stood there,
frozen, until an iron grip closed around my arm and yanked me back onto the
sidewalk a millisecond before a truck sped past, horn blaring.
Momentum took over and my face collided with Josh’s chest. It was like
slamming into a brick wall. The force of the action, combined with the spike
of adrenaline from my brush with death, robbed me of words and breath. All
I could do was stand there, face pressed against Josh’s torso, while he
engulfed me in a tight embrace.
“Are you okay?” His heart thundered beneath my cheek.
“I’m fine,” I said hoarsely, too stunned to form a better response.
I raised my head and gulped when I saw his expression. Concern lined his
brow, but his eyes blazed and a vein visibly pulsed in his temple.

---

“Good.” His arms tightened around me until I lost my breath all over
again. “Now what the hell were you thinking, walking out into the middle of
the street like that?” His low voice vibrated with anger. “You almost got
killed!”
“I…” I didn’t have a good answer.
What was I supposed to say? I was too caught up in memories of my
shitty ex to pay attention to where I was going?
I had a feeling that wouldn’t fly.
God, if Max was the last person I thought of before I died, I would be
pissed.
“I called your name twice and you didn’t even react.” The pale glow from
the streetlights slashed across Josh’s face, throwing his razor-sharp
cheekbones and the hard, chiseled line of his jaw into sharp relief. “What the
fuck happened?”
“Nothing. I just got distracted.” Technically true. Still, my stomach
twisted at what would’ve happened had Josh not been there.
“Thank you for saving me, though I’m surprised you did.” I attempted to
lighten the tension blanketing the air. “I thought you’d be more liable to push
me into traffic than save me from it.”
“That’s not funny.”
“It’s kind of funny.”
“Not. Funny,” Josh repeated. He bit out each word like it was a bitter pill.
“Do you think death is funny? Do you think it’s fun for me to watch someone
almost die?”
My smile waned. “No,” I said softly.
I had a feeling we weren’t talking about me anymore.
As an ER doctor, he worked closer with life and death than anyone else I
knew. I couldn’t imagine the things he saw at the hospital, the calls he had to
make and the people he couldn’t save. But he was so sarcastic and light-
hearted all the time I’d never thought about how it affected him.
Josh released me and stepped back, his expression like granite.
“I’m walking you home,” he said flatly. “Who knows what trouble you’ll
stumble into if I left you alone?”
We were only two blocks away, so I didn’t bother protesting. I knew
when to pick my battles.
We walked in silence to my house, which was dark when we arrived.
Stella was probably still at the office or at an event. Between the magazine

---

and her blog, she basically worked two jobs.
I stepped onto the porch and fished my keys out of my bag with a shaking
hand. “You’ve delivered me home safe and sound. Five stars for service, two
stars for conversation,” I quipped, inserting the key into the lock. “I’d give
you one star on the latter, but since you saved my life, I’m being generous.”
Perhaps I should’ve been more serious, considering Josh’s mood, but
when in doubt, I defaulted to sarcasm. I couldn’t help it.
A muscle pulsed in his jaw. “Is everything a joke to you, or are you really
that oblivious?” he demanded. “You got into Thayer Law, so I assume you
have some awareness of the world around you. So stop with the fucking act,
Red. It’s a play no one wants to see.”
My spine hardened into iron. I recognized that tone of voice. It was the
same tone he’d used when he told Ava to stop being friends with me. The
same one he always used when he saw me doing something he considered a