Twisted Hate: An Enemies with Benefits Romance

Closure.
The word echoed in my mind during our ride to the airport.
Maybe that was what I needed with Michael. I’d avoided contacting him
for two years, thinking that was the solution to my problem. All it’d done was
allow thoughts of him to fester like cancer. Slow, invisible, and gradually
bleeding me of life until I was nothing but a shell of myself.
The monsters in our imagination are often worse those in reality.
The sudden, blinding clarity sliced through me like a blade.
“You okay?” Jules asked after we passed through security. Whittlesburg
was so close to Columbus it took us less than an hour to arrive at the airport.
“You look delirious.”
“Yep,” I said, still high from my discovery. It was so fucking obvious I
felt like an idiot for not thinking of it earlier, but we were the blindest when it
came to our own lives.
I didn’t look forward to seeing Michael, but it’ll be like ripping off a
Band-Aid. Once I did it, I could finally move on. I was sure of it.
Closure.
The answer had been there all along.
“We spent two whole days together and didn’t kill each other.” Jules
cocked an eyebrow as we picked up sandwiches and chips from one of the
airport’s delis and settled at a table in the food court. Our flight didn’t leave
for another seventy-five minutes, so we had time to kill. “We’re making
progress.”
“It was a day and a half, tops.” I smiled, welcoming the shift to a lighter
tone after the heaviness of our morning. Sadness lingered in Jules’s eyes, but
she seemed determined to leave the past behind her. “We still have some time
left.”
“How reassuring.” She bit into her sandwich, chewed, and swallowed
before adding hesitantly, “I’ve been thinking about what you said at Bridget’s

---

wedding…”
My pulse quickened. “Yeah?”
“You might be right.” She didn’t look at me, but pink crept over her
cheeks. “About there being a difference between what something is supposed
to be and what it actually is.”
The quickening turned into a roar. Warmth glowed in my chest and filled
some of the cracks that had formed over the years.
“I’m always right.” It was all I could do to suppress a grin.
I’d never wanted an exclusive relationship. It came with too many
expectations, and honestly, I’d never liked anyone enough to go on more than
three dates with them.
Lusted for, sure. Liked? No.
But with Jules…fuck, I didn’t even know how it happened. I liked her,
even when she pissed me off, which was half the time. Our arguments lit me
up more than my conversations with anyone else did, and when we actually
talked, she was the only person I felt like who got me. The only person who
saw past the doctor, the playboy, the adrenaline junkie, and every other mask
I wore to hide the messy imperfect pieces underneath.
I swallowed the odd lump in my throat while Jules rolled her eyes and
smiled. “Always modest.”
“That too.”
Her smile widened, and our gazes lingered for a moment before her
expression turned serious again. “So, what does that mean for us?”
Good question. I had no experience with the whole relationship thing,
but…
“It means we should probably go on a date.” My grin exploded at the way
her eyes widened. “Don’t look so shocked. It’s a date, Red. Not a marriage
proposal.”
“Obviously,” she huffed, though the nervous look in her eyes remained.
“I’ve been on dates before.”
My smile slipped at the reminder.
Of course Jules had been on dates before. That didn’t mean I wanted to
think about it.
A ribbon of possessiveness unfurled in my stomach, and it took all my
willpower not to grill her for the full name, number, and address of every guy
who’d ever fucking touched her.
“Not with me.” I rubbed a speck of sauce from the corner of her mouth.

---

My thumb lingered on her bottom lip, and dark satisfaction flared through me
when her breath hitched. “When I take you out, it’ll be the best damn date
you’ve ever had.”
“Your ego truly knows no bounds.” The breathlessness of her voice
erased the sting of her insult.
I leaned forward and replaced my thumb with my lips. “Let’s make a bet,
Red.” My mouth brushed over hers—not in a kiss, but in a promise. “I bet
after our date, you won’t even be able to think about another man.”
The last part came out as a low growl.
Jules audibly swallowed. “You’re setting very high expectations, Chen.”
My smile returned. “Don’t worry. I never set expectations I can’t meet.”

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38

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JULES
I
T
WAS
STRANGE
. I’
D
LEFT
FOR
O
HIO
, 
EXPECTING
IT
TO
BE
A
NIGHTMARE
, 
AND
I returned realizing it was a catharsis.
The trip took the messy, blurred pieces of my life and threw them into
sharp relief.
Alastair was dead and couldn’t hurt me anymore.
My mom was dead, and no matter how much I agonized over what ifs,
she was never coming back.
Max remained a threat, but he’d been oddly silent for a while. Until he
made his next move, there wasn’t much I could do.
And Josh…Josh was one of the few bright spots in my shitshow of a life.
Changing our relationship from enemies with benefits to dating was like
jumping off a cliff—it could end in the most exhilarating rush of my life or
total disaster.
But I already had enough regrets. I didn’t want Josh to be one of them.
Sometimes, you had to take a leap or risk getting stuck forever.
“What do you think?” I turned slowly, letting Stella examine my outfit.
Josh and I had our first official date today, but no matter how much I
cajoled, threatened, and bribed him, he’d remained tight-lipped about what
we were doing, so I was flying blind when it came to the dress code. His only
guidance was to dress nice but not too nice, which was no freaking help at all.
After much agonizing, I’d settled on a blue sundress with sandals and
styled my hair in a high ponytail to stave off the sweltering June heat. It was
fun, flirty, and casual enough for a stroll in the park but dressy enough for a
nice restaurant.
At least, I hoped so.

---

Stella assessed me from head to toe before giving me a thumbs up.
“Perfect.”
Thank God. I didn’t have time to change. I was already running late.
Since Josh couldn’t pick me up from my house, I met him in Georgetown
as requested.
Flutters filled my stomach when I spotted him waiting at our designated
meeting spot.
White button down. Dark jeans. Tousled hair. So gorgeous it made my
heart hurt.
I kind of wished we still hated each other because our relationship was
not great for my cardiac health.
“Hey, Red.” Josh looked me over, his eyes heating. “Nice to see you
looking presentable for once.”
“Nice to see you looking human for once.” I gave him an equally
deliberate once-over. “How much did you pay for the skin suit to cover up
your devil’s horns and reptile skin?”
“It was free. I’m just that charming,” he drawled.
“I think the seller was just scared you’ll suffocate him with your giant ego
if you didn’t leave soon.”
His laugh rolled through me like molten caramel, rich and sweet. “I
fucking missed you.”
I fell into step beside him as we walked down the street toward our
mysterious destination. “It’s been three days.”
“I know.”
The flutters intensified. Dammit. When he wasn’t being an ass, he could
be so…sweet.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going now?” I was too curious not
to ask. Why hadn’t Josh asked me to meet him at the date spot instead of
some random street corner?
He heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Patience.”
“I don’t know what that is, but it sounds boring.” I stifled a laugh when
he side-eyed me.
“You’re insufferable.”
“So you keep saying, yet you missed me and you’re on a date with me.
What does that say about you?”
“That I’m a glutton for a beautiful punishment.”
I bit my lip to contain a burgeoning smile. “You should look into that.

---

Doesn’t sound healthy.”
“I did. There’s no cure, I’m afraid.”
I stumbled on a loose cobblestone and would’ve face planted on the
sidewalk had Josh not caught me by the wrist.
“Careful,” he said, his eyes aglow with amusement. He knew exactly
what he was doing, the bastard. “Don’t want you to fall.”
“I won’t.” I mustered a haughty tone and smoothed down my skirt, my
cheeks red.
After another five minutes or so, we finally stopped in front of a tiny shop
with a striped awning and the words Apollo Hill Books stamped in gold on
the windows. Piles of books filled the display, obstructing my view of the
shop’s interior, and two royal blue carts groaned beneath the weight of
discounted tomes on the sidewalk.
Now I knew why Josh hadn’t asked me to meet him here—the street was
only wide enough for pedestrians and bicycles. A car didn’t have a chance of
squeezing through it. The same went for the surrounding streets.
“Welcome to the best bookstore in the city.” Josh swept a dramatic arm at
the building and grinned at my stunned expression.
“How have I never heard of this place?” My heart beat fast at the prospect
of what lay beyond the white wood door. Discovering a new bookstore was
like discovering a new type of precious gem: exhilarating, wondrous, and a
touch surreal. “I’ve lived here for years.”
“It opened a few months ago and flies under the radar. I found out about
it from another resident whose cousin’s friend owns it.” Josh opened the
door.
The minute I stepped inside, I fell in love. No, not fell. I crashed into
love, hard and fast, seduced by the floor-to-ceiling bookcases, the charmingly
haphazard piles crowding the oval table in the middle of the store, and the
sweet, musky scent of old books. The bold emerald carpet contrasted with the
understated cream walls, and several wrought-iron chandeliers cast a warm
glow over the space.
It was the bookstore of my dreams, manifested into reality.
“What did I tell you?” Josh’s voice rolled down my spine in a velvety
caress. “Best bookstore in the city.”
Other than the store owner, we were the only people present. It was hard
to believe the hustle and bustle of the city lay on the other side of the door. It
was so hushed, I felt like we’d entered a secret world created just for us.

---

“This is the only time I’ll admit you’re right.” I ran a reverent hand over a
nearby pile of books. The store contained a mix of new releases and used
books, and I wanted to explore them all. “Are we spending our date
browsing? Because I’m fully onboard with that.”
“Sort of.” Josh leaned against the side of a bookcase and slid one hand
into his pocket, the picture of gorgeous insouciance. “I would start with your
favorite childhood book.”
“Why?”
“Trust me.” He angled his chin toward the nearby children’s section.
The heat from Josh’s gaze warmed my skin as I scanned the shelves until
I found what I was looking for. There were only three copies of Charlotte’s
Web, and I assumed there was a note or something similar in one of them.
The fact he’d remembered such a small detail from our conversation in
Ohio sent a burst of tingles shooting through me.