It'll Be An Adventure (Masters of the Shadowlands #15)(14)
Author: Cherise Sinclair

 

“Hey, no, Murph. Don’t be like that. I care for you, really. I don’t want to break up.”

 

Don’t cry. Not in front of the bastard. Breathing fast and shallow, she walked into the bathroom and stuffed her toiletries and spare clothing into her overnight case.

 

“Don’t be like this, babe.” Ross donned an ingratiating grin the way some people would pull on shoes. “You and me, we’re gonna have problems sometimes. It’s kinda expected. Because of who we are.”

 

“Who we are?”

 

“Well, yeah. You’re…you like things quiet—and planned out. Nothing spontaneous. And you’re not into people, but me, I’m an extrovert.”

 

She stared at him. Was that another way of saying she was boring? “I see.”

 

“Right, that’s what I mean.” He pointed at her. “Another woman would yell at me. Throw things. You don’t.”

 

The statement was accurate enough to be cruel. She was boring. A wimp.

 

“But we can make things work. Really. I like how you’re quiet and sweet. I told Skylar I’m not breaking up with you.”

 

Bag in hand, Murphy headed out of the bedroom with only a glance at the sock on the bed. Skylar must have called to provide some incentive.

 

“Hey, wait.” When Ross caught up and tried to take her hand, Murphy pulled away.

 

“No. Just no.” Did he really think she’d keep on shopping and cooking for him while he had phone nookie on the side?

 

She wasn’t that much of a spineless loser.

 

“Listen, Murphy, I’m sor—”

 

“We are over, you and me. Over and done.” And you can fuck off and die. She didn’t say the words. That wasn’t who she was. “Bye, Ross.”

 

She walked out, closing the door softly behind her. Got in the car. Drove.

 

One block, two. And when her tears turned the oncoming headlights of other cars into glowing orbs, she pulled over.

 

And cried.

 

 

 

 

 

Half an hour later, her eyes were scratchy, her throat sore, and she felt as if someone had beat her all over with a big stick.

 

She should have known this would happen. He was the third guy she’d tried dating in the last three years. Every so-called relationship fizzled out quickly. For pretty much the same reasons. She was too quiet. Boring.

 

But so were they. Those were the kind of men she’d chosen after Aaron. After he’d taken her into the Shadowlands’ Capture Gardens and…

 

She shook her head. Wasn’t it funny that she’d wanted the opposite of boring at one time?

 

Back when an early boyfriend got rough and pushy, she’d discovered how thrilling sex could be. And she’d wanted more. Much more. That’s why she’d snuck into the Shadowlands to see what it would be like with a real Dominant, to see if there was even more exciting sex.

 

Rubbing the tears off her face, she laughed bitterly. Ross was right in a way. Their relationship had been lackluster—and tame sex wasn’t what she liked. Not in actuality.

 

Her visit to the Shadowlands three days ago might have ended with Saxon the bully, but she’d also seen what had drawn her there in the beginning. When it came right down to it, maybe Ross had done her a favor.

 

Is it time to move on from safe and vanilla?

 

A short drive later, she pulled into her narrow driveway and under the carport. As she got out of the car, she frowned. Had she left the lights on in her house?

 

No, no, she hadn’t.

 

One of her brothers must be there. Oh, god, she didn’t want to see them. Not now with her eyes all red and swollen. With her emotions messed up.

 

Especially since they undoubtedly wanted something from her—probably money.

 

Maybe she should just turn her car around and drive away.

 

But where would she go? She barely had enough money to pay her rent each month. There was none left over for escaping.

 

Suck it up, buttercup.

 

Unlocking the front door, she opened it and got hit with a blast of freezing air. What in the world? She never turned the air conditioning to full blast.

 

She froze.

 

There was a stranger sitting on her couch. A skinny college-aged guy in a T-shirt and shorts.

 

Shit! She grabbed her keys and pointed the tiny pepper spray at him. “Don’t move, or you’ll be blind for a week. What’re you doing in my house?”

 

“Jesus, don’t spray me!” When he raised his hands, one held an Oreo cookie. The package she’d just bought this morning lay on the coffee table, half gone. “Uh…uh, you must be Murphy. Dugan said I could stay here tonight—that you’d be with your boyfriend.”

 

A hiss escaped her, and the fingers of her free hand fisted. Anger, so much anger flared inside her that her face felt burned. Bad enough that her brothers came over whenever they wanted and helped themselves to her food. Now it was their friends making free with her stuff?

 

She was done with this. “Get out.”

 

“Hey, now, listen. I don’t have a place to—”

 

“Tell it to Dugan. Get. Out.”

 

He walked over and picked up his backpack that sat on her dining table. He picked up the key sitting beside it.

 

My key. She shook her head. “Leave the key.”

 

“But it’s Dugan’s.”

 

“Not anymore, and you can tell him that too. Now get out of my house.”

 

He glared at her.

 

She didn’t give a damn, just pointed the pepper spray at him as he walked out the door. Held it steady as he pulled out his phone and kept walking down the street.

 

There. She hadn’t let someone walk all over her.

 

But it didn’t make her feel any better. And Dugan would be furious, full of recriminations like “Why didn’t you let him stay? It wouldn’t have hurt you to be nice,” and she’d have to come up with the reasons.

 

She closed the front door, locked it, and leaned against it.

 

Would she lose her brother over this? He drove her crazy sometimes, but she loved him. Loved both her brothers.

 

Her breathing hitched. One of her first memories was sitting on the couch, a pillow in her lap so she could hold Farran after he’d been born. He’d held onto her thumb with his tiny fingers. She’d promised Mama she’d look after him, her little brother.