Filthy Rich, Wild with Lust

Chapter 11

“Is that you, Harry?” I pretend to forget his name.

“Don’t push your luck, Juliet. I’m on the verge of poisoning your dog.”

His grumpiness makes me giggle. “Is Barry being bad?”

“What do you think?”

I smile. “On my way.”

“Hurry up.” The phone goes dead.

I stand and pull my dress down. “I’ve got to go home,” I call to Leonie.

“Why?”

“Because Harry is going to poison Barry,” I call.

“Huh? Who’s Barry?”

“My dog.”

“Who’s Harry?”

“My neighbor who is actually not named Harry, but it’s fun to call him Harry.”

“I’m so confused right now,” some random girl calls from the stall on the other side of me.

“That makes two of us,” calls Leonie.

I giggle. “Is anyone else’s stall spinning?” I ask.

“Yes,” everyone cries in unison.

I hug the girls goodbye and totter to the front door and call an Uber as the ground moves beneath me.

Oh man...

The car pulls up. “Thank you.” I open the door and put one leg out and then the other.

How the hell did I get so tipsy?

The cul-de-sac is quiet, not a peep to be heard. I look up at Henley’s house, and I smile. I imagine going inside and surprising him with my very own peep show.

“You have a good night,” I tell the Uber driver.

“You too.”

“Don’t pick up any drunk and disorderly people,” I tell him. “There are some real troublemakers out there.”

He smiles. “Are you all right to get out on your own?”

Boy, I’m so tipsy.

“I am. Thank you for driving me home.” I smile goofily. “I had fun.”

“This isn’t a f*****g date, Juliet,” Henley’s voice growls.

Huh?

He grabs my arm and pulls me from the car, and I come face to face with Mr. Holy Hotness himself.

“Oh.” How convenient. “It’s you.”

Henley

“Go inside and control your mutt.”

Juliet smiles up at me all sexy-like. “Stop saying mutt like that.”

I twist my lips. “I’ll say muttt”—I accentuate the T —“any way I want to.”

“Hmm.” She smiles. “Always so bossy, Mr. James.”

You have no idea.

She sways on her feet. She’s really quite inebriated. “You’re drunk.”

“Am I?”

“Do you make a habit of offering yourself to seedy Uber drivers?”

She giggles and turns toward her house. She bends and slips her stilettos off. I watch her ass in that dress as she does. “Are you jealous, Henley?”

As f**k.

“Go inside,” I warn her.

“Or what?” she teases.

Get bent over your letterbox, that’s what.

“Don’t play with me, Juliet.”

She turns back toward me and smiles sexily as she bites her bottom lip. Our eyes are locked, and she walks back to me. We come face to face.

Her perfume surrounds me. My c**k twitches in appreciation at her close proximity.

Don’t even think about it.

“Henley,” she whispers.

My eyes drop to her lips. “Yes.”

“If I was playing with you, I would tell you something sordid.”

“Such as?”

The air crackles between us.

She leans in close and puts her mouth to my ear. “I haven’t had s*x in eight months,” she breathes.

I inhale sharply. Damn it, tell me anything but that.

Throb, throb, throb...

I hear the blood rushing from all over my body to fill my c**k.

This isn’t good. Abort mission.

I get a vision of her riding me, good and deep, her perfect t**s bouncing as they do. Eight months to catch up on. She’d be f*****g fire.

She’s an adultering witch, remember?

Stop it.

I step back from her. “You should probably tell someone who cares. Do you want me to call the Uber driver back?”

She smirks. “Maybe I do.”

“Get inside.” I point to her house.

Before I do unspeakable things to you... or murder an overhelpful Uber driver.

“So bossy, Mr. James.”

“You have no idea.”

Her eyes hold mine, and I know she’s imagining the exact same thing as me.

Fuck.

Why is she so hot?

Last time we had s*x, she changed my f*****g DNA. There is no way in hell I’m doing that again.

“Go inside,” I demand.

She smiles up at me all sexy-like, and damn it, I just want to kiss her.

“Go inside right now, Juliet,” I growl as I struggle with the last inch of control. “And shut your f*****g dog up.”

She shrugs. “Okay.” She turns and walks into her house and gives me a wave with her fingertips before closing the door.

I stare at the door. My c**k is rock hard, and f**k’s sake, I do not need this temptation living right next f*****g door.

I march into my house and up to the bedroom. I open my side drawer and take out the lube.

A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

Juliet

The sun is shining, and I am weeding the garden next to my front steps. The perfect Saturday afternoon.

Time to focus.

No more thinking about the world’s biggest prick. I’ve been overanalyzing everything. He’s been so rude this week, hasn’t even waved in the mornings when he drove past. In fact, he glares at me as if I am his mortal enemy.

I’m living in a world of regret for possibly being flirty last weekend, although I’m not entirely sure. I think I told him I haven’t had s*x for a long time, or maybe it was a nightmare. Either way, I’m never drinking again.

He hates me, which is fine with me, because I hate him more.

I’m going to concentrate on the important things, like renovating my house.

First stop, this garden.

I hear Carol’s voice. “Hello, Juliet.”

I glance up. “Hi.”

I keep weeding. Go away, Carol, I am so not in the mood.

“Did you hear that Ethel’s daughter is coming to live with her?”

“Is she?” I reply, but my mind is off on a tangent.

“She’s coming to seduce Henley, if you ask me.”

“Wait, what?” I look up at her. “Who is coming to seduce Henley?” I ask, suddenly interested in the conversation.

“Oh, Ethel’s daughter, Taryn. She’s always had her eye on him, that one. And now that her marriage has broken up, of course this is the first place she comes.”

“What’s she like?”

“Gorgeous.” She widens her eyes. “Real supermodel material.”

Fucking great.

I begin to dig with vigor. I don’t care. He’s nothing to me, I think as Carol walks off.

Poof to him.

He’s the gift that keeps on giving. Dreaming about having s*x with him is bad enough; watching him actually do it with everybody else is going to be a frigging nightmare.

I need to get a boyfriend, and I need to get one quick.

A procession of cars pulls up and parks out front. And I look up to see all my work friends. A heap of them.

Oh no.

“What are you all doing here?” I gasp.

“Surprise!” they all call. Some are carrying plants; others are carrying platters of food or bottles of wine. “It’s a surprise housewarming.”

“What?”

Oh god, no.

“Great,” I lie. This is the very last thing I want to do today.

Chloe told me she was bringing over her mother to visit this afternoon. I had no idea that they planned this.

“Come in, come in.” I stand. “I look a wreck.”

Chloe kisses my cheek. “Happy housewarming, babe.”

I put my arm around her as we walk inside. “I’m going to kill you—you know that, don’t you?” I mutter under my breath.

“Totally.”

Henley

I rub the chamois over the trunk of my car as I finish drying the last of it off.

A loud burst of laughter comes from the front porch of Juliet’s house, and I glance over.

What’s going on over there?

She better not think I’ll be putting up with another Saturday night of her noisy-dog shenanigans.

My mind goes back to last weekend and her little white dress.

It’s the only thing I can think about.

I rub the car trunk so hard the paint nearly peels off.

She’s nothing but a pain in my ass. Why she would have the audacity to move here is beyond me. I mean, what’s she playing at? Who does she think she is?

I keep drying my car at double speed.

Kingston Lane is ruined forever.

Unbelievable.

I rub the trunk harder.

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, and the number comes up.

Vanessa.

Hmm. “Hi.” I smirk.

“Hey, you,” a seductive voice purrs down the line.

“Whatcha doin’?” I smile.

I love hearing from this woman. She never demands a relationship. Uncomplicated, hot, and doesn’t have an annoying dog or live next door.

“I’m working until nine, but maybe I’ll swing by tonight on my way home? I haven’t seen you in a while,” she replies.

If anyone can fix my mood, Vanessa can. “Sounds good.” I smile. “See you then.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

I stuff my phone back in my pocket and get back to work.

“Hi,” a man’s voice sounds from my driveway.

“Hello,” I say. “Can I help you?”

“Yes.” He smiles and holds his hand out to shake mine. “I’m Warren.”

“Henley.” I frown. Do I know this guy?

“I’m Juliet’s friend,” he says. He’s a good-looking blond guy, around my age, early thirties. “I’m just visiting her next door and wanted to come over and meet you.”

Why?

“Okay.”

“I know that you and her are together now,” he continues.

I frown. “Excuse me?”