Shit. Don’t think, Kerry. Just do it. I lunge for the letter opener without releasing his testicles. They twist in my palm as Ferro hops in a circle and screeches. “You should have been castrated a long time ago," I say in as threatening a tone as I can muster. "Should I take care of it now, or do we understand each other?”
He doesn’t move and in that moment something changes. Ferro’s eyebrow shifts and his gaze lowers over my face and rises again. The lump in my throat hardens, and I’m so far past feeling crazy. Giggles bubble up in my throat—I’ve swallowed so many of them I’m going to burp.
Ferro’s lips part slightly and he speaks under his breath. “Tit for tat.”
“You don’t have wiggle room on this. Give me that house or lose a nut.”
“I don’t have the deed here.”
He’s lying. Holy crap. I didn’t expect the deed to really be here. “Yes, you do.”
I smile at him and press the blade into the side of his crotch. It slices through his slacks and pricks his inner thigh. He stills. “Should I press harder? Move a little to the right? How do you want to do this Ferro? Both boys at once, or one at a time?”
“Forgive me for stating the obvious, but I prefer to keep my person intact. The deed is on the desk. I’ll sign it under one condition—you'll owe me a favor.”
“You don’t have the—“
“No, Miss Hill, I think I do. Unless you actually want to shed blood, I think you’ll accept my offer. But don’t let me spoil your fun. If you need an angry fuck, I’m here for you.” He dons a predatory smile and my stomach heaves in response. He’s frightening. His hand wraps around mine, and he pulls the letter opener out of my hand and tosses it on the desk, wriggling out of my grip like an eel. “Are we agreed?”
My Spidey sense is going batshit crazy, but I have no idea why. I can’t figure it out. Why toss the weapon away? What could he want from me? Did he want this to happen? Did he know I was coming? How does he even know my name?
I nod because a small victory is all I need right now.
I follow him as he walks over to the desk and pulls open the drawer. He sifts through a stack of papers, separating out the deed to Nathan's house. He signs it and holds it out for me. “Now tell me why. I’m curious if you want that house because of the location or if it’s more about the contents.”
“The house isn't for me.”
He laughs. “Then you’re a fool.”
CHAPTER 8
I had a Ferro by the nuts! I’m a badass! If I could make up a song about it, I would. I’m grinning from ear to ear when I get back to the dorm. I wave at a few people as I head to Beth’s room to tell her what happened. I’m sitting on her bed—orgasmic cookie in hand—recapping the whole thing.
Giddiness is pouring through me. I want to run, sing, and dance all over her bed. “I can’t believe I did that!”
“Me neither.” Beth’s eyes are wide. “You seriously grabbed his junk? And twisted? That was sick. What was the plan if he said fuck off?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Twist harder?”
“Where was his bodyguard? He always has someone with him. I don’t know how you even got in there.”
I fall back on the bed, kick off my heels, and shove the rest of the cookie in my mouth. The Fitbit lights up as I cross my ankles and I laugh. “He thought it was an ankle monitor. My street cred went up 100 points when he saw it. I don’t think he would have done anything if he hadn't thought I’d been arrested.”
“What the hell? The whole thing is weird.” Beth pulls off the blingy belt she’s been wearing and lays it across the dresser. “Maybe your luck is changing.”
“That would be a shocker. I’m half expecting my hand to fall off from contracting some weird skin-eating parasite through his pants. That would happen to me. Not this.”
“So you’re going to give the house back to Nate?”
“Yeah, it’s not mine. It’s his.” I frown.
“God, Kerry, what now?”
“I did this for him, but it seems crazy. I mean, we were together once, and then I threaten his father. Shit! Maybe this was stupid.”
Beth laughs once, hard and slaps her knee. “That’s an understatement. It was fucking spectacularly idiotic, but it made you feel like you had control over your life for once. I can’t blame you, but telling him how you got the deed—I think I’d omit sections of that whole thing. Maybe make up a different story.”
“Great. More lies. Just what I need.”