Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger

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He’s breaking out the manners, I see. And he still hasn’t letgo of my hand. And I still can’t banish that image of himfondling me everywhere as I writhe and moan and beg him formore. “Of course.”Please don’t let him notice that my nipples are hard.Please, please, don’t let him notice. Why the hell didn’t I weara bra?He says pleasantly, “So what do you do for a living, Nat?”“I’m a teacher. Of art. At a middle school.”I could also be an escapee from a mental institution. I’ll letyou know in a minute, right after the throbbing between mylegs settles down and the blood returns to my head.What is wrong with me? I don’t even like this guy!“And you?”“I’m a collector.”That surprises me. He could’ve said “contract killer” and Iwould’ve just nodded. “Oh. Like antiques or something?”His pressure on my hand is firm and steady. His gaze isalso steady as he looks into my eyes and answers.“No. Like debts.”
6N A TIt’s obvious there’s some hidden meaning behindhis words. This isn’t a man who sits behind a deskin a call center wearing a headset and harassingdebtors over the phone to pay their past due credit card bills.I withdraw my hand from his but maintain eye contact,feeling curious and uncomfortable and extremely turned on.It’s a confusing combination.Aiming for nonchalant, I say, “A debt collector. That’s aninteresting line of work. Is that why you moved to LakeTahoe? For work?”Sitting back in his chair, he picks up his cigar andthoughtfully puffs for a moment, gazing at me as if carefullychoosing his words.Finally he says, “It was supposed to be for work.”“But now it isn’t?”His gaze drops to my mouth again. His voice comes outhusky. “I don’t know what it is now.”I’m electrified. Every one of my nerves is standing on end,screaming, and all it took is this dark-eyed stranger looking atme in a certain way.A certain hungry, ambivalent way. The way a starving manwould look at a steak he desperately wanted to eat but alsoknew was filled with poison.I recall my first impression of him when I saw him at thebar last night, how I told Sloane he looked like he walked off
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RUTHLESS CREATURES
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CONTENTSPrefacePlaylist1. Nat2. Nat
Page 6 and 7: This is a work of fiction. Names, c
Page 8 and 9: For Jay, my poison of choice.
Page 10 and 11: P L A Y L I S T“Desperado” Rhia
Page 12 and 13: Chris isn’t a bad guy. He’s not
Page 14 and 15: David and I rescued him when he was
Page 16 and 17: Today marks five years since David
Page 18 and 19: I take my sweet time using the toil
Page 20 and 21: I’m shocked. This is unprecedente
Page 22 and 23: walk into a room without automatica
Page 24 and 25: 2N A T“Earth to Natalie. Come in,
Page 26 and 27: I wonder what she’d do if I dumpe
Page 28 and 29: thousand feet above sea level isn
Page 30 and 31: “Because I’m awesome, obviously
Page 32 and 33: me up on Steelhead, so I thought I
Page 34 and 35: 3K A G EIt shouldn’t make a diffe
Page 36 and 37: I run my tongue over my furry teeth
Page 38 and 39: “Breakfast it is.”After I’ve
Page 40 and 41: I mean, if I can handle this, I can
Page 42 and 43: palpitating.When the front door sla
Page 44 and 45: 5N A T“Itold you he was a widower
Page 46 and 47: “Him who? Reschedule what?”“I
Page 48 and 49: I make a show of polishing off my s
Page 50 and 51: Whoa. That was my stomach dropping.
Page 52 and 53: He murmurs to himself, “She’s f
Page 54 and 55: Not angry, exactly, but more like u
Page 58 and 59: the set of Sons of Anarchy, and und
Page 60 and 61: My mouth opens. For several moments
Page 62 and 63: life, not even my fiancé.”He wai
Page 64 and 65: I settle on, “I’m not the girl
Page 66 and 67: “Oh, come on! You would not!”
Page 68 and 69: “I just feel like…I don’t kno
Page 70 and 71: I lose the battle with trying to ho
Page 72 and 73: run a hand over my hair, and try to
Page 74 and 75: But it must’ve been only a day or
Page 76 and 77: An extra set of house keys is there
Page 78 and 79: He glances bashfully at the ground
Page 80 and 81: “I have one just like it. Same si
Page 82 and 83: “Tomorrow night, then. Tuesday ni
Page 84 and 85: “So I thought about what you said
Page 86 and 87: He doesn’t turn around. He simply
Page 88 and 89: The voice on the other end of the l
Page 90 and 91: 1 0
Page 92 and 93: Getting through class Monday is she
Page 94 and 95: She holds my ID up against her comp
Page 96 and 97: The interior of the box is simple.
Page 98 and 99: were toast.”It’s true. He was a
Page 100 and 101: “Your Honor, I present to the cou
Page 102 and 103: N A TAmonth goes by. Then another.
Page 104 and 105: When I only stand there staring at
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The ghost of a smile lifts the corn
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He’s thrown his wool overcoat ont
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He murmurs, “I want everything yo
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heartbeat in every part of my body,
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N A TTover the line.he next day, I
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“What?” she demands. I can almo
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Aaand here comes the heat in my che
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In his pause, I feel his surprise.
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“We’ve been over this. We’re
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“Don’t worry,” he says in a h
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N A TWHa!hen Kage knocks on my door
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out of my head, and I’ve tried. H
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I say, “Okay. Let’s say I accep
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Then he breaks away suddenly and st
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I whisper, “So either don’t tel
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1 4
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Upon laying eyes on Kage, every one
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“Here. Boston. Chicago. New York.
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The table falls into silence when t
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He murmurs, “We’d be pleased to
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He pushes me against the wall. His
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When my orgasm hits, I lose myself.
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K A G EWhorror.“What was that?”
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No—not cowers. Her legs are curle
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If we’re lucky, they won’t see
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N A TKage is silent as he drives. H
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“In a nutshell…yes.”Now I’m
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His voice gravelly, he says, “It
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He knows what I’m asking.Knows th
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He pulls his brows together. “Of
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N A TIalready knew Kage was intense
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Harsh, guttural Russian, the words
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The moment when I finally give myse
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Into my hair, he whispers, “I hav
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I kiss him softly on the lips. “Y
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N A TWe talk for a while, then Kage
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When the plate is empty, he sets it
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His voice has dropped an octave and
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“I love this greedy wet cunt—
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So of course I have to keeping roll
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That’s the last thing I remember
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N A TWhen I open the door, I find t
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Pause. A daring stare. I say nothin
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Men.“I don’t know anything.”H
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“Jesus, Nat. That guy? Are you ki
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“We landed in Rome. Now we’re o
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Then I click over to Kage.
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N A T“K“Good morning. I left yo
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“Mine, of course.”He sounds so
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trying very hard not to break out i
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—”“Mr. Santiago from MoraBanc
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N A TFor the next few weeks, I exis
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I call my parents in Arizona, but t
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“—is a liar, a career criminal,
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I say firmly, “This is private pr
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2 2
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He winds his arms around my back, p
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I give up with a grateful sigh and
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My voice comes out in the barest of
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“You’d let me tie you up and bl
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I giggle a little when I picture my
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2 3
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I think for a moment. “Where were
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giving me a great view of his beaut
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“Was that planned?”“No.”I s
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I cover my mouth with both my hands
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2 4
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Too addictive. I’m too far under
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N A TAfter the shower, I pour Kage
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It’s not gruesome. It’s not eve
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He squeezes my butt when he says,
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That makes me snort. “Not even cl
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“I know you’re not giving me sh
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His voice breaks. “Not even for l
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2 6
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“Not that.”His voice is serious
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“I mean when I told you my life w
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Still advancing slowly, he says sof
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2 7
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This one, apparently.He’s an evil
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The skin on his cock is the softest
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My entire central nervous system is
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Kage breathes, “Fuck, baby. You l
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2 8
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threads a hand into my hair and gri
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“Color?”Panting, I whisper, “
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“Hush now. No more sound unless I
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I arch, gasping, out of my mind wit
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He makes me feel safe. Safe and pro
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N A TA We don’t talk about it, bu
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Kage comes back and this sour littl
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surfaces.“What about you? Are you
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didn’t go over well. By the time
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“Oh, I know. I also know your mat
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3 0
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She stares at me like I’ve just s
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I look at the ceiling and heave a s
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Silence.When I glance up at her, Sl
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Of all the times Kage has probably
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K A G EWhen the text comes through,
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He wants to know what to do with th
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warehouse, headed back to their fam
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“Yeah. She broke it off with Stav
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I can’t.Because for the first tim
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N A TAfter that night, three days g
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Because I’m hearing the ringing o
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His lids drift lower. He licks his
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He swallows and tightens his arms a
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could get you killed.”His laugh i
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N A TII lie in the dark in Kage’s
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I close my eyes. A lone tears slips
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I say, “Green. Do it.”A gentle
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He winds an arm around my waist, wr
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K A G EWhen the view outside the be
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I want to sink my teeth into every
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“What you said to make Chris go a
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3 5
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It’s a Saturday. I’m up early,
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The footsteps in the snow. The nigh
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He exhales a short, disappointed br
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deafening. I scream, purely on inst
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N A TKage drops the shotgun and fli
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When he stays silent, I prompt, “
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K A G EA My father told me that. He
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She takes it from me silently. She
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“When were you going to start ask
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As she points the gun an inch from
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When I return an hour later, her ho
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N A TThe instant the door closes be
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Catherine Zeta-Jones played the par
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I pack a bag, call my parents, and
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N A TThe Villa Camilla Hotel in Pan
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I try to make my smile look as sane
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I also can’t wait to set it on fi
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4 0
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Nobody threatens my baby.
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N A TWhen I come to, I’m lying on
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“Okay, that covers the first few
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He murmurs, “I never wanted to hu
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for me? Not knowing what had happen
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“I don’t understand.”I try to
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4 2
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years ago or you are. My money’s
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Behind him, an attractive brunette
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4 3
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It’s obvious she can tell by the
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I’ll leave her alone all she want
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but he does care about gaining adva
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“Max is dead.”She blinks. I nod
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4 4
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in a bit of a state.”“A state?
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She’s unimpressed. “Puh. He’s
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“To bed.”I don’t bother fight
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pulling it out and stroking it from
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N A TOver the next week, what seems
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He chuckles. “Yes. That one’s t
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“Answer the damn question.”“
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“Headstrong? You’ve been readin
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E P I L O G U E
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Shaking my head, I snort. “There
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Oh boy. This doesn’t look good.I
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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T SWhew!
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A B O U T T H E A U T H O RJ.T. Gei
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STANDALONE NOVELSPerfect Strangers(
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Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger

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