An Act of Restraint: Order & Chaos Book 1

by Samantha Wolfe

  "Bullshit! I know all about your other women," I said. "I know about all those clients you've hooked up with, just like me. I was just another notch on your goddamn bedpost."

  His head jerked backwards, and he looked genuinely startled by my words. It threw me off and it took me a second before I continued, but I wasn't going to fall for anymore of his lies.

  "Tori told me everything," I said bitterly.

  "Tori?" he asked in confusion as recognition flashed across his eyes. "How the fuck do you know Tori?" he stepped closer, his tone turning demanding.

  "She's my best friend, you asshole!" I barked back. "You fucked up, and now you're busted! I know you hit on her the whole time you did her tattoo the other day, and then you propositioned her."

  Ford grabbed my arm roughly, his face looming over me. "I didn't hit on anybody. She was all over me, and I fucking turned her down because I was with you."

  "You're a liar," I seethed.

  "I've never lied to you, Jen. Never," he said vehemently as his blue eyes darkened with anger.

  "Well, Tori talked to A.J. He told her all about your conquests."

  "He did, did he?" Fury rolled off Ford like radiating heat as his grip tightened around my arm. "Well, it's nice to know that you believed them without even talking to me about it first."

  "What's there to talk about?!"

  "Oh, I don't know," he began scathingly, "how about the fact that you're best friends with a conniving cunt who threw herself at me and turned into a raving bitch when I shut her down. Or the fact that A.J. is the goddamn player who uses my tattoo shop like his own personal Tinder, not me. They're the fucking liars."

  "Yeah, right!" I snapped. "I suppose you'll tell me you didn't stalk me here tonight either."

  "Stalk you?" he said in disbelief. "You texted me to come get you since you were drunk. Who's the liar now?"

  "I did not!" I clenched my fists and glared up at him fiercely. "You're just playing some more of your fucked-up head games with me. You're a sick fuck, and you're no better than Carter."

  And then I saw something in his eyes that I'd never seen before. Pain. I managed to hurt him. Good. He deserved it. His eyes swam with agony for a moment, glittering like tears might actually appear, but then his jaw clenched and his face morphed into harsh disgust. His entire body trembled as his hands fell to his sides and balled into fists.

  "Fuck this, and fuck you," he snarled at me. "We're done." He stared down at me with a venomous glare. It was intimidating as hell, and made that little voice of doubt suddenly rear up again. I wondered if maybe I misjudged this situation entirely as I took an unintentional step backwards.

  I stood there in stunned silence as he turned on his heel and stalked away across the parking lot, his demeanor tense with barely contained rage. I suddenly just wanted to go home so I could wallow in my heart ache alone. I grabbed my clutch and pulled my phone out, my eyes already swimming with tears. I opened my messaging app to text Tori to tell her that I was leaving and stilled, staring at the screen in confusion.

  There, plain as day, was an outgoing text asking Ford to come get me, and telling him I was too drunk to drive, along with the name of the club I was at. His response had been immediate and sweet as he replied that he'd come get me. I didn't write it, so who the fuck did? Icy tendrils of dread hit me. Tori. She borrowed my phone while we were waiting in line for the bathroom. I felt sick as I was hit by the sudden realization that she set this whole thing up, and probably lied to me about everything, but I didn't have time to wonder why. I had to stop Ford before he left me for good.

  "Ford, wait!" I ran after him, calling out in desperation. I hurried across the lot as fast as I could on my stilettos. By the time I caught up with him, he was opening the driver's side door of his truck.

  "Ford!" I called out again. When he turned back to look at me, I could see pain and anger etched across his features. "I fucked up." I held up the phone. "Tori borrowed my phone and sent this to you. She...she lied to me. I'm sorry. I should have talked to you first."

  He stared back at me, his eyes glittering angrily. I could see on his face that it was already too late.

  "Please don't go. I'm sorry," I pleaded desperately as I reached out to him. His eyes fell to my outstretched hands for a moment before coming back up to meet mine. His eyes softened almost imperceptibly, but then his face quickly hardened into a stony mask.

  "So am I," he spat out bitterly. He climbed into his truck, slammed the door, and started the engine. I watched helplessly as he drove off without another glance my way, tears sheeting down my face and blurring my vision as I stood there, numb and empty inside.

  "Please come back," I whispered in anguish, my voice broken and hopeless. "I love you." I knew it now, felt it down to my very bones. I was completely and irrevocably in love with Ford. The realization was powerful, and overwhelming, and entirely too fucking late.

  COMING SOON...

  Look for the second book in this trilogy, An Act of Release: Order & Chaos Book 2, late summer 2016.

  If you loved this book or any of my others, please leave a review on my Amazon author page, http://www.amazon.com/Samantha-Wolfe/e/B0172GSQGY. I'd really appreciate it.

  S.W.

  About the Author

  Samantha is a self-professed nerd from the Midwest, who loves anything with a good plot. She'll watch anything with werewolves, vampires, or zombies in it. She is a voracious reader and loves smutty romance novels and contemporary fantasy. Samantha started writing her first erotic romance in February of 2015, and now she can't stop. It's a passion that she can't shut off, nor would she want to. She loves animals, especially dogs, and if her husband let her, she'd have a dozen, but two are his limit. She's looking forward to sharing more of her books with the world.

  Website:

  http://samanthawolfe1021.wix.com/samanthawolfe

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  Samantha Wolfe's Amazon Author Page:

  http://www.amazon.com/Samantha-Wolfe/e/B0172GSQGY