The Neighborhood
STYLO FANTÔME
Table of Contents
DEDICATION 5
1 7
2 9
3 11
4 13
5 21
6 26
7 30
8 38
9 49
10 50
11 54
12 59
13 61
14 62
15 69
16 81
17 90
18 95
19 106
20 122
21 129
22 148
23 150
24 153
25 157
26 163
27 174
28 176
29 181
30 189
Epilogue 196
The End 203
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 204
SOUNDTRACK 205
BLOCK PARTY 206
The Kane Trilogy Excerpt 209
Published by BattleAxe Productions
Copyright © 2017
Stylo Fantôme
Critique Partner:
Ratula Roy
Editing Aides:
Barbara Shane Hoover
Ratula Roy
Cover Design
Najla Qamber Designs
http://najlaqamberdesigns.com/
Copyright © 2017
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
It is the copyrighted property of the author,
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Please purchase a copy for yourself from a licensed seller.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
DEDICATION
To laughter and big adventures and late nights and still not giving a fuck.
The Neighborhood
A Twin Estates Novel
1
Your First Date with an Eros Match! Rate On Our Scale of 1 to 10 To Unlock Other Potential Matches.
Katya Tocci stared across the table, not even bothering to hide the fact she wasn't paying attention to her date at all. If she bothered with the Eros dating site's rating system, she would've scored this gentleman in the negatives.
Maybe that was a bit harsh. He was clean and attractive, and hey, at least he was struggling to make it through the evening. Katya had given up two glasses of wine ago, so really, she should be given the negative rating.
I'll polish off this third glass and call it a night.
Mr. Henry “no relation, though boy, do I wish! HAHA” Ford really couldn't be found at fault for the awful encounter, she knew. Henry had shown up expecting a sex kitten who'd be down for a good time. What he'd gotten, though, was a bitter woman wearing too much makeup.
She never set out to be that way, though. Each time she found a match, she promised herself it would be the return of “new-Katya”. The sex kitten who'd been brazen enough to waltz into a sex club and have her wicked way with the owner. The saucy minx who'd brought a real estate tycoon to his knees. She would dress sexy, and she would flirt, and she would use these guys up like tissue paper. Just like a pair of boys had used her.
Unfortunately, new-Katya had gone into hibernation. Or died. In her place was a girl who looked the part – bold lipstick and heavy eyeliner, short dresses and plunging necklines – but could barely even break a smile. No, this new chick was most definitely a downer, and sex was the last thing on her mind.
God, I don't ever want to have sex again. Sex got me into this mess.
Katya shook her head and tried to focus. Thinking about sex was never good. Once she started thinking about it, she inevitably thought of Liam Edenhoff, and of course, Wulfric Stone. But she wasn't allowed to think about either of them. They were permanently on time-out from her brain. From her life.
They were in such deep shit, in fact, that she'd cut them out entirely. Hadn't spoken a word to either of them in two weeks. Two weeks of dealing with hurt and anger and no closure … it felt like several lifetimes. Lifetimes and sooooo many pints of ice cream.
Then on top of dropping them, just to prove to herself that she could be a modern, liberated, independent, sexually progressive woman without them, she'd reactivated her dating profile – the fake one her roommate had made for her.
One matching sexy profile pic later and Katya was making matches left and right. She managed to send flirty messages, and she put on sexy outfits, but every date she showed up for, she just couldn't muster the energy to seal the deal.
All the men were attractive. Some were even well spoken. But they all seemed … boring to her. Lackluster. Like she was talking to dolls. There was no spark, and as much as she hated to admit it, Katya needed that to be attracted to someone. Gone were the days of being with a guy just because he belonged to the right country clubs and had graduated from the right schools. She'd been spoiled – she needed someone who made her blood boil and her skin tingle. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like any of the men in San Francisco had that capability.
Well, technically that's not true – there were two who were very good at it.
Before she could chastise herself for letting that reminder sneak through, her date interrupted her thoughts.
“So, uh, wanna come back to my place for some coffee?” Henry Ford asked, complete with cheesy grin. Katya snorted. Was this guy for real? She'd barely looked at him twice – did he really think he had a chance?
“No thanks. Big day tomorrow,” she said, then swallowed the last of her wine and went to stand up.
“Oh yeah? Doing what? Anything I could help with?” he asked, standing as well while looking at her chest the whole time. She grabbed her purse off the back of her chair.
“Not even a little. Thanks for dinner. Sorry I wasted your time,” she said, struggling to pull her jacket on.
“What? No, you didn't waste my time. Besides, the night's still young, we can stop somewhere for a night cap,” he suggested.
“The night is over. I'm sorry, really.”
Politeness wasn't part of her nature anymore – Wulfric Stone had wrestled that trait to the ground, then Liam Edenhoff had shot it. She didn't particularly care that she was offending the poor guy. She ignored Henry Ford as she hurried out of the restaurant, cinching the belt of her jacket tight before heading out into the chilly night.
Summer was officially over and fall was making itself known in the port city. She shivered as she hurried down the sidewalk. Her date still had to pay the bill, so he couldn't really chase after her, but still. She wanted some distance between them before she called for a ride.
This isn't working.
It wasn't the first time Katya'd had that thought. She'd hoped to find some peace of mind in her little adventure. Become even more of a badass bitch. But really, she was just annoyed with herself and bored most of the time.
She would give it one more chance. Eros! A Site for Lovers was a San Francisco based company, specifically made for people living in and around the metropolitan area. As a promotional tool, they were having an event – cocktails and speed dating. She'd signed up on a whim, though at the time, she'd assumed she'd be swimming in dudes before the event even happened.
Now she was looking at it as a finish line. If she couldn't grow the balls to have some sort of sexual adventure by the end of the party, she would take it as a sign that she really and truly wasn't cut out to be a dating-app vixen.
One more. One m
ore song-and-dance, then I'll hang up my slutty profile for real and say goodbye to new-Katya.
2
Breathe. Breathe. Don't think. Breathe. Breathe. Did I sign that paperwork the office sent over? Breathe. Breathe. Have to check that escrow deal. Breathe. Breathe. God, what is she doing right now? How did this get so fucked up. I knew I should have fucking listened to myself and kept walking – DON'T THINK. Breathe. Breathe.
While Wulfric Stone's natural habitat was an Olympic sized swimming pool, it wasn't the only form of exercise he got – he had a stressful job, he had lots of different ways of burning off the tension. Running came a close second to swimming for clearing his head. It created a different sort of burn in his muscles, produced a whole new plethora of aches and pains.
Sometimes, when he was particularly angry about something, he preferred it over swimming. With the swimming, after doing a couple miles worth of laps he could just float away. Literally. Lay on his back and be weightless for a while.
Not with running, though. How cruel – a sport that takes a person miles away from their starting point, and then when they push themselves too hard, they still have to turn around and do the same distance back. Feel like collapsing? No weightless pond to float in. No, the best case scenario meant hopefully finding a cool patch of grass to fall onto and praying his muscles didn't cramp up, all while gravity put pressure on every limb.
Yes, running was a very punishing sport, and Wulfric Stone was a very bad man who definitely deserved some punishing.
Breathe. Breathe.
His calves were burning and sweat was pouring down his body. He was pretty sure his lungs were getting ready to stage a coup and walk out on him. Still, he kept pushing, pounding his feet down harder against the ground.
How can I breathe when everything is so wrong?
Wulf let out a frustrated shout and ripped his earphones off. This wasn't working. He slowed to a stop. He knew it was a bad idea, he should jog for a while, reducing his pace slowly, but fuck it. Running away from his problems clearly wasn't helping. Maybe a massive charley horse would successfully distract him.
Or maybe it would give him a heart attack, that would be perfect.
He veered off the pathway, heading straight into the woods. A breeze hit his sweat slicked-skin, causing him to shiver. He grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and brought it to his forehead, mopping up the perspiration. When he lowered the material, he glanced around and realized he'd wandered so far that he couldn't see where the trail was anymore.
Good. Maybe I'll be lost in here forever. That would solve everything. Jesus, how did everything get so fucked up?
It was a rhetorical question, Wulf knew the answer. He had fucked it all up. Broken his own rules, gone against his own advice, and look what had happened. He was a mess, wandering around in the woods, cursing at trees.
And what was worse – he could've avoided it all. He'd known just how bad the ending between them could be, he'd seen it all unraveling from early on, and he'd tried to avoid it by doing what he did best. Being an asshole. After all, if he told her about their little scam, she'd leave him. If he didn't tell her and she found out, she'd leave him. If Liam told her, she'd leave him. It was very clear to Wulf that the only possible outcome was Katya leaving him.
So, like a true gentleman, Wulf had left her first.
Why did she come back? If she'd just stayed away, everything would be fine. Fucking fine.
Except it wouldn't be fine. He'd be a shell of man – or at least, a worse version than the one he'd already been – and she'd be convincing herself Liam was the perfect guy for her. Wulf couldn't stand that thought. Couldn't bear the idea of Liam touching her and kissing her and seeing her naked and making her sigh and gasp.
“AH!”
His fist slammed into the tree before he even knew his arm was moving. He hadn't pulled the punch at all, striking the trunk as hard as he could, but Wulf barely felt anything. He was numb.
So he hit it again. And again. And didn't stop till blood was running down his fist, and even then, he still didn't feel a thing. It was only the red staining his white t-shirt that gave him pause.
Of course I didn't feel anything. I'm Wulfric Stone, and stones don't have feelings.
Crimson liquid ran down the back of his hand, stark against his pale skin. Like turning the channel on a television from black-and-white to Technicolor. It shocked him a little, seeing his own blood like that. He finally looked up and took in his surroundings.
Jesus, I'm brooding in the woods and hitting trees. When did I turn into this person?
For the first time since Katya had walked away from him, he stood outside of himself and looked in on the situation.
He'd sent her text messages. He'd sent flowers. He'd gone to her apartment once, only to be turned away by her rabid roommate. Nothing worked, Katya had completely frozen him out.
And I just let her.
That wasn't like him. Since when did Wulfric Stone ever accept no for an answer? Since when did he pout and sulk and whine? When did throwing temper tantrums in the middle of the woods become the norm?
He turned in a circle, searching for the way back to the trail. He was breathing fast, his mind racing at a million miles an hour. Since she'd walked away, he hadn't been acting like himself.
So of course nothing was working. She'd started to fall in love with him, she'd claimed. The man he'd been before she'd left. Brash and rude and ballsy and demanding. The kind of man who kicked down doors, and ignored anything he didn't like, and always got what he wanted.
As he started jogging through the underbrush, he laughed at himself. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized it sooner. This whole time, he'd been asking himself what she needed from him to make things right. What she would want him to do. He hadn't been asking the right questions, not at all.
What would Wulfric Stone do?
3
Liam “Eden” Edenhoff stared at his computer screen.
Holy shit. Goddammit. Holy shit.
Katya Tocci stared back at him. Only she didn't look like the Katya he knew. Not the sweet, semi-innocent, cake-baking, lovable goddess.
The girl on the computer was pouting her red lips at him while her bedroom eyes screamed “fuck me”. To say she looked transformed was an understatement. He'd never seen her in clothing like that, so sexy. It was strange. He'd seen her naked and in all sorts interesting positions, but somehow the tight shorts and crop top were almost more provocative.
She could turn heads when she was just slumming it in pajamas and hanging out at home. Sexified and wearing slutty makeup? Liam's mouth had gone dry, which made him nervous. If her picture was having this effect on him, what were all the other thousands of men on the Eros dating site thinking?
How many matches has she made? How many dudes has she anger-banged? No, she wouldn't do that. Shit, would she? Shit.
In the short time they'd been friends, Liam and Katya had gotten pretty close. He felt like he'd known her pretty well, could guess how she'd react to certain things. So to say he was shocked with how easily she'd cut him out of her life would be an understatement.
Yes, he'd done an awful thing. He'd lied and manipulated and just generally been a bastard. But still. Friends forgave each other, that's what they did. He considered Katya to be a very good friend. A best friend, even. It was killing him, not being able to see her and talk to her. How could she just let him go?
Of course, maybe it wasn't so simple. Clearly, the profile was in retaliation to what he and Wulfric Stone had done to her. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and apparently a woman who was manipulated into sleeping with two men at once could get furious enough to sleep with a lot of other men to get revenge.
Liam groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. What to do? He glanced at his phone. He hadn't spoken to Wulf since the day Katya had walked in on them talking about her. Since she'd discovered that they knew each other and had only been pretending they didn't.
; Liam could admit it, Wulf was more decisive. Wulf was more likely to take action. He would want to know about Katya's profile, and he would want to do something about it. Would have ideas on what to do about it.
But Liam was competitive by nature. Both he and Wulf had started sleeping with Katya around the same time. It had turned into somewhat of a game, who could get her to do what. Then it had evolved into who could win her, and though it killed Liam to say it, Wulf had definitely been winning.
So if he called Wulf, and the other man came up with some great plan to make her see the light, it might only serve to make her see that Wulf was the one for her. And Liam refused to believe that. Katya was light and love and happiness. She deserved someone who would cherish those parts of her. Someone who would devote his life to making her smile. And he just knew Wulfric Stone wasn't that person.
No. No, I can do this on my own. I'm smart, I can figure out a way. I can do something. I don't need him, and neither does she.
Liam pushed up his sleeves and leaned forward again. Began typing on the keyboard. He may not have been as smart or as rich or as impressive as Wulf, but he had a couple tricks up his sleeve. He may have lost the first battle, but he wouldn't lose the war.
It's not over yet, angel cake.
4
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Katya turned around at the sound of her roommate's voice.
Tori Bellows stood in the hallway, picking at her nail polish. It was six o'clock, but she was already in fishnets, tight shorts, and a cropped vest. Dressed for work at Liam's club. She had the body to pull it off, and the attitude to make sure people kept their hands to themselves.
“Of course, I already paid for my ticket,” Katya replied, turning back to the mirror and smoothing her hands over her outfit.
“You know what I mean. You're not proving anything, you know. Neither of them even call anymore. They have no clue you've gone on dates with half the men in San Francisco,” Tori was blunt. Katya winced, but wasn't mad. They were complete opposites and had been friends for years. Tori's rough edges worked well with Katya's soft tones. They balanced each other.
The Neighborhood (A Twin Estates Novel Book 2) Page 1