Dirty at 30 (Love Without Batteries Book 1)

by Cassandra Lawson

  Rob’s eyes narrowed. “This is my house. I’m here working things out with my wife.”

  “There’s nothing to work out. Brook filed for divorce,” I ground out.

  For just a moment, Rob looked pissed, but he quickly masked his reaction. “You might think having a fling with Brook means something, but she is married to me. As I’ve already said, we’re working things out. What the hell would she want with a kid like you when she has a real man? All this bullshit about filing for divorce was just to get my attention. She’s got it now, so that’s over. I spent the night, proving to her what a mistake it would be to divorce me. You should just go home.”

  Fists clenched at my sides, I was fighting the urge to punch Rob in his smug face. The asshole was lying about getting back together with Brook. “I’ll wait for her to come down.”

  “I don’t think so,” Rob huffed. “This is my house, so you can either leave, or I can have you arrested.”

  I was tempted to push things and hope Brook came down soon, but I was sure Rob wasn’t bluffing about calling the police. If I hit him, he’d file assault charges. Whatever game he was playing, he wanted me out of the way. I had no intention of leaving Brook alone with Rob, but I was going to need some back up.

  Without another word, I walked back to my car and dialed Luke’s number.

  “Hello.” Based on the rough quality of Luke’s voice, I’d woken him up.

  “Your dad is at the house with Brook,” I informed him.

  “What the fuck?” Luke no longer sounded half-asleep.

  “He said she was in the shower and threatened to have me arrested if I didn’t leave,” I explained. “He told me they were getting back together and had spent the night together.”

  “Don’t believe him,” Luke insisted. “I don’t know what his game is, but Brook would never take him back. She was passed out drunk when I left, and I’ll kill the bastard myself if he did anything to her. I’m on my way over there now.”

  “I’ll be here waiting for you,” I said, ending the call and fighting the urge to storm up to the house and kick Rob’s ass. No matter how many times I reminded myself Brook could take care of herself, I was still worried, especially since she’d been intoxicated last night. If Rob had taken advantage of her when she was drunk, I’d kill him.

  I decided to text Brook, hoping she’d respond.

  ME: I tried to see you, but Rob said he would call the police. Luke is on his way. If you need help, call or text me. I’m close by.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Brook

  Last night, I’d been annoyed with Luke for the amount of water he’d made me drink before falling asleep, but this morning, I was grateful for his intervention since it meant I didn’t have a hangover. Admittedly, I was a little queasy after a night of drinking, but I didn’t have a headache. I’d slept later than I’d planned, so I should have hurried with my shower, but the water felt good, and I figured I had plenty of time before Ty got to the house. Besides, he had a key in case he arrived early. The thought of Ty walking in while I was enjoying my shower pushed away any queasiness, and I’d ended up needing to relieve some tension with the rotating showerhead.

  Sadly, Ty hadn’t walked in on me in the shower, but I’d managed to climax to that fantasy, and I was sure he’d be willing to help me make it a reality later today. Looking around for my phone, I realized I must have left it downstairs when Luke had helped me up to bed, so I decided to go down and find it. I figured I’d message Ty to see if he was on his way before I did anything else.

  Thoughts of enjoying my day with Ty brought a smile to my face. Sure, my day would be filled with packing and shopping for things I’d need at my new place, but I’d be with Ty. My smile faded when I found Rob sitting in the living room. My first reaction was panic, like someone had broken into my home. Even though this was technically his house, it still felt like an intrusion. Rob had changed very little since I’d last seen him. Whether he was aging well, or he’d had plastic surgery, I had no clue. To be honest, I didn’t care.

  “What are you doing here?” I demanded, crossing my arms in front of my chest and cursing my decision to forego a bra. That decision had been prompted by my desire to seduce Ty when he arrived.

  Rob looked me up and down, and I could still remember how his appraisal used to make me blush and feel desirable. Now, it made me feel dirty. “You look good, baby girl,” he praised.

  “What are you doing here?” I repeated. “I changed the locks, so how did you even get in? Did you break into the house?”

  Rob chuckled, clearly amused by my reaction. “You’re feisty this morning, aren’t you? This is my house, so I don’t have to break in. I can enter whenever I want. I was annoyed when I realized you’d changed the locks on the front door, but you left the old ones on the back door. You wanted to make sure I could still get in here, didn’t you? Come over here and give me a kiss, baby girl. I’ve missed you. I don’t remember you ever looking this fuckable.”

  I snorted. “Were you trying to impress me with that line?”

  Brow furrowed, Rob looked dumbfounded by my reaction, which proved how foolish I’d once been. I had actually found lines like that sexy. Younger me had been an idiot when it came to men.

  “Are you going to make me beg for that sweet cunt?” he asked with what he probably believed was an inviting smile. In reality, it looked more like a leer.

  I placed my hands on my hips before remembering my braless state and crossing them in front of my chest again. “First, cunt is not a word you should ever use to seduce a woman. I used to cringe when you used it before, and I’m tempted to slap you for using it now. Second, we are done.”

  “Come on, Brook,” he crooned. “I fucked up. At first, I was too embarrassed to come back and fix things with you. As more time went by, it just got harder to come home to you. Please give me a chance. I’ll even forgive you for spreading your legs for other men.”

  “Forgive me?” I demanded. “Any relationship I have is none of your damn business. Why the hell would I need your forgiveness for anything?”

  “Relationship?” Rob sounded genuinely confused. “Fucking some guy doesn’t mean you’re in a relationship, baby girl. Fucking doesn’t mean shit. Your sweet cunt is just one of many your lover enjoys.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him to get out when he started talking again. “You’re right about me not needing to forgive you,” he agreed. “There’s nothing to forgive, baby girl. We’ve both made mistakes, fucked around. Now, we need to focus on our future and leave the past behind us. How about if I take you upstairs and show you what a real man can do?”

  “Are you insane?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to laugh or scream. “I mean this as a serious question. Have you been diagnosed with something I should know about? That is the only explanation for why you are even here having this asinine conversation with me.”

  “Asinine?” He sounded genuinely confused. “This is what you wanted. You filed for divorce to get my attention. You’ve got it, so you should be happy.”

  I couldn’t completely blame Rob for his arrogance since I’d been one of the people to feed into that arrogance in the beginning. When I hadn’t filed for divorce years ago, it had likely convinced him I’d always be here waiting for him to come back. He’d never be able to see that it was my devotion to Luke that made me stay all these years. None of that explained why he suddenly wanted to make our marriage work.

  “I filed for divorce because I want a divorce,” I stated calmly. “This is not about getting your attention. I want out of this marriage.”

  “Give me a chance, baby girl. I can change your mind,” Rob crooned. He was trying to sound calm and self-assured, but I heard the frustration in his voice.

  “There is nothing you can say or do to change my mind about getting a divorce.”

  “Why?” he asked, a bewildered look on his face.

  “How can you be this clueless, Rob?” I had to ask because, even knowing R
ob was a narcissist, I had a hard time believing, after more than ten years apart, he expected me to stop seeing Ty to give him a chance. Rob wasn’t even half the man Ty was, and yet he truly believed he was doing me a huge favor by coming back to me. “I didn’t stay because I was hoping you’d come back. We are over.”

  Rob’s face sobered. “Okay, Brook. Let’s just forget all the romantic bullshit and talk about this like adults. Can you manage that for me, baby girl?”

  “If you condescend to me or call me baby girl one more time, I’m going to punch you in the nuts,” I said through my teeth.

  “Fine,” he replied, taking a step back and putting his hands in front of his nuts. “You’ve stayed married to me for years because you like having me support you. I can see why you might think you need to get a divorce to have a relationship, but you don’t. I’ll continue to support you. If you need more spending money, I can deposit more into your account each month. I’m also willing to invest in your business. My uncle recently passed away, so I have more disposable income. In return, I need you to spend one week a month with me playing the happy wife. Naturally, you’ll stop this ridiculous divorce. I’m offering more than you’ll get out of any divorce settlement, so call your attorney and tell her we’ve worked things out.”

  It took me a moment to react to his insane suggestion. “This isn’t about money,” I insisted.

  Rob let out a snort of disbelief. “You just told me you didn’t stay in the hopes of reconciling. What other reason could there be but money?”

  “You are such a moron,” I told him. “I stayed because of Luke. You do remember Luke, right? The son you abandoned when you left me all those years ago?”

  “Luke?” He looked nearly incredulous. “You were fucking my son? Are you still fucking him, or did you just move on to his friends?”

  I’ve never been a violent person, but I was seriously tempted to punch my soon-to-be ex-husband in the balls like I’d threatened.

  “You son of a bitch,” I snarled.

  “Don’t get all self-righteous with me,” he snapped. “It was pretty obvious when Ty came by this morning that he’s been enjoying your cunt.”

  “Ty was here?”

  “Yes, but I sent that little punk away,” Rob ranted. “I made sure he knows the man of the house is back and his services are no longer needed. How the hell could you turn me down when you’ve been letting him fuck you in my bed?”

  The front door slammed open before I could punch Rob in the junk, and Luke stormed into the room, looking pissed. It was obvious he’d just climbed out of bed and tossed on clothes. He hadn’t even taken time to brush his hair.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Luke,” I said with a sigh. “I’m going to leave you to deal with your father before I give in to the temptation to injure him.”

  “Injure me?” Rob demanded. “I’m doing you a favor. You can keep fucking my son and his friends, and I’ll even pay you to do it. All I’m asking is that you take a break from whoring and act like my wife once a month.”

  The words had barely left Rob’s mouth when Luke’s fist connected with his jaw.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Ty

  “Are you still mad that you didn’t get to punch my dad?” Luke asked with a grin.

  “Yeah,” I admitted. “I can’t believe the nerve of that fucker.”

  Just thinking about how that asshole had talked to Brook made me want to beat the living crap out of him. Luke’s one punch wasn’t nearly enough to make me feel better. Brook had been right when she’d insisted we leave. Rob would have had me arrested, and I would have been guilty of assault. The he’s an asshole who deserved to have his ass kicked defense wouldn’t have gotten me out of jail.

  “I can’t believe I passed on the chance to punch him in the balls,” Brook grumbled, which made me chuckle. Brook was tucked under my arm on the sofa in my living room, looking as pissed as I was.

  “I’d have liked to see that,” I murmured, more than a little turned on by her attitude. Brook might not show it all the time, but she was tough.

  “You still might get the chance,” Luke added. “Something tells me he’ll say more offensive things before he leaves town.”

  “I’m sorry about taking up so much space,” Brook said, gesturing to the boxes around the room. Since Rob refused to leave the house, we’d gathered up Brook’s stuff and moved it over here.

  It was Luke who answered for me. “Ty is thrilled to have you here. In fact, he probably thinks it’s the only good thing to come out of my dad showing up.”

  “Not true,” I argued. “Seeing you punch your dad was pretty awesome, too.”

  “I am really sorry about what he said, Brook,” Luke said softly. He was leaning against the wall, looking down at his feet. “You didn’t deserve that.”

  Brook immediately stood and moved across the room to smack Luke lightly on his belly, which earned her a lopsided grin from him. “You know as well as I do, you aren’t responsible for your dad. Thank you for defending my honor.”

  Luke grinned down at her. “Anything for you. Not to ruin this touching moment we’re sharing, but I’m starving.”

  Luke was trying to ruin the touching moment because he hated that sort of thing, but I decided not to say anything.

  “Me too,” Brook agreed. “I was ambushed by Rob before I could make breakfast.”

  “I was going to make you breakfast,” I added.

  “Naked?” Brook asked hopefully.

  “You’d better say no,” Luke warned. “I do not need the image of your dick flopping around while you cook in my head.”

  I laughed at Luke’s expression of disgust. “I was going to keep my boxers on.”

  “Better,” Luke grumbled. “Not much, but still better than naked.”

  “I can run out and grab something for us,” I offered. “Since I’ve been sleeping at your place, I don’t have much in the way of groceries here.”

  “And you don’t have any bacon,” Luke accused. “How can you stay with a guy who doesn’t eat bacon?” he asked Brook.

  Brook let out a sigh and shook her head. “It’s a challenge. I never thought I’d willingly get involved with someone who doesn’t love bacon.”

  “Sometimes, I find it hard to believe you two aren’t related by blood,” I remarked, grabbing my keys and phone on my way to door. “What does everyone want? Other than bacon, that is.”

  “I’ll go with you, so you don’t try to sneak anything like turkey bacon into my order,” Luke offered. “I’d say we should eat out, but I look like I partied all night. After we eat, I’ll head home for a shower.”

  “I’ll text you my order,” Brook said, walking over to put her fingers in my belt loops and pull me closer.

  Leaning into her, I kissed her lightly. “Are you going to be okay alone?”

  Brook laughed at my question. “I’m fine, Ty. This morning didn’t go the way I thought it would, but maybe Rob will finally get a clue after this.”

  Maybe I was just being pessimistic, but something told me Rob wasn’t going to let things end. I had no idea why he was so determined to remain married to Brook, but he was obviously going to drag this divorce out as long as possible. That thought made it hard to resist the temptation to go back over there and punch Rob.

  “Promise not to do anything to get arrested,” Brook demanded.

  I raised an eyebrow in question.

  Luke chuckled and answered for her. “She means, don’t give in to that temptation to assault my dad.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Brook

  After Ty and Luke left, I settled onto the sofa with a sigh. What a morning! Rob showing up at the house shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise after his calls and attempts to use my parents to talk me out of the divorce. In fact, I’d known it was possible he’d show up at some point. What I hadn’t expected was to walk down and find him lounging around in his underwear like he still lived there. His actions made me wonder if he
’d always been this bad. It was embarrassing to admit I’d married someone like him.

  I’d exercised great restraint in not calling my friends as soon as Luke and Ty left to get breakfast. I had no idea how long they’d sleep after our night of drinking, and I was grateful when my phone buzzed with an incoming message from Delaney.

  DELANEY: I think Justin took advantage of me last night. I can’t remember much, but I woke up naked with him in my bed.

  ME: I hope he used protection. I’d hate for you to get pregnant.

  DELANEY: Don’t even think such things! I’d make a horrible mother. How are you doing this morning? I messaged Chels, and she called me an evil bitch for waking her up. Then she messaged me back to ask me about Jake.

  ME: Who is Jake?

  DELANEY: No clue. I’m hoping she makes more sense after her morning tea. Tell me how your morning is going.

  ME: It’s been interesting, to say the least.

  DELANEY: Why? Did Ty come over to wake you up in some incredibly kinky way? I’m calling you. I need inspiration.

  Before I could tell her it wasn’t a good surprise, my phone rang. “Hey, Del,” I answered.

  “Give me all the dirty details, and don’t be afraid to embellish if you think it’s too tame,” she began. “Bondage, spanking, nipple clamps. Tell me everything I want to hear.”

  “What kind of book are you writing this time?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Did Ty punish you for drinking like a bad girl last night?” she continued.

  “Punish me?” I asked. “Delaney, you really need to find a man so you can stop fantasizing about me and Ty. Before you continue with your questions about the sex I didn’t have this morning, my surprise was not a good one. I came downstairs to find Rob lounging around in his underwear.”

  “No fucking way!” she practically screeched. “What did he want?”