Read The Tenant Online

Authors: Sotia Lazu

Tags: #Contemporary Romance

The Tenant (6 page)

BOOK: The Tenant
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“This is my place until I say it’s not!” Stomping his naked foot down was nowhere near as painless or as effective as it was when he had boots on.

“Well, good luck trying to kick me out.” She sounded as tired as she looked. Tufts of blonde hair had escaped her ponytail and were matted on her forehead and cheeks, and rivulets of sweat glistened down her neck, disappearing between what he could see of her breasts. “Martial arts instructor here,” she added, making him look up from said breasts.

He didn’t miss Alice’s secret smile or her little nod. He wondered if that meant she knew Mandi could kick his ass or that she’d noticed him ogling her annoying sister.

“I can still call the cops on you,” he warned, making sure to narrow his eyes menacingly. “This is trespassing.”

“That again? It’s getting old.” She arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Bet you can’t get to the phone before I crack your skull open, anyway.” Her mouth tightened like she’d eaten something really sour—probably the natural position for her full lips. Derek forcefully shooed away the fleeting thought they’d look much prettier quirked in a smile.

“Kids,
please
.” Alice stepped between them, holding both arms up. “If you don’t play nice, I’ll have to call Mom over.”

That settled things for the time being. Carol was a force to be reckoned with, and it seemed Mandi wasn’t more open than Derek was to the idea of her mother setting them both right.

He sighed. “You take the small bedroom, buy your own food, and don’t entertain without checking with me first,” he said, after a moment of thought. He had to set some rules, be the man after all. Kicking her out with or without the help of the cops wouldn’t paint him in the best light where Carol and Kenneth were concerned, and he wasn’t enough of a bastard to not care about that. “But this isn’t over.” Maybe having her annoying presence around would motivate him to get out of the house more. And he’d have the chance to get on her nerves more. Win-win situation, if you looked at it the right way.

She nodded. “We’ll talk cleaning schedule once I’m settled in.”

Cleaning schedule?

“Kitchen crew is coming over on Wednesday, so cover up anything you don’t want ruined by the rubble.”

Kitchen crew?

“Everything should be ready for the painters, week after next.”

Painters?
He opened his mouth to release the blue streak building up since she’d informed him of her grand plan to move in, but Alice latched on to his arm.

“Leave her to it, and let’s make you a sandwich.” She lowered her voice. “You don’t want to be in the way when she’s trying to fit all her shoes in one closet.”

He couldn’t say exactly when his choices stopped being his own—when he stopped being in control of his destiny—but he supposed the moment he let a cute brunette pull him away from his living room had a lot to do with it.

•●•

“What the hell is that noise?” Something heavy scraped against the wooden floor of the second bedroom. The one he’d been using as a storage room. The one that held almost everything that ever meant anything to him.

“I’m moving your junk so I can make room for my belongings,” Mandi yelled, but her voice lacked the snideness she’d gotten him used to. He guessed that was what carrying around seventeen moving boxes, three suitcases, and a full-length mirror did to you.

He wasn’t about to pity her. “Moving it
where
, exactly?”

“Out of here!”

Alice was sitting on the countertop that separated the kitchen from the living room, her long legs swinging, feet tattooing a steady beat against the cupboard.

“Shouldn’t you be helping your sister?” he asked. Okay, so maybe he pitied Mandi a little bit. Either that or he worried about his stuff—with good cause, judging from the thumping and thudding that reached his ears.

Alice shrugged. “She can manage.”

He doubted that, but didn’t really give a shit. With a shrug of his own, he turned on the coffee machine and started making himself a sandwich. “You eaten yet, kiddo?” His mother had raised a gentleman, and he really had nothing against Alice, who’d always been nice to him. Hard to believe she and the bitch in the other room shared the same genes.

“Nah, but Amanda owes me a full meal, preferably at an expensive restaurant, for the helping and the refereeing I did for her today.”

“Yeah, good job with the helping. Saw you tip the boxes’ weight toward Mandi’s side.”

“You keep that to yourself, and I won’t tell her you called her that.”

“It’s her name!”

“No, Amanda is her name. Mandi is the nickname she hates.”

Derek smiled. “Good to know.”

“You’re horrible.” Alice giggled. “You know, she’s not that bad, once you get to know her. She can be stubborn and annoying, but she’s fiercely loyal if she likes you.”

“Well, there’s no danger of that happening.” A loud crash came from the room
Amanda
was in, and Derek almost sliced his thumb while cutting the salami. “What did you break?” he hollered.

Alice sent him a scathing look, then hopped off the bench and hurried down the corridor to her sister. Moments later, she reappeared, head hung low. “How intense are your feelings about the floor light that was in that room?”

Great. The green-eyed hurricane had cost him a second lamp. “Intense enough, I may finally snap and kill your sister.”

“Oh, come on. It’s just a lamp.” Another crash reached them, and Alice closed the door separating the living room and kitchen from the rest of the apartment, and leaned her weight on it. “She’ll pay for it, and she’s sorry.”

“Really? Did she say that?” He sincerely doubted it. She’d probably broken the thing on purpose.

“Eh, she said something about it being in the wrong spot.” Alice cleared her throat. “You should really give her a chance.”

“To pay for it?” Playing stupid had worked for him in the past.

“To show you who she really is. She’s nice, Derek, and caring and smart and funny and…”

“I don’t see the point of this discussion. I’m not auditioning for a girlfriend. She wouldn’t fit the bill, if I were. We’re merely sharing a roof until I find a new place. We won’t even be interacting all that much, so don’t worry. I’m not going to suffocate her in her sleep.”

There was that secret smile again. “Okay, if that’s how you want it. All I’m saying is, this cohabitation could be a lot more pleasant for both of you, if you gave her a chance.”

Why did he have the feeling she had naughty pleasantness in mind?

Oh, he’d gone and done it now…

His brain was flooded with images of Amanda doing chores in those shorts and tiny top—pink bra strap always showing. Amanda stretching to dust the bookcase and allowing him a glimpse of her bare stomach; her bending over to vacuum under his bed, offering him a perfect view of her buttocks; her cleaning the bathroom and getting soaked in the process, her nipples peaking under the wet fabric and lace…

He blinked the images away. “Even if I were the nicest guy on the face of the planet, she’d still have that stick up her ass.”

Alice muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, “I’m sure you could find something to replace that with,” but the coffee was ready, and Derek refused to dwell on that further.

•●•

The girls had gone out for dinner, and Derek took the opportunity to go see what Amanda had done with her room.

The door was closed, but he rationalized she’d have locked it if he were to stay away. She’d certainly made sure to stick post-it notes with “Personal—Do Not Open” to all her still unopened boxes. He turned the handle and pushed the door open, his hand automatically flicking on the light switch, despite the bright sun coming in the window. A peek inside made him decide it might have been better if she’d locked it after all.

There was a futon on the floor, covered with the most flowery bedspread he’d ever laid eyes on, and the curtains matched. A set of pajamas with a dog-paw pattern were neatly folded near the foot of the futon, and matching slippers were placed under the bedside table. A dresser he assumed Amanda put together on her own, stood to his right. On it were strewn more bottles, boxes, and containers of beauty products than he’d seen on the cosmetics counter at the mall last time he’d been there. A fluffy, hot pink bathrobe was draped over the back of the chair in front of the dresser. The whole room shouted of girly-girl, which was the exact opposite of how he should be thinking of her.

She should remain the frigid bitch who wanted to take away the last thing that was his: his home. She was
not
a young woman with an eye for cute stuff; she was a harpy.

And were her stuffed animals still on his couch?

From the corner of his eye, he noticed what seemed like a big shoebox between the dresser and the wall. It was almost entirely hidden, and something told Derek Amanda didn’t want it to be seen. Especially by him.

He fell to his knees and pulled the box out. It was about a foot long and wide, a palm or so high, and three layers of tape held the lid securely in place. Derek snorted.
That’d
keep him out. He peeled the top layer off and laid the tape on the dresser, careful to leave the sticky part on top. Then he got his pocketknife from his room and sliced the remaining tape open.

Ha! He’d just discovered Amanda’s secret sex-toy stash. A quick rummaging revealed more than a handful of dildos of varying sizes; two vibrators, one of which was meant for double penetration; lube; a pair of handcuffs; and a string of anal beads. He pulled those out and smirked. He’d been wrong about her having a stick up her ass, but she did enjoy
something
there.

He still hadn’t gone through half of the box’s contents when he thought he heard a noise coming from the living room. He hurriedly slapped the lid closed again, replaced the top layer of tape, and slid the box back in place. He held his breath as he looked out the door, but he was still alone in the apartment. Good. He’d like to spend some alone time after what he’d found in Ms. Murphy’s box of goodies.

Just as he was closing the door to her room, he noticed a picture of Amanda and her hubby-to-be sitting in a frame on the tiny bedside table. They looked happy. He couldn’t remember ever taking such a picture with Catherine
or
having as goofy a smile as the big lug smooshing Amanda against his side did. He didn’t even remember the last time he’d had reason for such a goofy smile.

BOOK: The Tenant
4.91Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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