Flesh: Part Nine (The Flesh Series Book 9) Read Online Free Page B

for.”
I offer her a weak smile.
    “ You
just don't know what's good for you, and it's kind of annoying.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “You go after this Dom,
and then it's blah blah blah he's so awesome, but I want to change
him. It doesn't work that way, Amy. There's nothing wrong with him.
Nothing that needs to be changed. You shouldn't go after guys like
that and expect them to change just because you want sweet romance.”
    Her words sting, and
I can't quite process them. It feels like she's just lashing out at
me for no good reason. “So this is about Lucian being a Dom?”
    “ You
weren't even into this shit in the first place.” She grabs the
remote and angrily turns the television off. “You just followed
me like a puppy. And now you have a Dom and I...I'm going to Flesh
this weekend. You should come too if you want any hope of keeping
this guy around.”
    The realization that
she's jealous hits me like a ton of bricks. Janice. Gorgeous, funny,
sweet Janice is jealous of me . She saw Lucian and she wanted
him. Not the way that I want him. She wanted him as he was.
    “ Why
is this all coming up now?” I ask.
    “ What
do you mean?” She looks offended.
    “ You
seemed fine after Fleshfest.”
    She sighs, rubbing
her brow. “I'm sorry. I think I'm just tired.”
    “ Maybe
you should take a nap,” I gently suggest, patting her leg.
    “ Maybe
I should.” She stands up and walks down the hall to her
bedroom, leaving everything behind.
    I still get the
feeling that she's mad at me. The fact that she didn't even take her
popcorn is a good indication of that. She wanted to get away from me
as quickly as she could, and I still don't feel like I know why.
    The day after
Fleshfest, she told me she thought Lucian was bad. She knows
everything he's put me through. I can understand if she's just being
concerned, but I'm not sure that's what this is about.
    I marinate on what
she said for the rest of the night, on me wanting to change Lucian.
It's true. I do want to change him. Is that so bad though? Maybe I'm
asking for too much. Perhaps I'm even asking for the impossible.

CHAPTER FOUR

    It's the next day,
and Derrick still hates me. Maybe hate is a strong word. He hasn't
said anything to me since I walked through the door this morning
though. All I've gotten from him is a few bitter glances. I wish he
would just suck up his feelings, because we still have to work
together on Lucian's interior design project...not that there's much
for either of us to do right now.
    The project is at a
standstill. With all of the furniture already picked out, we're
waiting on Lucian to schedule time to go look at it with me since
he's insisted on physically examining every piece of furniture
personally before purchasing it. It's a bit annoying, but at least it
means I get to spend more time with him. It also means that I don't
have anything to do today besides play games on my computer and surf
the internet.
    No matter. This is
what I would be doing if business was slow anyway. And there are a
lot of slow days at Environ Design. At least, I know that Tyra won't
send me home, because Lucian could contact me at any time.
    A little before
noon, Lucian sends me an email.

    Miss Underwood,

    My afternoon
opened up. I was wondering if we could get together to start looking
at furniture. If you tell me where to go, I can meet you at around
3PM.

    Regards,
    Lucian Reddick,
M.D.
    Reddick Plastic
Surgery

    I pause to decide
which furniture store we should go to first, taking into
consideration which ones are closer to Lucian's home and his
practice. I'm not sure where he's coming from, so I think about
picking one of the furniture stores in between. Then I remember that
he wanted to work on his bedroom first, so I decide to contact the
store with the beds to make sure they have them on display. Once
that's done, I email Lucian back with the address. He sends me a
confirmation email, and I spend the rest of my workday wondering