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“Can I release you now?” A hoarseness entered Wiri’s voice, and he lacked the energy to defend himself against her. He preferred to punch once, punch hard and leave, but it wasn’t an option.
“I’ll think about it.” She ground out the words, her tone tight and filled with foreboding.
Wiri exhaled and stood up straight, a hiss escaping his lips as he lurched backwards and pressed his right shoulder against the door frame. Phoenix whirled to face him. Her lips turned down at the corners and tears sparkled across her irises. He held up his left hand in placation, displaying his palm in a sign of truce. She saw the bandaged middle fingers and frowned.
“What happened?” She stared at it before lifting her gaze to his face.
He shook his head. “It’s a long and complicated story.” His other hand strayed to his stomach, and he pressed it against the ache. The beads of her bracelet tinkled on their elastic. “Nice punch, by the way. Especially the one to the nuts.”
“You deserved it!” She fixed her hands over her hips and put her weight on her forward leg. “You told me you loved me, and that you’d wait for me.” Her index finger jabbed toward his rumpled bed beyond the doorway. “It didn’t take long for you to change your mind, did it?”
Wiri groaned and bent double. His voice gained a muffled quality. “I didn’t forget. She invited herself into my bed.” He turned his head to look at Phoenix. “I walked in here and found her like that. Did it look to you like I had anything to do with taking her clothes off?”
Phoenix shrugged and her stance lost its rigidity. “I don’t know. How long does it take for one person to undress another?”
Wiri exhaled. “I think I’d need to actually be in the room for a start. My arms aren’t four metres long, Phoe. Isn’t it obvious she made a play for me and then you arrived?”
Phoenix took a step backwards and leaned against the hall wall. She splayed her hands on either side of her and smoothed her palms along the wallpaper. “Who is she?” A sulkiness entered her tone. “Your boss’ daughter? What made her think you wanted to sleep with her?”
“No idea.” Wiri rose, using his hands against his thighs to push himself upright. “But she’s poisonous.” He forced a smile onto his lips. “You did good, Miss Du Rose. You’re a battler. Uncle Logan would be proud.”
He groaned as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Pressing his body against the door frame and straightening his spine, he reached for it. Phoenix took a step forward, her eyes wide and her hand reaching for his. “Don’t answer it,” she pleaded. “Please. Let it go to voicemail.”
***
“So, this is why Logan and Hana keep calling me, is it? Because you’re missing.”
Wiri stood in the kitchen and fired up Jet’s coffee machine. It wasn’t his intention to upset him again, and he hoped the police officer didn’t pay an unexpected visit home.
Phoenix roamed around the kitchen behind him, picking up the washed ‘Son’ mug and placing it back on the draining board. “Do you live with a girl?” she asked.
“No.” Wiri shook his head. “A cop rents the other room. Jet.” He raised his eyebrow and glanced sideways at her. “He also slept with Seline, possibly on multiple occasions.” He poured milk into the jug and slipped it beneath the frother. “Another reason I wouldn’t be interested.”
“Another reason?” Phoenix pulled open the cutlery drawer, inspected its contents, and closed it again. Her movements conveyed distress, her fingers jabbing and snatching as she drifted around the room.
Wiri blew out a breath and paused his activity. “Yeah. There are many reasons, Phoe. The first is you. The second is I don’t fancy her.” He set the jug on the counter and crossed his arms over his torso, seizing the hem of his tee shirt. He hauled it upwards and over his head, leaving his hair sticking up like a cockerel’s plume. “This is a good enough reason for a reluctant third.”
Phoenix turned to face him and gasped. She clapped a hand over her mouth. “What happened?” Pique and confusion left her in a rush, replaced by alarm. She pressed a gentle palm over the bruising which snaked up his spine as a black line before turning purple and blue on its journey through the muscles. “That looks terrible!”
“Thanks.” Wiri turned to face her, embarrassment causing his cheeks to flush a heady pink. They’d grown up as family, their physical distance becoming more appropriate under Hana’s watchful eye. He smiled, his lips flattening with his awkwardness.
Phoenix giggled. “I’ve seen your boobs before, Wiri,” she said, her eyelashes fluttering.
“I don’t have boobs.” Wiri peered down at his chest, wincing as the bruising around his spine and ribs restricted his neck movements. He stuck out his bottom lip and admired his defined pectoral muscles. “No boobs here.”
Phoenix snorted. She threw herself onto the lounge sofa and peered at him over the back of it. “Make coffee for me then,” she demanded. “And I might just hear you out.”
