Meet Jade Cross, New York City's infamous heartbreaker-better known as the Black Widow.
She plays with guys at her will and, once she's had her fun, leaves them with a broken heart and a red kiss at the corner of their lips-her trademark.
Her latest...
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A familiar perfume reached me before I even turned around, followed by a voice that sounded considerably less sweet than it usually did.
"You need to keep your claws off my brother."
I suppressed the smirk threatening to appear. Apparently Millie had finally gotten around to having that little chat with Brody.
Turning to face her, I tilted my head. "Where's the fun in that?"
Her eyes narrowed, fixing me with the kind of stare that probably intimidated people who actually cared what she thought of them. "He's not an idiot, Jade. He won't fall for any of your games."
"Then why do you look so worried?"
Millie scoffed almost immediately, although the flash of irritation across her face told me the question had landed exactly where I wanted it to. "You seriously don't know the first thing about respect, do you? Out of literally everyone you could go after, you had to choose my brother?"
I watched her for a moment without answering.
For someone I'd recently come to suspect was a player herself, Millie had an interesting habit of letting things get under her skin. She wore her emotions far too close to the surface, especially around me, which either meant she hadn't been doing this for very long or she still hadn't learned the first rule of dealing with people like us.
Never let them know they've gotten to you.
"That was a question," she reminded me sharply.
I blinked, realizing I'd stopped listening somewhere halfway through my own thoughts. "Sorry. Your mouth keeps saying respect, but your dress is saying five-a.m. stripper on a weekday. It's a little distracting."
Her jaw dropped.
A quiet laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "Look, you seriously need to give up on this whole controlling-who-I-talk-to thing." I stepped closer, lowering my voice enough to keep the words between us. "You're starting to give off possessive vibes."
The anger in her expression sharpened. "I'll tell him who you really are. He'll listen to me." She glanced around the room as though Brody might materialize simply because she needed him to. "Where the hell is he, anyway?"
There was something almost entertaining about watching her lose composure while I barely had to move.
She was desperate.
"By all means, tell him whatever you want." I started to turn away, only to stop and glance back at her. "Oh, and give him a little peck from me while you're at it. You know, if you're feeling the holiday spirit. I certainly am."
"Go. To. Hell."
Her phone rang before our stare-down could escalate any further. Millie broke eye contact first, digging it out of her purse with considerably more aggression than the situation required.
