Mr. Right Now: Vol. 1: Party Boys Who Get What They Want by HJ Bellus Page B

then there’d be bigger issues with the club construction moving forward.
    “Who is it?” he asks.
    Chloe shrugs. “I don’t know. It says unknown caller.”
    “I can read you like a fucking open book, baby girl.”
    Chloe’s eyes widen as she watches Eli’s finger slides the call icon across the screen.
    “Hello?”
    There’s a long silence before Eli hands the phone over to Chloe. She’s not quite sure if the caller is still on the line or has hung up. She notices the lit screen, indicating the call is still active. She nervously ends the call, trying not to let Eli see her.
    “It was a man looking for you.”
    Chloe ignores him and turns toward her apartment stairs.
    “You said you’ve been alone for five years. I think you’re a liar.”
    She keeps walking. He’s throwing stones at her, and she knows it, and does her best to ignore him. Her fingers fumble with the keypad code, and suddenly her brain forgets the damn code she’s put in for years.
    “Did you fuck him, Chloe?”
    Seven, three, six, one…the code is wrong once again. Four, six, six, seven…again a red error messages flashes across the screen and a warning that she only has three more attempts.
    “Did you beg him to fuck you like you did me?”
    He finally broke her barrier. Chloe turns around to face him, swinging her bag at his head while her other hand lands punches everywhere.
    Through the attack, Eli manages to spew more venom. “I guess I hit the nail on the head.”
    Chloe steps back. “Look at me, Eli.”
    She gives him a moment, and he finally makes eye contact.
    “It was probably Ethan. He attacked me a few months back over a similar business deal. These Harwells think they own everything. I was working on a restaurant project and they didn’t approve.” Chloe stops for a moment and places her hand on the back of her neck. “Long story short. I caught him fucking up my car and he attacked me.”
    Chloe’s vision becomes clearer as she turns back to the keypad and the numbers finally come back to her. As she tries to turn the brass doorknob, Eli is pressed up against her back. His arms wrap around her middle, pulling her back into him. He aggressively buries his face in the crook of her neck.
    “No one will hurt you again, Chloe, including me. I promise that,” he whispers against her skin.
    She melts into him, letting her arms fall down, and her hands cover the outside of his.
    “I don’t want to fight this, Eli, but I don’t want to be hurt over and over.”
    “Chloe, I just promised you. I’m here forever.”
    “Until your brothers tell you not to be.”
    “They don’t control me any longer. You own me.”
    “No more mean words, Eli. I haven’t lied to you about anything.”
    “I can do that.”
    “And no more girls. Period.”
    “Done.”
    She spins around in his arms. She’s always known she never stood a chance if Eli ever came back in her life, and she’s done fooling herself. Eli glides down her body and gets on one knee.
    “Chloe Jo, will you be my girlfriend?”
    She can only giggle at his absurd behavior.
    “Stop and get up here.”
    “Answer me, baby girl. Will you go steady with me?”
    She frames his face with her hands. “I’ve always been yours, Eli.”
    “Good, let’s go fuck. My boner is about to bust my zipper, and I might die from blue balls.”
    That’s the Eli she knows, and she has no hesitation about fucking him now. Chloe is all in. Good or bad, she just took the biggest leap of her life. There are so many questions she could ask, but she pushes them to the side as she drags Eli to his feet. Halfway up the stairs he takes her by the hips and hoists her up on his shoulder. She dangles the keys in front of him. Before Chloe knows what is happening, she’s pinned up against the entry of her apartment.
    Her arms remain locked tight around his neck as his body pushes her against the wall. She can feel his hand ripping and tearing away clothes and then the final sound of his