Mister West by R.J. Lewis (animal farm read .TXT) 📕

next is so coated in longing, it sears me.

I am in desperate trouble with this man. He’s come out of nowhere, hunting me down so he can stare at my lips like he is right now. He wants to taste them. Oh, my God. I am fighting the urge to leap across the table and give him what he wants.

Get your shit together, woman.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I say now, sliding out of the chair. He tenses, like he thinks I’m going to bolt. If he only knew how wobbly my legs are. “I’m going to get myself a muffin to munch on.”

AKA, I need to slow my pulse down.

I don’t wait for his response. I go straight to the counter where Nadine is standing and watching. Her face breaks into a smile when I approach.

“Hey, Ivy,” she greets.

“Blueberry muffin, please, Nadine,” I say, sneaking a quick glimpse in Aidan’s direction. I see the back of his head, and it’s turned, staring out the window. He’s holding his coffee in one hand, tapping it with his index finger in thought.

“That’s Aidan West, isn’t it?” Nadine then asks, ringing my muffin through. She looks over at him, too, her eyes bright.

“Yeah,” I confirm, and it’s so weird that I’m hanging with a guy everyone knows.

“I didn’t expect him to be so composed, Ivy.”

My brows come together. “Really?”

“Well, I’ve heard so much about him. He’s got an asshole reputation. Extremely arrogant, extremely cold, but…he was perfectly sweet when he ordered his coffee.” She bites her lip, looking thoughtful. “Tabloids truly are junk news, hey?”

“They love their drama.”

"He looks at like you're the sun setting after a long day."

"That's awfully poetic of you to say."

She laughs. "It's true, though. He's absolutely smitten. Wow. I'll never believe social media again."

It's impossible not to feel curious. Ana kept dropping little bits of information, and now Nadine is telling me he was known to be an asshole.

I pay for my muffin and return to the table. I stare down at it nibbling, aware I’ve got his immediate attention. I think eating a muffin in front of him was a mistake. He’s watching my mouth, tapping his finger faster now against that cup.

“I keep hearing a rumor about you, Mr West,” I start.

“Do tell,” he responds, voice low.

I keep my eyes pinned to the muffin. “Apparently, you’re a jerk.”

His chuckle surprises me. “We knew that already.”

I look at him. “You bite people’s heads off a lot.”

He’s amused. “When they deserve it.”

“I also heard you got out of a very messy relationship.”

Eyes are on mine. “Been looking me up, Ivy?”

“No. Ana can be very informative when she wants to be.”

He leans back in his chair, expression hidden. “I wasn’t in a relationship, Ivy. I just fucked with the wrong woman.”

“Always so blunt.”

“You appreciate my bluntness.”

“I do,” I agree. “There’s a lot of mention about that, by the way. You and women.”

He doesn’t seem bothered by my words. “What’s your question, beauty?”

“No question, just confirming the rumors.”

He studies my expression, trying to gauge my reaction. “I’m a single man,” he tells me. “I appreciate a beautiful woman and I enjoy sex. I indulge in these when I have the time.”

I simply nod and return my gaze back to my muffin. I want to ask him if he’s been with a woman since we’ve been talking. It wouldn’t be wrong if he had, but…I want to feel like what we have is different. I’m too scared to ask, though. I’m bold when I want to be, but I know my boundaries.

“Cumulatively, I’ve been with a lot of women,” he adds now, his voice lowering so that only I can hear. “But not anywhere near the amount they’ve carried on about, Ivy. I’ve poured most of my energy into my company, especially the last couple years.”

“I don’t know what they’ve said about you. Regardless if I did, you don’t need to explain yourself.”

“It matters that you know I’m not a manwhore.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

"The way I talk with you is different."

"You haven't talked to a woman the way you've talked to me."

"Never."

My heart beats faster.

He drops his playful expression. He looks suddenly troubled, like he’s bothered of what I think of him. To be honest, I don’t care if he’s been with a lot of women. It only matters that he’s clean and not hung up on one.

“When I have time, I prefer to see my grandmother and brother,” he continues.

That’s a perfect subject changer. I use it straight away because I don’t want to dwell on his sexual history. He might want to know mine, and that isn’t a topic I’m in the mood to discuss. “How’s your brother? You said he was straying off the path the last we spoke about him.”

I think he’s relieved to be talking about something else. “He’s an adult. He can do what he wants.”

“Maybe he’s begging for attention.”

Aidan looks unphased. He shrugs. “I found my way when I was his age just fine.”

“You don’t spend a lot of time with him?”

“No, unfortunately. We were always in very different stages in our lives.”

“Do you see your grandmother often?”

“I visit her as often as I can.”

“But not that often.”

He frowns. “No.”

Who does he spend time with then? Who are the regular people in his life? Why does a man who should be surrounded by friends and family and anyone he desires prefer to spend his precious time crashing a boring woman’s study session in a coffee shop on a Friday evening?

Every time I’m in his company, I’m trying to understand why I’m worthy of his presence. I don’t like that I do this. Where is my self-worth? You need to earn it back, the tiny voice in my head whispers. You need to heal.

“I think I need to get out of here, Miss Montcalm.”

I pull away from my thoughts. “What? Why?”

“The girl at the counter keeps staring at me, and I think my presence is offending that old man in the corner who looks