Playing Patience
Tabatha Vargo
Sometimes all you need is Patience.
Life’s been hard for Zeke. Being a punching bag for his alcoholic father has turned him into stone. Not even the dodgy trailer park he lives in can scare him. Fighting is his release and sex, drugs, and his guitar bring him peace, but deep down Zeke isn’t quite as hard as he makes himself out to be. When he meets Patience, she finds all his broken pieces and puts him back together, but she’s a ray of light in his shadowed life and the last thing he wants to do is bring her into his dark world. Playing careless is easy, playing the bad guy can be fun, but playing Patience is impossible, especially when she can see right through him.
Zeke isn’t the only one who’s broken, and for the first time, in a long time, Patience feels alive. Her black and white world gets a shot of color when she meets Zeke. He’s unlike anyone she’s ever met with his tattoos, piercings, and blunt honesty. She wants nothing more than to let go and ride the wild side with him, but some wounds never heal and the broken pieces of Patience aren’t so easy to find.
***Warning: this book contains graphic language, sex, and violence. Mature readers only. Not intended for young adult readers.***
AUTHOR BIO
Tabatha's been writing since she could pick up a pencil. Her first publication was a little poem in her elementary school paper, from that point on she was hooked. When she was a teenager, she traded in her girly magazines for personalized writing notebooks.At nineteen, she met her own personal prince charming and writing took a back burner for a while. She's now married to that prince and the mother of a beautiful seven-year-old princess/rock star. Once her daughter was born, writing came back into her life, and she finished her very first novel, Wicked Fate, in May of 2009.
She's now pursuing her English degree and she hopes to one day teach while continuing to write.
Her
cheeks turned pink and a frown pulled on her pouty mouth.
“I
shouldn’t have come here. I just wanted to say thanks.” Her eyes
cut me before she turned and walked away.
She
made it to the hood of the waiting car, before my conscious peeked
out and slapped the shit out of me.
“Hey,”
I called out to her.
She
stopped and faced me again. Instantly, I felt like the biggest dick
in the south when I saw her eyes brimming with tears. Someone so
sensitive didn’t stand a chance around a person like me, but
knowing that I’d probably never see her face again made it okay for
me to kind of apologize for being myself for some reason.
“I’m
rude, but you’ve seen firsthand what happens to shiny things in a
chop shop,” I gestured to the world around us. “Your best bet is
to stay away from these parts, princess. A pretty thing like you
wouldn’t last two hours out here. How long were you at The Pit last
night before you were dying on the bathroom floor? An hour, tops?
Think of my rudeness as a blessing.” I adjusted my guitar case in
my sweaty palm and turned toward my trailer door.
I
looked back to get one final glimpse of her. The contrast between her
and the trailer park around her was alarming, although, with her fair
skin, white hair, and pale, blue eyes, I’m sure she stuck out just
about anywhere she went. She was unique, a single snowflake with her
own icy patterns, and if she stayed in my hell any longer she’d
melt.
“Have
a nice trip back to Wonderland, Snowflake,” I said, as I opened my
the door,
“My
name is Patience,” she snapped.
Patience…it
was as unique as its owner. I liked it, although, I’d never admit
that out loud. Instead, I shook my head and laughed like she had told
me a joke, walked inside, and shut her out.
EXCERPT
TWO
“How
did you know I was here?” I asked. I didn’t want the kids behind
her to hear us, so I moved in closer. “Does your daddy
know you’re stalking me, Snowflake?”
Her
eyes filled with panic and it pissed me off that she was afraid of
him. Then she stepped back so quickly that she almost tripped over
her sneakers. With a pinched mouth, she glared up at me. She was
pissed off about something.
“My. Name. Is. Patience!” she
yelled at me.
I
had to admit, I liked it when she yelled at me. Mostly because it let
me know she wasn’t as weak and defenseless as she looked, but also
because I’m a fucked up individual and occasionally I get off on
being jerked around.
Her
voice reached every wall of the gym and everyone turned to look at
us. I watched as a pretty, red blush crept up her neck and filled her
cheeks. Her eyes started to water and become bloodshot and she looked
like she was about to blow up from embarrassment. The poor thing, she
looked like she was about to pass out, but it was funny to see her so
pissed off and embarrassed. I kind of enjoyed ruffling her feathers.
I
laughed softly to myself, earning another evil glower and I couldn’t
help put poke the bear one more time.
“Careful, Snowflake, if your
face gets too hot, you might melt.”
EXCERPT
THREE
“Oooh,”
his eyes got big like he was just realizing something. “I get it,
you’re into chicks.”
Did
I have the word lesbian written across my forehead or something
today?
“No,”
I said adamantly.
“No,
that’s cool.” His smile was too big. “I don’t discriminate,
trust me. I like chicks, too. You know what? We should like them
together, like at the same time,” he leaned in and ran his thumb
across his bottom lip before he softly tugged on his lip ring.
My
eyes shot to his mouth and he smirked at the attention. I rolled my
eyes.
“I
don’t like chicks, and if I did
I certainly wouldn’t share with you,”
I flipped my card over and picked up the book.
“Okay,
so you’re not a lesbian. Then what are you?”
Aggravated
by his question, I sighed loudly and answered honestly.
“You
want to know what I am? I’m shattered, that’s what I am. There
are tiny pieces of Patience scattered all over.”
“I’d
like a piece of Patience,” he reached across the table and ran a
finger across my hand.
This
time I did tense up, but for entirely different reasons. My heartbeat
sped up like I was on the verge of a panic attack, but instead a rush
of euphoria filled me.
“I
don’t know if I can give you a piece,” I heard myself flirt back.
That
earned me another sexy grin. Damn him for being so freaking hot.
“Why
not?
“Because
I don’t know where they are.” I frowned at those words.
What
started out as innocent flirting, had just that quickly become a sad
truth. I was a shattered girl and I had no idea where my pieces were
or how to put myself back together if I did find them.
“I
bet I could find your pieces,” he leaned in and bathed my cheek
with heated breath.
I
didn’t miss his hidden meaning, but I chose to ignore it. “Good
luck. I’ve been trying to find them for years.”
I
shrugged off my shiver and started to deal the cards again.
“Challenge
accepted,” he said, as he leaned back in his chair and took a swig
from his beer.
EXCERPT
FOUR
I
turned away and flicked my blonde hair with the back of my fingers
making sure it whipped him in the face.
He
grabbed a fist full of it and gently tugged me against him. His warm
body was pressed against my back. His strong heartbeat slammed into
my shoulder reminding me how tall and big he was. His breath tickled
my cheek as he pressed his lips to my ear. Goosebumps invaded every
inch of my skin and I shivered. He felt my shiver and chuckled
softly. It was deep and dark…sexy.
“Spit
all the lies you want, Snowflake.” His hand snaked around me and
under my shirt. My abdominal muscles clenched making my ribs ache as
he ran his finger around my belly button. “Your body spoke my
language the other night and it said differently. I’m not stupid; I
see the way you look at me. It’s hot and I fucking love it. I bet
you fantasize about me, too. One day you’re going to beg me for the
things you fantasize about. If you’re a good little girl, I might
give you some relief when that time comes. So, I suggest you play
nice.” He planted a hot kiss on the side of my neck and then cold
air rushed in against my back and replaced him.
EXCERPT
FIVE
She
reached up, tucked her hair behind her ear, and bit at her lip like
she knew what I was thinking. She closed her eyes and sighed when I
ran my thumb across her bottom lip.
“I
think I want to kiss you.”
There.
I’d said it. It was out there and there was no taking it back. I
hadn’t kissed a girl since I was fourteen. Mainly because it felt
entirely too personal, but with Patience I wanted to be personal. I
wanted to taste her in ways I hadn’t tasted other women, and
kissing was the only way I could do that.
Her
eyes widened, and her throat bobbed up and down as she swallowed
hard. Her breathing accelerated as I gave her a minute to let my
words sink it. If she wasn’t okay with being kissed good and hard,
I was giving her plenty of time to say so. I had a feeling that once
my mouth connected with hers it would take a lot for me to stop.
“I
think I want you to kiss me,” she whispered.
I
looked down at her sweet mouth and bit at my lip ring. I tilted her
head up to meet mine and moved in. I let my lips skim hers and they
were every bit as soft as they looked. A tiny noise escaped her mouth
and I lost it.
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