Mixed with Trouble: A CASH BAR NOVEL

by Faiman, Hayley

  Tugging the tags off, I pull the short black skirt up my hips, refusing to look in the mirror. The top is a bright red bustier, not normally a color or style that I would ever wear but for some reason, I saw it and thought immediately of Coda.

  Brushing my hair, I use my straightener to tame the few flyways that I have and quickly darken my makeup. Reaching for the brand-new tube of bright red lipstick, I tug the lid off and unscrew it, watching as it emerges.

  Flicking my gaze to my mirror, I slowly swipe the lipstick over my plump lips and press them together.

  Taking a step back, I slip my feet into the black, too high heels and then finally look at myself in the full-length mirror. I don’t even look like myself. I definitely don’t feel like myself and I immediately want to change.

  There’s a knock on the door and my stomach flips, because I can’t change, it’s too late. Walking into the living room, I turn the knob and open the door. Traci is standing there, her mouth drops slightly, and her eyes widen.

  “First off, your brother is going to shit his pants. Then Coda is going to throw you over his shoulder and fireman carry you to his room. Then he’s going to fuck you and the whole clubhouse is going to hear you come. I’m pretty fucking excited about tonight.” She grins.

  “I’m going back inside,” I mutter.

  Traci’s hand shoots out, wrapping around my wrist and she tugs me out the door. “Too late, you’re already outside,” she calls as she drags me toward her waiting car.

  CHAPTER THREE

  CODA

  Taking another pull from my beer, I laugh at the story that Keys is telling. Lola slides up beside me, but she doesn’t touch me. Shifting my eyes to the side, I glance over to her and tip my lips in a half smile.

  “Meet me in the hall,” she rasps.

  I clear my throat, dipping my chin as my only response to her. She slips away from me. Turning toward the bar, I decide to grab another beer when I freeze.

  My eyes scan the blonde standing with her back to me. She’s wearing high heels, a skin-tight skirt, an even tighter top and her long blonde hair is straight down her back. My cock twitches beneath my jeans just at the sight of the back of her.

  Fuck.

  Traci is standing next to her and I watch as she looks over her shoulder and gives me a slow smile. Shaking my head once, I inhale a ragged breath and make my way toward this mysterious woman.

  Without a thought, I wrap my hand around her waist from behind and press my lips against the shell of her ear.

  “What’re you doin’ around here, babe, when you should be in my room with me?” I ask, delivering one of my cheesiest, yet always works, lines.

  The woman gasps before she spins around. When I look into her face, my eyes widen and my lips part slightly in surprise.

  “Camille?” I hiss. “What the fuck?”

  She opens her mouth, then snaps it closed before she presses her lips together, rolling them as her big blue eyes stare up at me, attempting innocence.

  I try not to look down at the front of her body, knowing without a doubt that it’s going to make my cock stand at attention even more than the back of her did. Unfortunately, I lose the internal fight.

  My eyes scan down her long neck, then pause at the way her corset thing pushes her tits up and out. Fuck, her cleavage is almost obscene, it’s so goddamn beautiful. I want nothing more than to strip her completely bare and see what exactly lies beneath her tight outfit.

  “What are you doing here? Dressed like that?” I demand, trying to hide my desire for her. I’m sure I fail.

  “Traci brought me. I needed a night out.” She shrugs.

  “You needed to get fucked? Could have just asked, babe. I would have come to your place. No need to put yourself on display for the entire fucking club to ogle.”

  She gasps again, somewhere behind her I hear Traci curse, but I only have eyes for Camille. I watch as her blue gaze widens in surprise and then narrows in anger. I’ve pissed her off. Good. Maybe she’ll get mad and go home.

  “That wasn’t nice,” she whispers.

  “No, it fucking wasn’t. But I’m not feeling very fucking nice when there are at least a dozen brothers standing around with hard cocks looking at your tits and ass,” I grind out.

  CAMILLE

  I stare at him in shock. How I could have ever imagined that I liked this man, I do not know. He’s an asshole, plain and simple. Taking a step back from him, I attempt to turn away. He doesn’t let me.

  His hand on my waist tightens and he roughly tugs me against his chest. His other hand wraps around me, his palm pressing against the center of my back. Lifting my hands, I flatten them against his chest and try to push away from him.

  Coda’s grasp is firm, his angry gaze stares at me and the rest of the room fades into the background. As much of an asshole as he’s being right now, I don’t know why, but I want him to kiss me.

  My tongue slides out to wet my lips, his eyes flick down, watching the movement. He grunts, his hips shifting forward and I feel his hard length press against my belly. I try to push away again, but I fail, instead my fingers curl in the fabric of his soft t-shirt and I pull him closer to me.

  “Camille,” he rasps. “You need to get the fuck out of here.”

  “I know,” I whisper. “But I don’t want to.”

  Admitting it, saying those words aloud, it does something to me, it makes me feel wild. I’ve never been wild, not even before I was taken by Phillippe. I’ve always been plain, boring, safe, Camille.

  “You’re playing with trouble, Camille. You don’t want this, trust me,” he warns.

  I focus on his mouth, on the way his lips move and how I wish they would touch mine. He pulls me a little closer, my breath hitches.

  God, I want him.

  I want him more than I’ve ever wanted a man in my entire life. More than I wanted Jonathan Leveque to take my virginity when I was eighteen. His hand moves from the center of my back, down my spine until he reaches my ass and he grabs a handful, squeezing hard, rough—perfectly.

  “You need to go home,” he warns.

  Nodding, I slide one of my hands up his chest and wrap my fingers around the back of his neck. “I’m sure that I do,” I breathe. “I just don’t want to.”

  “You don’t know what you’re asking, babe.”

  I hum, my lips so close to his that it wouldn’t take much, less than an inch of shifting toward him to touch. I don’t care what I’m asking, all I know is that he’s going to make me feel again. He’s going to set me free from my jumbled-up mind.

  I need this.

  I need him.

  I want it all.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CODA

  Fucking shit.

  She’s looking at me, her mouth millimeters from mine. Her sweet body pressed so tightly against my own that I know she can feel my cock digging into her belly. I want to strip her, taste her, fuck her and make her goddamn filthy.

  I should push her away, have a prospect drive her home and forget she exists. What I shouldn’t do is grip her ass tighter and pick her feet up off of the ground, then continue away from the bar and toward the hallway.

  “Coda?” Lola’s voice calls out once we’re in the dimly lit hall.

  Stopping, I turn my head to see her watching us, something akin to excitement flickering in her gaze.

  “Are we going to play?” she asks.

  Camille makes a noise in the back of her throat, her hand moving from around my neck to my chest and she pushes against me, a-fuckin-gain. My grip on her tightens.

  “Maybe later. Not right now,” I grind out.

  “I thought…” Lola says, then her eyes catch mine and she shuts her fucking mouth, thankfully. “Never mind,” she whispers before she turns and hurries away, back into the bar.

  Camille continues to wiggle and push against me, but I keep my grasp firm. Fucking shit, all she’s doing is making me want to claim her about a million times more than I did a few minute
s ago.

  Only when we’re in my room, the door slammed behind us do I let her down to her feet. I don’t release my hold on her though. I’m keeping her close to me, fuck, I’m just plain goddamn keeping her.

  “You wear this shit for me or to turn every other man in the room on?” I demand.

  “None of your business. Why don’t you go to that woman, that whore that I always see you with?” she snaps.

  My lips twitch in a small smile. “Lola?”

  Her cheeks tint pink and I watch the anger fill her body, causing her eyes to narrow into tiny little slits. I bet if I asked her what she saw right now, she would only have one word to describe it—red.

  “I don’t know her name. I don’t care what it is,” she sneers.

  Unable to hold my chuckle back, I laugh low at how goddamn adorable she is when she’s flustered, pissed and jealous all at the same time. Wrapping my hands around her hips, I grip her tightly, focusing on her eyes and only her eyes.

  “Lola is a friend, Camille. There’s nothing there. She’s not you,” I say, finally showing my cards and not really giving a fuck about it.

  I’ve held back for far too long, too afraid of the future, of what will happen. Of losing myself to her, which I know is a real worry. I’m just not sure if I care about it anymore, now that I have her here in my arms.

  “A friend you fuck?” she snaps.

  I hum, dipping my chin, my nose sliding alongside hers before my lips graze her cheek on their way to her ear.

  “Not something I want to talk about with you, babe,” I whisper as my fingers massage her hips.

  “This was a mistake. I should have stayed home,” she sighs as her body relaxes a bit.

  Chuckling, I snort lightly against her ear. “Yeah, you probably should have, but you didn’t and I can’t say that I’m not happy about that. Now, I have you where I’ve only dreamed of you being the past few months.”

  CAMILLE

  His words make me weak in the knees. Completely weak. I grip his shoulders tightly to keep myself standing on my feet, instead of swooning against him. I’m pretty sure I’ve already made a big enough fool of myself in front of him to last a lifetime.

  I now have you where I’ve only dreamed of you being the past few months. His words cause a shiver to roll throughout my entire body.

  I’ve wanted him, too, so damn bad. Except, right now I’m not so sure that this was the right move. I should have stayed away. I should have stayed home, trapped in my boring life, in my boring trailer, with my boring job and my boring, boring, boring—everything.

  Now that I’m here, I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Maybe he was right to stay away from me, watching me from a distance for all those months.

  “I see the regret swimming in your eyes. Just fucking go home, Camille,” he grinds out, his hands releasing their hold on me.

  I blink, hating the feeling of shame that washes over me. This is what I thought that I wanted. This was the freedom that I craved. A way to take my life back, a life that Phillippe Martel almost stole from me.

  Except, now that I’m here, I’m not sure.

  “I-I…”

  Coda snorts, lifting his hand as he runs his fingers through his slightly long hair. His eyes lift and my breath is stolen for the millionth time.

  He’s breathtakingly handsome.

  I do want him, but maybe it’s not him that I crave, but the type of man that he is.

  Someone strong and capable of protecting me.

  “I’ll call a prospect to take you home. You don’t have to worry about me anymore, Camille. It’s obvious you either don’t want me or you ain’t ready. No matter what it is, this was a mistake.”

  I watch as he reaches into his back pocket, taking out his cell phone, then he begins to thumb through his contacts and my heart begins to pound against my chest. Reaching for his device, I wrap my fingers around it and throw it across the room.

  Coda slowly lifts his gaze, his eyes following his phone as it slams against the wall and bounces on the floor. Then his eyes eventually find their way back to mine and he lifts a brow in question.

  “It’s not a mistake. I just, I’ve never done this before,” I let out in a rush.

  “You a virgin?” he asks, his eyes wide and full of something unreadable, maybe even fear.

  I shake my head. “No, it’s not that. I’ve had sex before, it’s just. It was a long time ago, before Phillippe took me. Before I came here. Before everything. I’m scared, Coda. I like you and I just know that I’m going to mess something up and I don’t even know if you like me for me, or if you just want to have sex with me. I’ve never done casual and I have a feeling that’s what you want, and I just don’t know…”

  My words trail off and I snap my lips closed when I realize how much I’m giving away with my nervous rambling.

  Coda watches me silently, his brows knit together. His lips twitch in a smile and he tilts his head to the side.

  “Lola is casual, you aren’t.”

  My eyes widen from his words, but I can’t speak, I’m breathless for a completely different reason right now. Not from his beauty, but from his words and although deep down I know that I should hate them, I don’t.

  “You’re someone I could see being serious with, babe. Not to blow smoke up your ass, because I ain’t that man, but Camille, I haven’t been keeping vigil over you because I want a one-night fuck. I’ve been watching you because I want you, but everything about you makes me nervous.”

  I blink. “I, me, I make you nervous?” I breathe.

  He nods, taking a step closer toward me. He lifts his hand, his index finger extending and I hold my breath when he traces the length of my neck.

  “Yeah, you. If I fuck this up, not only will you hate me, but so will your brother. Plus, I have no doubt that Traci will chop my cock off if I ever hurt you,” he murmurs.

  I can’t stop the laugh from bubbling up my throat. Because I have a feeling that Traci would do just that.

  “Everything about you makes me nervous and I’ve never been nervous when it comes to women, not ever.”

  Before I can utter a word, his chin dips and finally, finally his lips touch mine.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CODA

  She tastes like sweet mint, and her, just her. My tongue slips inside of her mouth, rolling around and tangling with hers and she grips my shirt with a whimper as she presses those tits I crave so much against my chest.

  In my heart, this moment is exactly where I’m supposed to be, tangled with her. My head screams at me to walk away, to leave her alone, to have that prospect drag her out of here. She deserves better, she deserves a man who is going to love her and care for her, to treat her in a way that I’m incapable of.

  I force myself to break the kiss, nibbling on her bottom lip just so that I can linger against her for another moment, I sigh and take a step back.

  “Coda,” she whispers, the hurt in her voice too fucking real.

  All of her is too real, including the way that I feel about her.

  “Just, go,” I breathe, my eyes focused on her pretty face.

  Those blue eyes own me, they render me frozen in my spot as I watch her, waiting to see what she’ll do next. She squares her shoulders, then she shocks the absolute fucking shit out of me when she takes a step toward me and sinks to her knees right in front of my body.

  “Camille,” I groan.

  Her small hands reach for my pants and if I were a better man, I wouldn’t allow her to unbuckle my belt, to unbutton the top button of my jeans and I damn sure wouldn’t allow her to tug my zipper down. Then I definitely wouldn’t watch as she pulled my pants down my hips and thighs until they were around my ankles.

  I’m not a better man though.

  I’m the worst kind of man.

  I am selfish. Completely fucking self-centered and a complete goddamn asshole. I’m not sure how much I care right about now, either. Camille is on her knees, those blue eye
s looking up at me through lowered lashes.

  Fuck.

  Not even a saint could turn her down. Lifting my hand, my fingers touch the freckles on her nose and the apples of her cheeks lightly before my hand slides through her hair at the side of her head and around to cradle the back of her neck.

  “Camille,” I warn.

  She shakes her head. “I’m tired, Coda. You want me. I want you. Why dance around for a second longer?”

  “I’m trying to protect you,” I grind out.

  She leans forward, pressing a small kiss on the tip of my dick. My entire body tenses, heat flows through me that I didn’t know was even possible. I feel like a virgin, like a kid and this is the first time a woman has been anywhere near my dick.

  “I don’t want you to, Coda, not from you.”

  “You damn well fucking should, Camille, especially from me,” I warn.

  She ignores me. Fucking ignores all of my warnings and opens her mouth, taking me down her throat. My eyes threaten to close, except I force them to stay open, not wanting to miss a goddamn second.

  CAMILLE

  I watch him, unable to take my eyes off of his face. Coda’s jaw is clenched, his fingers are tight in my hair, and his eyes are wild as he watches me suck his cock.

  Honestly, I doubt I’m any good at it. It’s not like I’ve had a lot of practice, but just seeing his tense body standing above mine makes me want to be the best.

  For him.

  Wrapping my hand around the base of his cock, I move forward and back, making sure to swirl my tongue around his head, then surge forward, taking a bit more of him down my throat with each stroke.

  “Camille,” he rasps.

  I can feel his length harden, then twitch inside of my mouth. I want to take all of him, everywhere inside of me. I want him to touch me, to own me. No matter what that looks like, as long as it’s him, I want it. I’ve waited, hid in the shadows, and been scared for long enough.