by R. M. Walker
I headed towards the bathroom to meet up with Javin, who had gotten trapped by an older lady known for pinching the asses of the available men.
Javin’s tight smile indicated that he had indeed been pinched, but couldn’t figure out how to escape without punching her in the face.
“Hello, Mrs. Stern. It’s nice to see you again. If you don’t mind, I need to steal Javin away from you,” I said, swooping in to rescue Javin.
Mrs. Stern smiled at me and patted my hand. “He’s a nice boy. He’s grown up so well. I remember when Rupert brought him over to meet my grandniece Emilia. My Emilia was so smitten with him. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. It’s such a shame when the handsome ones don’t prefer women,” she sighed.
I stared blankly at Mrs. Stern, confused by her sadness over Javin supposedly being gay. Before I could inform her that Javin was straight, she had latched onto a handsome waiter and headed off towards the banquet room.
“Never leave me with her again. She has more hands than Squidhead,” he said, shivering in displeasure.
I laughed when I imagined Squidhead trying to grab Javin’s ass.
“Care to tell me why she thinks you’re gay?” I smirked, waiting for one hell of an explanation.
He shrugged and looked down at his polished shoes. “Emilia liked me more than I liked her. It’s easier to believe a guy is gay rather than accept the truth that he isn’t into her.”
I nodded, agreeing with his statement even though something felt off. Most men would be angry if a woman thought they were gay.
“Was she bad in bed?” I asked to lighten his mood.
“No,” he said. He looked up and stared into my eyes. “She wasn’t what I wanted.”
I gulped when I saw the unbridled desire burning in his eyes. He had never looked at me that way before. My skin tightened and tingled with anticipation. Was it possible that Javin had finally taken an interest in me? Maybe my dress had worked on him as well.
I was about to blow off the mission and drag Javin to my car to find out what he was talking about until I spotted Chaz walking straight towards us.
“Shit,” I muttered. “We’ll finish this conversation later. Right now I have to punch someone,” I said through gritted teeth.
Javin’s eyes shifted towards Chaz. He immediately tensed up and positioned himself next to me as if we were about to face an enemy, which was true enough.
“Sayah! Is that you? How have you been?” Chaz Armand smiled.
Chaz was the son of Quinton Armand, the billionaire who made his money by convincing women that they were fat so he could sell them diet supplements. I had stupidly believed that he loved me until I walked in on him fucking three debutants at the same time in his mother’s pool house. The bastard raked his lecherous eyes across my entire body, twice. Since there were too many witnesses around, I forced my fists to unclench to keep from punching him in his capped teeth.
“Chaz, it’s nice to see you without your dick in another woman,” I said bitterly.
Without missing a beat, he shrugged and laughed. “I see that your love life hasn’t improved since you brought your brother to the party.”
“He’s not my brother. I’ve told you that before,” I said flatly.
“You could’ve fooled me. You two were always joined at the hip,” he chuckled. “I always figured that you left my bed to jump into his at night.”
“No, you were the only cheater in the relationship. Though, if I had gone home to Javin, at least I would have experienced a real orgasm,” I shrugged.
Javin stepped forward and extended his hand. “Chaz, it’s good to see that you’re still alive. With all the dead businessmen around here, I would have expected to find your body in a dumpster by now.” In true Javin style, there wasn’t a hint of humor in his voice.
Chaz brushed off the comment and applied more pressure than necessary to Javin’s hand. I wanted to tell Chaz that he had a better chance at making Javin laugh than making him flinch, but I stood silently by as Chaz turned red from the force he was putting on Javin’s hand.
The two finally pulled their hands apart and Javin took a step closer to my side, which I found odd. Though he always had my back in a fight, I had no problem destroying Chaz on my own.
Ignoring the tension between them, I motioned to Chaz. “Out of curiosity, have you or your father received any threats? I hear that it’s not safe to be rich around here.”
Chaz crossed his arms and scowled. “Please, my dad’s not worried. He doesn’t believe the deaths are related. However, he is pissed that Houston benefited from Drew’s death.”
“How did Houston benefit from Drew’s death?” I asked, confused by his comment.
“With Drew gone, Houston doesn’t have any real competition left. No one else can make the kinds of fabric Creston Industries makes,” he shrugged. “Creston Industries is about to double their profit margin from last year after only one month with Drew’s company floundering to find a proper successor.”
Javin shook his head. “Three men are dead and all you can think about is how much money everyone is making?”
Chaz stepped forward. “You’re just jealous because you had to wait so long to get daddy’s money,” he snickered.
I was about to tell Chaz to go to hell when I felt Javin’s warm hand against my lower back. I had no idea what he was doing since Javin rarely hugged or gave physical support to others. We only touched while wrestling or throwing each other across the room during training exercises.
Javin called Chaz an asshole while moving his hand down my back. I carefully kept my features pleasant so that I wouldn’t let on that something unusual was happening. I lost track of the continued insults when Javin’s hand slid under my dress and down my bare ass. My breath stopped completely and I tried in vain not to tense up.
The hallway started to spin when Javin massaged my ass cheek and possessively gave it a firm squeeze. I had no idea if he was trying to make Chaz jealous or if he had completely lost his mind during our year apart.
Doing everything within my power to breathe normally, I tried to speak again, but Javin’s fingers slid between my cheeks and slowly circled my ass. I clenched my teeth and locked my knees so I wouldn’t fall as my body reacted to his sensual touch.
Chaz, thankfully, didn’t seem to notice. The last thing I heard before Chaz stormed off was Javin saying that Chaz had fucked up royally when he cheated on me.
I looked up at Javin, who was still glaring at Chaz’s back. When I gasped, Javin turned his head to look at me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, which came out more like a moan.
He leaned in and whispered, “I want to see this dress pooling around your ass while I fuck you from behind. So help me god, if you aren’t in that bathroom with me in three seconds, I will lose my mind.”
He quickly pulled his hand away and ducked into the men’s room.
Blinking, I tried to figure out if I was awake or asleep. Since I never dreamed of fancy parties with harpists, I assumed this was really happening. I had no idea what was going on with Javin, unless Mrs. Stern had somehow spiked his cherry cola.
The internal debate about whether I should walk away from an unhinged Javin or indulge my curiosity lasted exactly two seconds, which gave me one second to join him in the bathroom.
Closing the door behind me, I saw Javin stop pacing and rush towards me. His mouth was on mine before I could speak. He pressed me against the door and pushed his hands into my long hair. I was so overwhelmed by the force of his kiss that I couldn’t speak. I needed to know what he was thinking, but I was afraid to break whatever spell he might be under.
His hands cupped my ass while I popped the studs off his shirt so that I could touch his chest. His tongue swirled in my mouth and I embraced every second of it, afraid that he would walk away and act like nothing had happened.
When he pulled away, he looked at me such with hunger and possessiveness that it left me breathless. He tugged on my a
rm and turned me to face the huge bathroom mirror. Placing my hands on the counter, I watched his eyes scan my entire body before reaching my eyes.
He slowly pulled my dress up and pulled my hips against his hard body. His nails lightly grazed my skin from my thighs up to my ass. I had to bite my lip to keep from groaning.
Pushing his hard erection against my ass, he reached up to lightly thumb my nipple through my dress.
My mind crashed and I had trouble accepting that my fantasies were coming true.
“Do you want me?” he whispered in my ear. His arrogance was gone, replaced by doubt and insecurity. He sounded as if he wasn’t sure if I wanted him.
I looked at his reflection in the mirror and nodded. “I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want you. Am I the one you want?”
He smiled at my reflection and nodded. With a few quick movements, I felt his hard cock fill my body and ease the ache I’d had for years. He moved slowly at first, but increased the intensity of his thrusts until I was bent over the sink, clutching the marble countertop.
“Focus so that you don’t disappear or slide through the bathroom floor. I need to see you, Sayah,” he panted.
My body tensed at the way he said my name. It was the first time he had said it with such longing. Unsure if this was just a onetime thing, I memorized everything about him from his strong thighs that kept up the steady pace to the way his cock hit every nerve ending inside me. I focused on his passionate brown eyes that never left my face. This was the Javin I wanted to be with, the one I had hoped was lurking beneath the brooding persona. I had no idea how much time I had with him, but I was grateful for every second.
The pleasure built inside of me until I shook and moaned. Just when I was about to come, he reached down and rubbed my clit, sending me to a place I didn’t know existed. All I knew was Javin and his ability to make me feel like no one else ever had.
“Say my name, Sayah,” he said as his voice cracked. Again, it wasn’t arrogance in his tone, but a yearning for acceptance.
“Javin!” I yelled as my body shook uncontrollably and I found my release.
Near the end of my orgasm, I saw his eyes glaze over and felt him burst inside of me. His head fell against my shoulder and he ran his lips across my neck.
After a few minutes of silent happiness, I turned to face him, prepared for the inevitable return of asshole Javin.
He put his hand on my cheek and gave me a sincere smile. “I will explain everything later, but right now I need to get back to Houston. If anything happens to him, I will never work in this town again.” He pressed his lips to mine and stepped away to adjust himself and zip his pants.
I was in such a daze that I nodded and accepted his apology. Once I was alone in the bathroom, everything snapped back into focus and I was pissed that Javin had yet again let me down.
Taking a deep breath, I cleaned myself and fixed my hair and makeup. I was going to find Javin and tell him to go to hell. How dare he fuck me and run off without an explanation. After years of mixed signals, he needed to explain things immediately.
I pulled open the door and heard a series of loud bangs. Gunshots.
I gathered my senses, slid through the floor to the ground level, and quickly ran through the walls until I reached the alleyway where I was parked. Jumping through the car door, I slid into the secret compartment hidden inside my passenger seat and settled inside my black battle suit. Taking a deep breath, I sat up from the seat and adjusted my suit. It was time to be a hero.
Racing back through the walls, I slid into the atrium and became invisible to assess the situation. Five gunmen dressed in black zip-up coveralls and dark bike helmets were pointing their weapons at the guests. A sixth bad guy was walking around collecting jewelry and wallets.
A common stick up? What were the odds?
I searched for Javin, but couldn’t find him.
“We thank you for your cooperation and your jewels!” one of the men yelled. He opened fire, sending the guests running for the upper staircase in fear.
The gunmen pushed their way towards the stairs, rounding up guests as they went. I had to stop them before they reached the elevators and headed towards the main banquet room.
Running at the closest bad guy, I materialized next to him and pushed his shotgun up towards the ceiling. I punched him in the throat and snatched the gun away before he could fire off another round. After unloading the shells, I tossed away the gun and kicked him in the side of his knee, crippling him.
“Hey!” one of the gunmen shouted at me. A cluster of metal pellets came flying through the air aimed at my chest, but I focused my power and let them pass right through me. Thankfully, the pellets winged Goon # 4.
“Damn it! Stop shooting at Phantom Woman. It won’t do any good!” Goon # 2 yelled.
Rushing up the stairs, I disappeared and used the henchmen’s confusion to leap at Goon # 6. I reappeared a second before my foot hit him in the face. I rolled and landed on my feet, ducking out of the way of Goon # 1, who tried to slash me with his knife. I kept running and passed through the closest wall to avoid more gunfire.
When I heard the goons screaming in pain, I knew Javin, aka Black Cape, had entered the fight. I slid back into the lobby to watch Javin boldly taking bullet after bullet as he brazenly walked towards the gunman with the semi-auto rifle. Blood was spraying everywhere, which unnerved the men who had never seen Javin in action. They were even more surprised to see the bullet holes close up seconds later.
Unfazed by the mild pain of the bullets, Javin kicked the gun into the air and hit Goon # 1 with a spin hook kick, knocking him to the ground. He punched and kicked his way through the rest of the henchmen, while I stood by and watched him gracefully move with amazing speed and precision. I could watch him dance through the air all day.
Hearing the cop sirens, I looked to Javin, who nodded at me. It was time to leave before the cops arrested us too.
I headed for the exterior wall, but Javin caught up with me. “Meet me at Melon Street and 1st. 9th Floor, Apartment A.”
I nodded and slid through the wall to make my escape.
* * *
An hour later, I was standing in front of Javin’s apartment in more sensible clothing, wondering what the hell I was going to say to him. Working with him again made it feel like no time had passed and that we were a team again, yet I knew the truth. We just happened to be at the right time and place for a reunion. There could never be an us, despite Javin’s loss of sanity in the bathroom.
I raised my hand to knock, but the door opened to reveal Javin smiling at me.
“Come in,” he said.
I stepped inside a large loft that overlooked the reservoir. The room had some mismatched furniture spread around it, but the most prominent feature was the wall covered in newspaper articles used to track crime in the city.
“You’ve been busy,” I said, pointing to the wall.
“Of course,” he shrugged.
He walked past me towards the wall and scanned it from one end to the other. “I need help with this billionaire puzzle. I feel like I’m almost there.”
I crossed my arms, annoyed that we were jumping right into the case. “No. Not until you tell me what the fuck happened tonight.”
He glanced over his shoulder at me. “We once again saved the good people of Crimson.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fuck the good people of Crimson. What happened today that made you realize that I was a woman for once and not your tackling dummy?”
He slowly turned to face me. His eyes shifted from his standard look of indifference to something akin to the hunger I saw earlier. A broad smile filled his face, making me wet as I remembered how his cock had felt inside me. What the hell was going on with him tonight?
Stepping close enough that I could feel his breath on my cheek, he placed his hand on my neck. “Chaz reminded me of how broken hearted you were after he cheated on you. Instead of beating him senseless, I decided to focus my atten
tion on you. You were upset and I wanted you to forget about Chaz. I had hoped that he would notice what I was doing to you, but the idiot was too preoccupied with saving his pride during our fight.”
I crossed my arms and fought against the tears threatening to spill over in my rage. “So fucking me was just a distraction so that neither of us murdered Chaz? There were better ways of distracting me.”
He leaned down until his face was directly in front of me and he pushed his hands into my hair. “No, Sayah. That’s not what happened. I may have gone about it the wrong way, but I wanted to show you how much I care about you. I was planning to bring you here tonight to explain everything, until I saw you in that stunning dress and my resolve cracked in half. I don’t exactly know what happened, but after years of hiding my feelings for you and watching assholes like Chaz upset you, I couldn’t hold back my desire anymore.”
My mouth fell open. “What the hell are you talking about? For years, you were emotionless and detached. Now suddenly you care about me. You’re seriously messed up.”
He shook his head and ran his thumbs over my jaw. “Sayah, I have loved you ever since I understood what the word love meant. You have to understand the truth. The first time I got an erection, we were wrestling, and you ended up on top of me. I lost that fight because I had no idea what was happening to me. I was twelve and didn’t understand what was going on with my body. After that, I started to notice how mesmerizing your blue eyes were and how beautiful your smile was. Granted, you weren’t usually smiling at me, but my heart still sped up whenever I saw you. I tried to hide my feelings at first because I was confused. We lived together and fought together. We were a team. Yet, I wanted you, even then. You’re all I ever think about.”
I tried to believe what he was saying, but I couldn’t. None of it made any sense. “Why didn’t you tell me? I get that you were afraid it would ruin our teamwork, but why not say something once we got older?”
