by Dee Garcia
And a third.
And a fourth.
I knew I was in the wrong, knew I should not have gone anywhere near there, but I couldn’t reign myself in.
I had to do it.
She was right there, her lips were right there, and after showing me a side of her I never expected to see—no matter how brief—I reacted accordingly.
She wanted to me to do it, too.
Lux could deny it all she wanted. She could overthink it until she made herself sick, but I knew she wanted me to do it.
The way she melted against me proved it.
Ding, dong!
The abrupt chime of my doorbell sucked me back into the present. I nearly groaned in exasperation.
I was no more thrilled about Vic’s audacious and covertly planned hurricane soiree than I was when he first informed me several days back. It was cracked, and considering he’d arranged the entire thing behind my back, dodgy as fuck.
“It’s party time, bro. You ready?” the bastard himself asked as he sauntered through the kitchen to the front doors to welcome our first guests.
He was almost dressed to the nines in a crisp ebony dress shirt and slacks, which made absolutely no sense to me. Was he expecting the red carpet or the paparazzi?
I nodded wordlessly and flashed him the horns as I went about stocking the last few beers in the fridge. The thing looked like it belonged at a frat house.
Thank fuck for having all the strong shit locked up in my office. I was damn sure going to need something a hell of a lot stronger than just beer to get me through the rest of the night.
A little over an hour later, the festivities were officially in full swing, and the hurricane was moving in quickly. Most of our attendees were present and accounted for, and the majority of them had congregated in the main living area off the kitchen.
Music blared from space to space, as did random bouts of laughter and mixed conversation. I did my best to greet everyone, offering drinks when necessary, but the sheer amount of bodies packed in here was already overwhelming.
Again, thank fuck for bourbon.
By my third, there wasn’t a thing in the world that could ruffle my feathers. A king in my castle, I was actually starting to have a good time—chatting, networking, even a little dancing. I’d even forgotten about Vic and his overly cheery self.
Until I caught a flash of emerald from the corner of my eyes.
I almost spit my drink out, had to do a double-take.
At first, I thought I’d already drank too much, but reality is, I’d know that bright emerald mane anywhere. Had it engrained in my mind, along with the sharp edges of her profile, and the supple pout of her lips.
And those eyes, fuck me—don’t get me started on those feral, sexy eyes; the perfect, blue cat eyes, slanted with malice and all.
They locked right on me and held me captive to her allure.
Black tank top.
Minuscule denim shorts.
Inked legs for days.
I couldn’t look away, and neither could she, apparently. We just stood there, gaping at one another with the very same question sounding off between us.
What the fuck are you doing here?
I almost couldn’t believe it.
She was here, in my home, mere feet separating her and my chamber. The images of her beneath me—writhing, begging, screaming—were more prominent than ever before. Could hear it all with such clarity, my cock was one moan away from rising to the challenge.
I could smell her.
Taste her.
The urge to scoop her up and press her into the nearest wall was nearly impossible to subdue but, somehow, I held onto my restraint and forced myself in check real quick.
Lux had this uncanny, maddening ability to get deep under my skin and cloud my judgement like no other.
And she wasn’t even trying.
She just did, effortlessly so.
The woman completely blindsided me and this sudden fixation I’d developed for her was wearing me thin.
I’d gone from a sure, solid fixture determined to take her out, to an entranced, royally fucked up bloke hanging by a deranged thread.
A deranged thread that wouldn’t hold much longer.
My own fault.
I had no one to blame but myself, not when I’d singlehandedly paved the way for such self-destruction when I decided to play on her weakness.
But still, I blamed her.
I blamed her for making me so damn crazed, and after the blow I’d felt when she fled, I knew I had to distance myself before I did something else we’d both regret later.
Flashing her the most schooled smirk I could manage, I took another sip of my drink and disappeared through the crowd with determined strides as Tinashe’s “Party Favors” blasted behind me, propelling me faster.
I didn’t need to imagine a blasted party favor from Lux.
One drunken, sultry look or a mere gander at her body swaying to this music, and there’s no telling what I might do.
Once on the other side of my office door, I deflated like a balloon, my hand firmly gripping the knobs at my back as the black hole in my chest thrashed about frantically.
What the fuck was she doing here?
What in the actual fuck was she doing here?
Was this her next move?
No, it couldn’t be, wasn’t her style. She liked taking me by surprise. Showing herself this early on would defeat the purpose.
Or would it?
Perhaps the element of surprise was revealing herself, throwing me for a loop from the usual.
What I really wanted to know was who invited her? Everyone present was very well aware of Vic and his anarchy movement. The role I myself played, too. Quite a few had helped me vandalize Black Widow several weeks back as well.
That said, this could, of course, be Vic’s doing. Another one of his tests. It would explain his suspicious behavior.
I downed another sip of my bourbon, lip curling in a snarl around the rim.
On second thought… Na. He wasn’t that idiotic. Revealing our friendship to her—if you could even call it that—would only hurt his efforts.
He’d never risk that.
If this wasn’t another one of his games, though, did that mean he was clueless to her presence?
Shit.
This could get nasty real quick.
One look at Vic and I together, and Lux was bound to connect the dots sooner or later. She was far too intelligent not to. Same went for him catching me with Lux. If he so much as felt a sliver of the force between us, he’d know something had shifted.
Fucking hell. I need another drink.
Or five.
This party was turning into everything I’d been dreading.
Stalking over to the antique liquor cabinet between the bookcases, I refilled my tumbler and nearly drained it in entirety before even sinking into one of the high-backed parlor chairs.
At this rate, alcohol wouldn’t be a distraction for much longer.
I needed something warmer, something with a nice set of tits and a pert little ass. Something to get lost in a few hours and make myself scarce altogether.
Something to make myself briefly forget Lux, and Vic, and all the ever-present bullshit in my life…
Slam!
The doors to my office burst wide open, banging rudely against the walls.
I snapped my head over to see a small group of drunken lads stalk through—clearly with no regard for other people’s property, or privacy—and head straight to the pool table before my desk.
Their noise-level was instantly obnoxious, like that of a toddler running on an unnecessary burst of caffeine, and just as I was about to make my presence known and kick them the fuck out, a curvaceous redhead came barreling in with Lux on her tail.
I froze stock-still and watched quietly, melting back into my seat to avoid being seen.
The redhead whipped her inside and signaled back out into the hallway with an impat
ient hand. The content of their conversation was drowned out by the music, but it didn’t look like a friendly discussion if you asked me, which left me more curious than anything else.
Especially when Lux went rigid and all the color stripped from her face.
From here, it looked like she mouthed I’ll tell you later as she shook her head, but I wasn’t certain, not when my head was swimming in a hazy bourbon pool.
A hazy bourbon pool that flooded over as our eyes collided.
She gasped.
My cock jolted.
We held it for several moments, long enough for me to see the image of that damned kiss reflecting off them, to feel the electricity surge between us, supercharging the air to a stifling degree.
And then she was gone, leaving me with the intoxicating taste of her mouth burning my lips.
Damn her.
My already buggered mood plummeted to downright sour.
Tightening my grip on the tumbler, I drained the remaining contents and inhaled a deep breath in attempt to calm myself.
But it didn’t do shit if I’m being honest.
There was just way too much going on.
Way. Too. Much.
I was going to explode if I didn’t find a proper distraction soon.
Seconds later, said proper distraction trailed right into my line of sight like an encouraging gift from satan himself. She looked good; teeny tiny with long lilac waves that hung to the small of her back. Sashaying past me to the bookcase, she bent over at the waist and scanned the titles on the bottom shelf.
All ass.
She was all ass in this skin-tight mini skirt. If she bent over any more, said ass would be on full display.
“Psssttt,” I hissed at her, and immediately her head whipped around to where I sat—as if she’d been hoping I’d do that all along.
Apparently, she was, because when I crooked a finger at her, she abandoned her search and came hustling toward me without any hesitations at all.
Standing before me now, I could feel her expectant gaze as she awaited my next move. I lifted my eyes to meet her stare and offered her a lopsided smirk. She really was very pretty; regal gray eyes and full pouty lips.
I can work with this.
Disposing my emptied tumbler on the small table beside us, I leaned back further into my seat and patted my lap. She crawled right in and crossed her legs, flashing me a salacious smile as she gave me an appreciative sweep of her own.
“I’m gonna need your name,” I said to her, running a finger along her chin.
“Azalea,” she murmured coyly. “But my friends call me Zay.”
“Well, Zay, care to take a walk with me?”
“Where?”
“Oh, I don’t know…” I grinned, twirling a finger through the air. “Around.”
Azalea eyed me curiously for a beat or two, probably debating whether or not she could trust me. “I suppose we can. It’s not like we can go very far. Just let me tell my best friend I’m disappearing for a few so she doesn’t freak. She’s out in the kitchen.”
You’ll be disappearing for more than few but okay…
Tipping my head, the grin on my lips morphed into a sinister smirk. “I’ll get us drinks then. What’s your poison of choice?”
“Got any tequila?”
I gave a subtle nod. “I do, yes.”
“Tequila it is then—what did you say your name was?” she asked, prompting me lean into her personal bubble.
“I didn’t.”
Azalea seemed completely unfazed, leaning in closer, too. “Well you know mine, so...”
I could smell the tequila on her breath.
Chuckling, I raked a finger along her collar bone. “Roman King.”
“Mmm, the king huh?” Her voice was a purr, goosebumps dotting her skin.
“I like to think so, yes.”
“Well, treat me right and I’ll make sure to treat you like a king. I’ll be back, handsome.” She pecked my cheek, then slid off my lap in one fluid movement, taking care to give me another full, unprecedented view of her ass as she did so.
A glint of a smirk settled on her lips when she caught me enjoying it.
“You’re cheeky.”
“And you like it,” she countered.
“Guilty. That said, run along now. Go find your friend and say what you need to say. I’m not fond of waiting very long.”
♫ Like Water - Flume ft. MNDR ♫
I think I forgot how to breathe.
Seeing a casually-dressed Roman—beanie, gray sweatpants, and all—no more than five minutes after arriving knocked me sick. Literally sucked the wind right out of me and turned my stomach upside down.
And he wasn’t just here as guest.
No.
After further explanation, I was told this was his home—all gray walls, white clean-lined furniture, and modern goth decor.
Shock gave into silent rage within sheer milliseconds.
I wanted to kill Ramsey.
Had Marco not taken the brunt of my wrath when he saw me going off on her like a psychopath, I might have snapped her neck and left her for dead on the lush patio.
Okay, so I’m exaggerating; I could never actually kill my girl, but holy hell was I livid.
Ramsey swore she didn’t know and Marco claimed he’d not had a clue either. That, apparently, he was invited by someone else and took it upon himself to extend the invitation a few times over.
I don’t know how much of that I truly believed, solely because I didn’t know Marco as well as I knew Stryker, but I decided to let it go.
Ramsey would never purposely do this to me.
Suki, yes.
But Ramsey, never.
So I drowned myself deep in the whiskey hole instead, a naive attempt to abolish Roman’s presence from my mind.
Within thirty minutes, I’d downed about six fingers worth and was working on another few when Marco and his buddies led Ramsey and I through the dimmed house.
Flume resounded off the walls.
Bodies writhed and swayed around to the beat.
I was having a good time, and with Roman no where in sight, I actually let myself believe all would be okay. That he had enough sense to lock himself away and leave me alone.
There wasn’t any need for us to interact, hostile or otherwise.
But that’s when I saw Vic…green eyes trailing me like a hawk.
My stomach skyrocketed to my throat.
On a small gasp, I gripped Ramsey out of reflex, expecting him to roll up on us, but he simply raised his glass by way of greeting, then disappeared down the hallway with a small push off the wall.
If I didn’t know the man as well as I did, I would’ve wondered what the hell he was doing here.
This was prime Vic behavior, though—a serpent always slithering around undetected, always watching.
Waiting.
He’d stepped it up after Javi’s murder, too, which would explain why he was here.
And yet, my heart still seemed to race.
My focus kind of tunneled. Everything was out of sorts. Ramsey was talking as we moved along but I didn’t hear a single word of it. I hated being near Vic and it showed.
Was the first thing she questioned me about when we followed Marco and his mates into what appeared to be Roman’s home office.
I brushed it off, promised I’d tell her later. This wasn’t the time or place for me to come clean about that. Not when Roman’s stare was striking me from across the room.
I felt it long before I even saw him. Tried to avoid it, to avoid him, but the pull was too strong, like a beacon in the night.
My eyes moved of their own free will, tangling with those piercing blue orbs. They were an intimidatingly icy shade beneath his cinched brows.
Another breath escaped me.
I held in what little air remained within my lungs and forced myself to hold his stare, too, adamant on squaring him off. On seeming unaffected.
But the flashback
hit me in double time, more vivid and louder than ever before.
Wet mouths.
Frantic hands.
Dueling tongues.
I nearly went weak at the knees as my core clenched, betraying me in the worst way possible. All I could think was I had to get out of there.
I knew Ramsey was going to unload a whole new set of questions on me, but so be it.
Anything was better than this inferno of crazy.
Everything following me dragging Ramsey out of the office was one gigantic, tipsy rollercoaster of emotions I’d barely remember later.
I did, however, remember chugging two beers in succession.
I remembered Ramsey yanking me into the powder room after the fact.
I remembered her texting Suki and filling her in on what was happening in her absence.
I remembered her bitching like the mama bear she often could be.
And I, unfortunately, remembered stumbling back out into the hallway, right as Roman was trailing down it’s length with a woman on his arm.
Which brings us to now…
2am.
The storm was going at full force and the power had officially gone out. All you could hear was the rain pattering against the window and the palm fronds slapping about with the terrifying howl of the wind.
It was much worse than I’d been anticipating despite the warning over the last week, and as a result, I couldn’t sleep. Ramsey, on the other hand, laid passed out beside me on the couch.
I kept going back to Roman sauntering down the hall with that girl’s hand in his grasp. The sight of them together filled me with instant jealousy, jealousy he caught onto clear as day.
The way he looked at me when he passed by confirmed it.
Satisfaction.
Triumph.
Just the thought resurfaced the green-eyed monster with a vengeance. Throwing the pillow over my face, I groaned aloud in irritation. What the hell was wrong with me?
Why was I acting so ridiculous?
Why was I letting him affect me like this?
‘Cause you don’t have a choice.
No. I dismissed the thought faster than it’d hit me. This wasn’t me. I didn’t fuss over men like this, ever.
