by Franca Storm
Blake hurries over and blocks Axel’s path to me with his body.
“You think this is over?” I thunder. “They won’t always be around. And then I’ll beat you into the ground, you piece of shit! You pussy!”
“John, stop!” Jim orders me. “Calm down.”
Axel leans back behind Blake, who is still blocking him and looking between us, wondering what the hell is happening.
“You have one hell of a temper, man. I’m not sure Nicki likes that in a man,” Axel says. “I wonder how she’s gonna react when she finds out you did this…” he continues, gesturing to his bloodied cheek. “…that you attacked me for no goddamn reason.”
“You fuck! Don’t use her! I will kill you. I swear to God. You think I’m kidding? I’ll rip your fucking head off! Don’t touch her!”
“Nicki?” Blake asks, looking between us. “Axel, what’s going on?”
“What is going on?” Nicki asks, emerging from the shower room suddenly.
Axel moves to speak, but Uncle Jim cuts in quickly: “Shut it. John. Nicki. My office. Now.”
Chapter 11
~John~
I’m pacing up and down my uncle’s office, my hands pulling angrily at my hair as my boots thump heavily on the hardwood floor. I can’t calm down. It’s been years since I’ve been this angry about anything. That night when Nicki was attacked was the last time. And what I’d done then to that scum bag who’d touched her had been a wakeup call. Since then, I’ve never let myself get that out of control again. Until now.
“Sit down,” my uncle growls at me from behind his desk.
When that guy tells you to do something, you don’t argue. I mutter a curse under my breath and force myself to sink into the chair beside Nicki. He leans over his desk and orders me, “Talk.”
“Jim, he won’t hurt me,” Nicki says, her cheeks red with embarrassment at the idea of discussing what we’re about to in front of my uncle.
“I know, princess. But when John gets like this he tends to take it out on whatever’s lying around at the time. I don’t want him trashing my office, so I’m staying.”
Nicki heaves a sigh and twists her body in her chair to face me. “Why did you attack him?”
“He’s a piece of shit.”
“That’s not an answer, John.”
Seems like the only answer when it comes to Axel. I draw in a breath in an effort to calm myself. I hate being angry around her, because I know how much anyone losing their temper scares her. And the struggle of trying to cool down just antagonizes me more. It’s like a frigging catch-22 situation. Argh! “I came here to give you a ride home.”
“And I appreciate it.”
“And then that…fuck…told me he was taking you out.”
She nods. “Yeah. It’s just lunch.”
I roll my eyes and slump back against my chair. Just lunch? She’s so naïve.
“What? What is that look for?” she asks. “Tell me,” she presses.
I look at my uncle and I can tell immediately that he knows what I’m not saying. But, as usual, Nicki doesn’t get it. And that’s exactly why she won’t be able to handle Axel and his sick games and manipulations.
“Axel wants to fuck you.”
“So what?”
I’m shocked. Why? Cuz she’s not shocked. She’s…what then?...fine with it? What the hell? “What? You want that?”
She shrugs her shoulders like it’s no big deal.
And just like that, my anger sparks to life again. I jerk forward in my chair. “You want that asshole to stick his limp dick in your pussy? You wanna spread your legs for him and let him use you like another one of his easy lays?”
“John!” my uncle scolds me. “Watch your mouth.”
“Do you?” I push, ignoring his warning.
“Maybe!” she blurts out.
Fuck. I feel like she’s just slapped the shit out of me. “Maybe, huh? You think he’s gonna be gentle with you? You think he’s gonna care if you’re hurt and sore when he takes you? You think he’s gonna make you come like I did? He’s not gonna give a shit about you.”
“John! I said watch your language!”
Nicki looks away and shields her face with her hands. “Stop it.”
I kick back my chair and jump to my feet. “You’re making a mistake. I’m trying to protect you. He’s going after you to get at me, okay?”
“You’re so full of yourself!” she yells, getting up from her chair and storming over to me. “And you’re such a liar.”
“Liar? I wish I was lying. I don’t want you to get hurt here.”
“Right, of course. You’d rather do that yourself.”
I wince at her comment. “No, I never want to hurt you.”
She shifts her weight, blows out a breath and cocks her head to the side. “Look, are we together?”
“What?”
“Are we together? Are you and I dating?”
“No, but—”
“Then I’m not yours.”
“Nicki, that’s not—”
“Great, then all of this is pointless.” She brushes past me roughly and storms to the door.
I beat her to it and slap my hand against it before she can open it.
“John, stop it!”
“Not until you listen.”
She thrusts both her hands into my chest. “Stop suffocating me! Do you want me to be like this forever; afraid to be touched by anyone?”
“No.”
“Is it that you want to be the only one, John? Are you jealous? You can’t stand the idea of any other man laying his hands on me? Of any other man being with me?” She steps into me and glares up at me. “You keep them all away from me, yet you don’t want me. So you want me to be alone forever, never with anyone until you’re ready to step up? I don’t fucking think so. You’ve already made it perfectly clear where you stand. So back the hell off!”
She pushes me again. Even harder this time. I don’t do anything to stop her. I let her. My back jars against the wall, winding me. But I don’t care. I can’t look away. I can’t take my eyes off her as she gives me a dirty look and then turns her back and walks away from me.
I jump suddenly as something cold presses against my cheek. It takes me a second to realize that it’s my uncle pressing an ice pack to my right eye where Axel punched me while I was restrained. Shit, how long have I been standing here just staring into space?
“Thanks,” I say, taking the ice pack from him and holding it to my face.
“You slept with Nicki?”
I shake my head.
“Well, you clearly did something with her. You know you’re making a mistake here, right?”
“I know. I should’ve never done anything with her.”
“No, you idiot. You’re making a mistake by blowing her off.”
I look away. “I’m not…ready.”
He slaps my shoulder. Hard. “Then hurry up and get ready or that asshole is gonna take your girl.”
I look up at him, surprised. “So you think he’s an asshole too?”
“Of course.”
“Why can’t she see that?”
“Nicki’s been through a lot. You know that better than anyone. She hasn’t grown up normally like other girls her age. She doesn’t have those street smarts when it comes to men. She’s still learning. Do you want her to have to learn the hard way?”
“No.”
“Then man up, John.”
He walks out of the room and I call out, “Man up?”
“Yeah, you heard me.”
Chapter 12
~Nicki~
“Sorry about that,” Axel says as he walks back into the den of the frat house with another ice-pack pressed to his now very black eye.
“No problem,” I respond from the couch.
I’ve never seen a guy make such a big deal about a punch to the face and a couple to the ribs. When he showed me the damage I knew immediately that John had been holding back. How do I know? None of his
ribs were broken. John can do a lot of damage. But, even in a state of rage like he was today, he’d drawn the line and he hadn’t stepped over it. The one time that he did still haunts him, I guess. I didn’t realize until I saw him lose his temper today. No one else saw it, but I did. He was fighting himself, fighting to maintain control.
I wonder why he never talks about it with me. He probably thinks I won’t be able to handle it. But maybe it would have helped me. Instead I repressed it. And now look at me. I can’t even let a guy touch me—other than John—without freaking out like some crazy woman.
Well, I’m determined to remedy that. John doesn’t want me, but if I can do that stuff with him now, maybe it means I’m ready to do it with someone else.
Axel groans as he slumps back down onto the couch and rubs his ribs with his free hand. We’re watching a movie on the giant flat screen in the frat house den.
“What you thinking about, Nicki?” Axel asks, cutting through my many thoughts.
“Nothing much,” I lie. “How’s your eye doing?”
I’m not much of a touchy-feely person, but I figure I should at least sound like I care. It probably sounds awful, but it’s just a black eye. He’s not like John and I. He’s not a boxer. John? Stop thinking about him!
“I took a couple of painkillers and it’s starting to feel better now.”
Painkillers? Wow. “That’s good,” I respond lamely.
He doesn’t seem to notice and he grins at me. “You’re so cute, you know that?” He snakes his arm along the back of the couch and smoothly positions himself until it’s resting on my shoulders. I try to keep my eyes on the TV, try to distract myself. Anything so I don’t freak out like I usually do. But I fail and shudder at his contact.
It does nothing to deter him and he pulls me against him and leans in, whispering, “You know, Nicki. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know. It’s not that.”
He smiles and says, “Do you want another beer?”
I glance at my two empties on the coffee table and shake my head. “No, I’m good.”
“You’re sure?”
“Are you trying to get me drunk, Axel?” I ask, cocking an eyebrow.
“If it’ll loosen you up a little, sure.”
Shit. He’s right. This is stupid. Do it! Do it! I lean into him. He doesn’t move. He just looks at me and his eyes darken. They look wild. Primal. It sends a shiver of trepidation through me. It’s a warning. But I force myself to ignore it.
He doesn’t wait any longer. His lips crash down on mine and he kisses me hard. His right hand fists in my hair, trapping my mouth against his as he takes my mouth determinedly; forcefully. I hear a blunt smack on the coffee table and I know he’s tossed the ice-pack on there. Now that his left hand is free, he slips it under my tank top. I gasp as I feel his ice-cold fingers touch my stomach.
“Come on, Nicki,” he whispers in my ear, before biting my earlobe.
I’m so overcome that it takes me a moment to realize what he means. I’m not kissing him back. I’m not doing anything. I’m just sitting here frozen like the inexperienced, scared virgin that I am.
Again, he doesn’t wait. He doesn’t ask my permission as his tongue prods stubbornly at the crevice of my lips. He pushes his way in and before I know it his tongue is sliding against mine. It forces my response and I return every stroke of his, struggling to match his fierceness.
His hand slides further up my shirt and he squeezes my left boob through my bra roughly. Very roughly. I whimper into his mouth in protest. He misinterprets my reaction and maneuvers me beneath him so that he’s straddling me on the couch.
Panic flares up inside me. I fight to push it down. We’re just making out. Relax.
And I manage it.
Until he grinds his dick against me so hard that I can feel the entirety of his hard length as though there was nothing at all between us; no jeans, no shorts.
And when his fingers sweep down to the belt of my jeans and start to work to unclasp it; that’s it for me. I’m done. The panic has free rein. I can’t stop it.
But I need to stop him.
I pull my lips from his and gasp, “No.”
He doesn’t stop and, instead, moves his lips back to mine.
I jerk my head away. “Axel. No. Stop.”
“Just relax. It’s gonna be fine. You’ll like it. I promise.”
His words send a shiver down my spine. “Axel! Stop!” I yell, frantically.
This time he listens and his hands leave me. He sits back, still straddling me, and holds up his hands. “Okay. We’ve stopped. Okay, Nicki?” he says, suddenly all concerned and understanding again.
I thrust my hands into his chest, pushing him off me and I scramble off the couch. “No. It’s not okay. I told you three times!”
I don’t know whether I’m more angry or more embarrassed or more…frightened.
“I’m sorry, babe. You make it difficult to stop.”
My eyes narrow. “What does that mean?”
His gaze rakes over me and he licks his bottom lip. “You’re fucking gorgeous. And that body…touching you…it’s addictive.”
Huh. I wasn’t expecting that. Quite the compliment. But still! He should’ve stopped. “Whatever,” I respond harshly.
He gets off the couch and approaches me. “May I?” he asks, gesturing to my hands.
Stunned by this odd side of him, I end up nodding my permission.
He takes both my hands in his and says, “I am really sorry. Honestly. I’m not used to being told to stop like that. It was…difficult. I’m not sure you realize how difficult. But I know now. I know where the line is for you. Okay? It won’t happen again.”
I’m still skeptical. “Look, I should go.”
“Please don’t blow me off. I really like you. Let’s not let one misunderstanding derail this thing between us.”
Shit, is he begging me now? He really likes me? Wow, this is new. Unlike John, he’s actually putting himself out there. And clearly he’s not afraid to do it either. Hmm…I like this.
Yeah, he’s right. He just made a mistake. I’m too uptight. It’s me. He’s a laid back guy and he’s not used to this…crap of mine. It’s not his fault; it’s mine.
“Okay,” I say, smiling at him. “You’re right. I overreacted.”
“Yeah,” he tells me. “Now, you wanna finish watching the movie? I won’t lay a finger on you again for the rest of the night. I swear it. Okay?”
I nod. “All right. You promise though?”
“I do.”
I let him lead me back to the couch and he moves right over to the opposite end to me, intent on keeping his word. I breathe a sigh of relief and curl my legs up over on my side. He winks at me and flashes me a reassuring smile. It makes me relax almost instantly and I lean my head back against the couch ready to enjoy the rest of the movie.
Chapter 13
~John~
“You owe me! I did it last time!” I yell back into the apartment as I walk into the hallway with a garbage bag slung over my shoulder.
“I picked up the beer! Again!” Mitch yells back at me.
I laugh. Dammit. He’s got me there. I walk down the hall until I reach the garbage shoot. I haul it open and shove the bag in there, making sure I push it all the way in. I hate it when lazy-ass people fail to do that. It’s a blatant lack of respect.
I turn around to make my way back to the apartment when I collide with someone coming in the other direction.
“Shit, sorry, I—” I stop as I realize it’s Nicki.
She’s coming home now? It’s 3am. It’s not like her to stay out so late.
“Hi. Sorry about smacking into you.”
“Hey,” she returns.
There’s no warmth in her voice and her expression is pure stone, no emotion. She’s still mad at me about earlier then. Mad at me? How about Axel? Argh!
“How was your night?” I ask casually. Am I fishing for information? Definitely.
>
“Fine.”
I study her for a moment as I try to think of what to say next. Everything I end up saying lately just seems to upset her.
But then my thought process grinds to a halt as I notice her shirt. It’s way too big for her, even with the way she’s wearing it tied on both sides. It’s a guy’s shirt.
I can’t stop myself now. “Is that his?” I ask, making no attempt whatsoever to hide my absolute, utter disgust.
“Yeah. I spilled beer on mine so he lent this to me.”
She gestures to a tank top laid over the top of her gym bag. I see the beer stains on it. She’s clearly telling the truth, but it doesn’t make it any better. Why? Because she took her shirt off at the frat house to put his on. He probably saw her in her fucking bra. And that’s something I can’t deal with rationally.
“Huh,” I respond through gritted teeth. “Did he tell you to keep it?”
“What? What kind of question is that?”
“I’m just making conversation,” I lie. Tell me. Tell me. It’s important. I need to know.
“He…uh…yeah.”
“Wow,” I say cryptically, flashing her a look that I know will bug the hell out of her. She hates not knowing. She’ll have to ask me what I mean by it. Just like I want her to.
Her eyes narrow and she studies me for a moment as she tries to figure it out. And then she walks the couple of feet to her apartment and fumbles with her keys at the door. I walk back to my own. I’m a step away when she calls out to me.
“What, John? What is it? Tell me, please.”
I smile to myself and turn around. “Mark of possession.”
Our eyes lock briefly and then she blushes as she gets it. It’s a throwback to my earlier comment about the frat guys, especially Axel, claiming their women.
I walk into my apartment and shut the door, leaving her to take it in. That should do it. It’ll freak her out—the whole claiming shit. It should be enough to keep her away from him. A way that, unlike what happened today, won’t make me look like a crazed fucking maniac.
Yeah, it’s a low blow to mess with her head, but I can’t think of another way to make her hear me.
