by Angel Steel
As he opened his front door, Renee was talking to him, but he wasn’t listening. Deep down to his soul, he knew that after tonight he would lose her for good. No going back to the way things were between them, nothing. Everything would end. He did this to them. Every single thing. He couldn’t tell her his secret that he had been hiding from the very beginning. No matter what words he said, even when he loved her to the end of the earth and beyond, those words wouldn’t matter to her once he told her what needed to be said. It would end, completely. She wouldn’t want anything to do with him after that.
******
Joey stood at the bar, cleaning glasses as he watched Kristen serve customers, at the end of the counter. He didn’t have very many women working at the bar, since it caused a lot of drama between the fellas. The last one he had, only lasted a week, due to the fact that she slept with customers.
It wasn’t just that either. She went home with Nate last Christmas and that caused Skylar to end things between them. He had also caught her in the act in the back storage room, and then on his damn office desk. It wasn’t just with a few of his male staff; the delivery guys were in there, too.
Replacing the tray full of dirty glasses, he picked it up and started to walk to the end of the bar. Although it wasn’t packed tonight, he hated not having enough glasses. As he approached where Kristen was, he couldn’t help but overhear what was said between her and the male customer she was serving.
“Come on darling, you know you want to,” the guy slurred.
She laughed. “Not interested, plus I have someone at home waiting for me.”
He never dated any of his workers; it never turned out too well once everything went pear shaped. They all seemed to make some kind of commotion in his bar, making him throw them out and ban them. So, his rule number one was no dating the staff, no matter how bad he wanted in their pants, and Kristen was definitely one of them. But there was no harm in flirting with any of them, either.
The last several days she had proved to him that she could handle any situation, and the workload of the bar, especially when it was a full house. She was cocky in her own way. He couldn’t help but laugh when he arranged several of the biker gangs to come in and make it hell for her. She was shocked at first, once everyone was in. Since it was only her and Bradley on that night, he stood back and watched her work.
Not once did she ask for any help in her area, and he was damn proud of the way she handle everything—even the rowdy, horny, drunk crowd. She never once chatted anyone up. They did to her, both male and female, and she went along with her business like she never heard what they said.
Some went a little too far trying to grab a feel as she delivered drink orders to the tables near the pool tables. But she handled them really well, not once hitting a customer, and Bradley was close by if it went any further, like it usually did on a full night.
The only one thing that pissed him off was that Bradley and she hit it off like wild flowers straight away, once they were introduced. Although he said he wouldn’t date her, he still thought of her under him, over him, any possible way she could get.
The guy that sat opposite her workbench leant over and slapped her on the ass, as she was facing the other way mixing his drink. He stopped where he was and placed his tray down, as she froze where she was.
Kristen turned around with the sweetest smile covering her lips and moved back to the counter, shaking her hips a little more than he had ever seen. Leaning over the counter, she lifted her finger, telling him to lean forward. He high-fived his friend beside him as he leaned forward as she requested.
Joey received a great view down her top, and her bloody ass was sticking out. If he walked behind her, she’d feel the evidence of his cock growing in his jeans.
Her fingers lightly ran along the guys’ open shirt as she whispered something to him. As she said whatever she did, the blood drained from his face, and had him pulling away from her quickly. He looked at his friend and then back to her, promptly removed himself from the front of the bar, and pretty much ran out.
She served his friend, who still looked shocked on what happened, and then moved to the next lot of customers. He couldn’t help but need to know what she had said to him. He sidled up to her and, keeping his lower half away from her body, he whispered, “What did you say to him?”
She turned around, her body only inches away from his. She leaned into him, just enough that she could reply, “I told him that if he ever did that again, it could end two ways. One, I would take him home and show him my knife collection and demonstrate how well I know how to use them, or two, one phone call and he would have a car load of muscled-up, pissed off guys waiting for him in the parking lot.”
He couldn’t help the laugh that erupted out of his mouth at what she said.
“What is so funny?” She stood there with her arms crossed over her chest. His eyes had a mind of their own and landed on her cleavage, pushing against the top of her shirt, ready to fall out.
“Sorry, it’s just hard to believe that he turned around and bolted out of the bar at that. I understand the carload of guys, but the knives? Who are the guys you told him about?”
“The guys you don’t want to meet. And the knives, you could always come over and I can show you what I meant,” she said with a sly grin.
“Really? How good are you, sweetheart?”
“Stop calling me that, I hate it,” she growled.
That tone was so cute coming from her mouth. He loved pushing her buttons and hearing her call him everything under the sun. It was a distraction from thinking of her mouth on him.
He stepped up to her, invading her personal space, and her breathing picked up just the slightest. “You love it, baby.”
Her hands came up, pushing him away from her, but lingered just for an extra second on his chest before she pulled them away.
“No, it shits me off. I have customers to serve, boss.” She pushed past him, walking back down to the end of the bar.
Leaning against the bar, he watched as she shook her ass. Bloody tease. Laughing, he grabbed his tray and continued to the kitchen. Placing the glasses in the dishwasher, he moved back towards his office. There was so much to do: invoices, wages, orders, etc.
It was never ending, but he loved every single bit of it.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he leant back and stretched his arms above his head. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw it was 11:43p.m. Well, shit. He had been in his office for the past three and a half hours, and really hadn’t accomplished much, besides thinking of all the different things he could do to Kristen.
Standing up, he made his way out to the bar, looking to see who was left. Rounding the corner, he heard Kristen’s laughter echo down the hall. Grinning to himself, he was ready for a little stirring towards her. She was a wildcat, at most, but he could see the sweet innocent side underneath all that.
As he made his way towards her, he stopped when he heard Bradley’s voice.
“So, what is it between you and Joey?”
“Nothing. He’s my boss.”
“Like anyone cares about that.” Bradley laughed.
“There is nothing going on between us. I don’t date anyone where I work. Plus, I’m with someone,” she replied.
“So, this someone, is it permanent?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? We’re together,” she said, sounding shocked at his question.
“That doesn’t mean anything, if you’re together or not. Does he make you happy?”
What the hell was he doing? By the look of her, she was ready to go ape shit on his ass.
He took a step out and stood at the end of the bar, where at least Kristen could see him there, ready if she needed him for anything.
“Do you think you could make me happier than what he can, Bradley?”
Bradley threw the rag he was using to wipe the countertops down, walked over, and stopped in front of her.
“Hell yeah, I could, baby. I’ll
rock your world,” he said, lifting his hand up and rubbing his thumb over her cheek.
Why was Bradley doing something as small as that making his blood boil? It wasn’t as if she was his. She didn’t belong to him, not at all. Shaking his head, he wasn’t up to what he had planned when he first saw her standing there at the end of the bar.
Turning around, he walked off towards the back door. He knew Bradley would close up, whether he was there or not. He didn’t need to see what happened between them. He couldn’t do anything about it besides remind them of the ‘no workers hooking up’ rule.
Jumping into his truck, he drove towards home. The one place where none of the work shit could follow. He left it at the door as he left. His place was his sanctuary; nothing could ruin what he had there. It was his space. He could do whatever he wanted there without any backlash coming back and biting him in the ass.
Chapter 45
Skylar was getting ready before she headed over to Nate’s for their prenatal appointment with their doctor. She was a little nervous as usual. At every single appointment, she was afraid to find out any bad news about the baby. Standing in front of the mirror, as she rubbed over the huge baby bump. She was thirty-two weeks pregnant, and nothing major has happened since that one time. Thank God. Nate had been watching her nonstop. She loved him for that but it was annoying half the time.
She grabbed her bag as she left her place and walked over to Nate’s. Walking in through the back door, she turned on the kettle, and made her way down towards his room, knowing his was still asleep since it was his day off. As she was walking down the hall, she heard the spare room shower on. Pushing the door open softly, she thought that Chantal would have stayed at her parents’ house last night after the event.
Sitting down on the end of the bed, she waited for her to come out. As she sat, the baby started kicking, hard. Leaning to the side to let some of the pressure off, she started giggling to herself when the baby moved with her, kicking under her ribs.
“What are you giggling about?” Chantal said from the bathroom door.
“The baby was kicking, so I moved. Then, it decided to follow. It’s so uncomfortable.” She laughed.
“I bet it is. Why are you up so early, anyways?” Chantal asked, as she went back into the bathroom, closing the door halfway to get dressed.
“Nate and I have our thirty-two week check-up at the anti-natal clinic today.”
“What does that involve?” Chantal shouted from the bathroom.
“Blood work, urine test, ultrasound, blood pressure. All the boring stuff except for the ultrasound. You should see Nate. Every time we get the ultrasound, he tears up. It is so cute. Every time I see him crying, I ask why he is doing it.”
“What does he say?”
“One, he denies he’s crying, which I know he is. And two, he loves seeing our child on the screen.”
“That is so adorable.” Chantal giggled as she walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair.
“I thought you would have stayed at your parents’ house after the event last night.”
“No, Dad isn’t feeling the best, so I didn’t want to catch whatever he has. Plus, I had some things to do at the shop today, and it’s closer to Nate’s than their house.”
“Well, I hope he gets better soon. I love your mum, but your dad, well, he’s a bit harder to get along with.”
“I know what you mean. What are you doing after the appointment today, any plans?”
“Not that I know of, did you have something in mind? Don’t you have any plans with Dom?”
“I have no idea what his plans are. All I know is that he is due back from his meeting sometime today. I thought maybe if you wanted to come down to the—”
“What the hell is that?” Skylar interrupted as she saw the state of her neck.
“What?”
“The marks around your neck. What happened, Chantal?”
“Nothing.”
“Seriously, Chantal, if you’re in trouble in any way, you would tell me right?”
“Of course I would, Sky. You’re my sister. It’s nothing to worry about, really. I had a scarf on last night and it hooked on one of the fancy ornaments, that’s what the marks are from.”
“It looks more like someone did that to you, Chantal, not something.”
“Who did what to whom?” Nate asked from the door. Both Chantal and her spun at his voice. She watched as Chantal tried to cover the marks around her neck from Nate, but she was too late in doing so.
Storming his way over to her, he pulled away the towel. “What is that?” He gripped her chin and moved it from side to side, looking over the bruises wrapped around her neck. “Who did this?”
“Nate, it’s nothing.”
“Nothing? Have you seen the state of your neck at all? Who did this to you?”
Skylar stood up, she knew what Chantal told her about how it happened was nowhere near the truth, but she wasn’t going to stand in here arguing with her about it. “Nate, Chantal will tell us the truth when she is ready. We need to go, or we’ll be later for our appointment.”
“Skylar.”
“Nate.” She said as she crossed her arms across her chest.
Pointing his finger towards Chantal, he said, “You and I are talking when we get back from the appointment, understand?”
“Ok,” Chantal whispered.
“We’ll see you when we get back,” she said, before leaving the room with Nate.
Once they were in his truck, driving towards the clinic, she asked, “What was all that about, Nate?”
“How the fuck did she get those marks? Did she say anything to you about how?”
“She told me that she got it from a scarf she was wearing that caught on a hook at work. But I don’t believe her. I’m not stupid; I can see the fingerprints,” she whispered.
“That wasn’t from a bloody scarf. Who does she think she is going to fool with that story?”
She reached over, grabbed his hand from the steering wheel, and wrapped it in hers. “We shouldn’t get involved, she will tell us when she is ready, Nate.”
“I know, baby. She’s just like a little sis to me, that’s all.”
“I know, and I love you more at how caring you are towards her.”
“Well, I should do more and see what else I can get out of you,” he growled, as he pulled her closer to him.
She couldn’t help but touch him. Her hormones skyrocketed as soon as they were in his truck. The confined space set her senses on high alert, remembering back when they had made love in there. She stroked up his thigh until she reached the crotch of his jeans, and then stroked down without touching him there. Seeing his body shiver at what she was doing to him, she had to press her legs together.
“Baby, if you keep that up, we won’t be making it to the appointment. And since I know what you are wearing under that dress, we wouldn’t even make it to the closest motel.”.
Sliding back over to her side, giggling, she couldn’t help but torment him just a little. She knew what would happen if she went that extra bit, but she didn’t care, they could pull over anywhere, the way she was feeling. He could do whatever he wanted to her.
She couldn’t be having those kinds of feelings when they walked into their appointment. She checked the time on her phone. They were still minutes away from the clinic. Once they were done, she needed to spend some time with Chantal, and find out exactly what had been going on with her.
******
Chantal sat there on the bed, tracing over the mark around her neck. She knew what it looked like, she had seen it in the mirror, and was shocked at how dark the bruising was. When she lightly touched it, it hurt. She hadn’t realised how tender it was. She was pissed at being that close to Derek and allowing him to do what he had to her.
It was a going to be a different story once Dom saw the marks. She should have pushed Derek away from her better than what she did. He was always in control of the relationship, no matter the
situation. But, she had had enough of it in the end when she found him in their bed with the new secretary. After that, she told herself that she was not going to allow another man ever to take full control over her...until she met Dominic.
Now she craved that control, especially from him. She was usually the one in control when it came to the bedroom, but being with him, she needed that from him, badly. She needed it in her life. If he ever decided to stop what was happening between them, she had no idea how she would cope. What they had was special, nothing like she had ever had with another person, and she knew she would never have it again if something happened between them.
She wasn’t going to sit here and think any more about him not being in her life. He loved her. She was his and his only. When she woke this morning she forgave him over the blunt text she received from him the night before, knowing he was busy. She knew what it was like. She had sat through many of them at her father’s firm.
Picking up her laptop off the dresser and walked out into the kitchen. As she was grabbing a glass, her phone rang. She ran over to where she had placed it earlier and answered.
“Hello.”
“Chantal.”
“Hey, Dom. Are you back from your meeting?”
His breathing was deep over the phone. “Yeah, baby. I was about to head over your way.”
Crap! What am I going to tell him about why I am staying at Nate’s house! There was no way he would take that very well, that she was staying at his house and not Skylar’s. She knew she had to tell him about the letters, the gift, and now the video of them.
“Um, I’m at Skylar’s house,” she lied, grabbing her bag and laptop as she quickly and quietly moved towards the front door.
“Why are you there?”
“Um, no reason.”
“Chantal. What is going on?”
She could tell by the way he said her name that he wanted to know exactly what was going on, and now.
“Dom,” she whispered his name as she stopped where she was.
“I mean it, Chantal. I know something is wrong just through your voice. I’m coming over now, and when I get there we are talking.” After saying that, he hung up.
