“It’ll look suspicious if we don’t spend anything. They’ll assume we’re hustlers and we’ll be kicked out before we can even lay a finger on one of those tables.” He nodded to the billiard area. “We’ll order a pitcher of beer and a basket of wings. After we’ve eaten some, we’ll get up and start to play. Yes?”
There was no sense disagreeing with him. We were way out of my element here. The social outings I went to were at posh places and everyone wore designer, not worn out old cowboy boots and leather vests.
Good lord. There were so many leather vests.
And chains.
And skull tattoos.
Not that I had anything against skull tattoos, but to say this wasn’t my usual crowd was a bit of an understatement. My mind replayed some scenes from the last week or so of my life. I had witnessed multiple men die at Xavier’s hands, and ran over one myself with a car. And I still wanted him. Fiercely. I didn’t know what that said about me.
We ordered our food and drinks and they arrived quickly. A place like this had to have speedy service, because it wasn’t like the customers came for the quality.
I inched my chair a little closer to Xavier’s as I watched four men gather around a pool table. “What about them?” I asked, pointing my chin toward them as they racked the pool balls.
Xavier eyed them over the rim of the beer the waitress had just dropped off. “Yes. They’ll do just fine.”
Chapter Thirteen
Xavier
“Ready?”
Violet glanced at me and shrugged. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“Bring your beer.”
She picked up her freshly filled glass of amber ale and followed me from our corner spot over to the pool table where the group of four men had just finished wrapping up their second game.
One of them, the shortest man with frayed jeans and a receding hairline, could play a decent game. But I was fairly certain I’d seen the full extent of his skills and they weren’t anything to write home about.
This would be quick easy money. Then Violet and I could get the hell out of here, get a good night’s sleep, and head to the airport bright and early tomorrow morning.
The heels of Violet’s little black boots clicked along behind me as I sauntered up to the pool table, plucked a cue from the wall that was too short for me, and planted the base of it on the wooden floor by my feet. I leaned one hip on the table and cleared my throat while Violet draped herself on the edge and swung one leg back and forth. She sipped her beer and the men turned to us.
“Gentlemen,” I said, letting my eyes flick from my pool cue to the table. “Any of you fancy a game?”
The short one looked at my pool cue and I waited patiently for him to make his assessment of me. I exuded what I wanted him to see—an overconfident asshole with no idea how to play pool.
He fell for it.
“I’ll play you,” he said, grabbing his own cue and walking over. He held out his hand. “The name’s Clancy. And yours?”
“Kip.” Stupid simple names were best when it came to this sort of hustle. I was giving him plenty of reasons not to take me seriously.
Clancy hid his smirk and nodded past me to Violet, who was still swinging her leg aimlessly and sipping her beer. “Who’s the girl?”
I looked over my shoulder at her as if I was remembering she was still there. “Oh. That’s Ashley. Don’t mind her. She can’t play for shit. She’s just here for the beer and the attention if you know what I mean.”
Clancy cracked a smile in Violet’s direction. “I’ll buy you a drink after this round, doll.”
I was sure Violet’s insides were squirming, but she planted a sweet smile on her pretty lips and cocked her head to the side. “Make it two and you have a deal.”
Clancy grinned and looked at me. “I like her.”
“She’s a lot less charming the more liquor she gets in her,” I warned.
Clancy snickered and looked to his boys who’d been eavesdropping on our entire conversation. “Less charming is actually more my speed.”
Of course it was.
Violet slid off the edge of the pool table and swept her hair over one shoulder as she walked deliberately past me and Clancy. Her hips swayed dramatically with every step she took, and I had a hard time staying in character.
All I wanted to do was reach out and grab that ass of hers and remind her who she came in here with. And who she’d be leaving with. Not that I thought she’d forgotten. I just wanted to make it clear to the other men that, while I might be dangling her in front of them like a carrot in front of a donkey, she was mine, and that’s how it was going to stay.
Clancy set up the pool table while the other three fixated on Violet as she polished off the rest of her beer and set her glass down hard. Then she turned her green eyes on them and nodded toward the bar. “Is someone going to get me another, or what?”
One of them scampered off.
Violet and I exchanged bemused looks before I focused my attention at the game at hand.
Clancy let me start the game. I made a show of breaking terribly.
Clancy chuckled.
“I haven’t played in a few years,” I said.
Clancy shrugged one shoulder, bent over the table, and set up his shot. He sank a red stripe, twirled his pool cue in his fingers, and lined up another shot. “That’s all right, friend. We’re just playing for fun here. Right boys?”
“Right,” the two with Violet answered unanimously.
Violet practically purred like a cat when the third came back with her beer. “Thanks sugar.” She took a long sip. A bead of amber liquid formed in the corner of her mouth and rolled down her chin. She didn’t wipe it away.
“You’re up,” Clancy said.
I shook my head to clear the wandering thoughts racing through my mind. I should have told Violet to tone it down a bit. She was making it hard for me to keep my head in the game. Not only was I paying attention to winning this match at the very end of it all, once I had their trust, and knew Clancy was sure I was a rookie, I was also keeping my eyes peeled for any suspicious activity.
This was exactly the kind of place where it would be easy for the Shades to get the drop on me. It was loud. Crowded. Swarming with people of all different shapes and sizes. It was an easy mix to blend into if you dressed properly, too.
All a clever Shade had to do was throw on some denim and leather and I’d be hard pressed to pick him out of the crowd.
Which was why Violet and I needed to hustle this along quickly.
I took my shot and missed.
“Fuck,” I hissed, giving the leg of the pool table a kick with the toe of my boot for good measure.
“Slow down there, Kip. It’s no big deal. Just a first shot,” Clancy said.
I felt a little bad stringing him along to take his money like this. He was a nice enough guy.
Violet piped up from where she sat with the other men. “I thought you said you knew how to play, Kip.”
I appreciated her participation. She was providing the perfect cover. “Mind your own business,” I said.
Violet rolled her shoulders, rested her chin in her hand and her elbow on the table, and leaned toward one of the other men to whisper something to him about me. All of them gathered at the table snickered and shot looks in my direction.
Keep it up, Violet. We’ll have them eating out of the palm of our hand in no time.
I finished the first game as I started it. Terribly.
I sank a total of three balls and put on a good show of irritated embarrassment when Clancy sank the last ball and clamped a hand on my shoulder.
“It’s alright, kid. It’s just a game,” he said.
“Another round?” I offered.
Clancy looked to his boys, who all nodded eagerly. They weren’t going to pass up on the chance to spend more time with Violet, who had at some point during the game managed to re-tie her shirt a little higher so that her navel was exposed.
I hid my smile and racked the pool balls.
“Another game couldn’t hurt,” Clancy said.
Violet piped up from her side of the table. “Why don’t you boys make it a bit more interesting and put some money on the table?”
Clancy glanced at her and then at me. “I don’t think that would be right, doll.”
Violet hopped off her stool and walked seductively toward us. She rested an elbow on Clancy’s shoulder and twirled a strand of her hair around her finger as she eyed me. “You don’t think you could take him, Kip? You were talking a big game before. I’d like to see you put your money where your mouth is. Unless you’re scared, of course.”
All four men were looking at Violet.
She gave me a wicked smile. “There’s a pair of new shoes I want, Kip. And I think they’d look even better on me if you bought them. So man up. And put some money down.”
The three men back at the table muttered under their breath.
I stood up straighter. “Fine. How much?”
Clancy shrugged. “Fifty bucks?”
I laughed. “Fifty bucks? Don’t patronize me, Clancy. I’m warmed up now. We can put some real money down.”
“Fine,” Clancy said, “make it two hundred.”
“Two hundred it is.”
We played for the two hundred.
And I lost brilliantly.
Clancy pocketed his cash and went to the table to celebrate with his boys while Violet put on a good show of being pissed off. She marched over to me and jabbed me in the chest. “That was pathetic. You’re supposed to win, Kip. Not roll over like a dog and let him take your money.”
I grabbed her wrist as she went to jab me again. “I know this is all fun and games,” I said, “but if you don’t tone it down I’m going to have to take you to the bathroom and bend you over. You hear me?”
Violet’s lips peeled off her teeth in a seductive smile. “I didn’t know you cared.”
I released her. She dropped her wrist and spun in a circle to put her back to me.
I didn’t stop myself from looking at her ass as she planted a hand on the table and popped her hip out. She addressed the men with confidence. “One more round. I’ll chip in. One thousand. Take it or leave it.”
Their eyes practically popped out of their heads.
And then the wheels started turning and they started doing the math. If they all chipped in they’d each be walking out of here with two hundred and fifty bucks in their pockets. And I wasn’t much of a threat. They’d seen me lose two games and I’d been pretty careful to make the act convincing.
They pulled out and opened their wallets.
Violet nodded confidently. “Way to be, boys. Now, Kip.” She turned to me and grabbed the front of my shirt in her hand to tug me toward her. She arched an eyebrow. “Don’t fuck this up.”
She released me and turned to walk away. I slapped her ass. Violet looked back at me over her shoulder with bright pink cheeks and parted lips. I made a quick, easy decision: I was going to fuck the hell out of her tonight.
The way she was looking at me suggested she already knew it.
Clancy approached the table and I let him start the game.
After he sank three balls off the break I stepped up to take my turn. Nobody was paying much attention. They were all confident they had their wins in the bag. They were sure they’d have enough money to cover their beer and wing tab for the next few nights.
I sank my solid in the pocket. And then another. And another.
Clancy watched as I paced around the table, bent at the waist, and lined up my next shot. I deliberately missed and hung my head. “Damn. I thought I had something there.”
Clancy let out a nervous laugh. His friends had all pricked to attention too, and they melted back into their seats as Violet made her way around them to collect another beer. She took a swig and met my gaze.
And then she winked.
Yep.
She was going to get it once we got out of this shit hole. This cocky attitude of hers was turning me on. And I didn’t like being made to look the fool while I was working.
Clancy took his shots and I stepped up to finish the game.
Chapter Fourteen
Violet
“Move your ass, Violet,” Xavier said, putting his hand in the small of my back and pushing me through the crowd away from the pool tables.
He’d just pocketed the money he won off Clancy and his stupid friends, and there was no telling if they were actually going to let us just walk out of here or if they were going to realize they just got hustled and come after us.
So I walked. Fast.
I wove through the crowd and kept my head down as we made a beeline to the front doors. They were flanked by a security guard on each side, and when we passed through I gave them my most charming smile, which earned me a nod from both of them.
We broke out into the fresh air on the porch, hurried down the steps, and half jogged across the parking lot to our car.
Xavier took the driver’s seat this time. He looked absolutely ridiculous in the bright yellow mini.
I got in the passenger side and we pulled out without looking back.
Xavier reached into his pocket and pulled out the cash as he drove. “Count it.”
“It’s all here,” I confirmed after flipping through the bills. “A thousand bucks. Just like that. Not too shabby, Xavier. Not too shabby.”
He kept his eyes on the road but his lips curled upward in a devious little grin that made my knees feel like butter. “I had a good assistant.”
“I had no idea what I was doing in there.”
“You were more convincing than I was.”
“You think?”
He nodded. “Definitely. But I’ve had a hard on for over an hour and I need to do something about it.”
I blinked at him. “Sorry?”
He turned to me. “We’re ditching this car and finding a new one. And we’re going to break it in. Properly. Because life is fucking short.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. “Well we’d better find a car fast then.”
“Indeed.”
It didn’t take long for Xavier to pick out a car around the back of a gas station. We parked the mini, grabbed our bags, and casually walked around the back of the station to break into the older sedan we found. I wasn’t sure what year it was, but it was a common model. One I’d seen on the roads a dozen times over in the last couple days. It was forest green with a sticker in the window from some sort of fantasy movie.
It was probably some poor teenager’s first car.
I felt a little guilty as we drove away.
My guilt grew when I realized Xavier and I were about to fuck in it.
My pussy ached. Having him taunt me with sex like that wasn’t fair. Since the words left his mouth all I’d been able to think about was his cock, hard and ready, and my wet pussy.
“Where are we going to stop?” I asked.
“Eager, princess?”
“No.”
He chuckled. “I want to get a few more miles in. Then we’ll find a place to pull over and spend the night. No more hotels. No more trails.”
“Sleep in the car?” I asked dubiously.
“Not glamorous enough for you?”
“No. I just… it doesn’t matter. The car is fine.”
He looked over his shoulder into the backseat. “It is fine. There’s plenty of space to lay you out back there.”
“Drive faster,” I told him.
Xavier stepped on the gas and picked up speed. I gripped the edges of my seat as mile after mile passed under our tires, and soon enough he took an exit, followed a couple right hand turns, and drove us down a long narrow road without street lights.
“Romantic,” I muttered, leaning forward to peer out at the darkness all around us.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of the dark.”
“I’m scared of how easily the people trying to kill us can hide in
the dark,” I amended.
Xavier drove off the road. Our headlights lit up the surrounding trees and bush, and he pushed forward, driving us into the dense shrubbery and over roots until we were about half a mile away from the road.
Then he unclipped his seat belt and opened his door.
Crickets and frogs chirped outside.
He leaned over. “Get your ass in the back seat. Now.”
He was using that tone of his that suggested disobeying him was a bad idea. One of these days I wanted to push my luck and see what would happen if I defied him. Sure, I’d broken my promise back at the hotel run by Vicky and her husband, but this was different. This was just sex. He wouldn’t actually be pissed if I played hard to get.
Would he?
“Violet,” he barked.
I flinched and took off my seatbelt.
It was better not to find out right now. He was still injured. If I wanted to play hard ball I could pick a better time.
Perhaps a time where we weren’t out in the middle of nowhere and I wasn’t completely at his mercy.
Once I had climbed out of the car, Xavier flicked his fingers, beckoning me to come around to his side. I did. Twigs and leaves crunched softly under my boots. When I came around the hood of the car he took me by the elbow and pulled me in close to pin me between himself and the driver’s door.
“You were a handful tonight,” he said.
Even though hardly any light reached us beneath the foliage above, his dark eyes still reflected the light of the moon peeking through the leaves. He was beautiful. All sharp features with a strong jaw and a dark, needy stare that set my blood on fire.
I swallowed. “I was doing what you asked. Only better.”
Xavier rested a hand on my hip. I was painfully aware of every part of him. His knee sliding between my thighs. His hand sliding under the hem of my shirt. His other hand bracing himself on the car, caging me in.
He needn’t bother. I wasn’t going to run.
Not from him.
“Every time I think I have you figured out you surprise me,” he said. His voice was rough and gravelly.
Dark Lover: Sins of the Night Page 8
