“I remember,” he finally said. His voice sounded like sandpaper and I enjoyed the effect it had on my body.
“Good. Otherwise, I started this off all wrong.”
“Started what off all wrong?”
I didn’t know if telling him about the dare voided it, but despite Nicole’s best effort to convince me this was the adult version of truth or dare, I suddenly felt very foolish and in no way wanted him to know what was going on.
“It doesn’t matter.” I was starting to doubt my own ability to actually pull this off, and I found myself taking a step back. “Well—”
“Nice…” His eyes roamed down my body, stopping me from going anywhere, and it was almost as if he were touching me. I wanted him to be touching me. “Shoes.” His eyes found mine again.
“They’re the color of sin,” I blurted.
He closed the distance between us and I fought to breathe. “Sin suits you.”
Maybe it was because he looked like he needed it as much as I did. Maybe it had a lot to do with the liquid courage flowing nicely through my system. Or maybe I just needed to prove that I could let go. Either way, I knew it had absolutely nothing to do with sanity.
I didn’t want to give him time to react, so before I could talk myself out of it, I lifted up on my toes and pulled his face toward mine.
And damn if sin didn’t suit him, too.
15
Sin
Something happened when she pressed her lips to mine. I came to life.
I’d followed her to the restaurant. I’d planned on watching from afar until I figured out exactly what it was I was doing. I didn’t, however, plan on her looking like seduction or those red heels that made her legs look like long, lean stems of salvation. Dear God, she was made for sin.
I hadn’t even realized she’d seen me as she made her way across the room. My eyes were glued to the sway of her hips and the way she smoothed down her dress with her hands. It was as if she were touching herself for me.
The night was going wrong. I was supposed to hide in the shadows. She wasn’t supposed to be smiling up at me with those sinful lips and sparkling blue eyes, and she definitely wasn’t supposed to be kissing me.
Her lips against mine was wrong in so many ways. I’d planned multiple devious plots for her, one of which included her end, yet there she was breathing what felt like a beginning into me.
She pressed harder, and while I knew I should’ve moved away, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her back. Weight lifted from my chest, and for a few seconds, I felt light. I felt like Jax again.
I closed my eyes and relished in the relief I hadn’t felt in so long. My hands moved on their own and my fingers wrapped around her hips, pulling her into the hardness she’d elicited.
Hunger took over me as I flicked the tip of her tongue with mine. A husky moan slipped from her mouth and vibrated against mine, knocking me back into reality.
What the fuck was I doing?
I was in military mode, and fraternizing with the enemy was punishable by death. I was already dead, even if the woman in my arms made my heart beat harder and my breathing faster.
I shocked her when I grabbed the tops of her arms and pulled her away. Her wide eyes were glazed over, and I knew exactly what she was feeling because I was feeling it, too, and it was wrong. So fucking wrong.
She looked up at me with no trace of shyness, no ounce of regret for the kiss, and it shocked me. Desire and need flushed her face in a way that prompted me to take her up against the nearest wall. Fuck the crowd around us, I wanted to feel her heat all around me. I wanted to drown in the cries of the pleasure I could give her, but I couldn’t do any of that.
Staring down at her, I was disgusted that something as simple as a kiss had taken my mind off of my target, yet I was amazed that my target had triggered emotions I thought I’d lost forever.
Releasing her because I knew if I held her a second longer all would be lost to hell, I took a step back.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I wanted to ask her for what, but she was stepping away and into the crowd.
The last thing I saw was the back of her head and the sexy curve in her lower back that her dress showed off. There was no doubt about it; I was fucked.
It was no longer a good idea to hide in the shadows of the restaurant. She’d seen me and something sensual had passed between us. I needed to get the hell of there and collect myself in my car until she came out.
Adjusting myself without being obvious, I turned and left the restaurant. The hostess looked at me like I’d lost my mind as I nearly ran out of there, knocking over incoming customers. I couldn’t agree more. I was definitely losing my fucking mine.
An hour later, I was in my car with the radio playing and leaning back in my seat as I waited for her to leave.
It was ten ‘til two when the doors to the restaurant opened and she and a shorter girl stepped out. They were laughing uncontrollably about something, and even from my vantage point, I could see the sparkle in her eyes.
They talked for a bit before hugging and going in different directions. When her cab pulled into traffic, I pulled out behind it.
We didn’t drive far until the cab pulled into a swanky apartment and dropped her off. I parked and got out of my own car, completely drawn to her.
I followed a ways behind as she made her way up the sidewalk to her door. Her keys rattled as she struggled to unlock it. She dropped the keys and cursed before bending over to pick them up. Her short dress rode up on her thighs, allowing me to see the soft flesh between her legs and a hint of black, lace panties.
I contained the growl that rose up my throat.
Getting the door unlocked, she went inside. I expected the door to slam and block me out, but she must’ve turned her key the wrong way and locked the door again before shutting it. The lock poked out on the side of the door, keeping it from closing completely.
Unaware that her door was cracked open, she threw her purse onto her couch, slipped her red heels from her dainty feet, and padded down the hallway and out of sight. I pressed my fingers against the door and let it open soundlessly.
Stepping inside, I closed the door softly behind me. Down the hallway a door slammed and I followed the sound. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have a plan; I just went with it.
Her hall was one long walk down memory lane. Graduation, first car, awards, and memories—everything Chelsea would never get to experience—and in every picture he was there.
I stopped at one of the pictures with just her and stood there, staring at her. She was kneeling next to a dog and smiling up at the camera. She looked so happy and full of life. Despite how beautiful she was, I hated her for that, and that hate helped push me forward. Turning away, I kept moving.
When I reached what I assumed was her bedroom door, I could hear her singing and the sounds of drawers being opened and closed.
Peeking into the small crack of her door, I saw her black dress as she flittered around the room and prepared for her shower. Once she disappeared into the bathroom, I slipped into the room and looked around. Lying across the bed was a pair of black lace stockings that looked like something a sweet girl like her would never wear.
I ran my fingers across the lace before picking it up and making my way toward the bathroom. No way was I going to do what I was considering. The shower turned on in the bathroom and I pressed my palm to the door and pushed it open. Steam rolled out and filled my nostrils with the sweet smell of lavender.
Her back was to me as she stuck a hand into the shower to check the temperature. She was dressed in pair of black panties. That was it. The sweet arch in her back teased me as she wiggled her hips to a rhythm that must have been in her head.
I stepped up behind her, her hair brushing my face as she released her braid and moved to shut the shower door. Was I going to kill her, choke the life out of her with lacey black stockings? It wasn’t fair. She seemed nice enough and she prob
ably couldn’t hurt a fly, but Chelsea dying wasn’t fair either.
Before she could turn around and see me, I quickly slipped the black stockings over her face and around her neck. She screamed, grabbed at the lace that would bring her death, and tried to turn in my arms. I couldn’t look at those eyes while I took her life. Those baby blues would stop me cold. I wasn’t a killer; I was just an angry man who wanted revenge. An eye for an eye.
“Please.” Her soft pleas reached my ears and cleared my mind instantly.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill the way Dr. Gelding had so easily done. No matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn’t, and I was starting to hate myself for it. He didn’t deserve her. It wasn’t fair that he had her, and I wanted to take her away from him the same way he’d taken Chelsea away from me. Then my thoughts started to make sense to me.
“Who is he to you?” I asked, my voice hard and angry.
Her body tensed at my question.
“W-who?” The tremble in her voice caused her words to stumble.
“The man you were with the other night.”
She swallowed hard. “I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The man!” I yelled, and she jumped. “Who is he to you?”
“My father,” she whispered and her body shook with fear.
I pulled the black lace stockings from her neck and laid them over her eyes. Tying them around her head tightly, they stayed in place and blocked her from seeing me or me seeing those blue eyes.
The last thing I needed was for her to recognize me, and since I’d so stupidly gotten caught in her web at the restaurant, she’d remember my face easily.
I turned her to face me. A single tear slipped down her cheek and her heavy breathing forced her perky breasts against my chest.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked tearfully.
All my reasons suddenly made no sense to me. Everything I’d been thinking cleared, and I said the first thing that came to mind.
“He took something very precious away from me, so I’m doing the same to him. He doesn’t deserve you in his life.”
It was irrational and crazy, but maybe that’s who I was, an irrational lunatic. It was his fault and so he would pay.
An eye for an eye.
A daughter for a daughter.
A life for a life.
16
Emily
“I can’t believe you just did that! You’ve grown some big, hairy balls under that dress, Em!” Nicole reached over and plucked at the hem of my dress and we laughed.
I could hardly believe it either. I’d gone up to a practical stranger and kissed him like I’d never dreamed of kissing Ethan. I could hardly believe it was also the best kiss I’d ever had.
I’d touched myself thinking of the stranger with the dark eyes. In my imagination, he was good at everything and touched me just the right way, but after that kiss, I didn’t need to imagine it anymore—there was no way a man who could kiss like that was bad at anything he did.
“We need a shot,” I said as I crooked a finger at Peter. “Two shots of anything.”
Nicole looked at me with wide eyes. “Make those doubles, baby.” She grinned and winked.
By the time we made it out of the restaurant, we were drunk. There was no delicate, ladylike way to put it. I was shitfaced and so was Nicole. We giggled up the sidewalk and hugged before going in opposite directions.
I fell into the cab and called out my address. The city flew by in a glazed blur as I stared out the window with a smile. I’d had a good time. Scratch that. I’d had a great time, and I was really looking forward to the rest of my week off.
When I got to my apartment, I actually whistled once I got out of the cab and made my way up the sidewalk to my building. I felt light and giddy. I felt my age, and it was fan-fucking-tastic.
Kicking of my sex kitten heels, as Nicole called them, I tossed my clutch onto the couch and went straight to my bedroom for a nice, hot shower and a night of me time. I leaned against the hallway wall with a giggle when the ground beneath my feet shifted.
What would my dad and Ethan think if they saw me drunk out of my mind with my sexy black dress and my sinfully red shoes?
I peeled off my dress slowly, enjoying the feel of the fabric against my sensitive skin. Running the material across my face, I chuckled to myself before I tossed it onto my bed beside the black lace stockings I’d decided against earlier in the night.
I hated taking off the dress. It made me feel sexy and I liked it. It wasn’t like when I peeled off my professional work clothes. Those clothes were my shell. They hid the real me, kind of like Clark Kent’s glasses. Except instead of a kickass super hero underneath, I was just a horny, lonely chick.
I strutted across my room in just my panties. The blinds across the room were open, but I didn’t care who saw me. As far as I was concerned, I was a sex goddess—a sex goddess who was confident enough to kiss strangers and flirt with bartenders.
I turned on the shower and stuck my fingers beneath the lukewarm water to test it. A song they’d played at the restaurant earlier drifted through my head and I found my hips swaying to the music. My heavy breasts moved freely without a bra, and I relished in the feel of total freedom. I’d definitely had a little bit too much to drink.
I backed away from the shower with a smile and into a wall of heat. Something silky and soft was wrapped around my neck.
Ethan…
It had to be him. He was the only person who’d just walk into my apartment if the door was unlocked. I really needed to start locking my door, but I was thankful I hadn’t. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in my bathroom, doing something as erotic as wrapping silk around my neck and pressing himself into my back.
Excitement filled my limbs with just the thought of him being spontaneous. He’d come home as a surprise, and it looked like he was ready to play. Then suddenly everything changed.
A puff of air escaped my lips as whatever was around my neck got tighter. It no longer felt erotic and silky; it felt lethal and rugged. It definitely wasn’t Ethan. He’d never be so rough, no matter if I’d asked him to or not.
Then I realized something else. Whoever was behind me was large. I could feel his strength in the tension of whatever was choking me and he towered over me from behind. Ethan wasn’t as strong or as tall.
I tried to scream, but for a brief second, I had no oxygen to get anything out. His hard body pressed against my backside and the stench of stale beer made my stomach roll.
The tightness around my neck intensified, and a tiny squeak slipped past my lips. I was being murdered, and I couldn’t help but feel like I’d brought it on myself. I’d practically begged for something, anything, exciting to happen to me. I should’ve been clearer about my wishes.
Then the pressure on my neck lessened, his hot breath striking the side of my face. I took a deep breath while I could, before whatever was around my neck covered my eyes. The room around me went dark and even more panic ripped through me.
17
Sin
“You don’t have to do this, you know?” she said as she tried to reach up and tug at the black stockings over her eyes. “I won’t tell anyone if you just leave and let me go. You still have a chance to do something good here.” She tried to reason with me.
“What I’m doing is good,” I growled as I turned her to face me.
Her arms felt tiny and warm in my hands. As hard as I tried to keep my gaze trained on her face, it dipped and explored her beautiful breasts and flat stomach. Her perky cleavage lifted with every panicked breath she took, begging me to touch or kiss anywhere I pleased, but I was no rapist. I wasn’t sure what the fuck I was anymore.
I forced my eyes to her face. The last thing I needed was a hard cock in this situation.
“I’m not sure where you’re from, but in the real world, there’s nothing good about holding a woman captive and almost choking her,” she said defensively.
“Y
ou talk too much,” I said as I held both her wrists in one hand and used the other to turn off the shower.
The room got quiet with no comment from her. Instead, she put her head down as if she were remembering she was naked. “Can I have a towel at least?”
We’d been standing there in silence as my mind worked to keep up with my spinning thoughts. She probably thought I’d been standing there staring at her, but I hadn’t trusted myself to look past the pounding pulse on her neck again.
She sounded angry as she delivered her question again, but there was still a trace of fear lingering in her shaky hands as she waited for her demand. Because I didn’t care, I waited a minute longer before I turned around and found the fluffy yellow towel hanging on the hook behind the door.
I grabbed it and shoved it into her chest. Not hard enough to hurt her, but with enough pressure to make her take a step back. She quickly wrapped it around herself and secured it tightly around her breasts.
I couldn’t control my weakness. I looked. I wanted to rip the towel from her body the minute she wrapped it around herself, but I was losing my balance.
She wasn’t going without a fight, though, and she pushed against my chest with everything she had. I fell back against the door and the handle stabbed me in the back.
She rushed blindly past me and I reached out for her. My fingers sank into the soft fabric of her towel and pulled. It didn’t stop her, but it did distract her. She screamed and grabbed at the towel. I tugged against her hold and she let it go. Losing my balance, I slid down the door.
She ripped the stockings from her eyes, leaving them around her neck, and was out the door of the bedroom before I was on my feet again. I caught her at the front door, slamming into her. She cried out as it banged shut against the weight of our bodies.
“Fearless, I’ll give you that,” I rasped in her ear. “But not fast enough. Sorry, princess, but I’m not done with you yet.”
I locked the door and pulled her arm behind her back and brought her against me, wrapping my arm around her waist. She tensed but didn’t struggle. I slipped the stockings back over her eyes. I didn’t want her seeing my face.
The Wrath of Sin Page 6
