Society Girls: Rose

by Crystal Perkins

  “I’ve only been gone from the party for about five minutes. Even I’m not that good.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  Well, damn. “Only with you. You inspire me.”

  “I just want to go to sleep.”

  “Can I hold you? Please?”

  She bites her lip, and I know she’s not doing it to be sexy, because she’s not that girl. She’s weighing the pros and cons to my plea, and I hold my breath as she thinks. I can almost see the gears in her brain working, and then she nods. Thank God.

  Rose

  Letting Ares into my room may be a mistake, but I want his arms around me. It’s as simple as that, but also complicated. I don’t know what to think, or what to believe, and what Reece said about me and Luke—and me and Ares—has me shaken up. I’ve never been with Luke, and the thought of being with him honestly makes me gag, because he’s like my big brother. But, I am known as his sister-in-law, and now I’m known as Ares…something, and I don’t know how I feel about all of this.

  “Do you want me to go?”

  “No,” I tell him honestly.

  “How many articles of clothing should I keep on?”

  I smirk, knowing he’s going commando, which he does at all times, except when he’s racing. “Zero works.”

  “Petal?”

  “I want you to make love to me. Not a hard fuck. Not tonight.”

  It’s what I want, and it takes a lot for me to tell him, but he just smiles, and pulls me into his arms. “Slow and steady wins sometimes.”

  “Yes.”

  He kisses my forehead, my cheeks, and then moves to my neck. He kisses, nibbles, and sucks, pretty much making love to that column of skin before moving lower. My dress is moved along with his mouth, baring my breasts to the cool air in the room.

  “I love this dress.”

  “Because I can’t wear anything under it?”

  “Fuck yeah, but also because you’re in it. For a few more minutes, at least.”

  He dips his head and licks my nipples, back and forth, driving me slowly insane. I want more, but I asked for slow, so I have to let him play, even if it’s killing me. It’s several minutes before he finally takes one into his mouth, and sucks, and I go off like a rocket. I didn’t know I could come from this kind of play, but it’s Ares, so I should expect my body to do whatever he wants.

  “Beautiful,” he says, when I come down. It wasn’t an explosive orgasm, but it gets me relaxed, and even more ready for whatever he has planned next.

  I thread my hands through his short hair, while he keeps me pinned with those sexy brown eyes of his. His light stubble scratches over my stomach as he moves my dress down, following it with his mouth once again. He’s not overly hairy, and has a smooth chest, but when I see him at night, he’s always got some facial hair, and I love it. I’m not a beard girl, but the rasp of his stubble over my skin sets me on fire.

  When he reaches my hips, he stops and looks up at me with a smile. “I didn’t eat at the party, so I’m famished, Petal. Is feasting on you part of tonight’s plan?”

  “You don’t really think I’ll say no, do you?”

  Instead of answering, he pushes my dress the rest of the way off, waiting until I step out of it to spread my legs open. I let him take a few licks, because I need it, but then I pull his head back.

  “I thought you were a gentleman.”

  “What’d I do wrong, darlin’?” He looks so confused, and it’s completely adorable.

  “You’re not letting me eat, too,” I say, pulling him to his feet.

  “Eating together is always best,” he agrees.

  “Always.”

  5

  Ares

  Rose is wrapped around me when I wake up, sucking lightly on my neck. I can barely move after our long night of lovin’, but she seems ready to go again. This is one of the only times I’ve stopped to think about our age difference. She’s not young enough to be my kid or anything, but there are several years between us, and they’re showing right now. I can go all night—and did—but I need at least a few hours to rest after.

  “I hate to tell you this, Petal, but while I may be named after a god, I’m just a mortal man.”

  “That’s all I need.”

  “A mortal man who needs his rest,” I clarify.

  “Oh. Sorry,” she says, pulling away.

  “Don’t be. I love that you want me as much as I want you.”

  “I think I want you more than you want me,” she mumbles, so low I almost don’t hear her.

  “No chance of that,” I reply, moving her hand to where my dick is full and ready, even if the rest of me isn’t.

  She smiles, and then her phone starts to go crazy on the nightstand, where she left it after round three—or maybe four—a few hours ago. Grabbing it, she sits up straight, her back stiffening with every swipe of her finger.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You said you didn’t sleep with her.”

  “Who? The bunny? You know I didn’t.”

  “She said you did. My friends are all telling me how sorry they are.”

  “Shit.” I told her she could say it, not thinking I was going to be with Rose.

  “You have to issue a statement or something.”

  That’s something I can’t do. “No.”

  “What do you mean? Everyone thinks you slept with her!”

  “There are far more serious things for people to worry about in the world. My sex life isn’t a big deal.”

  “There are pictures of you holding my hand at the track next to pictures of you leaving with her last night.”

  “You know I didn’t do anything with her.”

  “But they don’t! My friends, and everyone else don’t know!”

  “I don’t give a fuck.”

  “I do.”

  “Why? Why does what other people think matter, when you know the truth?”

  “Because they’re going to talk…they’re going to feel bad for me.”

  “Tell them they don’t need to. Tell them whatever you want, Rose.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “It really is. If I cared about what everyone said about me, I might never leave the house.”

  Especially since I orchestrate much of it. I know exactly what I’m doing and why, but I’m not at a place where I can tell her. I don’t know when I’ll get to that place, but it’s definitely not now.

  “I guess I don’t have a choice.”

  Yeah, she does, but I’m not about to remind her of that little fact. I know when to retreat, though, so I kiss her cheek, grab my clothes, and go. She doesn’t stop me, and I know I’m doing the right thing. She needs to work through her feelings—and her choice—without me influencing her.

  Rose

  I don’t know what to do about Ares. I texted my friends, and told them not to worry about me, but it didn’t make me feel better. I’m the brunt of a thousand jokes, yet he won’t speak up.

  “You’re awful quiet over there,” he finally says, two hours into our flight home on a Corrigan jet.

  “The world is making jokes about me.”

  “It’ll pass.”

  “You don’t care at all?”

  “I care about people dying, yet being ignored, because some news guy thinks my love life is more important.”

  When he puts it that way, I feel ashamed. I know he’s right, but feelings usually aren’t rational. “It just hurts, okay?”

  “No, it’s not okay. I’m truly sorry you got dragged into all this, but I won’t give it more air time by speaking up. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” I tell him, because I do.

  I know it will make things worse if he says something, but I still want him to. It’s hypocritical, but I’m not feeling very rational right now.

  “I’ll talk to our friends if you want.”

  “I feel bad for asking you to do that.”

  “You didn’t ask.”

  “Okay. Yes, pleas
e.”

  He nods, and I get out of my seat, crossing to the other side of the table that was separating us. I sit down next to him, and take his hand in mine. He lifts them to his mouth, and places a soft kiss on my knuckles.

  “I don’t want you to feel embarrassed about being with me.”

  “Are we together now? Officially?”

  “I want to be. I want you to be my girlfriend.”

  He doesn’t realize that’s the wrong thing to say, because he doesn’t know what I’m struggling with. It’s not his fault, which is why I smile, and lean in to kiss him. I want to be his girlfriend. I do. It’s just, I’m struggling with that title.

  “I’d like you to be my boyfriend.”

  “So, we’re agreed then. Perfect.”

  I start to tell him we didn’t say the same thing, but decide that for right now at least, it doesn’t matter. Both of our answers lead to the same conclusion. One I can’t make on my own.

  “I have to check with Reina. I know the others are in relationships, and some are high-profile, but I still need to ask her.”

  “You do what you have to do, as long as you remember you’re mine.” I hold my breath, trying not to panic, when he adds the rest. “And I’m yours.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll see you tonight at the fundraiser?”

  I frown, remembering I have to go to this thing my mother helped plan, because the charity is one the Foundation supports. “I’m going to have to sit with my parents.”

  “I figured, when I saw your mom’s name on the invite. Save me a dance?”

  “They’re going to have some ‘appropriate’ guy sitting at our table.”

  “So, that’s a no on the dance?”

  “If I can untangle myself from them—and him, whoever he is—I will definitely dance with you.”

  “Not the answer I was hoping for, but I know you have a difficult relationship with them, so I’ll take it.”

  “You have to know I’d rather be with you.”

  “I think I need a little convincing,” he says, sucking lightly on my ear.

  “There is a bedroom on this plane.”

  “Yes, there is.”

  Ares

  I knew tonight would be torture, because Rose has never met a sexy dress she doesn’t like. Tonight’s creation has a wide, and long, cutout between her tits, and a long slit up the black skirt. Her arms are bare, her hair is up, and I want that neck. My neck, I remind myself. She may be sitting with some jackass, but she’s mine.

  “Hi Ares,” a woman I’ve never met says, sidling up next to me at the bar. She’s in a fluffy purple dress, telling me she’s probably a good girl wanting to be a little bad.

  “Have we met?”

  “No, but I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are.” She’s practically humping my leg, so I step back.

  “I’m not interested, honey.”

  “You’re not? Is it my dress?”

  “No,” I tell her honestly. I’ve never let a woman’s clothing stop me.

  “I’m not a virgin.”

  I practically spit out the drink of whiskey I just took. “Good for you.”

  “I don’t mind getting on my knees.”

  Oh, damn. She looks like she’s going to cry. “I have a woman, honey.”

  “You?”

  “Yes, me. Do me a favor, though?”

  “Anything!”

  “No. Don’t say that. To me, or anyone else. You’re a pretty girl, and the guys should be falling all over you. So, don’t offer up things you don’t know they deserve.”

  “You’re a nice guy.”

  She looks genuinely perplexed, and I can’t help but throw my head back, and laugh. “Don’t look so surprised. Just don’t go spreading it around.”

  She laughs along with me, before leaning up to kiss my cheek. “Thank you, Ares Dixon. Your secret’s safe with me.”

  I laugh again, but my smile fades when I catch Rose watching us. She’s not smiling, and I know that means she’s getting the wrong idea about what’s going on over here. Since she’s always taken what she sees—and reads—at face value, I know I’m going to have some explaining to do later. She’s worth it, but damn if I don’t wish for once she’d just think the best of me.

  Rose

  Ares looks to be having a great time, while I’m over here with a handsy jerk. If I have to move his hand off my knee one more time, I might just break it.

  “My eyes are up here,” I remind him again.

  “You wore the dress. If you didn’t want to offer yourself up for every man here, you’d be covered up,” he tells me with a shrug.

  Luke practically lunges over the table, easily pulling the idiot over to his side. “We’re going for a walk.”

  “Luke,” my mother hisses. “You’re making a scene.”

  “He insulted your daughter. Are we going down that road again?”

  “No, we are not,” my father says, patting my mother’s arm. “He needs to learn some manners if he’s going to be around.”

  “He’s not,” I say, because what the hell?

  “No, Rose—,” my mother says, but she’s interrupted by Ares arriving at the table.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about, Mr. Dixon,” my father tells him.

  “He insulted Rose,” Liv says, knowing I like Ares, and trying to play matchmaker. I haven’t told her we’re together yet.

  “No one insults Rose,” Ares replies in a low voice, causing a shiver to run down my spine. I shouldn’t like this side of him, but I do.

  “Want to join us outside?” Luke asks.

  “Hell yeah.”

  Our table is quiet as we watch them walk outside. The guy is smart enough not to put up a fight in here, pretending he’s just walking out there on his own. Once they’re out of sight, my mother can’t stop herself from speaking up.

  “You dress like this to annoy me, and look what’s happening because of it.”

  “Are you serious right now?” my sister asks her. “Never mind, I know you are, and this is why we rarely spend any time with you.”

  “I have apologized, but you refuse to accept it.”

  “When you’re sincere, and not insulting either of us, I’ll accept it.”

  “I dress the way I want, Mother. Nothing changes when I’m in your presence.”

  “Perhaps it should.”

  “Why are we here?” Liv asks me.

  “It’s a good cause,” I remind her.

  “And we get to hang out.”

  “That, too.”

  The guys choose that moment to return, and I stand when I see a little blood on Ares lip.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. He just got a lucky hit in.”

  I scoop some ice out of my water glass, and wrap it in my napkin, ignoring my mother’s look of utter horror. Table manners be damned.

  “You let him hit you?”

  “We weren’t holding him down, Petal. We’re not heathens.”

  My mother snorts, and I turn to glare at her. “While this has been fun, we’re going to leave now. Enjoy your party, Mother.”

  “I think we’re ready to go as well,” Liv tells her.

  The four of us leave her sputtering at the table. I don’t miss the phones being held up, or the whispers, but I try. I do what I can to block them out as my counting begins.

  98. 77.

  “Stay with me,” Ares whispers in my ear, and I do what I’ve been taught, focusing on his strong hand holding mine, and the smell of his woodsy cologne.

  28.

  Deep breaths. Deep breaths, and concentration.

  “I’m here,” I tell him a minute later, knowing I’m in control once again.

  I shouldn’t say it—acknowledge that I slipped away, but everyone lets their mind wander sometimes. Or so I’ve been told. I can play it off as that if he pushes.

  “Good.”

  “Las Pupusas?” Luke asks, naming one of
our favorite restaurants.

  “I’m in,” Ares tells him, then looks at me. “Rose?”

  “Like I’d say no to a pork and cheese pupusa. Can I ride with you?”

  “Like I’d say no to that. Ever.”

  “We’ll meet you there,” Liv says, giving me a wink, and snuggling in closer to her husband.

  “Your chariot awaits,” Ares says, sweeping a hand towards his Charger, which the valet has waiting for us. Everyone knows the electric blue beast of a car belongs to Ares, and it tends to get parked up front, for all to see.

  “Sexy car, sexy man, and yummy food. What more could a girl want?” I tease.

  “Lots of orgasms,” he whispers in my ear, and yeah, I could definitely get on board with that plan.

  6

  Ares

  Luke and I lost our ties and jackets before entering the restaurant, but our women still have gowns on. It’s actually pretty hot to see Rose devouring her food while wearing her sexy dress. The one I’m planning to take off her later tonight, but am definitely enjoying right now. She’s been quiet, though, and that has me a little worried.

  “You doing okay, Petal?”

  She shrugs, putting me on alert, but it’s her sister who gets the question out first. “What’s wrong, Rosie?”

  She puts down the piece of food she has in her hand, and wipes her hand on a napkin. “I appreciate you guys standing up for me, and taking care of that jerk, but it’s only going to make things worse.”

  “How?” I ask.

  “Reece Diven mentioned me going from Luke to you, like I’m a famewhore, sleeping my way through the two of you.”

  “The fuck?” Luke asks, and I’m sure the murderous look on his face matches mine.

  “After he told me that, I Googled us, Luke, and he’s not the only one who thinks we slept together. And now, I’m sleeping with Ares.”

  I want to remind her we’re doing more than fucking, but I know that’s not really her point here, so I let it go. “They really say that?”

  “Yes.”

  “I had no idea. I never look myself up,” Luke admits.

  “Me either.”

  I don’t look, because I know what I’ll find, and since I orchestrate it, what’s the point? Anything else is out of my control, and worrying about it won’t make it go away.