“It is,” I agree.
“We love you, Son. Be careful.”
“I love you, too.”
I don’t promise to be careful, because I’m not going to be. Whoever went after Rose is going to have me to deal with. The Society is going to take them down, but I’m going to insist on some time alone with them before they breathe their last breath.
Rose
Kenny’s finally finished checking me out, but I’m stuck hanging out in the breakroom while my friends go over the crime scene. I was told I couldn’t be in there, helping, since I’m the victim, which sucks. My second choice was to hang in Ares office, but it’s trashed, proving just how angry he was before he left.
I’m thankful to Kenny for not leaving the room, because I don’t want my mind taking control right now, even though it’s fighting to do so. I know he has access to my files, so he knows about my therapy sessions. He’s never said anything about it before, and he’s not mentioning it now, either. I have a feeling he’s hanging around because he knows, but neither of us is going to bring it up.
“I won’t insult us both by asking if you’re okay.”
“I’m not great, but you don’t need to babysit me.”
“I’m of no use to the women in the garage, and I rode with them.”
“You could be hanging out up in the house, or you could get a Lyft.”
“Yes, well, I’m not going to do either of those.”
We smile at each other, before the door to the room slams open, and Ares comes barreling in. “Rose? Are you hurt?”
“No,” I tell him, wanting to run into his arms, but holding myself back.
“I’m going to kill whoever did this.”
“You’ll have to get in line,” Audrey says from behind me.
“As long as I have a place in that line, I’m good.”
“You called him,” I say, knowing it’s the truth.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Um, hello, I’m right here.”
“Okay. Why are you here, Ares?” I ask him.
“You almost got killed.”
“At your place. I get it. As you can see, I’m fine. You can go back to wherever you were.”
“I was visiting my parents.”
Oh. I’m not going to lie, and pretend I didn’t think he was with another woman, because that’s exactly what I thought.
“Like I said, you can go back now.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“I guess I should go, then.”
“The hell?”
“You left me, Ares. I know part of that was my fault, but I won’t take the blame for all of it.”
“I don’t expect you to. I do expect you to let me take care of you.”
“Why? Because I almost got hurt? You didn’t give one fuck about me when you left, and I don’t need your pity now.”
“I’m not pitying you.”
“What are you doing, then?”
“Fuck if I know, but I’m telling you the truth when I say my heart stopped when Audrey called me. It literally stopped for a few seconds.”
That urge to jump into his arms just got a whole lot stronger, but still I hold back. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. What to do.”
“Please let me take care of you. I won’t try anything. I promise. Just let me put you to bed, and watch over you.”
I’m so tired, and I just want to get away from here, so I give in. “Okay.”
I stand up, and take the hand he offers me. It feels natural, and right. Audrey smiles at me, and Kenny tells me my body needs sleep. I promise him that’s what I’m going to do, because that’s what I’m going to make myself do. I’ve found that, besides working on cars, sex with Ares is the other thing that grounds me in the moment. Every time. Other things ground me temporarily, but after sex with Ares, I can go days without a number popping into my head. It’s not a cure, and I try hard to never use him just for that, because he means so much more to me.
After the afternoon I’ve had, and all the stress and worry, I’m feeling really horny right now, and I may have to get myself off a few times in the shower if he really doesn’t leave me all alone when I’m in his bed. I know he’ll take it the wrong way if I just mount him, so I’ll do my best to keep myself in check tonight.
10
Ares
I’m drinking my coffee, and trying to be the “good guy”, the one who doesn’t take advantage of the sexy woman sleeping in his bed. The woman who’s wearing his shirt. I want that woman more than life itself, but I want all of her, and not just sex. Especially after she’s being targeted for trying to help me. Yeah, my morning wood’s not going anywhere, but I’m more than my dick, and I can behave like a gentleman. Until the woman in question actually jumps on said dick.
“Rose,” I say, as she shoves my shorts down, and takes me into her sweet pussy.
“Need you. Please.”
“Never have to beg, Petal,” I tell her, holding her face in her hands. “Take what you need.”
She starts riding me hard as I kiss her. The day was rough for her, and I’ll let her use me to get off, because I can feel her need likes it’s a tangible thing. I want her to need more than this from me, but I’ll take what I can get for now. It’s enough, I lie to myself, because I have to let it be.
“Ares,” she says my name on a moan as she rocks my cock like her life depends on it.
She’s close, but she needs more and so do I. I lift her off me, and toss her on the table, shaking my cup hard enough that some coffee leaks over the side.
“What are you doing?”
“I need some cream with my coffee,” I tell her, leaning over and licking her pretty, flushed pussy.
Her back arches as I lick and suck, and I reward her by reaching up to pinch her nipples between my fingers. When I know she’s close, I pull her back down onto my dick, and flex my hips so I go even deeper into her. She leans forward to kiss me, but I lick her off my lips first.
“I wanted that.”
“I know.” She loves the taste of her herself on me, but while I’ll give her my dick, I’m not giving her everything. I’ve tried that for too long without any luck, and right now, despite me trying hard to accept that this is all I am to her, I can’t push my feelings away any longer. Instead, I let my hurt and anger come out to play. “You want it, you suck it off my cock.”
She doesn’t hesitate, pushing off me and falling to her knees to lick me like a lollipop. I’m the one arching now as she teases me, playing but not sucking like I told her to. She’s doing it on purpose to mess with me, and I know she’ll get to the good stuff soon, but even though I told her she could take what she needs, I can’t allow myself to just be this to her. I want to, because she needs it, but I can’t do it anymore. She doesn’t want to talk about what happened, or let me comfort her with my words, or arms, and I’m getting more and more pissed at her as I think about it.
It’s too much, so I pull her back to her feet and bend her over the table.
“Why’d you stop me?”
“I’m tired of playing around with you,” I tell her, slapping her ass before grabbing a fistful of her soft and silky hair. “You want a fuck? I’ll fuck you the way you deserve to be fucked.”
She doesn’t say another word, bracing her hands on the table as I take her hard. It’s brutal, but it’s all I can do right now. I love this woman, and she doesn’t care. Hell, she doesn’t even want to hear it. All she wants is my body, and while I once thought that would be enough, now I know it’s not.
I reach around, and play with her clit, because there’s no way in hell I’m not making her come. It doesn’t take long, and as she’s screaming my name, I unload everything I have in her. Not just my cum, but me. It’s never enough, but I give it to her one last time anyway.
“Get dressed, and I’ll drive you home,” I tell her when I pull out.
“Ares.”
I turn from her, because I can’t loo
k at her. If I look at her, I’ll back out of what I need to do. “I can’t do this anymore, Rose. I can’t be your fuck buddy, your booty call, whatever it is you think of me. I just can’t. You got what you wanted, all that you ever want from me, and now I need you to leave while I still have some dignity left.”
“But— “
“Just get dressed. Please.”
“I’ll catch a Lyft.”
“I can drive you.”
“No. It’s fine.”
I let her go, because I know there’s no point in trying to convince her to stay and fight. She didn’t even contradict me when I said I was just a fuck. She didn’t…dammit, she didn’t fight for me. For us. I know I’ve messed up, too, but I’ve never treated her the way she treats me.
I’ve opened up to her, and given myself completely to her, and it still doesn’t matter. It’s time to fight for myself again. At least I know I might win that battle.
Rose
I stumble out of the Lyft car, and make my way to the door. I press the doorbell, and lean against the wall, because I need something to hold me up.
“Rose, what’s wrong?” Liv asks, opening her door, and pulling me into her arms. “Why aren’t you in bed?”
“I messed up.”
She moves us inside, and closes the door, before pulling back to look at me. “With work? I thought your Society tests were over. And you almost got killed today, investigating something you found.”
“They are. It’s not…work. It’s Ares. I’ve lost him, Liv.”
She smiles at me. “That man worships the ground you walk on.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I pushed him too far. I took too much, and gave him nothing back. He’s done with me.”
“And now you realize what you lost?”
I rear back, like she slapped me, because it feels like she did. “Whose side are you on?”
“Always yours, sis, but that means I’m going to be honest with you, even when you don’t want to hear it.”
I pull away, and start to pace the room. “I didn’t believe he was serious. He’s always with those women in the pretty dresses. The princess, the socialites...”
“He’s photographed with those women, yes.”
“Why would he want me when he could have them? He has all these women falling at his feet, so why me?” I ask, and start to look, and count.
48. 21. 52.
“Because you’re brilliant, gorgeous, and brave, just to name a few things.”
I force myself to focus on my sister, and not the room around me. “If I was brave, I would’ve given him a chance to prove he’s not who I think he is. He’s made some mistakes, but I’ve never given him a real chance. He deserves a chance.”
“Admitting that is brave.”
“It’s too late, though, so what does it matter?”
“Unless he got married since you left him, it’s not too late. You’re going to have to work, and plan, but you can do this.”
“I can’t.”
42. 46. 40.
“Look at me, Rosie,” she pulls my face back to hers, and I see the tears in her eyes. “Stay here with me, and listen to what I’m saying.”
“I’m here.”
“You don’t have to hide from me. I love you, and I see you. I’ve always seen you. I don’t know where you go, or what you do in your mind palace, but I see you go there when you’re nervous or scared. You’re safe with me. Always.”
I smile at her Sherlock reference, reaching up to squeeze her hand. “I know. I just can’t stop it sometimes.”
“Do what you need to, but remember I’m here whenever you need me.”
“What do you need her for?” Luke asks, coming into the room. He looks rumpled from sleep, and he has his glasses on, but the look on his face tells me he’d go into battle for me right now.
“Nothing,” Liv and I say at the same time.
“Is it Dixon? I warned that bastard not to hurt you.”
“I hurt him, Luke, and now I need to find a way to fix it.”
“Well, hell. I really wanted to fuck him up a little. That smug smile of his is annoying.”
“It grows on you.”
“Whatever. You need our help?” he asks, pulling me in for a hug.
“It helps just knowing I can come to you when I need to. Both of you.”
“Always.”
I stay and have breakfast with them, and my adorable nephew, because I really do feel stronger, knowing they have my back no matter what. I’m calm enough to stop counting, and I’m able to focus enough to come up with a plan. Luke drives me home, and I rush up to Reina’s apartment.
“I need your help. Yours and Stella’s,” I tell her when she opens the door.
She smiles at me. “Of course.”
11
Ares
I don’t want to be here, but I committed to it months ago, and I won’t back out on Reina and doing what I can to raise money for the people she helps. But, I know I’m going to need to drink my body weight in alcohol when I see Rose walk into the ballroom. She’ll be in black or red, and the dress will be slinky, and showing lots of skin, because she’s a no-frills kind of chick. My kind of chick, and that’s why I look around the room to find someone who’s the complete opposite.
It’s what I do at these things, whether she’s here or not. I pick a woman with flowers on her dress, or a tiara on her head, and I pretend to be interested long enough for the paparazzi to get their fill. While I watch Rose flirt with some guy who couldn’t handle her, until she decides she’s ready for her fucktoy, and she finds me.
Same game, different room. Not tonight, though. Tonight, I’m taking one back to the room I booked at this hotel. Not necessarily because I want to, but because I have to if I’m going to survive.
I look around, and then swing my gaze back to the door, doing a double-take. Rose isn’t wearing something sexy, and slit to her hip; she’s wearing a dress that’s pink, soft, and covered in flowers attached to the wispy fabric. It’s strapless, and because it’s on her, it’s sexy as fuck, but it’s sweeter than anything I’ve ever seen her in when she has a choice. Her hair is in big curls, flowing over her shoulders, and she’s wearing full make-up. I blink, because I have to be dreaming—even though I’ve never dreamed of her looking like this—but no, she’s still there. And now, she’s walking towards me.
“Hi,” she says, when she reaches me.
“Hey, Rosie. You look, um, nice.”
Her face falls for a second, but she schools her features back into a smile. If I didn’t know her so well, I wouldn’t have seen it. I feel like a fist is clamping my heart in its grip, but I’m not going down this road again. I won’t survive it.
“I was hoping I could talk to you.”
“I’m all talked out, and I have a woman to get to,” I tell her, walking away, and snagging the waist of the blonde in the dress that’s bigger than her, who’s been eyeing me like a prize bull for the last half hour.
I don’t look back, because I have to be done. I have to keep walking in the other direction whenever I see her. I have to stop dreaming of a future where she’s under one of my cars, all greasy and sexy. Or where she’s counting things, and thinking I don’t notice. I notice everything about her, and that’s why my heart’s barely holding on right now. If I don’t walk away from her, there will be nothing left of me for anyone.
“Get out,” Reina says, coming up to the table I’m at with my new friend. I’ve had at least five more glasses of whiskey since we got together, but I’m still not numb enough to take her upstairs. We haven’t been sitting her long, but it’s taken Reina longer than I thought it would to come for me.
“You can’t throw him out! He’s Ares Dixon,” the blonde says in outrage. I can’t even remember her fucking name. Something with a C or maybe a J. Don’t really care, anyway.
“And I’m Reina Corrigan, so yes, I most certainly can have him leave.”
“Bitch,” the woman says, and
I immediately stumble to my feet.
“She’s my friend. You don’t talk about her like that.”
“I’m your friend, too,” she says, reaching for my hand.
I step back even further. “No. You’re a distraction I thought I needed, but I was wrong.”
Reina grabs my arm, and leads me into one of the rooms ringing the ballroom. She closes the door, and rounds on me. “What is wrong with you?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Rei. I mean, the woman I love only wants to fuck me, so I should be all happy right now, right?”
“Did you even see her tonight?”
“Hard to miss in that flowered concoction.”
“Exactly.”
“Huh?”
“When have you ever seen Rose choose something to wear that has flowers on it? Or have her hair curled like that? Or worn fake eyelashes?”
“Um, never,” I admit.
“She’s trying to look like the women you usually hook up with at these things.”
“I don’t hook up with them,” I say, and promptly shut my mouth. I shouldn’t be talking to her when I’ve had so much to drink.
“I know.”
“You what?”
“Don’t insult us both by pretending. I know your game, Ares. I’ve watched you and Rose for close to a year, and it’s getting old. It’s time for you to man up, and stop pretending to sleep with all these women. Stop playing the game.”
“The ball’s in her court.”
“And she threw a Hail Mary pass, but you ignored it.”
“You’re mixing up the sports metaphors.”
“Dammit, how much have you had to drink?”
“Not nearly enough.”
“Get yourself some water and coffee, and find Rose. I believe she’s outside.”
“You told me to leave.”
“And now I’m telling you to go get your woman.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“She’s not my woman. She’s not my anything.”
“You know that’s not true.”
“What I know is that last time I saw her, she pushed my shorts down far enough to ride me like some stud she bought at auction. Didn’t even take them off, just pushed them down.”
Society Girls: Rose Page 8
