Piece of Me (Behind These Eyes Book 2)

by A. J. Daniels

  I watch her walk away, my gaze drifting down her slender back and narrow waist, over her luscious hips and down to watch the way her ass looks in those yoga pants. I have to stifle back a groan at the memory of how it felt to have that ass in my hands.

  “I ordered a Hawaiian and an all meat,” I call as Kat rounds the corner into the open kitchen and living room.

  Her long brown hair still wet from her shower. She’s changed into skinny faded jeans and a white tank top. I can see the black lace strap from her bra peeking out beneath the straps of her tank top and it takes everything I have to not stare and swallow hard.

  “Beer?” I ask while opening the fridge and reaching in to grab two of the bottles from the six pack.

  “Please”

  “Pizza should be here in thirty.” I pop the tops off the two beers and hand one to her.

  “Thanks”

  I take a slug of my beer while watching her out of the corner of my eye. That shower must have helped because she seems more of herself now than when I first got here but her amber eyes still hold some sadness in them.

  Kat and I have talked extensively about her past so I know that there must be a war of emotions going on inside of her. On one hand, she just found out that her mother had a stroke, but on the other hand, she never was much of a mother to Kat anyway.

  Her shoulders are tense and her eyes that once held laughter are sad and brimming with unshed tears. I know that she’ll never allow herself to let those tears fall. Kat will never allow herself to cry in front of anyone; she has built such a big wall around herself that she’s too afraid to let anyone in and show weakness.

  “Look Jay, I don’t want to talk about it. So, can we please not go there?” she pleads to me, knowing where my thoughts were.

  I grab my beer and head to the couch. “Then we won’t talk. Pick a movie” I say, sitting down and propping my boots on the glass coffee table.

  Kat sighs and plops herself down next to me snuggling in close under my arm and I fight the feeling of how right this feels and how perfectly she fits next to me.

  A knock at the door saves me from continuing those thoughts. I jump up pulling out my wallet from my back pocket to pay the delivery guy before sliding the boxes onto the coffee table in front of her.

  “Dig in,” I motion to the pizza boxes on the table, sitting down next to her and grabbing a slice of the all meat pizza before turning back to the movie she picked out.

  Beauty and the Beast plays out on her big screen TV. Kat is a Disney fanatic so it doesn’t surprise me that when I told her to pick a movie she instantly went for one of her all-time favorites.

  “I’m going back,” she announces, still staring straight ahead at the TV.

  “You’re what? Why would you do that to yourself, Kat?”

  Her shoulders slightly move up and down with each inhale and exhale before she looks at me. “I’m not going for her. I could care less about her. I’m going to check on my father.”

  “Why do you want to go at all?”

  “I don’t want to. I just feel like it’s something I should do. Maybe I can finally get some answers from him.”

  “Kat,” I plead as I take her hand in mine, “they might not be the answers you’re looking for.”

  “I know,” she whispers.

  “How long are you going for?”

  “Just a few days. I have a flight booked out for tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” I tug her hand and pull her into me, kissing the top of her head when she leans into my chest.

  Kat’s phone lights up with a new message and when she leans back into the couch I catch a glimpse of the name of the sender.

  “Who’s David?”

  “My new boss,” she says almost dismissively.

  “Your boss texts you at nine o‘clock on a Friday night?” Now I’m intrigued. It’s obvious by the way she’s acting - the dismissive answers, the way she angles her phone away from me - that there’s something more going on that she doesn’t want to tell me.

  Kat shrugs. “He’s just confirming that I sent out the meeting minutes from earlier.”

  She places her phone face down on the arm of the couch and goes back to eating pizza and watching the movie but I can see her constantly glancing at her phone, like she’s trying to stop herself from checking for a new message.

  5. Protector

  Katherine

  On the screen, Gaston is singing about how Belle is the one he is going to marry but I’m not paying attention to any of it. I keep looking at my phone out of the corner of my eye and wondering how he got my number. Then I remember that I’m his assistant so of course he would have my cell number.

  David: Go to dinner with me tomorrow night.

  I didn’t need to ask who it was. Only one person had asked me to go to dinner with them tomorrow night. Couldn’t the guy take a hint? Was me twisting his arm not answer enough for him?

  I hated myself for lying to Jay too when he glanced at the screen as I was saving David’s number in my contacts. But there’s no way that I could tell him about David. He would go ape shit. As much as he jokes about it, I know that secretly he wishes we were more than friends. That one night meant more to him than it did to me. I was drunk, off tequila of all things. I’m not responsible for my actions when Jose is involved.

  c I like Jay. A lot. More than friends a lot. But it would never work between us. And David? David creeps me out, despite his good looks.

  When he shifts on the couch I get a hint of his cologne and God, he smells so good, like spice and pure man. I inwardly cringe when my thoughts start going their normal route when it comes to him.

  Friends Kat! Strictly friends!

  “Another beer?” he asks, getting up and moving towards the kitchen. I raise my empty bottle in silent approval and settle my eyes back on the screen, determined in my resolve to be his friend.

  Ten minutes later, the door to my apartment flies open and Alice waltzes through. She drops her purse on the hallway table and her keys in the glass bowl in the center of it, then plops herself down next to me and grabs a slice of pizza before leaning back.

  “Thought you were closing,” I comment.

  “Closed early. It was dead and I was bored so Jer said to just close it down.”

  I shoot my gaze over to Jay before settling back into the couch and returning my attention to the Disney movie playing out on my TV. That doesn’t last long, though, because I hear an exasperated sigh coming from next to me and I automatically start preparing for what I know is coming next.

  “Let’s go out tonight!” Alice exclaims.

  Yup, called it.

  “I need a night out with my best friends. I just wrote the hardest exam of my life today and had one of the most boring shifts at the café. I could do with a fun Friday night out,” she says, looking from me to Jay and back again.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Come on Kat. Please!”

  “I’m in.” He smiles

  Shit! Really?

  If they’re all going, then I’ll have to go. Alice won’t let me stay home by myself on a Friday night.

  Damnit!

  “Don’t be a party pooper, Kat,” Alice says, her eyes pleading with me to do this for her.

  I sigh knowing that I’m going to give into her eventually. Nobody has ever said no to Alice and how could they when she looks at them with those honey-brown puppy dog eyes.

  “Where’s Mike?” she asks, noticing for the first time that he isn’t here.

  “Apparently, he had a date tonight” I state.

  Alice’s eyes go wide and I see a pang of hurt flash across them before she covers as if it never happened.

  What the fuck was that? Mike and Alice? And why would she not tell me.

  I’ll have to ask Jay about Alice and Mike later when we’re by ourselves.

  “He’s not with the blonde Barbie, is he?” she asks, turning to Jay. Jay, Parker, and Mike were childhood friends then joined the RCMP t
ogether.

  I shoot Jay a questioning look while Alice has her head turned. He just shrugs it off. Her gaze swings over to me again and I see that same pleading look in her eyes for me to go out with them tonight.

  “Fine,” I concede.

  She bounces up and down with a huge smile across her face. “We can check out that new club that just opened up. I’ve heard that it’s supposed to be the hot new thing. We’ll cab it!” she says, jumping up and heading in the direction of my shower. I swear the girl just makes herself at home anywhere.

  I slump back into the back of the couch. This should be an interesting night. I hate going to the club. All those sweaty bodies in a cramped space, drunk people bumping into you, and pervs trying to rub up onto you. It wouldn’t be bad if it was just dancing.

  It’s also how he and I ended up naked in bed together.

  I shiver just thinking about it but Alice needs me so I’ll go for her and plus I could use a drink…or two. I glance at my phone and notice that it’s already ten.

  “Go get ready. I’m going to run home and shower and be back here in an hour to pick you girls up.” He stands, moving towards the door and with a final wave he’s gone.

  Jason

  After I let my eyes adjust to the low light of the club, I feel like I just walked into a circus. In the four corners of the club there are long white sheets hanging from the ceiling to the floor with a blue light cast on each, turning the sheet from white to purple. Rolling down from the top are women dressed in very colorful leotards with no safety lines.

  In the center is a makeshift stage with more women in skin tight leotards acting out a scene with some of those ribbon-on-a-stick-thingies. Closer to the ceiling are gymnastic swings.

  The bartender is wearing black slacks, no shirt, and a black blazer with black eye makeup. The servers are all women decked out in black short shorts, white tank tops, and sleeveless coat tail jackets. All of them have glittery eye makeup and little top hats resting on their heads with the string going under their chins. I smirk to myself.

  Well, okay then, drinks and a show it is.

  “So, this place is…different,” Kat says as we’re lead to our corner booth where Mike is already waiting.

  “I told you they change the theme every couple months. I guess this time it’s a twist on the usual circus” Alice shrugs.

  “I’m not complaining,” Mike says as his gaze rakes over a couple of the female servers walking by our booth.

  “Me neither,” I chime in, sliding into the booth opposite Mike.

  “As long as no clowns jump out at me,” Kat adds.

  When one of the servers comes to take down our drink order, she doesn’t hesitate to order her favorite drink, a Blue Hawaiian.

  Well, it’s not tequila.

  After a couple drinks, Alice jumps up and drags Kat out of her seat with a high pitched, “let’s dance!”

  Kat groans as Alice leads her to the outer edge of the dance floor and turns around so that her back is facing our table. The alcohol must have hit her system between the time Alice dragged her out of our booth and the time they hit the dance floor because when Alice starts dancing Kat joins her and by the second song she looks like she’s having fun.

  I take another long pull of my beer and try to ignore the fact that Kat looks damn good on that dance floor in that skin-tight red dress and ignore the fact the I want to kick the ass of every guy in this club with their eyes glued to her.

  It takes everything I have to unclench my fist and will myself to not go over there and wrap my arms around her and claim her as mine. I look over at Mike and it looks like he’s thinking along the same lines.

  We’ve both been protective over those girls, but somewhere along the line it became about more than that for me with Kat.

  “How’d the date with Erin go?” I ask him trying to focus my mind on something other than Kat in that dress and the guy that just danced up to them.

  “Shit,” Mike stammers under his breath shaking his head and slamming back the rest of his beer.

  “That good, huh?” I grin

  “She wants me to meet her parents this week,” he says shaking his head. “I don’t do parents.”

  I laugh. “Dude, you don’t do relationships, period.”

  He holds up a new glass of beer. “Cheers to that” he grunts, and slams it back.

  I shake my head; in all the years I’ve known Mike, he has never once had a serious relationship. He doesn’t do relationships; he only does one-nighters. He’s part of the “love ‘em and leave ‘em” club and he doesn’t seem to be eager to change that anytime soon.

  He slams his glass down on the table and tilts his head towards the dance floor where two more guys have come up to Alice and Kat and have pulled the girls in too close for my comfort.

  “Enough of this,” Mike barks and slides out of the booth heading in their direction, and I’m hot on his heels.

  Katherine

  I feel two beefy arms grip my hips and the heavy stench of tobacco and alcohol coming off the guy in front of me makes me want to hurl.

  “Hey darlin’,” he rasps.

  I open my eyes and look up into his round face. His eyes are cold and a devilish smile tugs the corners of his lips. I struggle to get out of his grip but he holds me tight bringing me closer to him.

  “Aw, c’mon. Dance with me” he drawls.

  “Let me go.” I start struggling harder as he starts moving us further to the opposite side of the dance floor. He doesn’t get far before I hear a deep male voice behind me.

  “Lady said to let her go”

  I tilt my head to the side and see Jay stalking towards us like a man on a mission, anger clear in his emerald eyes. I turn back to the man who still has his hands firmly on me but he’s gone statue-like, eyes wide and fear evident across his face. His arm instantly drops from mine.

  “Sorry, dude. Should keep your lady in line better,” he mutters before walking away into the crowd.

  What the…He did not just say that!

  Before my mouth has time to catch up with my brain, the guy is laid out on the floor and Jay’s anger is palpable as he stands over him, chest heaving.

  Oh fuck!

  I look around. Everyone has stopped dancing and there’s a crowd gathering to watch us. Putting my hand on his arm I try to reassure him that I’m okay but he doesn’t feel it.

  “Say that again, you piece of shit!” Jay taunts. My gaze quickly scans the crowd for backup but Alice and Mike have disappeared.

  Where the hell are they?

  I really hope that this idiot isn’t dumb enough to answer him. I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding when the guy wisely gets up and retreats without saying another word.

  “Jay, I’m really okay. Can we just go b— “

  Before I can finish my sentence, he spins me around and wraps his large hand around my arm dragging me further on to the dance floor with him. When we reach the center, he spins towards me and plants both hands on my hips bringing me closer so our bodies are pressed together. I can feel his warm breath on my ear and the scent of his cologne, Dior Homme, wraps around me.

  “Are you okay?” he whispers in my ear.

  I nod but bury my head into his neck, not wanting to see the disappointed look in his eyes. How could I be so stupid to think that I could go out wearing this dress and just have fun?

  I’m such an idiot.

  As if sensing my warring thoughts, his finger lifts my chin so that I’m forced to look up at him. “You didn’t do anything so stop thinking whatever it is you’re thinking.”

  I look him hard in the eyes and the disappointed look I thought I would see there is nowhere to be found. In fact, the only thing I see is concern staring back at me.

  Leaning my head back down, I snake my arms around his neck and breathe him in. He smells so good. He moves his hands from around my hips and curls his arms around my waist bringing me closer. I can feel him hard against my stomach.
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  I gasp and look up at him, heat and longing clear in his eyes. Before I can say anything his mouth crashes down on mine, hot and seeking, I melt into him, opening for him and his tongue clashes with mine. His teeth nip at my bottom lip and I whimper. Before I can explore the kiss any more, he pulls back.

  “Christ…Kat” he says, running his hand through his blond hair causing some to spill out over his forehead. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why that happened.” He refuses to look at me, instead shaking his head and avoiding eye contact. “I’ll get Mike to take you girls home,” he says before stalking off leaving me standing there in shock, head spinning from that kiss.

  What the hell just happened?

  I make my way back to the table, where I find Mike and Alice. Before I even sit down across from Alice, I drain the remain liquid from my glass.

  “What the hell happened? Jay practically ran out of here,” she asks

  “Some jerk started getting cocky. Jay got pissed, told the guy to leave me alone,” I shrug, surprised that I managed to keep my voice sounding normal before starting in on the new cocktail the server just set down in front of me.

  When I look up again, I can see on her face that Alice knows that isn’t the whole story but she chooses not to pursue it here in front of Mike.Instead, she reaches over to grab his beer and takes a long sip before putting it back down in front of him, giving me a shy smile. He just narrows his eyes at her not saying anything.

  “I’m going to get going. I have an early flight out tomorrow.”

  “Still need me to drive you to the airport in the morning?” Alice asks, stealing his beer again.

  “Seriously, woman, get your own damn beer,” he huffs, but Alice just sticks her tongue out at him then smiles.

  He tries to hide the smile that’s threatening to pull at his mouth but he’s not doing a very good job.

  “Sure, if you still can that would be great.”

  “I’ll be there with coffee.”

  “And that’s why we’re best friends,” I say, grabbing my clutch.

  When I’m heading out to the waiting cab my phone pings.

  David: Heard you requested a few days off.