Beneath Him

by Kant, Komal

  Fuck no.

  Turned off, I immediately snatched up her hand and moved away from her. I didn’t want this random girl to touch me. There was only girl I wanted to touch and she hated me right now.

  “You can leave now. We’re done.” I climbed off the bed and adjusted my shirt.

  The girl’s mouth dropped open and her face started to flush pink. “Are you fucking kidding me? How dare you treat me like trash!”

  I shrugged, drowning out the sound of her voice, and reaching for my phone to call for the butler, Edward, so he could call for a cab and keep an eye on ‘Trashy” until it got here.

  A few minutes later, Edward was ushering the raging girl out of my room and down to the foyer to wait for her ride.

  Sighing, I walked over to my empty bed and stared down at it. I hadn’t slept in it in days, but I guess this was where I was going to end up tonight. I knew Sky would have nothing to do with me, not after my display in the library.

  This was what I deserved. I deserved an incomplete life. I’d done this to myself.

  Sky

  That night Nick didn’t come to my room.

  I wasn’t surprised.

  What did surprise me was that it tore my heart apart.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Nick

  Ever since Sky had arrived here, I hadn’t had any time to focus on work.

  I often helped Dad out with his cases and he was currently working on an interesting one where a ditzy A-list celebrity was trying to get out of the contract with her management team for not warning her that making a sex tape was a bad idea.

  Sometimes people were so stupid, I didn’t know how they functioned.

  A knock on my slightly ajar door made me jerk my head toward the door. Emily peered in, a smile on her face. “Hey, are you busy?”

  “Never for you, Em,” I said, closing my folder and putting it aside on the desk. “What’s going on?”

  Emily walked in, dressed in a conservative knee-length dress. I think if she ever started dressing like the girls I brought home, I would flip my shit. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

  “Yeah, sure.” I gestured at the chair across from me at the desk, wondering what had dragged her to my room.

  I noticed the frown on her brow, and the nervous twisting of her hair she was doing as she took a seat. Something was bothering her.

  “Whoever you brought home last night was screaming and yelling outside for a long time.” The disapproval was clear in her voice. “She woke me up. I’m surprised she didn’t wake Mad up.”

  “She was?” That crazy bitch. She was on the same level as the porn star celebrity. “Shit, I’m sorry I had no idea.”

  “You know how I feel about the kind of girls you bring home.” Emily’s lips tightened and I could tell she wasn’t happy with me. “I don’t like it, Nick. It’s not a healthy environment for Madeline.”

  I tried to have an ‘I didn’t give a shit’ attitude, but it really did bug me what my little sister thought of me. I was supposed to be her big brother and set an example for her, but I’d hate it if she all of a sudden started acting like me.

  In all honesty, she was the one who set the example—straight-A student who rarely went out and got drunk, preferring a quiet night in comparison to my wild ones.

  “I know. I’m working on it, I promise.” I didn’t elaborate that ‘working on it’ meant seeking comfort in Sky. I decided to change the subject before she could ask me how. “Lisa called me yesterday. We’re all going out to dinner tonight. You should come with us.”

  The tension left Emily’s face and she brightened. “I’d love to, but I have a study date set up with my friends already. You should take Sky though. She has a night off.”

  “Uh, no,” I said too quickly. “I’m probably not her favorite person right now.”

  “God, Nick,” she groaned, rolling her eyes at me, “what did you do this time?”

  I didn’t really want to go into detail about what I’d done to Sky, especially to my little sister. Besides, I still felt like a complete dick about it.

  “Just something I shouldn’t have,” I said, glancing down at the lacquered wood of my desk.

  Emily was silent, and when I turned back at her, she was scrutinizing me with a funny expression on her face, like she knew the punchline to a joke that I didn’t quite get.

  “What?” I asked, raising my brows in question.

  “Do you want her to go with you?” That look was still in her eyes, like she’d had an epiphany.

  “What?” Her question had taken me off guard. I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “You heard me.” She pursed her lips, reminding me of the look Mom often got when she was up to something. “Do you want Sky to go with you to dinner?”

  “Um,” I stalled, sitting up straight now, trying to figure out how to answer her complicated question.

  “Oh, my God!” Emily leapt halfway out of her seat as she reached across the desk and grabbed my arm. “You do! You totally like her!”

  “What? No!” I pulled away from her as I felt my face flame up.

  Holy shit. What was wrong with me? It was like the temperature in the room had suddenly shot up several degrees. Was the A/C broken?

  “You do!” Emily was jabbing me in the arm now. “And not because you want to sleep with her. You actually like her! As a person! Why didn’t I see this before?”

  I didn’t like all this poking she was doing—I wasn’t a pin cushion. The accusing was making me uneasy, too. Trying to stay cool, I shrugged her off. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah, right,” she said with a laugh. “If it’s no big deal then take her to dinner with you.”

  “I just told you she won’t go with me.” Now I was frustrated that Emily was making fun of me. “She hates me.”

  “I’ll talk to her,” Emily said, heading out the door. “She does like your friends, lucky for you. I’m sure she won’t refuse if Lisa personally calls her. Bye!”

  Before I could object, she was out the door.

  Great. My baby sister thought she was some kind of matchmaking service, just like Mrs. Potts and Dad. Figures they would be the idealistic, romantic ones. There was always one in every family—unfortunately, mine had three.

  I hadn’t dated a girl in years, but that didn’t mean I wanted to start now. People just needed to stay out of my damn business.

  Sky

  I knew I’d said that going to dinner with Nick was something I’d never do again, but this didn’t count, okay?

  At first I had been determined to avoid Nick for as long as possible. What he’d done by bringing that girl home was disgusting, and he didn’t even seem slightly remorseful about it. But when Emily had insisted that I go to dinner and gotten Lisa on the phone, who had practically begged me, I couldn’t refuse.

  I wasn’t going to lie; it was actually really nice to see Nick’s friends again. They were a lot of fun and down-to-earth. I guess it was good for me to get out of the house and do something other than read. I did miss spending time with my friends, so this helped with my homesickness.

  Somehow, I’d ended up sitting right beside Matt, which I didn’t mind too much. Matt seemed like a genuine guy. He got along with everyone and was always cracking jokes. Basically, he was the opposite of Nick which wasn’t such a bad thing.

  “So, I don’t think I caught where you’re from,” he said, taking a sip of his red wine.

  We were at a swanky grill tonight and everyone was dressed up. They had five different type of silverware laid out on the table—I’d always thought a fork, spoon, and knife were all you needed, but apparently you needed a salad fork and a dinner fork, too.

  “Carson City,” I replied, curling a hand around my own drink but not picking it up. I’d opted for a cranberry and vodka for no other reason except that it was delicious. “It’s very different to Beverly Hills.”

  “Everything’s not made out of plastic?” he asked, gesturi
ng his head at Lisa.

  I gaped at him and quickly swatted him on the arm as he laughed. Yes, Lisa had had a little work done—boobs, nose, lips, cheeks, okay so maybe a lot—but she was a really nice person.

  “That’s mean!” I said, trying to look stern, but failing because the grin on Matt’s face was too infectious.

  “I kid, I kid,” he said, raising a hand in defense. “So tell me more about Carson City.”

  “Um.” I wracked my brain, trying to figure out the best way to describe my hometown. “It’s beautiful and peaceful. It’s small enough that people recognize you, but expansive enough that you can lose yourself.” A pang of sadness hit me for not being back home living my simple life. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was what I loved.

  “Well, it can’t be as great at Beverly Hills. There are no Matt De Voirs there,” Matt said with a sly wink.

  “You are so full of it!” I cried, but I was unable to hide the smile I felt creeping onto my lips. “I think you just want to hear me compliment you.”

  He had this way of making me smile without trying. It was something in his carefree, easy demeanor, the way he didn’t seem to let too much get to him. I liked that.

  Matt gave me an innocent look, his hazel-green eyes wide. “Who me? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I simply speak the truth.”

  I wasn’t going to lie; I kind of liked him. Erin was right—I did need to get out there and date someone. I couldn’t deny that I was loving this attention from Matt. He was very good looking, so I couldn’t complain.

  “Really? So you’re not secretly courting me?” I asked, elbowing him so he almost spilled his wine.

  I stifled a laugh as he gave me the fakest glare I’d ever seen. He really couldn’t pull off angry very well.

  “Now what would give you that idea?” He winked at me again, and this time my stomach did a tiny backflip. “Matt De Voir courts no woman.” His voice was grand and overdramatic, and his overacting reminded me of a TV soap star.

  “Matt De Voir needs to stop referring to himself in the third person,” I snorted, trying hard to control my laughter as the waiter placed a blue cheese and beetroot salad in front of me.

  My stomach growled as I reached for my fork, and I knew I was going to devour this salad in minutes. Bring on the entrée.

  “Sky!” Matt hissed.

  A forkful of salad was almost to my mouth as I turned my head just the slightest and raised my brows in question. “Yeah?”

  “That’s not a salad fork; that’s a fish fork!” From his tone of voice, I could tell he wasn’t being obnoxious about it; he just seemed to find it amusing.

  My eyes fell to the fork in my hand. It looked like a normal fork to me. How did these people tell the difference? This was ridiculous! It was a damn fork!

  “Screw the fork,” I dropped it into the bowl and picked up my spoon instead, using it to scoop a piece of beetroot into my mouth.

  “You are something else,” Matt said with a laugh, raising his wine glass at me.

  That deep rumbling laugh sent tingles shooting all over my body, and I found my eyes drifting to his lips.

  Gosh, I liked him. I actually liked him. He was funny and sweet and got me. And the most important part was he wasn’t Nick.

  Nick

  Every time Sky and Matt dipped their heads close together and laughed, a jealous monster roared inside my chest, fighting to be set free and go Rambo on Matt’s ass.

  Those two were really hitting it off, and it was pretty obvious they liked each other. There was a little flirting going on—the unmistakable cute smiles, the lingering eye contact, the unnecessary touching.

  What did they think this was? A fucking chick flick where the awkward girl got together with the suave millionaire? The only millionaire Sky was going to get with was me.

  As casually as I could, I leaned back in my chair and cleared my throat, trying to get Ben’s attention as he spoke to Jordan about the upcoming baseball game between the Royals and the Angels.

  Hearing my low throat clearing, Ben’s eyes lifted towards me as he shot me a look of question.

  With as much subtlety as I could, I nodded my head at Matt and Sky, who was sitting right beside him. Then I made a hand gesture, quickly moving my hand from right to left, which basically meant ‘abort their conversation’.

  Understanding dawned on his face and he immediately tapped Sky on the shoulder, causing her to turn away from Matt. Ben was a social butterfly—or whatever the hell the male version of that was—and within seconds he had Sky absorbed in conversation with him.

  The table we were sitting at was round, and Matt was closest to me on my left, but I’d purposely left an elephant-sized gap between us. Now, I scooted my hair closer to him. I didn’t want anyone else to hear what I was about to say to him.

  “Hey, Nick,” he said in surprise as he watched me move closer to him. There was a flitting expression on his face, between suspicion and surprise, like he wasn’t sure why I was bringing myself into his range.

  “I don’t like you talking to her.” I didn’t fuck around; I didn’t have time for small talk. I got right to the point.

  “What?” Matt’s eyes grew at my abruptness.

  My eyes fell on Sky who was nodding along as she listened to Ben, occasionally flashing him smiles that made my chest squeeze. “You need to keep your distance.”

  Matt followed my gaze. “Why? I’m just trying to be nice. She’s cool.”

  I clenched my fists at his words. She was not cool. She was more than that, more than he could even understand. He didn’t know her. I didn’t like him talking about her.

  “I’m not getting into a discussion with you about it. Just stay the fuck away from Sky!” Without intending for it to, my voice had risen and caught everyone’s attention at the table.

  My eyes traveled around the table before finally settling on Sky. Her features were pinched and her skin was flushing—she stared at me like I was a complete stranger.

  Ducking her head in embarrassment, she pushed back her chair and left the table with a mumbled, “Excuse me.”

  Sky

  I couldn’t believe that Nick would dare warn Matt away from me after he’d had a girl in his bed last night. He was such a freaking hypocrite. It wasn’t like he and I had a real relationship and now he was trying to sabotage whatever I had formed with Matt, all because he didn’t like him.

  Taking a deep breath, I continued out of the restaurant and onto the street outside.

  Things with Nick were becoming too complicated and I couldn’t figure out what I wanted and what was really going on.

  My furious pace didn’t decrease as I turned into a small street, not really knowing where I was going and not really caring.

  It wasn’t like I wanted a relationship with Nick. Why would I want a relationship with someone as stuck up and arrogant as him? Sure, he was extremely good looking and we had definitely bonded in a weird way. He actually wasn’t that bad to hang out with and there was something about being around him that made my thoughts and my heart race.

  My pace slackened as my mind started to argue against Nick’s faults.

  Seriously, what was wrong with me? I was listing Nick’s good traits now.

  He needed to stay away from me. Obviously, I was trying to create distance between us, so why did he have to try and ruin that? But why was I trying to create a distance between us in the first place? If Nick was so flawed then it should be easy to stay away from him unless-

  With a start, I stopped and collapsed against a brick wall.

  Was this overwhelming for me because I was starting to have serious feelings for Nick? Feelings that I knew wouldn’t be reciprocated, that were foolish and would eventually end in me being hurt?

  Shivering, I glanced up and down the street. It was probably about time I went back to the restaurant. It was dark out and I was unfamiliar with the area we were in.

  My eyes fell on a car approaching at a slow pace and I r
ecognized it straight away as Nick’s BMW. Oh, no. He’d followed me.

  Nick must’ve spotted me at the same time because he pulled the car over and jumped out. As he passed under a streetlight, I could see that every inch of his face was lined with anger.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” he demanded as he took lengthy strides towards me. “Why did you run off like that by yourself this late at night? Are you trying to get mugged or worse?”

  Shooting him a dark look, I began walking again, but had barely taken two steps before Nick reached me. He grabbed me around the waist and pushed me against the same wall that I had just been leaning on.

  The bricks cut into me, but I was too focused on him to care.

  “Answer me!” He was in my face, breathing heavily as his laser gaze honed in on me. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “Let go of me!” I met his anger with defiance, struggling in his firm grasp. He could yell all he wanted, but he didn’t scare me.

  “I am not going to let go of you! Do you know what could have happened to you? What if someone had taken you?” he demanded, his voice breaking as concern flooded out.

  I couldn’t fathom why he would show concern for me after he’d told that hooker that I was no one. I knew it had been stupid of me to run out like that, not knowing where I was or if this was even a safe area, but I wasn’t his problem. He’d made that clear already.

  “You humiliated me in front of your friends!” I took a deep breath and forced myself to continue. How dare you warn Matt away from me when you slept with a girl just last night!”

  “I didn’t like the way he was talking to you! What the fuck could you have possibly been laughing so much about?” His forehead was full of creases, like someone had scrunched up a piece of paper and unfolded it. “I just didn’t like it, okay?”

  As I studied him, my mouth fell open as understanding slowly seeped into me. Could it be possible that Nick was jealous that Matt and I were hitting it off?