Tainted Bastard

by Terri Anne Browning

  “Aubree’s calling you, babe.”

  “Can you pick it up for me?” she called back. “I’m stocking the fridge with bottled water since I’m taking the last two.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’ll take care of it later.”

  “If it’s not done now, you won’t have any cold later. Just answer the phone. This will only take a minute.”

  Grunting at her stubbornness, I snatched up her phone. “What, Aubree?”

  My voice must have surprised her because there was a brief pause on her end. “Hey, Sin. Is Ro still at your place?”

  “Yeah. She’s gonna hang with me the rest of the day. Do you need something?”

  “No, just looking out for her. She doesn’t go off by herself that often, and I get worried.” She sounded like a mother checking in on her baby. I was glad Ro had people who cared about her like that. As annoying as the other Blondes were, I could tolerate them because of how much they loved and protected Roanna.

  “You don’t need to worry about her when she’s with me. I’ll bring her home when she’s ready to go.”

  And if she never wanted to leave, that would be even better.

  Liking the sudden idea of her living with me, I took a huge bite of my burger to keep myself from saying something stupid.

  “We’re going out later. Ask her if she wants to meet up with us.”

  Roanna walked into the living room, two bottles of beer and two waters in her hands. I wiped my mouth with a paper towel before asking her if she wanted to go out with her friends later.

  She hesitated, her brows pinching together as she stared down at me. “Do you?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t have any plans. I’ll go with you if you want.”

  The frown smoothed out, and she sat down beside me on the floor. Taking the phone from me, she put it to her ear. “Aubree? Hey, yeah. Sin and I will meet you tonight. Just nowhere crazy… I’m just going to wear what I have on.” She sighed and looked up at me. “Do I look okay in this? Aubree wants me to change before we go out.”

  I raked my eyes over her from head to toe. She’d kicked off her shoes and was now barefoot. Her jeans had holes in the knees and higher up on her right thigh. Her T-shirt was tight across her tits. With her hair slightly tangled from our earlier make-out session and zero makeup on, she looked sexy as fuck sitting there beside me.

  “You look beautiful. Wear what you have on,” I told her.

  Pleasure made her cheeks pink. “Just text me when you decide on a place,” she told her friend. “I’ll see you later.”

  Dropping the phone back onto the table, she picked up one of the beers. “Do you want to invite your friends?”

  “Nah. I went out with Cash the night before last. We can only take so much of each other at a time before I want to punch him in the face. Gray and Kas are hermits right now, and Kale is so far up Santana’s ass, it’s hard to get him to go out anywhere these days.”

  “How is Kassa?” she asked, compassion in her eyes. “Will she be able to have another baby?”

  “I don’t know. Gray hasn’t offered up that kind of information, and I haven’t asked. Kassa’s doing better, though. The last time I saw her, she wasn’t all puffy from crying, so that’s a win in my book.”

  “Yeah, it is. The emotions will kill you after something like that.” She took a drink of her beer, seeming lost in thought.

  I nudged her with my elbow, disliking the sadness in her voice. “Kas is a strong chick. She’ll get through this. Don’t worry about her.”

  Roanna smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Jace and Kin wouldn’t want to come?”

  I snorted in amusement. “Jace and I don’t hang out, and Kin can barely stand me.”

  “Maybe it has something to do with this constant scowl you have on your face.” She traced a finger down my nose. “It can be kind of intimidating sometimes.”

  That had me laughing, hard. “Kin isn’t intimidated by me, sweet girl. If anything, I’m a little afraid of her.”

  She moved closer, and I wrapped my arm around her, tucking her against me comfortably. Leaning her head back against my shoulder, she grinned up at me. “Ah, poor baby. Don’t worry, though. I’ll protect you from the big, bad redhead.”

  “Can you protect me from the fire-breathing one too?” I half joked, because Emmie scared the absolute fuck out of me.

  “Sorry, but she terrifies me.” Roanna kissed my cheek. “You should probably invest in Kevlar and wear it whenever you have to be around her.”

  My head fell back against the couch, and I laughed hard. “No shit.”

  Chapter 13

  Sin

  Handing over the keys to the valet outside of the club Aubree texted Roanna she and the other Blondes would be at, I took Roanna’s hand and headed for the line outside the entrance. After I slipped the bouncer a fifty to let us in without having to wait, we walked into the place. When Cash and I hung out, we sometimes ended up here. They had a different DJ every night, and it was anyone’s guess what kind of music was being played tonight. Two nights before, it had been classic rock night, and I vaguely remembered the DJ had good taste in music.

  Techno music so loud it made the fillings in my teeth rattle to the base, flashing lights on the dance floor, and a pussy-to-cock ratio of ten-to-one had me wishing I’d said no to going out with Roanna’s friends tonight. I would rather have been at my place with her cuddled on my lap watching crappy movies on Netflix.

  As we moved through the crowd, I kept her hand firmly in mine, my eyes scanning every face, looking for any possible danger to the chick at my side. It seemed like every fucker in the place zeroed in on her the minute we walked in. Their hungry gazes made my hands ache to put a fist through their faces.

  Leaning down so she could hear me, and to show everyone looking that she was mine, I kissed her temple before asking her if she wanted a beer.

  “Aubree said she already ordered for us,” she said, leaning against me. “They’re up there.” She pointed to the second floor, and I lifted my gaze to where Genesis was already making out with some douchebag.

  Beside her, Aubree waved at us, and Roanna waved back.

  Feeling how tense Ro was, I put both hands on her hips and let her lead the way. She didn’t like crowds, but I figured after a few drinks to loosen her up, she would relax a little more.

  Upstairs, we found London standing at a high-top table close by, two bottles of untouched beer in front of her and a vodka cranberry in her hand. As she saw Roanna, her bored expression lifted. “Hey, about time you two got here. I was tired of holding down the table so no one would steal it.”

  Roanna moved into the corner. Now that she was half hidden from everyone, the tension in her shoulders began to ease.

  “What have you two been doing all day?” Aubree asked as she joined us.

  I grinned at the pink that instantly filled Roanna’s cheeks. She flickered her eyes up to mine for a second before quickly looking away. “Nothing much,” she mumbled, taking a deep drink of her beer.

  Lifting my own to my lips, I moved closer until one of her legs was between mine. Leaning into her, I whispered close to her ear, “You’re so adorable when you blush like that, sweet girl.” At the feel of her shiver, my cock hardened. Groaning, I kissed her cheek. “Drink your beer, woman.”

  “Wait!” London’s exclaimed command had us looking at her. “Are you two…together?”

  Aubree rolled her eyes. “Of course they are, idiot. Get with the program, London. Roanna has had it bad for this douchebag since day one.”

  “Aubree!” Roanna hissed.

  “What?” she asked innocently.

  I pressed into my girl. “I’ve had it bad since day one, too,” I confessed close to her ear.

  She melted into me. Groaning, I stepped in behind her, keeping a hand on her hip to lock her in place against me. Over her head, I dared the two Blondes to say anything, to tease her. They
were her friends, they loved and protected her, but I would annihilate anyone who upset Roanna—including them.

  The two of them glared back, but when I didn’t even blink, they grinned, and I felt like I’d just passed some kind of test.

  “Ugh, let’s go sit down,” London whined when she returned with our next round of drinks. “There’s an empty couch over there.”

  “Yeah, hold on. Let me get Genesis.” Aubree walked over to where Genesis was still making out with the same guy. Taking hold of the back of the other Blonde’s shirt, Aubree pulled her away from the guy.

  The guy protested, grabbing Genesis’s arm, refusing to release her. I watched over my beer as he got in Aubree’s face, yelling at her, spittle flying out of his mouth. I tensed, ready to step in if needed, but Roanna and London didn’t even seem to notice or care about the confrontation going on with the smaller of the Blondes.

  Aubree stood there, listening to whatever the douchebag was saying with a bored tilt of her chin. She seemed more laid-back than Genesis or London most of the time, but I’d seen her lose her cool a few times since meeting her. She was slow to anger, but once she reached her limit, she was feisty as fuck.

  She remained motionless, her expression blank, letting the guy have his say. Then he straightened and turned his back on her, his hand still gripping Genesis’s wrist. When he started to walk away, Aubree popped her neck left and right, her fists clenching and unclenching. Her face still blank, she grabbed the guy by the back of the head, her fingers tightening around the roots of his sun-streaked hair and jerked him backward.

  He roared in pain, but then it was her turn to start yelling at him, right in his ear. With the music so loud, I couldn’t hear anything she said to him, but when she was done, she pushed him away forcefully. Taking Genesis’s now free hand, Aubree guided the other Blonde over to us.

  “Ah, come on, Aubree,” the other chick whined, and I realized she was drunk as fuck. “You’re ruining my fun.”

  “I’m saving you from something you can’t get rid of. Like an STD or a baby. As sloshed as you are, there’s no way you would remember to make him wrap it up, dumbass.” Moving past us, she pushed Genesis toward the couch London was already making herself comfortable on.

  Sitting down beside Aubree, I pulled Roanna onto my lap.

  “What the fuck?” Genesis slurred. “You two together?”

  “Leave them alone, Gen,” London ordered, pushing a bottle of water into her hand. “Hydrate so you don’t have a hangover tomorrow.”

  “Want to dance?” Roanna asked, more at ease now that she’d had a few drinks.

  “I don’t dance.” Her bottom lip pouted out, and I groaned. “Take Aubree and dance. I’ll watch you from here.”

  “But I want to dance with you.”

  “This music sucks, Ro. I can’t dance to this shit.”

  She glanced longingly at the dance floor. “You can just stand there, and I’ll dance around you. Please?”

  That please fucking did it. Cursing under my breath, I followed her downstairs to the dance floor. It was packed down there, but she didn’t seem to care. I blocked her off enough space so no one would bump into her as she danced, and I stood there drinking my third beer while she had her fun. She was in her element, as if she was onstage again, performing for everyone.

  She hypnotized me all over again with the sway of her hips, the way her entire body seemed in sync with every beat of the music. There was no crowd, only me and Roanna.

  I finished off the beer and put the empty on a passing waitress’s tray before grasping Roanna by the waist and pulling her to me for a kiss. Her fingers skimmed up my chest seductively, but her eyes were full of shyness when she drew back. Smiling, she turned her back to me, rubbing her body against me as she danced for me and me alone.

  “Hey!” some chick just off the dance floor to my left called out.

  Roanna turned back to face me, lifting a brow at me flirtatiously. “Thanks for dancing with me. I don’t do it a lot, but I knew with you here, no one would bother me.”

  “Sin. Hey. Over here.”

  Annoyed, I turned to see who was yelling at me.

  Long dark-brown hair, a short skirt, and a bra-like top her tits were half hanging out of was all I saw. She looked vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t place where I knew her from. Girls like her were a dime a dozen. Noticing she finally had my attention, the chick walked over to us.

  “Hey, did you find a gold earring at your place yesterday? A hoop with an emerald hanging from it?” she asked loud enough for everyone around us to hear.

  I bit back a groan, realizing exactly where I knew this bitch from. She was one of the two I took home Wednesday night. Roanna froze in my arms, her hands pushing at my chest, trying to get away from me. I looked down at her, saw the hurt and jealousy she couldn’t hide, and wanted to punch something.

  “Hello?” The brunette snapped her fingers near my face. I didn’t hit girls, but fuck did I wanted to slap this annoying bitch. “Did you find it or not? It was expensive, and I know I had it when we left together the other night with Tanya. She hasn’t seen it, so it must be at your place.”

  “Wow,” Roanna bit out, disgust lacing her words.

  “Ro—” I started, but she finally broke away from me.

  “You had a threesome with this chick the night before last?” she demanded.

  Not wanting to lie to her, but not wanting to confirm it either, I stayed silent. She turned away from me, stomping through the crowd that seemed to swallow her up, but not before I saw the tears glazing her eyes.

  “Look, I just want to get my earring back. My boyfriend gave it to me for my birthday a few weeks ago.” The brunette was still there, still harping on about her fucking earring and standing in my way. “I need to find it before he realizes I lost it.”

  “I haven’t seen your damn earring!” I roared, causing her to flinch. “Now fuck off.”

  I hurried after Roanna, slamming my shoulder into anyone who didn’t get out of my way quick enough. Catching up to her, I grabbed her arm and turned her to face me. “Don’t run away from me, Ro. You don’t have any right to be pissed at me for this. You and I weren’t together when I fucked her.”

  “Excuse me? Just a few nights ago, you were fucking not one bitch, but two of them. And then today, you want me to be with you?” She jerked her arm away, only to slap her hands on my chest, trying to push me away from her. It might have been funny if a tear hadn’t spilled down her cheek at that moment. “This is why we can only be friends, Sin. You can’t keep your dick out of every pussy you see long enough for us to ever be anything more than that.”

  Frustrated, I stabbed my fingers through my hair. “Anything I did before you agreed to give us a chance has nothing to do with you. I won’t be fucking around anymore. Not now that I have you.”

  “You don’t have me, Sin.”

  She started to turn away from me, and I was fed up with all the bullshit. I twisted her around and bent so I could lift her over my shoulder. Her fists slapped against my back, and I had to lock an arm behind her knees so she couldn’t kick me.

  “Put me down!” she raged, her fists landing some good blows. “Put! Me! Down!”

  Ignoring her and the stares we were getting, I carried her through the club and out to the valet. No doubt we would end up on YouTube or TMZ, and then Emmie would have my ass in a sling because she would have to deal with the PR fallout from it. I didn’t care, though. Roanna was being stubborn, and I wasn’t about to let her just walk away and have time to put her walls back up before we could talk this out.

  “Put me down, you fucking asshole. I’m not leaving with you. You can’t make me!”

  Outside, she drew the attention of everyone trying to get into the club, while I dug out my valet ticket to hand over to the attendant. As soon as he went to get my car, I rearranged her so I didn’t drop her.

  “Quiet down,” I growled at he
r. “People are thinking I’m kidnapping you. Do you want me to get arrested?”

  “You are kidnapping me!” she screamed.

  “Bullshit. I’m just taking you somewhere we can talk like reasonable adults.”

  “I don’t want to go anywhere with you, motherfucker. You’re a cheating scumbag.”

  “When did I cheat on you? We’ve been together all of six hours, and you’ve been beside me that entire time,” I reminded her.

  “Ugh!” she screamed. “I hate you so much right now.”

  “Because I’m telling the truth?” I asked calmly.

  “Because you hurt my heart,” she snapped. “I never should have gone to your place earlier. I’m so fucking stupid when it comes to you.”

  I rubbed a hand over her luscious ass. “I’m sorry I hurt your heart,” I told her, hating myself.

  “Sorry I found out about your fucking threesome, you mean.”

  “That too,” I admitted, letting out a relieved breath when I saw the attendant bringing my car.

  “You’re such an asshole.”

  “I know.”

  The car stopped in front of me, and I opened the back door. Kale had a habit of trying to open the doors when he was drunk, thinking it was funny. I’d fixed the child safety locks after someone nearly hit us because of it. Shutting the door, I tossed the attendant a tip and jumped in the driver’s seat just as Roanna was trying to climb into the front seat after realizing she couldn’t get out through the back doors.

  “Sit back and put your seat belt on,” I told her as I pulled out into traffic.

  “Fuck this,” she snarled. Falling back against the back seat, she pulled her phone out of her pocket. I glanced at her in the rearview mirror as she lifted the phone to her ear. “Aubree, come get me… He carried me out of the club… Because his fuck buddy from the other night wanted him to find her cheap-ass earring, that’s why!”

  Stopping at a red light, I reached behind me and snatched the phone out of her hands. Glaring at her, I spoke to Aubree. “I’ll bring her home later.”