Tainted Forever

by Terri Anne Browning

  Riley glared up at him. “You don’t own me, asshole,” she snarled before turning her back on him and flipping him off. Without another word, she stomped over to the bar.

  “Ladies, excuse me,” Nate gritted out and followed after her.

  “Holy shit,” I said when he was out of earshot, my eyes following him to the bar where he joined Riley. She was ordering, and when she went to pay, he was already placing a few bills in front of her. She turned, her face a mix of hate and lust, as she poked him in the chest while yelling at him. “When did Nate get all alpha? He’s like the sweetest guy on the planet.”

  Kassa laughed. “It was about two seconds after Amara and Riley came into First Bass the first time. It was love at first sight, and he’s been all growly ever since.”

  “Have they hooked up?”

  “Not yet,” Aubree said. “But it’s only a matter of time. Her stubborn ass will give in eventually.”

  Even as she was talking, Nate lifted Riley by the waist until she was eye level with him. Her feet kicked back and forth as much as the crowd at the bar would allow before she wrapped her legs around his waist. She snaked her arms around his neck, her fingers thrusting into his hair, and then she was kissing him.

  “Well, there goes the first one of the night,” Jenna said with a snort. “Who do you think will be next, babe?” she asked Angie.

  “Sin or Gray,” my stepsister predicted. “My money is on Sin, though.”

  “Ours too,” the three Blondes chimed in with a laugh, while Roanna blushed and flipped them off.

  Sweat running down my back, I told the others I needed to take a bathroom break. Angie and Santana went to sit with Lucy, while Jenna decided to come with me when the others stayed to dance. The line for the bathroom was long, like always, but Jenna was easy to talk to, so the time passed quickly.

  “How is Carolina?” she asked as she came out of her stall and joined me at the sink to wash her hands. “Angie hasn’t mentioned her much lately.”

  My brows drew together as I thought about my other stepsister. “You know, I haven’t really heard anything from her lately. I guess college is kicking her ass. Thanks for reminding me. I need to call her soon and check in.”

  “She likes Virginia Tech?”

  I shrugged. “Last time I spoke to her, she seemed to like it.” I pulled a few paper towels from the dispenser and wiped my hands. “Her mom was still giving her a hard time for choosing an East Coast school, though. But Caro is happier away from her and Georgia and my dad. That was why she took all those extra-credit classes so she could graduate a year early.”

  “I’m sure Caleb is checking in on her regularly.” Jenna’s brow was puckered as she held the door open for me. “He hasn’t come to visit Angie much the last few months, though. She’s been missing him.”

  “He’s been busy with work,” I excused for him, but I wondered if there was another reason my stepbrother hadn’t been making regular trips to the West Coast to visit his twin like he’d done in the past. Normally, he would fly out at least twice a month, more if his work schedule permitted it. But from what Angie had told me recently, he hadn’t been out in more than six weeks.

  Instead of going back to the dance floor or returning to our seats, Jenna and I went over to the bar to get another drink. There was no sign of Riley or Nate, so I could only assume they’d left—or were in the alley out back.

  The bar had gotten busier, so it took a while before we could even place our order. Jenna ordered for both of us, a beer each for her and Angie and a rum punch for me. As we waited, I people-watched. Friday nights were always crazy busy, no matter how good or bad the club was. The one we were at was one of the more popular ones, but not nearly as upscale as First Bass.

  Still, there were plenty of celebrities to watch on the VIP floor with us.

  Seeing someone I recognized, I quickly turned away, trying to smother my groan.

  “What?” Jenna asked with concern when I attempted to hide my face.

  “Five people down,” I muttered, keeping my head turned in case he looked my way. “My dad is here, and he’s not with the stepmonster.”

  She snuck a glance the way I was avoiding looking, and I watched her face. The instant she set eyes on him, her brows knitted together. “Oh fuck. Yeah, that is definitely not her. He’s being pretty ballsy, isn’t he? Didn’t his last affair take place on set? This is pretty close to home.”

  “From what all the trash mags indicated, yeah. Caro didn’t know the details, and I don’t ever keep up with dear old dad.” Our drinks were finally set in front of us, and I lifted mine to my lips quickly, downing a third of it in one gulp. Thinking about my father always put me on edge. Being in the same club with him was making me want to drink the entire contents of the bar, alcohol poisoning be damned.

  It was weird as fuck to be out at the same place as my fiftyish father. Most fathers that age were home in bed by ten on a Friday, not out looking to score pussy in a place where the majority of the patrons were in their twenties.

  “Wait, isn’t that the actress he was cheating with?” Jenna squinted, watching them over my shoulder for another minute. “Yeah, that’s her, I’m pretty sure of it.”

  I snorted. “I’m not surprised. Jillian is a cold bitch. Pretty sure Scott rarely got laid.”

  “He’s looking this way,” Jenna informed me. “Shit, I think he recognizes you. His eyes are all squashed together as if he’s trying to tell if it’s you or not from behind.”

  I downed another third of my drink. “Damn, and I was having such a good time too.” I pulled on her shirt. “Come on. Let’s go sit down before he decides to come talk to me.”

  But I barely got a few feet away from the bar before my name was being called. “McKinley.”

  I tensed up, hating the name he’d forced my mother to give me. They got married because of me and got divorced just as quickly after I was born. Until my mother died when I was seventeen, I hadn’t seen him since I was a toddler other than on magazines and occasionally on TMZ. Even after I moved in with him and his wife, I didn’t see much of him, and what I did only made me glad he was on set most of the time.

  Scott Montez was still a good-looking man, but I was forever thankful to have gotten all my looks from my mother, with the exception of my eyes. The gray in his dark hair was a little less noticeable now as he pulled his girlfriend behind him, stopping just a few feet away as I waited reluctantly.

  He was probably using one of those shampoos that washed out the gray a little at a time, I figured as he stood before me. “How have you been, sweetheart?”

  I nearly laughed. Sweetheart? He’d never called me that a day in his life. What the hell was going on with him?

  “What do you want, Scott?” I demanded, getting straight to the point. The quicker this was over with, the better.

  The chick beside him, a woman I only knew from her movie roles as Hollywood’s latest “it girl,” gave me a kind smile. I heard she was nice from all the talk about her, and she was definitely better-looking than Jillian. Lean with simple curves and a megawatt smile, she had dark hair that was glossy but untouched by chemicals. It was kind of refreshing to see her so natural in a sea of plastic. Still, she was screwing around with a married man, so there was obviously something wrong with her.

  “I saw you and wanted to say hello, McKinley.” He tucked his girlfriend closer to his side, and she looked up at him adoringly. Yeah, there were definitely a few screws loose upstairs if she was so madly in love with a sleazebag like Scott. “I thought maybe we could have dinner together one night soon. Catch up.”

  “No thanks.”

  He gave me a grim smile. “Jillian is out of the picture, if that’s what you are concerned about, honey.”

  I blinked at him, not sure how to take that announcement. I didn’t care one way or the other if he was still with Jillian, but Carolina would be upset. Scott was as close to a father figure as she’d ever h
ad. “You and Jillian are getting a divorce?”

  He nodded, and his new girlfriend shoved her hand forward, showing off the huge rock on her finger. It glittered in the lights, nearly blinding me for a second. “The divorce will be final next month. Shannon wants a spring wedding.”

  I tried to keep my eyes from widening, but it was virtually impossible. Shannon Stewart was maybe five years older than me. And that was a huge maybe. Yet here was my father, telling me she was going to be replacing my current stepmother. It was one thing for her to be my father’s girlfriend on the side, but it was something completely different to have her as yet another stepmother.

  “Wow,” I choked out and tipped my glass up to finish my drink with one last gulp. As soon as it was lowered, Jenna was taking it out of my hands and pushing something else into it. The beer she’d gotten for Angie. “I guess you wanted to lock her down before she realized what a dirtbag you really are, huh, Scott?”

  His face tightened. “McKinley—” he started to scold me.

  “Kin,” I snapped, cutting off his attempt to lecture me on parental respect. “My fucking name is Kin! I hate McKinley. Something you would have known if you had ever tried to be my goddamn father for five minutes.”

  “Maybe we should go,” Shannon murmured, looking uncomfortable. “My brother will be here soon.”

  “Perfect. Let’s meet my dear old stepuncle,” I sneered at her, knowing she didn’t deserve my bitchiness but too pissed at Scott to allow her to escape it.

  “Kin, let’s go sit down,” Jenna suggested, touching my shoulder.

  “No,” I said, shrugging off her touch. “I want to meet my new stepmommy’s brother.”

  The beer she’d just pushed into my hands was promptly taken away. “Yeah, okay. I think you’ve reached your limit. Let’s go.”

  “I’ll go when I’m ready,” I bit out, and I stood there, arms crossed as I glared my father down.

  “You’re just like your mother,” Scott said with amusement in his eyes, but his lips were still pressed in a grim line.

  Pain kicked me squarely in the chest at the mention of my mom, and suddenly all the anger drained out of me. Tears burned my eyes, and I turned away…

  Only to walk into a mountain of hard muscles.

  Gasping, I blinked back my tears to look up at the man whose hands were suddenly on my elbows, keeping me from bouncing back and falling onto the floor. He was beautiful, in a Greek god kind of way. Olive skin, muscles sculpted by Zeus himself, and the most amazing face I’d ever set eyes on. Gray dress slacks were tight over his hard thighs, his baby-blue button-up clinging to his chest and thick arms.

  Just looking at him, I couldn’t tell if he was twenty-five or thirty-five, but he could easily have been anywhere in between.

  Gulping, I met dark eyes.

  “Okay?” he asked in a voice that didn’t go with his body. It was soft, with just a hint of kindness. His eyes latched on to my mouth for a moment, hunger flashing in his gaze and making my stomach tighten, before those dark orbs moved on to the rest of my face.

  There was absolutely nothing soft on his body, however. His jaw was sculpted, his cheekbones high and sharp. And I could tell by the set of his shoulders, the rest of his body was like steel. His fingers bit into my flesh, and I felt oddly safe even though I didn’t sense a drop of danger in the air. Concern darkened his handsome face, his eyes scanning over mine and taking in the glassiness from the tears and my tipsiness.

  When was the last time someone looked at me like that? I couldn’t remember the last time Jace had, and I realized it was something else our relationship had been missing. Jace knew I could take care of myself, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t wanted him to step in from time to time so I didn’t fucking have to.

  Pushing back thoughts of my ex, I opened my mouth but was suddenly tongue-tied and could do nothing more than nod.

  “Is Montez bothering you?” he demanded, shooting my dad a glare over the top of my head.

  I liked the way he seemed to growl at my dad. It soothed something deep inside me to know someone disliked the man just as much as I did. “No,” I choked out. “I was just leaving.”

  “Derrick,” Shannon said, and it took me a second to realize she was speaking to the man still holding me protectively. “This is Scott’s daughter, Mc…er, Kin.”

  Realization hit me in the face, and I jerked back. “You’re her brother?”

  Oh dear Lord. I had the hots for my future stepuncle.

  Gross. Gross. Gross.

  But he was so fucking hot.

  “You’re his daughter?” he said at the same time, his hands falling to his sides and balling into fists.

  “Awkward,” Jenna muttered beside me, and I was thankful she hadn’t abandoned me. “You ready to go now?”

  “Definitely,” I assured her, but as we walked away to rejoin Lucy and Angie, I couldn’t help looking back.

  And I was rewarded by seeing Derrick’s gaze locked on me, hunger still darkening his chocolate eyes.

  Chapter 11

  Jace

  Getting out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and grabbed another to dry off. After leaving Kin at the studio that morning, I went straight to the gym and worked out until I was nearly puking. My body was now physically exhausted, but I still knew sleep would be almost impossible.

  She wasn’t on my bed, rubbing lotion into her legs, making my room smell like vanilla and roses. There weren’t long, red strands of her hair sticking to every surface in the bathroom and littering the floor. Her bra wasn’t hanging from the hand towel rail beside the sink, and there wasn’t a damn box of girl products beside the toilet.

  Even though all of that shit would annoy me, make me gripe at her, it was only after she was gone that I realized I needed all of those things in place before I could relax. I didn’t care that her box of tampons was just sitting there or that her hair was everywhere or that my room smelled all girly. It was all proof that she was present.

  But she wasn’t.

  And I fucking needed her.

  Hearing the doorbell, I waited for someone to answer it, but less than a minute later, it went off again.

  “Kas!” I called out as I opened my bedroom door. “Get the door.”

  “She’s not here,” Gray said as he came out of their room, his hair still damp from his own shower but dressed in jeans and a black button-up, and headed for the door.

  My brows lifted. My sister wasn’t home, yet Gray was? I didn’t know where the hell she was, but it wasn’t usual for Gray to let my sister out of the apartment without him. He was so overprotective, it bordered on unhealthy, but I was glad she was with someone who loved her that much. It had taken me a while to accept it, but I knew no one would ever take care of my sister as well as Gray did.

  Seconds later, I heard him opening the front door. “You ready?” Sin’s voice growled impatiently. “They’ve been at the club for an hour. That’s long enough.”

  “Chill out,” Kale told him with a chuckle. “Angie is with them and so are the rest of the Blondes. They’re fine.”

  “Give me five, and I’ll be ready,” Gray told them. “And yeah, man, you need to relax. Lucy has Marcus with them. He will watch out for the girls until we get there.”

  “How is he so calm?” Sin’s voice rumbled as Gray came down the hall again. “Isn’t he the one who usually has to be restrained when Kassa leaves his side for five seconds?”

  “Pretty sure your caveman ass has shown him he needs to calm down and let her have a little space every now and then,” Kale responded.

  “Where is Kassa?” I asked Gray as he opened the door to the bedroom he shared with my sister.

  He shrugged. “Out with the girls.”

  My muscles tightened. “Kin with them?”

  “I’m assuming since it’s a welcome home girls’ night out,” he informed me from inside his room. “We’re heading out to meet up with
them. Sin can’t seem to go ten minutes without being up Roanna’s ass.”

  “Says the man who can’t seem to breathe without Kassa by his side,” I reminded him.

  His shoulders lifted in another careless shrug. “Better to keep my girl close and safe than let her think I don’t love her enough, and her running off on me.”

  My stomach knotted at his direct hit, my hands fisting at my sides. But no matter how badly I wanted to deny it, the truth was, he was right. “Where?” I gritted out.

  “You don’t need to know,” he called over his shoulder as he came out of the bedroom with his keys and wallet. “I tell you, you show up, Kassa gets pissed at me, and then my life turns to shit until I can find a way to make her forgive me. Not happening. Later, fucker.”

  I slammed my door and collapsed down onto my bed so I didn’t punch the damn thing in frustration. Dropping my head into my hands, I curled my fingers in my hair, pulling on the damp locks. When Kin left me, it was like Kassa turned against me. We didn’t talk much anymore, and I didn’t know if it was because I’d kept Eden a secret from her or because of what happened with Kin. Kassa wouldn’t even stay in a room long enough for me to even fucking ask.

  Exhaling long and hard, I grabbed my phone as I fell back on my bed. Seconds later, Harris picked up. “I’ll text you the address,” he said in greeting.

  “What?”

  “That’s why you called, right? Lucy is out with Kin and the girls. She said I could tell you, but only if you asked. Check on my wife while you’re at it, too, would ya? She should be home resting.”

  I was already on my feet, moving toward the closet. “Yeah, anything, man. Thanks.”

  “You screwed up, but that doesn’t mean you don’t love her. I’ll help you all I can, bro. You had my back when everything went to hell with Lucy and me. I’ve got yours now.” A text came in even as he was talking, and I glanced down to see the name of a club. “Also, Lu wanted me to remind you to be at the house at noon on Sunday for the baby shower.”