by Sara Hazel
Someone grabs me from behind, and on instinct I whirl around and nearly punch my best friend in the jaw. But I’m controlled just enough that I stop short of hitting him once I realize who it is.
“Roger! What the hell are you doing?”
“Things went a little south in there. Nothing to worry about. Just an internal fight that I managed to stay the hell out of. But I made the deal, so we can get the hell out now.”
“Good,” I reply as I drop my fist. “But man, I didn’t come off that mountain to see you get killed. Maybe it’s time both of us gave this up, huh?”
I’m only here to protect Roger. Poor scrawny bastard needs me. He’s never been a big guy. And it was always his job to do the talking and mine to do whatever beating became necessary.
“I’ll never give this up, man. And now you’re back in to, so I’ll be fine. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“You better get it out of your head that I’m back here to get caught up in all this again. I’m only here because you can’t take care of yourself,” I tease him.
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” he replies.
We hop on our bikes and get the hell out of there as fast as we can. I follow Roger back to his place in Uptown. I just got myself an apartment in the same neighborhood, so I could be close by if he needed me.
When we get upstairs, my body goes into shock as I see Roger’s sister Angela sitting on the couch in tears.
Though she’s crying, she’s still stunning. Even more than the picture in my pocket. It’s been several years since I saw her. She was just a kid last time. But now she’s twenty years-old and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.
“Angie, what are you doing here?” Roger asks. “King and I have business to discuss.”
“I can’t stay at my apartment anymore. You’re gonna get me killed!” Angela shouts at Roger.
She wipes a long strand of silky black hair from her eyes. I can’t take my eyes off her, so I don’t. She looks up and notices.
“King, oh my God. What are you staring at?”
“Is that any way to greet an old friend, Angie?” I reply.
“No, it’s not. I’m sorry. But my brother is gonna get me killed. I got this a little while ago. It was slid under my door.”
She hands me a piece of paper with crude writing on it that says:
Tell your brother to pay up or we’ll kill you.
“Jesus, Roger. What have you gotten yourself into, man?” I ask.
Roger pulls the paper out of my hands, crumples it up, and tosses it out.
“It’s bullshit. Empty threats. Those guys won’t do anything to you, Angie.”
“I don’t even know who they are! How did they find my apartment? How did they get in?”
“The Crows are very well connected. But they’re not smart. Not smart like me, ok?”
“What the hell did you do, Roger?”
“This is that problem I need you to deal with for me, King. But for now, I’d rather you just take her out of here. These guys don’t know where you live. They’re probably watching me though, so be careful and go out the back way. Don’t take your bike. You’re only a few blocks from here, right?”
“Yeah, I’m on Sheridan.”
“Good. Take Angela there while I go have a talk with our guys.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell happened!” Angela stands up and shouts.
Now I get a good look at her curves. She’s thick, curvy, and perfect in every way. All I can think of is sinking into those sweet curves…
But I need to focus on the task at hand. Now I have to protect her, not make love to her.
Roger grabs his sister and shakes her. “I need you to stay quiet and calm, alright? I’ll take care of this!”
“Hey, brother, you don’t have to be rough with her,” I interject.
“She’s my sister and I’ll be whatever I want with her,” Roger growls. I know he’s not really angry with her. Knowing him the way I do, I know that he’s just upset with himself for getting her into this mess.
“Let go of me,” Angela says calmly.
Roger lets go, and Angela stands beside me.
“I’m not going to King’s place. I’ll have him take somewhere else — like Katie’s.”
“You are not going to Katie’s! You’ll go where I say you go, and right now that’s with King.”
“Fine. But you better fix this fast, or I’ll be the one to kill you,” she hisses at him.
I’m rather impressed. Angela used to be such a quiet girl. But now I can see she’s got a fire inside of her that was just waiting to burst out. I guess it really has been a long time since I saw her. A lot has changed.
A pulse in my pants reminds me that indeed — a lot has changed. I feel things towards Angela now that I never did before. And though I’m angry with Roger for putting her in this situation, I’m grateful for the opportunity to protect her. Nothing will happen to her under my care.
She doesn’t realize it yet, but I’d die for this girl.
Angela
*
Rowan King. My brother’s best friend. And now — my guardian?
King and I sneak out the back of my brother’s apartment building. Part of me feels like I’m in a spy thriller, but then I remember that I’m here because my brother is a terrible person. And being that King is part of the same gang — the Tigers — he’s not a great guy either.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen King. And he’s even more handsome than I remember. I always had a bit of a crush on him. No girl could help such a thing, and I know it. He’s tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed, and handsome. He’s got more muscles than I have ever seen on anyone.
But he’s a bad guy, right? I have to remind myself of that whenever I think of him, but especially now as he takes my hand without giving me a choice, and leads me down only side streets towards Sheridan Road.
“I don’t need to hold your hand,” I whisper.
“Angie, you’ve gotta trust me. I don’t know what your brother has gotten you into here, but I’m gonna do everything in my power to protect you.”
“I’m a big girl, King. I don’t need your protection. I can definitely take care of myself.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, sweetheart,” he says in that low growly voice of his. For some reason, hearing him swear to protect me sends a shiver through my body and a tingle between my legs. Damnit, Angela. You can’t be having thoughts like that about this guy. He’s not your type, anyway.
King is not my type. I like good guys — clean shaven yuppie types. But they don’t like me. I’m not their type. I’m no one’s type. I look over at King and I feel that surge of attraction as it passes through me again, and I wonder — what if I’m his type? What would I do?
I stay quiet as King grips my hand tighter. I watch the way he looks around for danger. He’s fully alert and aware, like a hawk. Nothing could get past this guy. Nothing.
We finally arrive at a large condo building on Sheridan, and King leads me through the front door without letting go of my hand. I’m probably safe now, and he could let go, but he doesn’t, and for now I think that maybe I don’t want him to let go.
“You live here?” I say as I look around the ornate lobby. There’s a fountain, and a security guard at the desk. The guard nods at us.
“Welcome home, Mr. King,” he says.
We get into the elevator and I expect my hand to be released then, but it’s not.
“You’re not going to let go, are you?” I ask.
He finally releases my hand. “We’re safe now.”
“Yeah, it looks like it,” I reply.
“But if we were back outside, I’d be taking your hand again. I make no apologies for that either.”
This is the kind of building I imagine my type of guy would live in. Clean, fancy, much more expensive than anything I’ve ever lived in my entire life. It’s not the kind of place I expected King to call
home.
As we ride the elevator up, he stands straight and tall in the center. If the elevator were to stop, and someone else tried to get on, I’d wonder if King would let them on.
“I’m not staying long,” I announce.
“You’re staying as long as you need to.”
“I don’t have any clothes or anything with me.”
“We’ll order you some.”
“And who is going to pay for all these clothes, King?”
He just chuckles. “Girl, you really don’t know a thing about me.”
He’s right. I don’t know that much about him, even though I grew up around him. My brother never let me see all the things they were up to. It was his way of protecting me; I guess. But King was almost always at our apartment — a strong and stoic presence who always seemed to balance out my high-strung brother.
We arrive at the top floor, and King holds the elevator door for me like a true gentleman. I walk down the only hallway until I reach the only door on this floor. It seems King has the entire floor to himself…
“How the heck can you afford this? I didn’t realize criminal activity was that profitable. Most of the Tigers that I know are living in conditions much different than this.”
“I have a few secrets up my sleeve,” he says and leaves it at that. He holds the door to the penthouse open and ushers me inside.
My jaw drops. The furniture is all modern and elegant. There’s artwork all over the walls. I know he just moved in here, and there are none of the usual signs of this being a new living space for him. There’s not a single box in sight and nothing looks out of place. There isn’t that much here, but what is here is all perfectly arranged.
I stand by the window and look at King’s view of Lake Michigan. I can see Navy Pier from here. It must be beautiful at night.
“Ok, I need to know all of your secrets.”
“Sit down and rest, sweetheart. You’ve had a rough day,” he says. He goes to the bar and pours one glass of wine. I watch as he grabs a bottle of water, presumably for me.
I turn back towards the view. I’d rather keep my eyes on King, but I don’t want to make it seem like I’m interested in him. It would be a disaster for me to get involved with a guy like this. I shudder as I imagine all the criminal activities that allow him to live in a place like this and I wonder why my brother lives in such a dump.
King hands me the bottle of water. “I’d offer you wine, but I’m pretty sure you’re not twenty-one yet.”
I look up at him and offer a wide smile. “And how do you know how old I am? I didn’t think you were keeping track of my age all these years!”
“You’re twenty. Your birthday is July 31. And your favorite color is purple.”
He grabs the purple fabric of my t-shirt and rubs it between his fingers. “It’s not just because you’re wearing purple, sweetheart. I have kept track of a few things. I pay attention. It’s always been a skill of mine.”
Heat washes over my body, and I can’t help but tremble. This is not going to end well for me. I can sense that already. I’m going to start wanting him too much, and he’s not going to want me. It will be a complete disappointment to me and I’ll get my heart broken.
“So, tell me your secrets, Mr. King. I’d really like to know.”
“I founded a company when I was sixteen — a tech company. I sold it two years later. You were too young to care back then. You spent a lot of time in your room, and whenever you were hanging out in the living room, you just sort of stared at me wide-eyed. I almost thought you had a crush on me.”
“You’re a computer nerd then? You’re kidding me.”
“I’m not.”
I laugh. “Wow. I missed all of that for sure! I just thought you and my brother were up to no good.”
“We were up to no good. Once I developed the software, my company basically ran itself, so I had plenty of time to continue getting into trouble with your brother. But my main reason for joining the Tigers as a kid was to keep Roger safe. He insisted he was gonna join with or without me, anyway. I wasn’t gonna let my best friend get himself killed.”
“The things you’ve done for my brother. I guess it’s hard for me to understand why someone like you would do them for a guy like him.”
“It may be a fault of mine, but I care about the guy. Still, I got tired of running with the Tigers and lived on a mountain for the last few years.”
“You keep getting weirder,” I reply. I set my water down and pull my hair back. I feel like he’s keeping his eyes fixed on me as I do so. “So, um, what are we gonna do while we wait for Roger to give us the all clear? Assuming he survives whatever trouble he’s in now.”
“He hasn’t given me all the details of what’s going on yet. But if he wants me to keep you safe, that’s what I’m gonna do. You’re my number one priority right now, girl, so get used to it. We’re just gonna sit here and wait.”
I whirl around and plop down on King’s blue velvet couch. It’s super comfortable, so I just let myself sink into the cushions.
“I’m already bored,” I jokingly complain.
King sits down beside me. No room between us, even though there’s plenty of space on the other side for him to occupy. “Have you eaten today?” He asks.
My stomach grumbles loudly at the mention of food. King laughs.
“Sweetheart, you gotta eat. Let me make you something. Or we can order in.”
“You’ve always been very nice to me,” I reply. “But right now, something feels different.”
“You’re very different,” he says as he places a hand on my thigh.
“You’re not even going to ask permission to touch me, huh?”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
I never thought my brother’s best friend would care if I had a boyfriend or not.
“No, I do not,” I say as I move his hand off my thigh. He moves it back so I let it remain there. At least I’m wearing jeans, right? Being so close to him and having his hand on me like this — I can feel my panties begin to grow very wet. “You’re too old for me, Rowan. Would you have been upset if I said I had a boyfriend?”
“You’ve never used my first name before. And I’m only thirty. That’s not too old for you. And yes — I would have been disappointed. But it wouldn’t stop me.”
“Stop you from what?”
“I came back here for you.”
He just goes straight for it, and that now familiar shiver works its way through my body again. Oh, the effect he has on me!
“Rowan, you can’t mean that.”
“Your brother came to visit me on my mountain in Idaho. He showed me a picture of how you’ve changed. You’re so beautiful, Angela. So damn beautiful it hurts.”
“Oh, wow. I—No one’s ever said anything like that to me.”
“Well, they should have. I’m not going to hold back. That’s something you need to know right now. We’re stuck in my condo together, so I might as well make the most of our time and tell you how I feel. When I want something, Angie, I get it.”
King’s confession is striking in its raw honesty. No man has ever said anything remotely close to this to me. And I feel right now that it must be some kind of a trick the universe has decided to play on me.
King doesn’t really give me a chance to respond. He leans in and presses his forehead to mine.
“Hey. I mean it.”
“I think I’d better go. I’ll be fine,” I whisper.
“I can’t let you out of my sight. Even if you don’t want the same thing as me. I’m still gonna protect you, but I figured I might as well be honest with you from the start.”
I nudge him gently away from me and go back over to the window.
“This is crazy. This is the weirdest day of my life.”
Soon he’s back beside me and his hand is on the small of my back.
“I’ll order us some food.”
“Yeah, that would be good…food…yeah…” My voice trails of
f. His hand feels so warm on my back. I want him to turn me towards him, look me in the eyes again, and then kiss me. But isn’t that forbidden? This is my brother’s best friend — and a member of a motorcycle gang. He’s the kind of man I swore I would never get so close to. But he’s not giving me much of a choice in the matter, and part of me is glad for that. A big part of me.
“Just let me kiss you first. If you don’t like it, I’ll never try it again,” he says.
“Ok,” I hear myself whisper. Just like that, I’ve surrendered to him. It was so easy. We haven’t even been here that long yet. But I can’t resist this man.
He turns me around to face him and comes in for the kiss. His lips just touch mine at first. He just leaves them there as if he’s enjoying the sensation of our lips against each other. My legs buckle beneath me and I feel like I might fall over, but King steadies me as he just leaves his lips on mine.
But soon he can wait no longer, and neither can I. Our mouths open and we each take the other inside. This is my first kiss, and it is pure electric perfection. Every hair on my body seems to stand up. I can’t believe this is happening, but all I know is that I want more. I moan into him as our tongues twist around each other. The kiss is hot and sweet. The chemistry is there in every way. I know because it just tastes so good. There’s no going back from a kiss like this, right? I can’t imagine there being any way to do so.
I rise up onto the tops of my toes, and he kisses me deeper and with a greater sense of urgency. It’s like he must kiss me or we both might stop breathing. We now exchange our breath — his flows into me and mine into him. I reach out and grip his muscular sides. I feel like I’m going to faint, or float away from him if I don’t hold on tight.
King grabs me by the waist, lifts me up just enough, and presses me against the window. I lean into it as he kisses me harder and then works his way down my chin. And then down to my neck. And then right in the spot above my cleavage. My breasts are heaving right now too, I might add. My breathing is heavy, and my heart is thumping against my chest. I could be dying for all I know.
“We should…we should…stop…” I stutter. But King doesn’t stop. He spreads the top of my t-shirt apart and pulls it down in order to get his mouth between my breasts.