by Eden O'Neill
“A noise issue?”
Sinclair nodded, but I noticed he did swallow after. It was like this guy was seriously bothering the shit out of him for some reason. Sinclair rubbed my arm, and when my teeth started clacking, Demigod pushed off the door frame.
“Why don’t, uh, y’all come inside?” he requested, scrubbing into his lengthy, dark hair. It was like waxy blades. His gaze circulating over my naked legs and furry UGG boots, the guy grinned a little. “Get out of the cold or whatever. Name’s Niko, and as you can see, we’re having a little party inside. The least I can do for the noise.”
That sounding actually really good right now considering the cold, I started to walk in, but Sinclair tugged me back a little. I removed my arm. “What’s your deal?”
But Sinclair was only looking at Niko, his gaze traveling over to me while the demigod waited. He eyed me. “We should just go. We already said what we had to say—”
“In or out, folks?” Niko widened the door, and though he appeared abrasive when he first opened it, he obviously was having a good time here watching us. His smirk was more than wide, and whatever challenge I saw there, I decided to take.
“Just for a few moments,” I told Sinclair, sliding past him before cutting in front of Niko. He smelled good and so obviously knew that, the delight in his eyes as peered over me and to my boyfriend.
Niko put his hand out. “And you’re…”
“Sinclair,” he said, his shake hard and smile more than stiff. He hadn’t even graced Niko with the look he reserved for clients before coming inside, rubbing his arms. “Sinclair Huntington.”
“Well, Sinclair Huntington…” Niko flicked a finger at me. “Billie, my new neighbor. Welcome to Never Never Land.”
And never have I ever seen such a display, people, college students I assumed, bumping and grinding in little to no clothing. Many were just as half naked as Niko, women letting men pour booze into their mouths while colorful lights flickered and glistened off the crystal chandeliers and walls. I felt like I was in some bachelor pad off the beach, not in a college neighborhood in the Midwest.
“Nice place,” I stated. Though a bit uncivilized. I sneered as some guy drank shots off a girls tits who lay on the middle of a table like a buffet. She literally was the buffet. Covered completely in body paint, she had tropical fruit and sushi decorating her body, people pulling California rolls off her like that was normal.
Niko smirked. “Thanks. Appreciate it.” Then he pointed over to Sinclair. “Sinclair, bro. Drink for you and your girl?”
“Sure.” Though something of a grumble left Sinclair’s lips as Niko guided us through the circus and circus it was. There were people everywhere and basically falling out the windows there were so many. I couldn’t believe all this was going on across the street from my rental, a modest cottage-style. We followed Niko’s wide frame through and while he stalked, Sinclair grabbed me. “I asked you to let me do the talking outside.”
He never asked. He told me. I shook my head. “I know, but it’s not a big deal.”
“Actually, it is a big deal. You don’t know these people—”
A collision, red wine completely covering my white fleece. A girl had dropped it, a beautiful girl with dark hair in a red dress, and the guy across from her joined the party too with his beer. Surprised, he sloshed the contents of the mug all over me, completely drenching me through to my T-shirt underneath. I knew because I felt immediately sticky, freaking out.
Both parties involved stopped dancing around me.
“Oh, my gosh I’m so sorry!” The girl with the now empty wine glass waved her arms wildly. Beside her, the guy with the empty mug just stared. She hit him. “Knight! Get her a towel or something.”
“Right. Towel.” He looked around, a blond girl under his arm. “Okay. Don’t have a towel.” He frowned at the girl with the wine glass. “You got a towel, December? You should look too. You dropped the wine on her.”
“I don’t have a towel. Fuck!” She flailed again and beside her was another guy, a blond one who was beautiful as fuck like basically the rest of them. He had his arm around December’s waist, and when she looked at him, he simply shrugged.
He shook his head. “I don’t have anything,” he said, then looked at me. He put a hand out, patting the air. “We’ll figure this out.”
“What’s to figure out? She’s covered in wine and booze.” The girl with platinum blond hair under Knight’s arm tugged his shirt. “Knight?”
He groaned. “I said I didn’t have anything.”
“Eh. What’s the hold up?” Niko swung back around, and at this point, Sinclair had stripped his coat off and was attempting to pat me dry with that. Niko’s eyebrows dashed up, a chuckle curling his lips up. He shot a thumb back. “We got towels in the kitchen.”
At least someone had something, and groaning, I left Sinclair and stalked away from the crew freaking out on me. The girls were completely out of sorts while the two guys just stood there. Meanwhile, my boyfriend was trailing after me, still trying to pat me down with his coat, and chuckling, Niko led us on.
“I feel so bad. I didn’t even see her.”
The dark-haired girl had said that, December as I recognized her voice. I was more so focusing on getting dry and saving my fleece at this point, and getting to the kitchen, Niko redirected Sinclair and me to the bar there. He had an array of booze set up on the counter and taking some club soda, he lifted it. “For the wine stain?”
“Good idea,” Sinclair said, waving for my fleece, and though I took it off, I exchanged it for his coat. I pressed it up to my beer-soaked tits. Since I wasn’t wearing a bra on under my oversized shirt on, I looked like I was going for a wet t-shirt contest. My shirt was even white to boot.
Trying not to call attention to myself, I waited as Niko grabbed a bunch of kitchen towels across the kitchen. He handed them off to me, and with a muffled thanks, I took them before tucking Sinclair’s coat between my legs and attempting to get some of the beer off my shirt. The thing was soaked through so I immediately went for the sink to at least try to get some of the beer out. They had a sprayer there. I turned on the water, then grabbed for it, but Niko launched for me.
“Wait. That doesn’t work—”
Soaked when the sprayer lost its complete mind and covered my shirt. I fought with it, screaming while Niko took the initiative and turned the thing off. If I was wet before I was submerged now, my pink nipples basically on display, and Sinclair’s eyes widening, he took my fleece and covered me.
“Okay. We need to go now,” he said, and at this point, Niko was completely howling. He’d fought it before with stiff cheeks but burst through with the nozzle in his hand.
“Don’t make her go, bro,” he chuckled, basically crying in laughter. He slapped his leg before returning the sprayer to the sink. “We’re, uh, working on getting that fixed. And your girl is completely soaked, and it’s cold outside. I’ll get her something to wear before you guys go back.”
“Please.”
Niko waved at him, and when I moved, Sinclair grabbed at me. “You’re staying.”
“Uh, no way am I getting dressed in this kitchen.” I snatched the fleece, using it to cover myself before jerking my chin at Niko. “I’m assuming you have a bathroom.”
“A few.” He smirked again before dashing his well-trimmed eyebrows over at Sinclair. “You going to be good by yourself or do you need to help her dress too?”
The jab had pissed me off but shot so much color into Sinclair’s cheeks his nostrils actually flared. Growling, he stared. “No, she doesn’t need me.”
And since I didn’t, I pulled his coat from between my legs and handed it to him. He looked like he wanted to do anything but stand there, but with what Niko said, I think we both were trying to prove a point here. I told him I’d be okay before following Niko through his Never Never Land and scaling up the stairs to the second level. There was less foot traffic up here, a guy or girl or two making out on the s
tairwell, but Niko stalked passed them like it wasn’t an issue. It clearly wasn’t for him and heading down the hall, he stopped in front of the first door.
“Just let me get a shirt out of my room real quick,” he started, widened the door, but the moment he had, my eyes twitched wide. There were three people already there on his bed, but the thing was, I couldn’t see where any of them started or began.
Grunting, a guy fucked a girl on her knees while he himself got impaled from behind by another guy. That guy had the other by his hair and not only had none of them stopped upon Niko opening the door, they grinned at him. The one fucking the guy jerked his chin at him, and shaking his head, Niko closed the door.
“Suppose that room’s taken then,” he said, unfazed by the orgy happening on his bed. Either that was very commonplace or he was already well aware of it. I supposed he had answered the door with his shirt open, and I idly wondered if he’d been a part of the orgy before coming downstairs.
None of that any of my business, I strode on as the demigod let go of his bedroom door and eased long strides down the hall. Every casual step displayed his ripped back muscles through his dress shirt and when he caught me looking, he winked at me.
“See something you like?” he teased, stopping in front of a door with his hand on the doorknob. “I mean, if your boyfriend doesn’t mind….”
“In your dreams.” My arms hugging tight across my chest, I got another one of his throaty chuckles as his head dropped back, and he let so much smoke into the hallway I thought the room he’d opened was on fire. As it turned out, the elegant array of scent was distinctly weed, and I nearly choked on it as he waved me in.
“We’ll borrow one of Jay’s shirts,” he said, leaving me at the door, and though I did follow him, I lost him in the cloud. I assumed he went for a closet or something.
The room was thick with cannabis, and hugging my body more, I waited for Niko inside only to find others already in the room. I supposed the smoke had to come from somewhere, two people on the couch rubbing on each other. They passed a joint between them, the source of the apparent smoke. The guy also had his shirt open while the girl rubbed on his chest, their high obviously making them very friendly.
When they weren’t smoking they were breathing kisses on each other’s throats, and I peered away, waiting for Niko while dulcet sounds of hip hop beats thumped gently into the room. No lyrics at all, the music weaved through the room like easy jazz, and I took in the display, this room extravagant just like every other one in the house so far.
Niko’s room had been pretty nice, but this one was about twice the size, a king bed with silk sheets and a fireplace over in the corner by the “friendly” couple. They barely looked at me as they rolled smoke through the room, and I was about to backtrack and wait for Niko outside when my arm was grabbed.
“About time,” rolled a deep voice. The owner tugged me, and I was in his hands, the fleece instantly dropping from my fingers.
Half naked, this guy’s bronzed frame glistened from his lounge pants up, the guy blond and husky in physique. He wore a chrome ring, a chunky one right below one of his thick knuckles. He was also all broad shoulders but narrow at the waist and tall to the point where his hands at my shoulders had me staring straight at his chest. His smile coy, he had a square-cut jaw with just a bit of blond stubble, his eyes blue and his blond hair trimmed short on the sides. In fact, one side was actually shorter than the other, like at one point he’d buzzed one of the sides and was growing it out. Now, the longer side sat just above his ear, the majority of his length curling over his eyes and rubbing my shoulders, he wet his lips at me. “Now, let me get a look at you.”
And look he did, my nipples incredibly hard and piercing through my drenched top. I started to cover them when he wrapped those lengthy digits around my arms.
“Nah, don’t do that,” hummed deep from within his wide chest. A breath and he tongued his mouth, his eyes flaring. “Don’t want to waste that.”
“Excuse me?”
Ignoring me, he let go, causing me to sway and inadvertently check out his ass as he walked away. This guy had a great ass and one only made better-looking due to the fact that he clearly wasn’t wearing anything on under his lounge pants. The waistband sat right below two prominent back dimples, a curve to his firm ass I was almost jealous of.
I wet my lips and immediately felt guilty for even looking, but what the guy said next instantly pulled me out of my rogue thoughts and caused me to stiffen.
He frowned once he turned around, probably because I hadn’t done anything after what he’d said. I couldn’t have heard him right, but then he came over to me. He touched my chin. “I said take off your clothes, love.”
What. The. Hell.
By then, Niko had returned, a shirt in his beefy hands, but stopped next to the blond staring over me. “What’s going on, bro?”
“Um, I’m thinking your girl is shy,” he said, tucking hands under his chiseled arms. It only made his chest look that much more defined, a smattering of blond hairs trailing across his muscled pecs. I peered my way back up to his eyes, but the blond noticed my more than wandering gaze. He grinned a little. “Or maybe I was wrong. What’s the problem then, beautiful? You going to work that ass for us tonight or what?”
My eyebrows had to have jumped the height of my forehead, and by then, the friendly couple had given the blond their weed. He smoked it, his perfect cheekbones hallowing before passing it to Niko, and Niko, though he smoked the gift given to him, was clearly at a loss for words.
“My girl, Jay?” he asked him, but then looked at me. “Are you my girl?”
Okay, so I wasn’t anyone’s girl, but for whatever reason glee took on a new form as Niko bumped his fist with the blond, Jay, then retreated over to the coffee table. Niko quickly moved it out the way before sinking himself down in a lounge chair near the friendly couple. He tipped his chin back, getting all settled in, and I about said something about that before hands came to my arms again.
“Now, just relax,” Blond, Jay, said, rubbing on me and fogging my brain like a hot car’s windows in the middle of a snowstorm. I didn’t know what it was about this guy’s touch, but for whatever reason, it knocked me stupid at a mere feel of his rough palms. He smiled his beautiful lips. “We just want a little show. We won’t touch you. Not unless you want that too.”
A curled finger beneath my chin and he was letting me go. He took a seat on the arm of Niko’s chair, but when I still didn’t do anything, Jay shook his head. “I’m paying you by the hour, lovely,” he said, then displayed the space in front of the couch. “Now, give my friends and me my money’s worth.” A look and he peered at Niko. “What’s with this stripper you hired?”
Holy shit.
“Stripper?” I asked, but then it all came together, them sitting back for a show, this room filled with so much weed I thought I’d choke where I stood. Then there was the smooth music and the touchy-feely couple. What the hell? I frowned. “I’m not a stripper.”
“Right.” Blond chuckled, instantly grating me. Especially when his friends joined in for a round. Taking the weed back from Niko, he pointed it toward me. “Now, please. If you would take off your clothes. I’m starting to lose my buzz.”
On fire now, I growled in his direction. “I said I’m not a stripper, asshole. You take off your clothes.”
Up in an instant, in my face in an instant and all humor in the room left. His friends and everything stopped. Like a record had been scratched except for the fact the hip hop beats still played. It bumped with the heat in my chest, my body chest to chest with this guy, Jay’s, muscled abdomen. Blond eyebrows narrowed hard. “You’re not a stripper?”
“No.”
He stepped back, a smoke trail wafting as he waved a S shape in front of me. “Dressed like that? Your wet tits all pink and popping out and you’re not a stripper?”
Fire hot as I reared back. I had every intention of slapping this asshole right in his go
ddamn face. If anything, to teach him some manners, but he stopped the assault full stop when he caught my hand and tugged me hard to his firm body…
And kissed me right on the mouth.
His lips fell down on mine with heat, aggression as if to prove a point, and rendered speechless, my limbs submitted to his strong hands. He gathered me up, the growl low in his throat as he tasted my tongue and altered my senses. He tasted like weed, sin and sex, and every other mind-dizzying thing. My nipples dragging down the hard panes of his chest, it took me a second to get my thoughts back, but the moment I had, I gut checked him so hard in his abs, he growled.
I backed away, falling into another set of hands. Turned out, they’d been my boyfriend’s because when I looked up, I saw nothing but shock in Sinclair’s eyes. He had his coat on, obviously ready to go and looking for me, and swiping up my fleece from the floor, I covered myself. “Sinclair—”
“What’s going on?” So much tension in his eyes, the majority of it on this guy Jay. Sinclair forced my arms through my fleece even though it was wet with wine and beer. “You kiss my girl?”
Jay just stood there, and all humor, once again, had left the room. It was like he commanded it, his hands shoved in his lounge pants. “I guess I did.” He shrugged. “Though I will say, I thought she was the stripper.”
More chuckles and clearly at Sinclair’s and my expense. My fleece on, Sinclair’s hands stayed at my shoulders. “So a misunderstanding then?”
“Yes, and apologies.” Jay put out a hand. “I’m Lance. Friends call me LJ since the last name is Johnson.”
“I know who you are,” Sinclair stated, surprising the hell out of me. His expression deadpan, he tucked his own hands under his arms. “I went to undergrad, then law school at the university. Heard about you around campus during my law program. I guess your reputation precedes you.”
So they went to the same school, my school as of last fall. But still, the campus was big enough where Sinclair knowing about this guy might be unusual. But then again, maybe not. They might travel in the same circles.