by Kylie Kent
I don’t want to find out about her that way though, I want her to trust me. If I go digging around in her past and she found out, well I don’t think she’d take that very well. I just have to be patient and wait for her to open up to me, to let me in.
Patience is not something I’ve been known to have, but for Alyssa I’m willing to give it a go. As I watch her on the screen, I don’t think there is anything I wouldn’t do for her; or die trying to do. She’s laughing, dancing with Reilly or Holly, I really can’t tell which is which with those two. Sarah is dancing with some random guy. Bray and Dean are sitting nursing drinks watching Alyssa and Reilly.
The fact that they're getting a front-row seat watching my woman dance like that, in that fucking dress makes me see red. It should be me getting that front-row seat, not any other fucker; even if I tasked them both with the job of watching her.
Groaning, I turn back to my computer screen, I’ve been trying to read over the events planned for the next few weeks. I don’t know what the fuck Caitlyn was thinking when she booked the same band in for two weekends in a row. The same fucking band that was now missing a drummer.
Picking up my phone I dial Caitlyn, the call goes straight to voicemail. “Where the fuck are you? We got a problem with Cyrus, you should know better than to book the same band two weeks in a fucking row. Fix it. Get them off of next week’s schedule and find a replacement act.”
Hanging up the phone, I look back at the flat screen. I’m on my feet as soon as I see what’s happening. Moving closer, I scan every monitor for Alyssa. I can’t fucking see her anywhere. What I can see has me running out of my office and down to the VIP floor.
Down on the VIP floor I push my way through security. Not that I have to try hard; as soon as they realise who’s pushing through, they fucking move out of my way. Stopping at the section that Alyssa should be, I turn in a 360 seeking her out.
Turning back, my gaze lands on Sarah. “Where the fuck is she?” I yell at her.
She flinches but shakes her head, tears running down her cheeks.
“Fuck,” I growl, turning back around.
I should be concerned with who the fucker is that Bray has pinned under him, he throws punches like his life depends on it, although whoever the fuck he’s laying into is all but lifeless under him. Dean steps up and pulls him back, I still can’t see her.
Charging up to Dean and Bray, I demand, “someone needs to tell me where the fuck she is, now.”
I’m on the verge of a fucking nervous breakdown. Why the fuck can’t I see her? She should be here. I’m running my hands through my hair when Dean finally speaks up, “James took her up to your office when shit hit the fan, she should be in your office, man.”
“Fuck!” yelling at no one in particular, I look over at Dean and quickly bite out, “bring them up to the office. Alyssa will probably shoot me if anything happens to her friends in my club.” I point back to the three women huddled together.
Throwing my office door open, I find Alyssa on the couch holding an ice pack to her face. I feel my blood go cold. I am seething, someone fucking hurt her. As I walk towards her, I can feel my body vibrate with rage at the thought of some fucker laying hands on her.
James gets up from where he was sitting next to her. Just before I reach her, I hear Caitlyn from the other side of the office.
“Zac, thank god you’re here! I tried to tell them they couldn’t be in here. I told them to leave and they wouldn’t listen. James should know better than to bring some floozy up to your office.”
Alyssa sticks her head up. She looks back and forward from me to Caitlyn, whatever she is thinking, it’s not good. “James, get her fucking out of my office,” I tell him, motioning to Caitlyn. He nods and moves towards her, pulling her out by her arm.
If I thought she’d go quiet I was mistaken. “Zac, you called me remember? Told me you needed me? I came straight away.”
I’m still staring at Alyssa, she’s dropped the ice pack and I can see a large bruise forming on the side of her face. I can also see the doubt clouding over her eyes as she stares at Caitlyn, who is not so willingly being shoved out of the room. I need to fix this and set things straight. I can’t have Alyssa doubting me.
“James wait.”
James turns around and halts his steps, still holding onto a now smiling Caitlyn. She won’t be smiling for long. Smirking at her, I slowly articulate every word so that they are not misinterpreted.
“Caitlyn, I called you because I pay you to do a job. A job I fucking expect you to do, but since you seem more concerned with placing yourself where you don’t belong, you’re fired for inappropriate conduct. Don’t bother coming back.”
Nodding at James, he escorts her out of my office shutting the door, leaving me alone with Alyssa.
Squatting down in front of her, I grab her face in my hands. She flinches as my hands go up to her face. I hate myself instantly, I hate that she would fear my hands. Sliding my hands as gently as I can along her cheeks, I try my darndest to reassure her.
“Sunshine, I would never hurt you, I don’t want you to ever be afraid of that. I would cut my own hands off before I used them to cause harm to you. Please tell me you know this, please.” She looks at me and nods her head, but that’s not going to work for me. “I need the words, sunshine, I need to hear the words.”
In an ever so quiet voice she says, “I know Zac. I don’t know how I know, because I hardly know you, but deep down in my bones I know you won’t hurt me.”
I sit up on the couch next to her and pull her onto my lap. “Baby, I need you to tell me who hurt you. I will make sure they can never lay a hand on you again,” I say kissing her forehead.
“I don’t know what happened, I was dancing with Reilly when someone came up behind and grabbed me, I knew instantly it wasn’t you so I turned around and kneed him in the balls.”
I’m so fucking proud that she stood up for herself I can’t help but smile. “Sunshine, I’m glad you kneed the fucker in the balls. I think I need to give you a gun, that way if in the very near impossible chance that any fucker ever get close enough to touch you again, you just shoot them.” I lay kisses over her hairline.
She tucks her head into my chest. “It would be dangerous to give me a gun, Zac. I was kicked out of at least ten foster homes for what the department liked to call physical misconduct.”
Again, she has brought up her childhood and it sounds like a fucking nightmare, but we don’t have time to hash that out right now.
“We will come back to that topic later. What happened after you kicked the fucker in the balls?” I need to know how she got that bruise on her face, so I know how painful to make this fucker’s death.
“He backhanded me,” she says so matter-of-factly. I feel like this is not the first time this has happened to her.
Well, never fucking again. I will not let anyone hurt her again, even if I have to be her personal fucking shield twenty-four seven.
She continues, “then before I knew it, James was picking me up off the ground and Bray was on top of the guy laying into him. Did you know Bray can really pack a punch?” I laugh a little at her question and she looks up at me, waiting for an explanation.
“Sunshine, Bray is a cage fighter. Underground fighting and currently undefeated. Yeah, I know he can pack a fucking punch. That right hook of his earns me a lot of fucking money.”
I watch her face to try to gauge her reaction to this news, she surprises me when she laughs. “Of course he is, do me a favour and let’s not tell Reilly that bit of information, please.”
At that moment the door swings open and the woman in question asks, “don’t tell Reilly what?” She looks at us and before either of us has a chance to reply she’s answering her own question, sort of.
“Oh wait, let me guess, don’t tell Reilly that you’re going to run off and elope and live HEA?” she questions.
“What the hell is HEA?” This comes from a very rough voiced Bray.
> Reilly spins around facing him. “Something you’re probably going to deny yourself of ever having,” she says.
I can tell he still has no idea what she’s referring to, but he drops it. Reilly spins back around and at my head nod she continues her guessing game.
“I know, you’ve finally quit nursing and you’re signing up to work the pole, I’ve told you, you would make a killing with those boobs.”
I growl out, “over my dead fucking body.”
“So no to the stripper career? Oh, I got it, you discovered Zac’s too much man for one woman and you want me to be your sister wife.” She raises her eyebrows suggestively at Alyssa. “Just so you know Lyssa, if there was anyone in the world I would be sister wives with, it would be you.”
I can feel Alyssa’s body tense, she’s fucking hot when she gets her green-eyed monster on, before she can say anything Bray cuts in, “you’re not going to be her sister wife. My brother doesn’t share well. Besides, a girl like you needs more than sharing a man, you need one all for yourself. It’s going to be a tough job, but I’m up for the challenge.” Bray turns his full smirk onto Reilly. Huh, interesting. But right now I don’t care about my brother trying to get laid, I care about where I can get my hands on the fucker that hurt Alyssa.
Whispering in her ear so only she can hear, “baby, I’m going to step out the door, just for a minute. I will be right outside the door. Will you be okay here with your girls for a moment?”
Snuggling into my neck, I feel her breathe me in. I love when she does this, although I’m smart enough to not let on that I know that’s what she’s doing. I love that she takes comfort in me, in my body, in my hold, and even in my fucking smell.
“I’ll be fine, stop worrying so much. It’s going to take more than a little slap to keep me down Zac. I’m not some damsel in distress you have to babysit. If you have work to do, I can just go home with the girls and see you tomorrow, or whenever.”
Lifting her chin so her eyes are on me, I say, “you’re not going anywhere but my fucking bed tonight, sunshine. I will be right outside that fucking door.”
I kiss her, claiming her lips. I pull away far too soon for my liking, but the sooner I deal with this the sooner I can take my woman home to bed.
Standing, I grunt out to Bray and Dean, “out,” pointing to the door. I lead the way out.
As soon as the door closes, I am on them. “What the fuck happened? How could you let some fucker get close enough to lay a fucking hand on her let alone fucking hit her?”
I can feel my body fuming, vibrating with rage again, now that I don’t have Alyssa in my arms I am an inferno of pure rage. It’s almost like she’s a balm to my soul, calming me like nothing else can. For a few minutes in that office while I was holding her I had forgotten how fucking angry I was.
“Bro, it was the fucking singer for Cyrus, Caitlyn gave the band fucking VIP passes again. We didn’t want to draw any attention so let them be.”
Bray looks pointedly at me. I know he’s right, we can’t draw unwanted attention from that band. There can’t be a link between their missing drummer and our club. I know they’ll never find his body, but we still don’t need that headache.
“That doesn’t answer how he got close to her,” I say, pointing to the door.
“He was dancing with Sarah. She was into it, so we left it alone. One of the other guys at the band’s table started talking shit about how their drummer was last seen here in the club and never left, started questioning where he was. Bray and I went over to dig out what they knew.” Dean shakes he’s head and runs a hand through his hair, he’s frustrated, well good, because I’m still fucking fuming. “Look man, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left her, I didn’t think. I shouldn’t have left her.”
“No, you fucking shouldn’t have. She should not be sitting in there with a fucking shiner. Where the fuck is this fucker now? I can’t wait to get my fucking hands on him.”
Bray looks at me with concern. “Zac, you can’t kill him, you killed his brother last night. You think the band won’t start asking louder questions if their lead fucking singer went missing from this club right after their drummer?” He paces, running his hands through the ends of his hair. Stopping in front of me, he looks me square in the eye. “Look man, the guy had to be taken off in a fucking ambulance. The beating I just gave him, he’d have to be fucking stupid to show his face around here again.”
“I know you’re right, but it doesn’t do anything to help the fact that I feel like I need to kill the fucker. Fuck. Okay, you’re right. We don’t need anyone questioning the club in relation to missing fucking bodies.”
I pause and take a calming breath before I go back into the office to Alyssa, I don’t want her to see me so worked up. I need to be in control, I need her to see me as someone in control. Walking in, I’m stunned at the scene that greets me, Alyssa and Reilly, drinks in hand, dancing around what I’m assuming is an imaginary pole.
Fuck me, this friend of hers is a dangerous influence. “If my girlfriend ever ends up on a real pole, I will hunt you down Reilly, and I won’t be kind just because you’re a girl.”
All four women gasp and stare at me with mouths wide open, I raise an eyebrow in question at them, but they say nothing. Turning my head to the guys for help on this one I see Dean over in the far corner texting someone, who the fuck he’s texting god only knows. Bray is staring at Reilly. I don’t know what’s going on with him there but I’m not touching that one with a ten-foot pole. Bray will break the girl’s heart if he got near her, then Alyssa will be pissed at me, and I don’t want to have to choose sides between my brother and her. It scares me to think Bray wouldn’t come out on the winning side.
“Okay, I give, what’d I say?” I ask the four women but staring directly at mine, at Alyssa.
She doesn’t say anything but runs towards me, jumping up into my arms. I brace myself at the very last moment, only stumbling back one step before she’s plastered herself to my body, slamming her lips down onto mine. It doesn’t take me long to take control of the kiss. Swiping my tongue along her lips, she opens wide for me and I take everything she willingly gives. This kiss is one of ownership, of me owning her, of her owning me. In this kiss we tell each other exactly what we don’t say with words.
Pulling back from the kiss I smirk at Alyssa. “Sunshine, if that’s the kind of greeting I’m going to get every time I leave for five minutes, I might have to find reasons to stand on the other side of the door more often.”
She smiles and leans her mouth down to my ear so that only I can hear her reply, although looking at the smiles on her friend’s faces, I get the feeling they don’t need to hear for them to know exactly what’s gotten into their friend.
“That kiss isn’t because you left and came back, although if it means you’re always going to come back I will gladly give you that kind of greeting kiss every time.” She pauses and kisses just behind my ear briefly before continuing, “sorry I get distracted by your, well your everything. That kiss, that was because you just called me your girlfriend. Well, at least I think you did, you did, right? Oh god, if it was a slip of the tongue we can totally just forget—" I cut her off, slamming my lips back onto hers.
A throat clears. “As hot as fuck that Lyssa is, it’s not so hot when she’s playing tonsil hockey with my fucking brother, my old brother may I add, I’m out.” Turning, Bray pulls his trademark smirk onto Alyssa’s friends. “Any of you lovely ladies need a ride? Home, that is?”
Not giving any of them a chance, I answer for them. “They all need a ride home bro, I’m taking my girlfriend home to bed.” I take extra care to annunciate the word girlfriend, letting them all, especially Alyssa, fucking know that it was not a fucking slip of the tongue. She is mine.
Chapter Eleven
Alyssa
Standing in Zac’s bathroom looking at my reflection in the mirror, I inspect the bruise forming on my face. It’s not that bad, I expected it to be a lot worse fr
om the way Zac reacted when he saw my face. This is nothing a bit of foundation won’t cover; besides I’ve had worse bruises left on my face before.
Shaking my head to clear thoughts from the past, I run the water and wash my face and then strip out of my clothes. Taking one last look in the mirror, I pull my hair out of the hair tie and run my hands through it, letting the waves fall over my shoulders.
Opening the door and stepping back into the bedroom, I freeze, the breath taken out of me. I don’t know how he does it, how he affects me so easily. It’s almost like as soon as I lay eyes on him, I’m instantly wet and needy.
Zac is standing by the side of the bed, shirtless. He’s removed his shoes and socks and has the button and fly undone on his dress pants, I can see the top of his black Calvin Kleins. He just stands there with all those tanned muscles on display.
His torso is strong, with a wide chest and broad shoulders. A narrow waist with goddamn washboard abs, I always thought washboard abs was just an exaggerated saying, but I get it now, boy do I get it now. What I wouldn’t do to run my tongue over all of those ridges of his body.
Smirking at me like he knows just how much his body affects me, he asks, “see something you like, sunshine?.”
As my eyes roam up and down his body again, for like the zillionth time since stepping out of the bathroom, I can see the outline of his now hard cock trying to escape the confines of his pants. Smiling up at him and fluttering my lashes, I aim for coy.
“Meh, it’s not bad, but it sure looks like you’re really liking what you see right now.” Pointing to his very obvious and very impressive erection.
“I’m about ten seconds away from throwing you down on this fucking bed, tying you up, and showing you exactly just how much I fucking love what I see right now,” he growls out, literally growls.
As he goes to take a step forward, I hold my hand in a stop motion. To my surprise he stops in his spot, a concerned look crossing his features.