by Bella Jewel
T: No, don’t worry about it. I’ll be immersing myself in water to wash my sins away, then I’ll cry myself to sleep because you forgot about me.
R: U angry at me, babe?
T: Oh absolutely.
R: I’ll call you.
T: Goodnight, Reign.
R: I’ll call.
I turn the phone off and then twist to face Xander. “Thanks for this.”
He waves a hand. “No problem. Was Reign okay with it?”
“Fine. He’s probably boning Selena right now anyway.”
Xander raises his brows. “He back with her?”
“He wishes,” I snort.
“Here we are.”
I look out the car window to see we’re at my apartment. “Shit, that was quick.”
“I may drive a little fast.” Xander smiles.
I laugh softly. “Thank you for the ride.”
“No worries. Maybe we can do it again sometime?”
I climb out of the car and smile at him. “Yeah, maybe.”
“You’re not wanting to share your number by any chance, are you?” He grins.
I can’t help but smile back. He hands me his phone with a hopeful expression. Shit, he’s kind of cute. I reach out and take it, then I punch my number in.
“See you around.” I grin.
He winks at me before speeding off.
Well, I guess you could call that a success.
CHAPTER SIX
Bang, bang, bang.
I groan and sink deeper into my warm bath.
Bang, bang, bang.
Not getting out.
I hear the sound of keys rattling and then my door slams. Reign. He’s the only one who has a key to my house. I gave it to him when he gave me one to his. It only seemed fair. We spend a great deal of time together, and we’re forever coming and going at strange hours.
I hear footsteps pound through the hall, before the door to the bathroom opens and he steps inside, wearing a pair of dark-denim jeans and a tight, black T-shirt.
“Still sulking?” he asks, shutting the door behind him.
I stare up at his face, but say nothing; I simply fluff the bubbles around me and ignore him. He walks over and sits down on the side of the tub. “You want me to say sorry?”
“No, because you don’t mean it.”
He nods, pursing those perfect lips a little. “No, but I’m trying to be nice.”
I snort. “Are you always such an ass? I could have been raped or . . . I don’t know . . . chopped into thousands of pieces.”
“You watch too many horror flicks.”
I give him a sarcastic look. “One phone call, Reign.”
“Yeah.” He sighs. “I know. I fucked up.”
“How’d it go, anyway?” I ask
He shrugs. “Awkward, but we talked.”
“And . . .”
“And there’s nothing else to say. Shit doesn’t get fixed that easily, Tiani.”
“Okay,” I say, sinking down further into the water. “Now, can you go away? I’m relaxing.”
“You fuck Xander?”
“Should I have fucked Xander?” I ask, staring up at him.
His golden eyes pin me and I feel my skin prickle. “No.”
“Why? Does he have a small penis? You can tell me.”
His lips quirk. “No, he’s just an asshole.”
“Aren’t all men?” I sigh, closing my eyes.
“No, babe, they’re not.”
“We’ll see. Now . . . are you leaving?”
He shakes his head, running his hand over his delectable abs. “I’m hungry, are you hungry?”
“No, I’m tired.”
“I’ll order a pizza.”
“Reign!”
He stands, running his hand through his messy hair. “Pepperoni?”
“It won’t matter. I’ll be asleep.”
“I’m sleeping with you. I can’t be fucked driving.”
“No you’re not,” I protest. “You kick.”
“You snore, we’re even.”
I sigh. “You have your own bed. Your own home. Your own pizza.”
He walks out, not acknowledging me. Reign and I have a strange kind of relationship: it’s as though we’re a married couple, only we’re not. We’re just friends, working partners, and two people who just seem to fit.
The way we get along, it’s almost an insult to fate for us not to fuck.
I get out of the bath after another fifteen minutes, and pull on a pair of sweats and a Cubs shirt, before walking into my room. Reign is on the bed, shirtless, flicking through my channels. As I said, an insult to fate. He’s got a pizza box on the bedside table. I walk over, flopping onto the mattress.
“Didn’t your parents teach you not to eat in bed?” I murmur, fluffing some pillows behind me.
“No.”
I roll my eyes as he hands me a slice of pizza. I only get half way through before handing it back.
“You not hungry?” he says, staring at the half-eaten slice. “You usually fight me for the last slice.”
“No, I’m too tired.”
He narrows his eyes. “You still pissed at me?”
“No, Reign.”
He throws the pizza box aside and turns to me, pinning me with a panty-melting stare. “Sure?”
“I’m sure.” I yawn. “I’m seriously just tired.”
“Well, go to sleep. I’m watching this movie for a bit longer.”
I nod and shuffle down into the sheets, rolling to my side to block out the light. I can sleep through any kind of noise, but light is a whole other story. I yawn again and then my eyes flutter closed.
Before I know it, I’m out.
~*~*~*~
Mmmmm, a warm hard body against mine. A breath tickling the back of my neck. A hard . . . shit!
My eyes snap open as I realize whom that body belongs to. A gasp escapes my lips when I go to move only to see that Reign has tangled his legs with mine, and because of the position we’re in, the moment I move his cock presses into my ass.
“Oi!” I say, thumping my foot against his leg. “Get your morning wood out of my ass.”
A sleepy chuckle comes from behind me and he untangles himself, rolling to his back. “You put it there,” he says, his voice thick with sleep.
“I did not,” I protest, stretching my arms.
“Did so. You wiggled towards me during your sleep like a desperate little puppy wanting to be stroked. As soon as I put my hands on you, it’s like a drug. You drop off and don’t move again.”
My cheeks flush. “All lies.”
“Not. You reached out and took my hand last night, pulling it over yourself as if I was your damned blanket.”
I sit up and glare down at him. “Well, you slept in my bed.”
“Yeah.” He yawns, also sitting up. “Remind me to get you a new mattress. This one sucks.”
“It does not suck!”
He reaches over and takes a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out and lighting it. “It sucks.”
“You’re going to kill us both with this smoking,” I say when he pushes it my way.
“Say no then, babe. Ain’t stoppin’ you.”
I take a pull then hand it back to him and throw my legs over the side of the bed. “Do I get the day off?”
“Mmmmm,” he murmurs. “I’m good for a few days.”
“Good. I need to see Autumn.”
His phone chirps and I turn to see him lift it off the bedside table. He stares down at it and I catch a glimpse at the screen. It’s a message from Slutena.
S: I was wondering if u wanted to do lunch 2day?
I watch his fingers glide over the screen as he responds.
R: Yeah, that sounds good. You pick where and when, I’ll b there.
I turn away, confused by the tiny pang in my chest. I don’t know if it’s jealousy or if I’m just uncomfortable. I’ve been working for Reign for a good few months now, maybe even longer, and it’s the first ti
me Selena has become a real thing. Before that we just spoke of her. I spent most of my time getting other random fucks for him. Having her finally enter the picture is . . . I don’t know.
“I’ll give you a few days then I’ll call you, yeah?” Reign says, getting out of the bed and finding his shirt. “I gotta run.”
“Not even a morning kiss?” I mutter.
He walks over and stops in front of me, capturing my jaw with his hand. “Is that a note of sarcasm I detect?”
I smile up at him. “You’re a cheap, mean date.”
He presses a kiss to my forehead before turning and leaving the room. “Call you later, babe.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “Later.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“So you met her?” Autumn asks, skipping along beside me as we near our local club.
“For a moment. She was so damned perfect, A, I swear. It was rude.”
She chuckles, flicking her curled hair over her shoulder so it trails down her back.
“The perfect ones are always assholes.”
“You’re right about that,” I agree. “No doubt Reign is banging the absolute shit out of her right now—or at least, he’s wishing he was.”
Autumn chuckles. “Such a man whore.”
We reach the line and my phone buzzes in my purse. I reach down and pull it out, staring down at Xander’s number. I wonder what he wants?
X: R u busy tonight?
T: I’m at a club. Any reason why?
X: I thought we could catch up.
T: To do what . . . become friends? Are you trying to be my friend Xander?
X: Ha ha. Yeah, friends. Keen?
T: Sure, meet me at the club.
X: Which one?
T: North side.
X: Be there soon.
I tuck my phone back in and think about what Reign said about Xander. Man whore. Well, at least I might get laid. I hook my arm through Autumn’s and we move forward in the line. When we reach the beginning of it, I see two big, sexy bikers. One is Spike; the other I haven’t seen before. When Spike sees me, he grins.
“Wingman, good to see you.”
I grin at him. “Hello there, biker. How’s your security work going?”
He shrugs. “Boring. I haven’t thrown out a single fucker yet.”
“It’ll come, don’t you worry.”
He nods to the man next to him. “This is Cade.”
Holy.
He’s all tall, dark and handsome like Jackson, only his eyes are green and he’s got a bad-boy look. Yum. Autumn mumbles something that sounds a whole lot like “Hello, hot stuff”.
“Ladies,” Cade says, nodding at us.
“This is Reign’s wingman, or lady—he actually pays her to get him laid,” Spike brags.
Cade’s eyebrows shoot up. “No shit?”
“Shit.” I grin. “I’m damn good at it, too.”
“You up for hire?”
Autumn laughs nervously beside me.
“Already asked that,” Spike says. “Boss man say’s she ain’t.”
Cade nods as someone behind us yells, “Hurry the fuck up, you can screw them later.”
Spike’s eyes darken as he looks over to the man who yelled at us. “Calm the fuck down, or I’ll throw your ass out of that line and you can start all over again.”
“Yo, fuck you dude.”
I bite back my grin as Spike storms away from us, and charges towards the man. I turn just in time to see him take hold of his collar and literally launch him onto the sidewalk.
“You ain’t comin’ in tonight, so get the fuck outta here.”
The young man, who must only be about twenty-two, pushes himself to his feet with a growl. “You’ll pay for that, dude.”
Spike grins and it’s almost daring. “I’ll be waiting.”
The young man walks off, and I turn back to Cade. “Well, I guess we better go in before he abuses anyone else.”
Cade grins. “Have fun tonight, ladies.”
Autumn takes my hand and we enter the club. As soon as we are in, she turns to me. “Are those guys bikers?”
I nod. “Yep.”
“Whoa.”
I laugh. “Yep.”
“I’m getting a drink,” she yells as we get further in and the pounding music fills our ears.
I nod and give her a thumbs-up. I find a booth and slide in, glancing around. People are grinding against each other on the dance floor; I suspect some of them have their bits in action. Actually, I’m certain of it. Gross. My phone buzzes again and I sigh, dragging it out of my purse again. Reign.
R: What r u upto?
T: I’m clubbing.
R: With Autumn?
T: Yes.
R: No problem. Have fun.
What the hell was that for? I roll my eyes and turn my phone off. I’m here to have some fun. When Autumn returns with our drinks, I shoot mine down before taking her hand and dragging her onto the dance floor. I need to dance, and I need to do it, like, yesterday.
We’re grinding and sweating, having danced for about an hour, when Xander arrives. He obviously finds me on the dance floor, because I feel a pair of hands touch my hips and a voice whisper into my ear, “You look good tonight.”
Definitely Xander.
“Hello to you too,” I murmur, shivering as his hands run up my sides and he starts moving his body with mine.
Autumn notices him and gives me a thumbs-up, grinning as she spins and begins grinding her body against a tall, very handsome man.
“You always look so good in a dress?” Xander says, leaning in so close his breath warms my ear.
“Well, it depends,” I say back, my voice lusty. “If I tuck my penis in far enough, I can usually pull it off.”
He chuckles. “There is nothing manly about your ass.”
“Is that so?”
“Hmmmm.”
We continue to dance, rubbing our bodies seductively up against one another. I’m not ashamed. I make no secret of the fact that I need to get laid. Xander seems like the right guy to do it. He’s sexy, he’s sweet and I’ve no doubt he can deliver the big O without qualms.
“I need another drink. Come on,” he says, pulling me off the dance floor.
We get ourselves a drink and slide into the booth. Xander leans in close enough so that I can hear him speaking to me over the loud music.
“How’s working for Reign going?”
I shrug, sipping my drink. “It’s fine. It pays the bills.”
“He treat you good?”
Why does he want to know? It’s really not the best way to get my vagina to sing. I don’t need to be thinking about Reign when I’m trying very hard to get laid.
“Want to get out of here?” I ask.
He nods, his eyes growing lusty. Oh yes, he knows what I’m about.
We leave the club after I advise Autumn where I’m going, and whom I’m doing. She is busy finding her own excitement for the night. God bless our hussy asses. Xander takes me to his convertible car, and we slide in.
“My house?” he asks.
“Sure.”
He pulls out and begins driving towards his house. His hand goes to my leg and he begins to rub softly as he speeds up. It’s sexy and nice for a while, until he starts getting faster and faster. This usually wouldn’t bother me too much, but he’s had a fair bit to drink. I realize with panic, that we’re going well above the speed limit.
“Yeah, you might wanna slow down,” I say, feeling my heart kick up a notch.
“Don’t be such a girl.” He laughs. “I won’t crash.”
“You’ve had a couple of drinks. I’d really rather you slow down.”
He ignores me, speeding up even more. He’s laughing, like he’s getting great satisfaction out of the fact that this is scaring the absolute shit out of me. He could crash, or we could hit someone. Speeding like this is not cool, not cool at all. My heart is pounding and fear quickly wipes out any lust I felt towards Xander.
; “Slow down or let me out,” I yell.
He turns to me, taking his eyes off the road. My stomach lurches. Fuck sleeping with him; I just want to get out of this car alive.
“Let your hair down a bit. You might find you enjoy it.”
“I said, slow the fucking car down!” I scream.
He skids around a corner, causing me to end up plastered against the door. I feel ill as I hear his laughter. “Just chill out, it’s fun.”
It’s not fucking fun.
“Stop the fucking car!”
He slams to a stop outside a massive penthouse. My heart is pounding and my hands are shaking. I turn to him, my expression wild. “What the hell is wrong with you? You could have had an accident.”
He puts his hands up. “It was a bit of fun, Tia. Shit. Don’t get all emotional about it.”
“Fun?” I screech. “Are you serious?”
He leans over, putting his hand on my thigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would scare you.”
He rubs his hand up until it tucks under my dress. He can’t be fucking serious. His other hand slides up to my straps and he tugs one down. What the hell is wrong with him? He just scared the living hell out of me and now he’s trying to hit on me? No wonder Reign warned me about him, his sweet act is just that...an act.
“Get your hands off me.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he mutters. “What’s your problem? It was just some fun.”
I pull back so hard my dress tears. Shit. I loved this dress. I spin angrily, jumping out of the car. “Eat shit, you bastard.”
He glares at me. “You know what? You’re not even worth the effort. You’re just a fuckin’ cock tease.”
“You could have killed us!” I screech. “Then you tried to fuck me? Are you joking?”
“You’re the one who wanted to leave,” he barks. “You’re the one playing fuckin’ games. I wasn’t goin’ that fast, stop bein’ such a fuckin’ stiff.”
“Yes, you were!”
He growls. “You better be careful, one day you’ll piss off the wrong man.”
“What the hell is that supposed to me?”
“You’re all fuckin’ talk, that’s what it means. You’re a waste of time. All sass and no spirit. Get out of my driveway.”
He starts the car and pulls into the driveway, causing me to jump back. I realize my purse is still in the car. Frustrated, and still shaken up, I charge towards the vehicle.