by Dawn Doyle
“Thanks.” I hugged my friend, then released her. “He won’t dare try anything, because if he did, Blaine would make sure he was sorry.”
Ella pulled her lip between her teeth before she spoke. “Would he kick his ass?” she asked, her tone breathy.
I didn’t like that her excitement followed my boyfriend's name.
My boyfriend.
A pang of awareness hit me, and instead of worrying if I was doing the right thing, especially with my situation, I was relaxed, content, my emotions rising that I’d found somebody I was sure I was in love with.
And I was. It had rushed me, catching me unaware, smacking me in the face and shaking my shoulders, yelling at me to wake up and take notice that I’d fallen for Blaine, and hard. My chest tightened at the thought, my heart thudding faster and faster.
“Are you gonna zone out on me all day, or are you gonna answer any of my questions?” Ella asked, dragging me from my thoughts. Her smile and one lifted brow were the opposite to her scathing tone. “I’m just teasing. I can see you’re totally smitten.” She sighed and held her hands to her chest. “Now I just have to find that for myself. Does he have any hot friends?”
“Actually, I haven’t met any of his friends, yet,” I said, but I was going to. Blaine had mentioned taking me over to Luca and Lucian’s place, but we hadn’t agreed on a time. I had work, and so did he, and I didn’t know when it was going to happen.
“Well, when you do, and if they’re as good looking as he is, make sure you take pictures.”
“There’s something wrong with you,” I said, chuckling and shaking my head.
Ella shrugged. “I’m thirsty, babe, that’s what’s wrong with me.”
My phone beeped, and my heart took off in a sprint when Blaine’s name appeared on the front. “Speak of the devil,” I purred.
“Let me see!” Ella shoved into me, trying to sneak a peek at my phone, but I turned away.
“Hey! I gotta check it’s not R-rated first,” I complained with a grin.
Ella pouted. “But they’re the best ones.”
‘What are you doing later?’
I bit my lip as I replied.
‘You.’
‘Fuck me, I like the way you think, baby.’
I sighed happily, my stomach flipping as butterflies scattered around. Before I could text, Blaine sent another.
‘Now I have your naked body in my mind, and I can’t stand up from the lunch table. Anyway, I was gonna ask if you wanna meet my friends tonight?’
I gasped, my hand flying to my chest. “Oh my god, Ella.”
“What? What?” She scooted closer, still trying to see my screen.
“What we were just talking about… He wants me to meet them tonight.”
Ella flapped her hands about excitedly. “Yes! Tell him yes. Girl, he is so into you if he’s taking the initiative there.”
I hoped so because my feelings for Blaine were growing every minute of every day, and my heart felt close to bursting whenever I thought of him. He consumed me, every part of me sucked in, and I never wanted to get out.
I tapped my screen, texting my reply.
‘I’d love to.’
He sent me a smiley face, followed by another message, but the fluttering inside me began to change to dread, the hollow, sinking feeling that dragged me down whenever the thought of Blaine finding out about my record came to the surface.
‘I get off work in a couple of hours. I’ll pick you up.’
I still didn’t know where that was, and it seemed like every time we talked about the coffee shop or Alpha cabs, the conversation took an immediate turn to something else.
“Hey, what’s up?”
I looked up from my phone and glanced at Ella for a brief moment before staring back down at my screen. “I guess I’m nervous.” It was partly true, although nervous wasn’t the half of it.
“You shouldn’t be, babe,” Ella assured me. “There’s absolutely nothing to worry about—you’ll have a great time.” She stood, then grabbed her purse. “I gotta go, but keep me updated, okay?”
I nodded, then walked her to the door, hugging her tight before I was alone again.
I lifted my phone again to reply to Blaine.
‘I can’t wait.’
‘Me neither. They’re gonna love you almost as much I do.’
My eyes widened so much, they stung. My mouth began to dry out from hanging open, and I had to work my tongue around the inside just to gather enough saliva so I could swallow.
No, he couldn’t possibly mean that, could he? Blaine couldn’t love me, at least not yet, right?
For the next couple of hours, I couldn’t relax. I didn’t know if Blaine meant what he said, or he was just being nice like he knew I’d be a little apprehensive, and was assuring me everything would be fine.
Only everything was not fine. Everything was turning upside down because of the three little words that could make things so damn complicated. For two hours I’d gone over the words in my head, deciding that it was a figure of speech, that he hadn’t meant it in that way.
I did, though, but I couldn’t tell him that. How could I confess my feelings to a guy that thought I was working my ass off just to be able to live alone in a tiny apartment that could be paid for with only one of my jobs—a woman that drove a basic car but had a love for fast engines and speeding? None of that would make sense to anybody, so I doubted Blaine was clueless that I was keeping something from him.
But, he was keeping something from me too; he’d told me himself. The only thing keeping my secrets from being exposed were his own, and I couldn’t question him without giving up my answers.
I have to tell him what I did before we go any further.
But I wasn’t ready.
A loud knock at my door had me snapping out of my panic, my head whipping in that direction. I got up and walked over, yanking the door open and taking a sharp breath when I saw Blaine standing there looking like something out of a magazine.
His bright blue eyes fixed on my face, a smile playing on his delicious mouth when I stared a little too long at it. I let my eyes slide down, landing on his white button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his muscular forearms in the way that makes women go insane.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he drawled, stepping forward and taking me in his arms. I took a deep breath, inhaling his aftershave, a smell I would now recognize anywhere, the cool and light fragrance was still lingering on my pillow from where he’d slept.
I tilted my head back when he lifted my chin to press his mouth against mine, his tongue gliding across my lips and tasting me when I opened for him. I moaned, leaning forward, my body fitting against his perfectly.
“If I hadn’t already told Luca we’d be over, I’d strip you right now,” Blaine said, pulling back. The hardness pressing against my stomach confirmed that right away, and I was suddenly disappointed we had to leave.
“There’s always later,” I purred, tugging on the black belt threaded around his black slacks. I whispered against his lips, “You look so sexy.”
Blaine growled, then tugged me out of the apartment, making sure the door was closed behind me. “Come on before I go all caveman and haul your cute little ass to bed.”
I grinned as he led me down the stairs. “That sounds like fun.”
He looked back at me over his shoulder, his eyes dark and so full of heat it hit me right between my legs. “Oh, it will be, I promise you that.”
When we got outside, Blaine’s car was at the curb, calling me to climb in and make myself at home on the plush seats, the racing backs caressing me like an embrace, the curves comfortable and welcoming. I ran my hands over the sides of my seat once I sat down.
“I gotta head home first to change, okay?” Blaine asked as he got into the driver’s side. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“No problem.” I nodded while searching his face. When I saw no traces of discomfort, I relaxed back. A thought railroaded me, and I bo
lted forward.
“What’s wrong?”
“Will your mom be there?” I asked, my heart rate galloping faster and faster.
“Probably.” He snorted a laugh. “Are you nervous about seeing my mom? She was there at the old folks’ party.” He took my hand and brought it to his mouth, his lips skimming over my knuckles. When he looked up into my eyes, I swallowed hard at what I saw. Worry clouded his expression, and his brows dipped in the center, making him look almost vulnerable.
“A little,” I admitted. “I don’t really know her that well.”
Blaine leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, the soft brush against my mouth making my lids flutter closed. “You knew her before you knew me,” he whispered. “She’ll love you like—”
My eyes shot open at the same time he pulled back, and I caught the hardening of his jaw. It was just a split-second, but I saw it. “Like what?” My voice was barely above a whisper, but from the way Blaine’s nostrils flared, I knew he’d heard me.
“We’re going to be late if we sit here all night,” he said, starting the car and pulling into the traffic. “And we need to get the show on the road so I can get you back and out of those clothes.” He turned his head and pumped his brows, his sexy smile lighting up his face as though the last thirty seconds had never happened.
I reached for his hand and laced my fingers in his, leaning toward him so I was close to his ear. “Why do we have to come back here when there’s a perfectly good back seat?”
Blaine groaned, his head falling back. “I know a shortcut.”
Blaine
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I’d almost done it, again. Telling Robyn how I felt about her was off the table. I couldn’t let her know I was in love with her to the point she was on my mind at every waking moment, and that those who could use her against me were aware of that now, too.
I’d fucked up, sending the text instead of deleting it, and the second I’d tapped that wrong fucking button, I’d hoped to hell that she would think I was being my adorable self and joking around.
When I’d had no response, I thought I’d dodged a bullet, but seeing her face when she’d opened the door, and that fucking look in her rounded eyes, then how she tore everything from me without lifting a finger… Shit, I’d played it down like nothing had happened. But trust me to go and fuck it up again not five minutes later, the images of throwing her over my shoulder and taking her to bed loosening my goddamn mouth again. This woman had my brain misfiring, the fuel not getting where it was needed to make me run smoothly. I’d been a damn mess inside my head since I’d visited Brady, and worse when I was stuck behind that desk, Yvonne looming over me, blatantly checking me out instead of letting me do my fucking job. I didn’t see the humor in it anymore. I just wanted her to go the fuck away, but she didn’t get that memo, choosing to come out of her office and happening to need something checking over that she could’ve done from her desk.
It was a good job I didn’t have to grab info for a hit because I couldn’t focus on anything but Robyn.
And now, sitting beside her after she put the image of us in the back of my car, it was hard not to declare my love for this woman. She fucking got me, more than anyone ever had, but I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut or risk everything to keep her safe.
That was a risk I couldn’t take, because if anybody knew just how much I needed her, the gloves would come off.
I’d seen what doing that shit did to a person—the memories of that still affecting them—and my stomach felt like it was turning inside out at the thought I could have that experience too.
“What are you thinking about?” Robyn asked, her sexy voice bringing me out of my morbid thoughts.
I glanced at her, and purposely directed my gaze at her body, then back to the road. “I’m just thinking how easy it would be to remove that cute as hell shirt.” I chuckled. The red plaid looked great against her dark hair. “And those leggings won’t be a problem either.”
“They’re very stretchy,” she said, and I had to adjust myself in my seat at her breathy tone. “Blaine.”
“Yeah?” I took the last turn, then pulled up outside my house, cutting the engine when I got to the end of the driveway, right next to my grandpa’s car.
Fuck, I didn’t know he would be over today.
“Are you okay?”
“Of course, why?” I was the master at faking this shit, so I gave her my ‘I’m so damn great’ smile that never steered me wrong in the past. Many girls had taken that look and then taken me to an empty room.
Robyn lifted her hand and placed it on the side of my face, her warm palm stroking down my cheek. She stared into my eyes, hers working back and forth as she did. A slow smile spread on her beautiful face. “Nothing, I was just checking.” She closed the gap between us, kissing me softly.
“Babe, if I don’t get in there and change, things are gonna get x-rated out here.”
Robyn laughed quietly. “So very tempting.”
“Blaine, I…” My mom’s voice trailed off when she spotted Robyn behind me as we walked in, our fingers entwined. “Oh, hello, Robyn. It’s nice to see you again.” She looked at me, then a huge smile spread over her face, making her light up with happiness.
“Hi, Mrs. Summers,” Robyn replied. “It’s good to see you again, too.”
My mom threw the dish towel to me and stepped toward us, bypassing me entirely and pulling Robyn in for a hug. “How’s your Aunt Joan? I haven’t seen her since the party.”
“She’s good, thank you. Keeping busy at the coffee shop,” Robyn replied when my mom let her go.
“That’s great.” She turned her attention to me. “Are you going out?”
“Yeah. We’re heading over to Loosh’s as soon as I’ve showered and changed,” I replied, stepping toward the stairs. I got one foot on the beige and black striped carpet when my mom spoke again.
“He’ll be leaving soon, honey. He came over to go through his paperwork.”
Oh, I knew why that was, but like I always did, I played dumb. “What for?”
She glanced over her shoulder then back to me. “We’ll discuss it later—it’s not polite to talk about it in front of guests.”
I shrugged and held back my grin. I hadn’t expected things to happen so fast, and I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t stay and watch the old man sweat. “Okay, no problem.” Robyn squeezed my hand. “Uh, I won’t be home later, though, so I’ll call you,” I said, then began leading Robyn up to my room.
Robyn looked around my room, my bed in the center of the back wall, my dark-red covers smooth and tidy. I’d flipped on the lamps on my nightstands, lighting the room enough to see, but not blindingly bright. Her eyes paused on the wall next to my closet, lingering on the many pictures I had of cars and engines, stopping at the frame full of the guys from when we were in high school. “Wow, you haven’t changed much,” she said, staring at my sixteen-year-old self. “I would’ve crushed hard on you even then.”
“Of course you would—I’m awesome,” I said, holding my arms out. She laughed and went back to the photo, and I pointed to the other people. “That’s Lucian, his twin brother Brady, and that’s Charlie.”
“Well, he looks different,” she said, then pointed to the last person. “Who’s that?”
“Nate,” I replied with a bite I hadn’t intended, then straightened. I began taking off my clothes, throwing them into my laundry basket in the corner.
“You don’t get along?” Robyn turned, then her mouth hung open.
“Sometimes,” I admitted, but that was rare these days. “But enough about them, and more about getting the fuck out of here.” I stripped off the rest of my clothes and walked buck naked to my bathroom, Robyn’s eyes burning into my back as I went. “You know, we could be fashionably late…” I turned my head and winked when I caught Robyn staring at my ass. I turned around to give her a full frontal, my hardening cock showing her what I had in mind.
&
nbsp; “It just so happens I’m extremely tardy,” she said, already taking off her shirt, revealing black lace underneath that did fuck all to hide her tight nipples, ready for my mouth.
Fuck, my cock stood to full attention, my veins pulsing with the need to be inside her. “Then that’s settled.” I walked over and slid her stretchy black leggings down her thighs, taking her matching underwear with them as well as her tennis flats. I placed a kiss on her stomach, then worked up her firm body, gliding up with my hands as I went until I reached her collarbone. I licked up her throat toward her chin, her breath coming out in a long sigh. “Mine," I whispered against her skin.
“Always,” she moaned when I cupped her heavy tits in my hands, her orbs barely contained in my palms. “Blaine—”
I kissed her hard, parting her lips to take what I needed, her tongue searching for mine as she responded to my touch. I pulled back, then gripped her hand, leading her to the shower.
Chapter 12
Robyn
That wasn’t a house, it was a freaking mansion!
Blaine drove up a long path that led to a stone driveway in the middle of a beautiful garden, the lawns green and the plants neat as though they were freshly planted.
“This is your friends’ house?” I asked, taking in the two-story building with four long windows on the bottom and top. The huge front door stood proudly at the front, the colorful planter-laden stone steps up from the driveway not doing much to make it seem any less intimidating.
Blaine nodded. “Yeah. They moved in fairly recently. We used to hang out at his parents’ home a lot a while back.”
“And you hang out here instead?”
He grinned. “Me, not so much these days, but the others still do.”
His eyes raked up and down my body, paying a little too much attention to the dip in the neckline of my plaid shirt, then down to the black pants he’d already managed to remove once tonight. His hungry expression sent a flurry of butterflies dancing about inside of me, building in anticipation of him doing to me whatever was running through his head.