by Vivian Ward
He fucks her.
As we remain locked in a trance staring at one another, I am gripped by this feeling threatening to choke the air out of my lungs. A premonition or an omen, something is telling me to run and hide. Never turn back.
But it’s too late. He’s already seen me, and I’ve already seen him, and he knows it.
I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I just blink as my hand makes it way to my heart and starts rubbing my pounding chest.
He is danger. Pure sex and danger.
I want to take my eyes away from him, but I can’t.
Turn away. Look at Trent. He’s the good brother. The one you should be with.
Yes, Trent and I have spent an amazing three months together since my arrival back home, but now that I’m faced with Zack, I don’t know if I can handle myself.
His smile is invigorating.
His smile frightens me.
Everything about the man hypnotizes me.
Shaking my head, I break away from the hypnotic gaze that he is holding me in and turn my attention back to the wedding. I look up at Trent who is admiring me as if I am the bride; his bride.
Girl, get a hold of yourself! Stop thinking about Zack’s wicked eyes and crazy omens. You know who you need to be with, even if Slutty Joline has other thoughts.
After the ceremony is over, I am glad to be at the reception. Thank God for open bars, and for friends who stock them with top shelf liquor. I have been dying for a drink since Zack, and I locked eyes at the beginning of the wedding.
Finishing my drink order, I feel a tap on the shoulder.
“May I have the next dance?”
Turning around, I see Trent gleaming his perfectly white smile at me.
For some reason, instead of answering him right away, I pause. My eyes scan the crowded room looking for his brother.
“Is everything okay?” he asks, breaking my train of thought.
“Hm? Oh, yes,” I laugh. “Sorry. It’s been a long day. Sure, we can dance the next dance.”
While I am sipping on my drink, I spot Zack. His gorgeous emerald gems beam right at me. I gulp down the rest of my drink.
Shit!
“Can I have an amaretto sour?” I ask the bartender.
“Coming right up.”
He hands me an amaretto sour, and I knock it back just seconds before Trent whisks me away out onto the dance floor.
“You might want to slow down on those drinks,” Trent warns me, holding me close. “I wouldn’t want to have to carry you out of here. Or better yet, maybe I shouldn’t say anything so I can take advantage of you later.”
“I can hold my own,” I say, secretly staring at Zack who is watching me dance with his brother from across the room.
In fact, I should probably have a few more.
I wouldn’t want Karli and Chris’s liquor bar to go to waste, especially when I could really use it. Throughout the whole slow dance, Zack stares at me with a look of lust, want, and desire.
When the song is over, I thank Trent and excuse myself to the ladies room. As I am checking my makeup in the mirror, I hear a trio of women walking into the bathroom who are giggling uncontrollably. They are all very attractive women.
“Girl, I would mount and ride that pony!” one of them chuckles before going into a stall and closing the door.
“Ain’t he hot?! He’s easily the best-looking man here, and I don’t think he’s here with anyone!”
They have to be talking about Zack. Aside from his brother, and maybe the groom, he is easily the best looking man at the reception and he is certainly the only man there without a date that I can tell.
The remaining two of them who are talking and the one woman is saying how gorgeous he is and how he could easily get any woman he wanted. I notice that the third woman isn’t as vocal about him and refrains from speaking of him. Glancing at her hand, I notice she is wearing a wedding band.
Ah, that’s why she hasn’t said a word.
Why doesn’t he have a date? Surely, he could find someone to come with him. He’s Zack Richardson; any woman would date him.
“Mmmhmm, and girl, did you see the way he was moving those hips to that last song? That man’s got some rhythm—if you know what I mean.”
All of the women burst into laughter. I know exactly what they mean. And even though Trent and I are somewhat of an item, though it is nothing official, I can feel my blood beginning to boil as I listen to them. Who the hell do they think they are? Why did they think they have a chance with him? Or do they?
Grinding my teeth as I continue to listen to them carry on about Zack, my stomach does somersaults as I think about the past three months that Trent and I have spent together. It was only three months. That’s it. Three short, yet wonderfully amazing months filled with fun, laughter, lust, and memorable moments.
But damn it. I saw Zack’s eyes and the way he looked at me.
I can’t bear to listen to the comments being made about him, so I leave the bathroom and head back over to the bar and order another drink.
Is this my fourth or fifth drink? Oh well. Who’s counting, anyway?
Drinking from my cup, I almost choke to death when Zack walks over and begins talking to me.
“Care for a dance?” he holds out his hand.
“I, um,” I am at a loss for words. Whew! The room is starting to get hot.
Then I realize that I’m holding my breath, just like he’s holding his hand out to me.
I remind myself to breathe and exhale the burst of air trapped in my lungs.
“Come on. You’re not going to tell me no, are you? I saw you dancing with my brother. You can dance with me, too.”
If only you knew about me and your brother.
He obviously has no clue about the last few months that Trent and I have spent together. Zack leans in and hooks his arm around my waist, pulling me out onto the dance floor. I guess he isn’t taking no for an answer.
“It’s good to see you again,” he kisses my cheek.
My face tingles from where his lips touched my skin for what felt like an eternity, but in reality is only seconds. I feel my cheeks flush as I clumsily take two steps back.
“Whoa! How many of those have you had?” he nods his head toward my empty cup.
“A few,” I smile.
Admittedly, I am a little tipsy, but what else am I supposed to do? I had to do something to calm my nerves and my hormones. Yep, definitely needed something for those.
“I’ve had my eye on you all night,” he pulls me back into him even closer than before.
Oh, sweet Jesus! He really does smell like pure sex.
How does someone smell this good?
“I noticed,” I tease, twirling at his fingertips as he spins me.
“Then why didn’t you come say hello?”
What was I supposed to say? That I am in a relationship with his brother right now? That I could never choose between the two of you before? Wait…am I choosing Trent over Zack?
Have I already chosen Trent?
Am I making that decision right now? On the dance floor while Zack holds me?
“A woman never approaches a man. It’s supposed to be the other way around.”
Jeez. Is my cheek still tingling from his kiss? How is that even possible?
“Well, here I am,” he dips me at the end of the song.
His torso is on top of mine. Our faces barely inches apart. He is dangerously close.
But I want him closer.
His eyes scan my face and for a minute, and I am positive that I can feel his heart beating through his chest until I realize that it is my heart that’s racing. My heart is thumping, my pulse is surging, and my hormones are on fire!
“Let’s get a drink,” I suggest. “The bartender makes a mean amaretto sour.”
“Is that your choice of poison for the night?”
“Mmmhmm.”
“Have a seat, and I’ll bring our drinks back to the table,” he slaps my
bottom as he walks past me.
Shock and electricity charge through my body. I wasn’t expecting him to do that, but when he did, I couldn’t help but like it. Glimpsing around the room, I look for Trent but don’t see him.
He must be in the men’s room, or maybe he’s with Chris.
The fact that I liked Zack slapping me on the ass makes me feel guilty like I’m cheating on Trent. But we’re not even a thing.
Are we?
I mean, we haven’t made anything official yet; though, we have been kind of seeing each other for a while.
The building is packed. He could be anywhere, or nowhere. Before I give it another thought, I hear Zack laughing. One of the women from the bathroom is walking beside him, flirting, as he brings our drinks back to the table.
“What?” she says as she looks at me and places her hands on her hips. “I didn’t know you were here with someone. Why didn’t you tell me?” she playfully smacks him with her evening bag, giving me some serious side eye.
“I didn’t know that I needed to,” he dismisses her as he smiles at me. As she storms away, we can hear her huffing and puffing as she vents to her friends. Zack looks at me and shrugs his shoulders.
He wavers his sexiest smile at me. “Here you go, beautiful.”
The room is beginning to spin, and I can feel myself becoming dizzy. It is getting hot. The room is so hot. Or is it? Maybe it is just me. Then I look down, and I see him sitting so close to me that all of the heat from him is radiating from his body onto mine. Our thighs are touching, and I smell the sweet scent of wine on his breath when he calls me beautiful.
“Joline, there you are,” Trent says, coming to my rescue from his dangerous brother. “I’ve been looking for you,” he glances at Zack, shooting him a look that speaks a multitude of hatred, envy, and jealousy.
I understand why he is upset. Truly, I do. But the alcohol makes me not care. It is the alcohol, right?
At this point, I’m not sure how or what I’m supposed to feel.
Have my feelings changed?
“Yes, she was with me. Dancing,” I feel Zack’s arm snake around my shoulder as he stretches back in his chair.
“Get up, Joline. I’m taking you home.”
I bite my lip. He is angry, and I know it. But I am not ready to go home even though I probably should have long ago. A few drinks ago to be exact. His face turns a few different shades of crimson before I see the veins in his neck begin to protrude. I look over at Zack who is as calm and cool as a cucumber.
“No, I think she’s going to stay. I’ll keep an eye on her,” Zack winks at his brother as he digs his fingers into my skin, holding me there as he keeps me planted in my chair.
Some part of me feels uncomfortable with the way this feels. Like he has paws that are trying to claim me, but an even bigger part of me wants to be claimed by those big paws of his.
Snap out of it, Joline! Are you crazy? You have a man who wants you, worships the ground that you walk on and would give you the world.
Yes, Trent will do all of things and more. He would do anything that I’d ever ask of him. But Slutty Joline has made her appearance. I can see the fire in Trent’s fierce blue eyes. Liquid fire burning right into his brother. If it could have scorched him, it would have made blisters appear instantaneously.
I look into Zack’s sea green eyes and in much contrast to his brothers; they look like calm waters. The kind before a storm. And I can’t stop looking into them, getting lost in his ocean of…wetness. Yes, wetness, I can feel it pooling between my legs. Watching the two of them has turned into some sick, sadistic game for me and I like watching them play.
Who will win?
Chapter 5
Past
Even though Trent and I had our first ‘official’ date when we met his new business partner, this is going to be our first ‘real’ official date. Just the two of us. Alone.
I promised myself that I’d never get involved with either of the Richardson boys, but what harm could one date do? Right?
Technically, we’ve already been on a date, and it happened to be a formal business date to meet with a married client of his. Though, this particular date—our second ‘date’—is much different.
Dinner. It is just dinner. Or at least that’s what I think.
“Dress in something sexy. I want to make everyone jealous that I have Joline Brown on my arm,” he says.
I giggle. Something in his voice is so seductive, sexy and sweet. I have never seen this side of Trent, except for the kiss and makeout session that we had in the front seat of his car. But there’s this powerful, dominant side of him that I’m seeing. The side I always used to see was business, professional, and sometimes a bit flirty. This new side of him turns me on. I know he is a powerful man when it comes to business, but I had no idea how much power he could potentially hold over me.
Something about the tone of his voice makes me want to play along with his seductive, playful banter, so I carefully select the sexiest dress that I own as I start to get ready for our date. Besides, what can it hurt to play along with him? We’ll go on a harmless date that probably won’t amount to anything other than a night on the town with someone I’ve known for a long time.
And since I’ve been back, things have been…different. I haven’t been out on a date, I haven’t really connected with any of my old friends besides Karli, and after the job hunt I’ve been on, I deserve a night out. One night.
One night.
Right?
I pick my dress off the hanger and look it over, debating if I’m actually going to wear it. It is a strapless, open-back dress that dips low in the front. It’s kind of skimpy, but it’s better than the dress I wore out on our first date. If my clothes had been back on time, I would have worn something more modest.
Dressed to the nines, I critique my appearance in the mirror and debate wearing a different dress, but before I can change my mind, I hear his car pull into the driveway.
The moment that I open the door, I know I have made the right choice.
“Wow,” he scans my body, running a hand through his immaculate brown hair. A deep exhale leaves his lips, bathing me in his sweet mint breath. “You look incredible.” His eyes scan me from head to toe and back to my face where he stops. “I can’t believe it.”
“That’s a grandbaby-making dress if I ever saw one,” my dad pipes up from the living room as he eavesdrops on us like a couple of teenagers. “That’s right, you heard me,” he says as I stare in awe. “I have eyes, I see what you got on.”
“Dad?!” I exclaim.
He sits his paper on the end table beside him and walks over to the door.
“You two have a good time.”
I feel my face radiating with embarrassment. It’s like I’m going on my first date all over again, but worse because my dad is encouraging Trent’s naughty behavior. The difference is that I am probably more nervous than when I actually went on my first date. At least then, I didn’t have to worry about whether or not the other brother would find out because that’s the whole reason I would never date either one of them.
Sure, I had it bad for both of them, but I never wanted to hurt either of them.
However, things have changed.
I’m older.
They’re older.
We’re not in high school anymore.
Zack has come up occasionally in conversation once or twice, but Trent says that he is long gone. He is living his own dirty life, underground. At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about; I didn’t understand. But when he explained it to me, I recognized the dangers all too quickly.
“He’s a damned fool,” I remember him saying the night I asked about his brother.
“What do you mean?” I ask, worried about someone whom I used to be so close with.
The three of us were dangerously close. With them, they had a love/hate relationship each other, basic sibling rivalry, but they both adored me. And I adored both of them. Each f
or their own reasons.
“He’s going to get himself killed one of these days,” he groans, rubbing his temples with the palm of his hands like he’s trying to erase a bad memory.
“How? What’s going on?”
“Why do you care?” he snaps.
It’s like he doesn’t want to talk about it. The sudden sharpness of his voice stings me like a wasp. I am only asking about a friend; one I haven’t talked to in ages.
“It’s just that—,” I can’t really answer his question and explain. “He’s your brother! And my friend.”
“Well if he’s your friend and you care about him so much, why don’t you know what he’s up to?” he arches his eyebrow.
“Tell me what kind of trouble he’s in.”
A heavy sigh expels from his lips like he is unloading a massive weight from his chest.
“I guess I need to tell someone,” he interlaces his fingers with mine. “And you’re probably the best person to tell because you’ll fully understand the danger.” I nod, willing him to continue. “He’s been counting cards, making hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nightly. Every. Fucking. Night. And he’s going to get himself killed when he rips off the wrong person one of these days.”
“How? Tell me what’s going on,” I pry, begging for him to tell me more. “Is he crazy?”
“He was caught doing it in the casinos. The big, greedy, dumb ass. They caught him and a group of people he was working with, and the security guards took him and two of the other guys who were with him to an area where there were no cameras. No eyes in the sky. Nothing to protect or save them, and they beat the living shit out of them.”
My mouth opens, but nothing comes out. A brown lock of his hair flips down, obstructing the deep crease that’s now evident of his growing frustration with Zack. I move the patch of hair away from his face as he painfully recalls the night he saved his brother. I want to say something comforting to him, but I can’t. It’s too late. It’s already happened. I nod, encouraging him to go on as I reach out and stroke his arm.