Was it him I saw? One of the three men who put me in hospital that day? I make Jye something to eat, and then call my police contacts. Not Tatiana, like I usually would, but another officer. I need to know if this man is locked up, or if he was indeed in my neighbourhood, possibly seeking revenge or still looking for his wife.
I won’t let anything or anyone put my family in jeopardy.
***
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sasha
“Did you miss me?” I ask Ryder, unable to contain my smile.
“Of course I did,” he says, pulling me into his arms for a warm hug.
“You’re not gonna lecture me, are you?” I ask him, wide eyed.
Ryder chuckles. “No, I’m not.”
“Holy shit, you’re a lucky man,” I exclaim as I see Lexi walk down the stairs in a red bikini.
Ryder looks over to where I’m staring. “Yes, I am,” he says, his voice now low.
“Isn’t Trey awesome?” I say with a wide smile.
“He is. I love having him here,” Ryder says, his eyes still on Lexi. Trey and Ryder haven’t seen each other since they were kids, but have hit it off like they were never apart. It’s like that in our family. I can’t really explain it, but the bond is always there.
“You two need a room,” I scoff.
“We’re doing the polite thing by waiting until you leave,” Ryder says, wiggling his eyebrows at me. Lexi walks over, rolling her eyes at Ryder, and embracing me in a hug.
“Long time no see, Sasha,” she says. Her honey colored hair is even longer, now reaching her hips in wisps and curls.
“I know, I missed you guys,” I tell them honestly, taking a sip from my bottle of water. I sit back down on the black leather couch, and motion for Lexi to join me by tapping on it.
“Aren’t you coming swimming? You can borrow a swimsuit,” she asks.
“Yeah, okay. Why not?” I tell her. We get upstairs and she gives me a yellow bikini. I get changed and walk out, tying my hair into a messy bun.
“Where did Trey take Jye?” Lexi asks.
“Out for lunch and to the park.”
“Trey adores him so much, he’s been talking about Jye non-stop,” Lexi tells me.
“I know. He was there from day one. They have a bond.” I look around Lexi and Ryder’s room. The walls are red and black, with beautiful art pieces hanging on the walls. The room is massive, and has the comfiest looking circular chair in the corner that would be perfect for curling up with a book.
“Shall we?” Lexi asks.
“We shall,” I say, entwining my arm with hers. We head out to the pool, where Sax is lying on a hammock, drinking what looks like a long island ice tea, like he is on some tropical resort.
“Hey, Sax!” I call out. He lifts his drink up in greeting, doing a double take when he takes in my bikini. I laugh as I walk down the steps and into the pool, diving in completely when I’m knee deep. When I resurface, I see Jet walk out. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of blue board shorts.
“Hey, Jet!” I call out to him. He looks a little different. More muscular, definitely. Must be hitting the gym, and it’s paying off. And he has a tattoo on his chest that I’m sure wasn’t there before.
“Hey, cuz,” he says with a welcoming smile. I’ve never seen Jet in a bad mood. He usually has a smile on his face, and a ‘life is good’ demeanour. Considering the family drama that lives with him every day, I'm so very proud of him, and his outlook on life. I do two laps of the pool and then hop out, taking a seat on one of the lay-out chairs next to Jet.
“How have you been?” I ask him.
“Good. How are you and your little man doing?” he asks as he opens a can of beer and takes a sip.
“He’s good. Went out with Trey for a play date,” I grin. He hands the can over to me, offering me a sip. I shrug, and down a mouthful, then choke. Yeah, not so good.
“You should see your face,” he chuckles. I see Lexi and Ryder making out in a hammock.
“This place is like a holiday resort,” I say.
“Yep, and this isn’t even a party. This is just us hanging out,” he says with a smirk. When he talks, I see a shiny piece of metal in his mouth.
“Jet Lachlan Crawford, when did you get your tongue pierced?” I ask him.
He blasts me with a charming grin. “A couple months ago.”
“What’s it for?” I ask him, needling him.
“What do you mean, what’s it for?” he asks me.
“Did you get it so you can, you know…” I trail off.
“Sasha, you’re my big cousin. Please tell me you’re not asking what I think you are,” he deadpans.
“Fine,” I pout. I see James walk in. He said he was gonna drop by after he finished some work he had to do. He’s been a little stressed these last two days, and I have no idea why, but as he walks up to me he looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world. He's smiling at me, although I see his eyes narrow when he takes in my barely there bikini. He removes his shirt as he walks by the pool, leaving him in a pair of low riding shorts. The top of the V of his hips can be seen, and I bite my lip, wanting to see more.
“Hey there, pretty girl,” he says, kissing me on the lips once before taking the seat next to me.
“James, you know my cousin Jet?” I ask him, not knowing if the two of them have met.
Jet chuckles. “Of course we know each other. From Steele,” he says, doing a hand shake with James. Oh right. Jet used to play at Steele, how did I forget?
“Trey still out with Jye?” James asks. I nod. He takes his hand and interlaces it with mine, relaxing into the chair and enjoying the sun. Jet excuses himself, and heads inside. Probably grateful he was saved from our conversation.
“You know how fucking sexy you look right now?” he says in a low tone.
I stretch my body out lazily, seductively pushing my chest out.
“Sasha,” he growls.
“Wanna swim?” I ask him. A mischievous look appears on his face as he quickly stands and pulls me into his arms. He kisses me again, his tongue tasting mine with one swipe before he lifts me in the air and throws me into the pool. I lift my head above the water to see James jump in himself, splashing the water into my face.
“Sasha, I don’t think you left any water in the pool,” Sax calls out, laughing. Very funny. Then I notice my bikini top has fallen off, and is floating in the water.
“Shit,” I curse, cupping my breasts with my hands. I slowly start making my way towards the top, trying to be inconspicuous. James looks at me, and I point to my top. His eyes almost bulge out of his head as he quickly grabs it and puts it back on me, using his back to block the view from the others.
“This is your fault,” I remind him when I see the look on his face.
“You’re lucky you’re so damn beautiful, because you're a real pain in the ass, Sasha Steele,” he says, leaning his forehead against mine.
“Sasha Steele sounds like a porn star's name!” Sax calls out.
I scowl at James, who just laughs and says, “You can be a porn star in our bedroom.”
Perve.
***
Chapter Twenty-Six
James
I feel like a weight has been lifted off me. The man I saw was indeed the same man, apparently he was on the run after skipping his court hearing. This morning he was caught and now he's behind bars. Maybe he was looking for me, I don’t know. For whatever reason he didn’t try to come inside my house, and I am so fucking thankful I could jump in the air. I have nothing to worry about now, except getting a ring on my beautiful fiancé, and making her my wife.
Sasha Steele. I can’t fucking wait. I walk into the kitchen and shake my head at her when I see what she’s making.
“I can’t believe you still eat that!” I exclaim.
“What? It’s good,” she says, pouring ketchup on it. When I first met Sasha she used to eat this all the time. A bread roll with hot chips and ketchup inside it. She ta
kes a huge bite and vocalises her delight. I see her make a mini version of her own meal.
“Jye eats it, too?” I ask.
“He loves it,” she says, her tone implying ‘who the hell wouldn’t’.
“Could be worse, I guess.” I smirk, thinking of her favourite pizza.
“My pizza is awesome,” she says defensively, knowing exactly what I was thinking about.
“Plain cheese and jalapenos is not a pizza,” I recite. I’ve said this a million times.
“Is too,” she replies in a sing-song tone.
My woman is so adorable.
“Want a bite?” she asks.
“No, thank you¸” I say, shuddering at the thought.
“Too good for my sandwich, are you?” she teases, one of her finely arched eyebrows lifting up.
“Now that you mention it…”
“This is quality cuisine!” she defends, poking her tongue out at me. A lock of hair falls on her face and she blows it away.
I lick my lips exaggeratedly. “I know all about quality cuisine,” I insinuate. A flush appears on her cheeks.
I fucking love this woman.
***
Sasha
This night couldn’t get any better. Kade, Nikki, Chase, Layla, Jet, Trey, Ryder, Lexi, Tee and Sax all out at the pub with James and me, having beers, chatting, playing pool and just enjoying life. I watch Trey, Ryder and Jet laugh together, and my heart melts. Also, my cousins are a pretty damn good looking bunch, if I do say so myself.
I gasp out loud when I notice Sax checking out Tee, who is not even looking his way. Knowing Tee, Sax is instantly off limits because of his past with Lexi. What a shame. They would be kinda cute together. Sax has a good sense of humour, and he'd definitely need that to be with my cousin. He'd also need a huge pair of balls.
“What you thinking about?” James whispers into my ear. Goosebumps appear on my flesh, and I inhale slightly, wanting more.
“Sax,” I answer without thinking.
“I’m sorry?” James growls, any hint of gentleness gone from his tone. I turn to look at him, and can’t help the sigh that escapes. He looks particularly delicious tonight.
“That’s not what I meant. Never mind,” I say. James grabs the back of my head and pulls me in for a ravenous kiss. I can vaguely hear a few catcalls in the distance, but can’t make myself care. James pulls away, and I instantly miss his lips. Tee walks over and puts her arm around me.
“Let the girl breathe now and again, James,” she jokes, giving me a flirty wink.
Just the girl I wanna talk to. “I need to go to the bathroom, come with me,” I tell her. We walk to the bathroom and she stares at me, knowing something is up.
“Sax keeps staring at you,” I blurt out.
“And?” she asks.
“He’s hot. And sweet. And amazing,” I add so she gets the picture.
“He’s a dick,” she replies.
“Tee-”
“He hurt my best friend. Lexi may have forgiven him, but I’m not as nice as her,” she says, pulling out her dark purple lipstick from her handbag and reapplying.
“He fucked up, but he’s different now. He looked after me, Tee, when I was crying and broken over James. He's a good person, I know it,” I tell her. Her eyes flicker for a moment, but then her shield goes back up, guard in place.
“Fine,” I grumble, followed by a heavy sigh. Tee nudges me with her hip.
“Plenty of men out there, Sasha. Saxon just isn’t for me, alright,” she says, offering me a smile. She grabs my boob, and then walks out of the bathroom. I follow behind her, until I walk face first into a hard chest.
“Sasha?” a familiar voice sounds.
I look up into the eyes of my ex-boyfriend.
“Colton? Hi,” I say. Great, it’s always nice to run into your ex. Not. Colton was a sleaze and I didn’t find out until too late. He cheated on me and then I dumped his ass.
“You look amazing,” he says, staring at my boobs. A real charmer, this one.
“Thanks, well, nice seeing you,” I say as I walk around him, making a clean exit. He grabs my arm, halting my escape.
“What’s the rush?” he asks, a little creepy. He pulls me closer until I have to put my hand on his chest to push him away.
“Get your hands off her,” James demands in an icy tone.
“Who are you?” Colton asks stupidly.
“I’m the man who’s going to beat the shit out of you if you don’t take your hands off of my fiancé,” James says. Colton lets go of my arm, and I quickly move to James, inserting myself under his arm.
“You know him?” James asks me but his eyes are still pinned to Colton.
“Yeah, unfortunately. He’s my ex,” I say, cringing at having to admit it. James' blue eyes flick to me for a second, the only indication that I’ve surprised him. Colton is not my usual type, that’s for sure. Also he’s kind of an ass.
“You’re marrying him?” Colton asks me. I don’t like the look in his eyes.
“Yes, I am,” I silently beg for him to shut up right now, but of course he doesn’t.
“Did you tell him how we were engaged?” Colton asks. Well. Fuck. The atmosphere changes from ice cold to deadly. James’ fingers tense and release, but he stays silent.
“Well. Time to go!” I announce with fake enthusiasm, taking a statue-like James by the arm and pulling. Or at least attempting to, because he doesn’t budge.
“You were engaged,” James says slowly, to which one of us I have no idea, but I gulp.
“I assume you didn’t tell him,” Colton smirks. Douche bag. When his eyes narrow on me I realise I said that out loud.
“No, I didn’t tell him, because it didn’t count. I had no idea what a piece of shit you were,” I tell him, furious.
“Baby, go back to the bar,” James requests. At least I think he tries to request, it comes out more as a demand.
“But-”
“Sasha,” he snaps. I grind my teeth together, and glare at Colton before I spin on my heels and head back to the bar. Let them kill each other, I don’t care anymore.
“You okay?” Kade asks, his brows furrowed in concern.
“Yeah,” I say before I order a tequila shot.
“Who’s James talking to?” he asks, staring over at James and Colton.
“My ex,” I tell him, licking my hand and putting some salt on it. Kade chuckles in a ‘what were you thinking’ kind of way.
“Shut up,” I groan, downing the shot, and then sucking on the lime.
“What’s with you Crawfords and tequila?” he asks.
“I dunno, I only drink clear drinks,” I say.
“Is that a rule?” he asks, clearly amused if the gleam in his eye is any indication.
“It’s my rule. Vodka, yes. Tequila, yes. Anything brown, no.”
“Your ex just ran out of the club like he was on fire,” Kade says.
I glance over to see that Colton has indeed left the building. James walks towards us so I decide to head over to where Trey is playing pool with Layla. On my way there I can’t help but notice Tee talking with Sax. Well, well, well. I slowly head that way, and hear a snippet of their conversation.
“You still seeing your ex?” Sax growls, looking unhappy.
“You still a cheating bastard?” Tee snaps back. Ouch, that was harsh. Poor Sax.
“So what, I make one mistake and have to pay for the rest of my life?” Sax asks her, a serious look on his face.
Tee’s eyes soften. “No, I guess not.”
“I hope your ex knows what he has,” Sax says softly.
“Who said my ex was a man?” Tee replies. Okay then. I’m pretty sure the look on Saxon’s face matches my own right about now. Shock, surprise, and hell, a little bit of curiosity. I change directions and walk up to Trey.
“Sash, wanna play the next game with me?” Trey asks, his hazel eyes alight. He loves being with the fam after not seeing everyone for so long, and I don’t blame him one b
it.
“Sure,” I tell him, flashing him a smile. I can feel James’ eyes on me but he doesn’t approach. Instead he chats with Kade, and Chase who has just joined them.
“What happened?” Layla asks, as she leans on the pool table.
“Colton was here,” I tell her, making a face.
Layla laughs, a musical sound. “I don’t know why you stayed with him for so long, he was a bit of an asshole,” she says casually.
When I start to giggle she eyes me suspiciously. “Really? Colton? How big are we talking?” she asks in shock, a flush of colour appearing on her cheeks.
“Not James big, but big,” I tell her, my body shaking with laughter. Nikki walks over from where she was sitting with Lexi.
“What’s so funny?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Nothing,” Layla and I answer at the same time. Trey beats Layla, so I take the cue from her and play the next game.
“You miss Scotland?” I ask him as I play my shot.
“I miss my family and friends, but I gotta tell you, I love it here.”
“You should stay,” I slyly add in. I’d love it if he moved here.
“Maybe I will,” he says with a thoughtful look on his face.
“What will you do with the pub?”
“Sell it, I guess,” he says, a little sad.
“That sucks,” I say slowly.
“I know but I could use the money to buy something here.”
“True.” I play another shot, sinking the ball. I’m chalking my cue when a woman walks up to Trey and starts up a conversation. Trey runs his hands from the back of his neck up into his hair, and offers her a small smile. His hazel eyes look very intrigued, and slightly nervous.
Interesting.
“Your shot, Trey,” I call out. The woman turns around, and she really is a beauty. She offers me a small smile and says something to Trey before walking off. I watch Trey shoot his shot in silence, waiting for him to say something, but he doesn’t. So I do.
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