by Dee Garcia
But he’s not just any man…
No, he wasn’t.
I groaned again and shot upright from my place on the couch. Ramsey stirred slightly, mumbling something about ten points to Ravenclaw, before rolling over on her side and falling silent once more.
How could she sleep so soundly when I was wired?
Probably because she wasn’t busy obsessing over a man she had absolutely no business obsessing about.
I felt myself pale.
My God...
I really was obsessing, wound tighter than a fucking spring. If I didn’t zen myself soon, I’d likely combust before morning.
Alcohol hadn’t done a thing except magnify my vulnerability.
Marco had the weed, and we’d lost him hours ago.
But Suki had cigarettes in her purse.
I eyed it on the floor with the rest of our belongings.
Very rarely did I smoke, more socially than anything else, but a smoke had honestly never sounded so good.
A little burst of nicotine was sure to chill me out...
Snatching it off the light travertine, I rifled through her mass of shit. The pack was near the bottom. I pulled a cigarette free and the lighter, too. Both went into my bra before I enabled the flashlight on my phone, and then I was out the door.
Sans boots for the sake of being quiet.
There wasn’t a soul in sight as I trailed through the house. Most of the doors were shut for privacy, though you could still hear the sounds of sex, or laughter, or various handheld radios every few feet or so.
I couldn’t help but wonder what room he was in.
If he was fucking her.
If he was enjoying it.
If she was still in his bed, caught in a naked tangle with him, her lilac hair splayed out all over his inked chest.
Indignation bloomed deep in the pit of my stomach. Teeth baring slightly, I clenched my fists at my sides and kept on down the hallway, beseeching the voice in my head to spare me of those images.
But as I slipped around the corner, maybe a hundred feet from the front door, the images in my mind were laid out before me in the flesh.
Only worse.
♫ Collide - Justine Skye feat. Tyga ♫
It was so much worse.
I think it’s safe to say I was not expecting to see that.
Nearly swallowing my tongue whole, I slung back behind the wall and turned off the flashlight on my phone with shaky hands.
I didn’t need it anyway.
The erotic sounds bouncing off the walls was enough of a given.
But if one really wanted to see, the candlelight showering out from the office was enough to illuminate them.
Them.
Stealing myself, I peeked over my shoulder, keeping my body flush to the wall at my back.
Right beside the office doors was Roman, and two women; Lilac and a blonde.
Lilac was on her knees, head bobbing up and down on his impressive length. Her breasts spilled out over the brim of her tank top, probably for Roman to unload all over like the nasty little porn star she clearly thought she was. Meanwhile, Roman had the blonde pressed into the wall beside her, grip on her throat tight as he worked her sex.
Her pajama pants were halfway down her legs, as were his, showing off the curve off his ass.
Damn.
As livid and scandalized as I was, I found myself biting down my lip.
His body was just…
Everything you were expecting it to be.
The apex of my thighs clenched as if agreeing with the little voice in my head.
It’s true.
I couldn’t see all of him yet I could just imagine the way his muscles were probably flexing and rippling.
Flexing and rippling as he pleased them.
UGH.
I was pea-green with envy.
I shouldn’t be, but I was.
And I wanted to ruin him.
A part of me knew I shouldn’t react, that I should just turn around and head back until the hurricane subsided, but raining on his parade was just too good to pass up.
Sucking in a deep breath, I settled my expression and held my head high as I started down the hallway with confident steps. Not one of them seemed to notice me until I loomed within their line of sight.
Surprised and suddenly bashful, both women froze, and at their wide eyes, Roman snapped his gaze on me, too.
Bewildered and glassy.
"Don't mind me," I cooed, running a claw along his back as I slipped behind him. "Just passing through for a smoke."
I didn't get very far, though.
Roman's signature displeased growl filled the air, followed by the pop of his cock slipping free from Lilac’s mouth. Seconds later, a strong hand wrapped itself around my arm and I was dragged back a short ways, then whipped into the office.
It all happened so fast, I didn't have time to process what was happening, much less react.
Roman's little hussies, however, were very much reacting behind us. They weren’t happy, and he didn't seem to give a single fuck.
"But Rome, what about—”
Slam!
The harsh sound echoed through the office, rattling the walls and likely carrying through to the adjacent rooms. The lock seemed to echo, too, as he clicked it in place to keep them out.
A quick swivel and we were off despite their angered banging on the door.
Each step forward came with a grunt, his clasp on my arm a forceful vise. He didn't look back at me or speak a word either, just stalked further into the room with determination coloring his aura.
A baffled protest was building on my tongue when suddenly, my back hit the black felt of the custom pool table.
And I mean hit the felt.
Roman deposited me on it like he planned to eat me alive.
He wedged his way almost effortlessly between my legs, and in the time I merely gasped, he'd already thrown my arms above my head and locked my wrists in his grip.
I was trapped beneath this man once again with nowhere to go.
Still no words were exchanged.
He looked me over once, just once, stare lingering on my eyes for a second longer, and then the domino effect went off like a bomb.
Lips collided.
Teeth crashed.
It was frantic, intense.
Unexpected.
Explosive.
I was scorching under his touch, reeling at the feel of his mouth on me again, and he was a ball of pent-up desperation, running a million miles per hour. He moved so fast, I literally couldn't keep up, panting wildly as he tore his lips away from my mouth and started down the column of my neck.
Kissing.
Licking.
Biting.
It was heaven and hell, so right and yet so fucking wrong. I knew I shouldn't be doing this with him, but I couldn't stop either.
The taste of bourbon on his lips was addicting.
He was addicting.
And I wanted more.
So much more.
Throwing all caution to the wind just to have it, even if for but a moment.
My body fell lax in desperation of finding a rhythm. Pliant beneath him, I let him explore, let him consume me, let him lead.
Only idly—and momentarily—did I realize alarm bells would normally have been blaring by now.
But I wasn’t remotely afraid.
If anything, the acute tempo of my breathing stemmed purely from carnal desire as he kissed me senseless.
He wasn’t far behind either.
His chest heaved with such ferocity, the air around us quivered.
It reverberated through me, lanced right through my being until I was trembling.
Aching.
Zoning out from everything but right here, right now.
“Tell me why you ran,” Roman hissed as he came up for air. He released me, all to grip me at the hips with both hands and push me further down on him.
My heat throbbed as his
erection probed me, teasing me through all the layers separating us.
The veil of lust so was thick, whatever he’d asked had gone right over my head. “What?”
Draping himself over me, he met my stare. “Tell me. Why you ran from me. When I put my lips on you.”
His breath was hot on my skin, drenched in bourbon. And his eyes, they swam in it, too, unfocused and reflective.
He was so pissed I honestly wondered how he was still standing up right.
The thought instantly sobered me, reminding me he’d been outside those doors just five minutes ago, balls deep in two women.
“It doesn’t matter.” I tried pushing him off me. “We have to stop, though.”
“Why?”
“Why?” I croaked incredulously. “For starters, you’re drunk—way past the limit. And did you happen to forget you were just out there in the hallway, getting your cock sucked by one female, while you played with an entirely different cunt?”
Roman fell silent.
He pulled back to full height and watched me beneath curious brows, taking me in spread out before him on the pool table. His gaze was so utterly penetrating, I could feel it searing through me like a laser.
Down my neck, over my breasts, along my stomach...
When he reached the barely contained space between my thighs, I swallowed down the whimper caught in my throat and snapped my legs closed, feeling unbearably vulnerable under his scrutiny.
The growl that thundered in his chest was feral. My reaction to his perusal obviously wasn’t to his liking.
Fist clenching the very middle of my tank top, he yanked me up toward him in a flash, my legs naturally spreading to accommodate his hips.
“They’re distractions,” he grated into my ear, the tip of his nose buried in my hair.
“From what?”
“From you and everything you stand for.”
“Which would be?” I asked on a shaky breath, my hands subconsciously gripping his tee, too.
“Everything I shouldn’t want.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
His words were agonizing.
They’re not what I wanted to hear, what I could bear to hear.
I’d fallen weak enough to him already, had submitted in ways every man in my life only wished I’d given up so freely.
I needed to be stronger. Self-preservation begged me so.
I couldn’t do this with him.
“That’s why we have to stop,” I whispered, trying and failing to push him away once more. “We can’t be doing this. You know we can’t.”
Solid as a rock, he gripped me tighter. “Then tell me. Tell me you don’t feel this and I’ll never put my hands on you again.”
One second.
Two.
Three.
What was I supposed to say?
When I didn’t respond, or rather, couldn’t respond, he pushed me away and looked me dead in the eye, breaths ragged, unsteady.
“Exactly—let that sink in. I know you feel it too, Lux. That’s why you ran, why you’re trying to fight it,” he snarled, waiting a beat or two before he continued. “So go on, run. Run as fast as you can, but we both know the bomb will detonate sooner or later. And when it does, when you finally find yourself beneath me, begging me to wreck havoc on your body, I’m going to remind you of this moment right here. I’m going to remind you that you thought you could run from the King.”
♫ My Demons - Starset ♫
I had a bad feeling.
A really fucking bad feeling.
Irrational or not, I couldn’t say for sure yet, but something was off. It had been for a while now, and after the hurricane passed, I couldn’t ignore it any longer.
There’d been a shift in my world, with both Rome and Lux. I hadn’t seen much of them during the storm, locked myself up with Willow and two of her friends, but even then I felt it. The bastard was up to something. I could smell it brewing on the back burner, saw it smoking in his eyes whenever I brought up Lux. The mere mention of her name coiled him up like a serpent ready to strike.
And Lux, well, she’d completely nixed me from her life without fully cutting the cord. She didn’t seem inclined to forgive me any time soon, if ever at all, and had gone as far as issuing Roscoe tasks she’d have normally appointed me.
Yet she hadn’t fired me.
What stood out most, though, was how everything was at a standstill on both ends. Neither one had made a single advance on each other since Javi’s murder, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why, much less what had changed.
Yes, what Roman did was gruesome, but Lux was a tough little bitch. There’s no chance in hell something like that would make her retract.
“You think he’s fucking her?” Liza asked, her silken voice erupting through the speaker in my office.
She’d called, as promised the last time we spoke, leaving me no other choice but to fill her in on all recent developments.
Taking another sip from my drink, I reclined into my throne and crossed my legs on the desk. “Highly doubt that.”
“But you said she’s a touchy subject for him. You know how Rome is when he’s hiding something.”
“I know, but there’s no way in hell he’s fucking her after all that’s gone down. She wouldn’t allow it either.”
“I’m just saying, sounds an awful lot like the Roman who beat one of Leo’s mates to a pulp when he overheard him mentioning I looked good.”
“I remember that.” I chuckled. “Came over to mum’s afterward with the poor bloke’s blood splattered on his shirt. Seriously, though, Moxie, I doubt it.”
“Just…watch him is all I’m saying. I wouldn’t wanna have to drop in unannounced and babysit you,” she threatened, voice dripping with vindictive delight.
A delight I knew too well.
I sighed. “I’ve got it under control, no need for all that. I’ll let you know when it’s time, then you can swoop in for the grand finale.”
Liza hummed appreciatively. “Always such a good friend, Vic.”
Goosebumps broke out along my skin. The way she purred my name jerked my cock beneath my slacks. I nearly cringed, hating myself for still reacting to her like this.
Righting myself in my throne, I swallowed down the images of me balls deep in her cunt all those years ago….
“I’m sure there’s a few who would beg to differ,” I countered.
“Of course there is. Not everyone understands what it takes to make it to the top.”
Ain’t that the truth.
“Can’t say I don’t agree.”
Again she hummed, but the sound far more sensuous this time around. “You know, as the years go by, I regret not keeping you instead. Would’ve spared me a hell of a lot of pain, that’s for sure.”
“Don’t,” I gritted out, squeezing my eyes shut. “That ship has sailed, Moxie.”
“Says who?” she asked dubiously.
“No one has to say it. Just the way it is.”
That quintessential Liza snicker erupted through the line. I could all but see her tsking through her teeth. “We’ll see about that.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Whatever you think it means, Vicsy Bear,” she quipped, sounding way too much like Harley Quinn.
I winced at the decade-old nickname. “Please don’t.”
“Tit for tat, love. You still call me Moxie, remember?”
Silence.
She was right.
Knowing how much she hated when I called her that—despite how true it was—I still did it anyway.
“Exactlyyy,” she drawled, throwing in a very Harley giggle before she went on to sing, “Vicsy Bear and Moxie sitting in a tree, upcoming King and bad ass Queen.”
“Queen, huh?” I couldn’t help but be intrigued. “You plan to stay in Miami when it’s all said and done?”
“Given a reason to stay, yes.”
“And what would you consider a reason?”
<
br /> “Curious, are you? Well, I’ll let you ponder that over the next few weeks. Perhaps you’ll have it figured out before our next chat. In the mean time—Roman, keep an eye on him, and make sure you watch the little bitch, too.”
Click.
♫ Sex with Me - Rihanna ♫
Restless. Bitter. Deranged.
Those words best described the volatile mess I’d become in the week following Hurricane Glenn. I was living off bourbon and one heaping, unrelenting dose of self-loathing.
I couldn’t sleep.
My appetite was shot to shit.
Pinning Lux to the pool table really was the worst thing I could’ve done for myself. I’d been obsessing about her enough after that first kiss, but now I was completely unhinged.
Enraged at my inability to control myself when it came to her.
Suffering greatly from the worst case of blue balls known to man kind because of it.
I could wank off for hours, spurt jet after jet of my release all over the place, and it did fuck all to sate this deep-rooted, savage need I felt for her.
Because it wasn’t even a want, it was a need.
I needed to have Lux.
I didn’t give a fuck that my own plan was blowing up in my face.
I needed her, and I was going to have her.
One way or another.
She could make it easy and drop the ‘I loathe you’ charade, or brace herself for impact—because I was coming for her.
Which is why when Vic told me we were going to be keeping an eye on her for the evening, I didn’t object.
It wouldn’t be easy to get my hands on her with him present, but I’d figure something out after scoping out the area.
“So how are we doing this?” I asked him as I stepped out of his Rover on Vybe’s lot.
“You’re going in first. Get her attention, keep her engaged, then I’ll check her out.” He said it completely straight-faced, too, slamming shut the driver’s door and coming around to meet me at the front end.
I couldn’t help but laugh, leaning back against the warm grill. “Seriously? We’re at a club, Vic. Do you realize how hard it’s going to be to get her attention, let alone keep it?”