by Jenn Hype
Suddenly, with the combination of the alcohol and stress from losing my purse, my body decided it was nap time. Never mind the fact that I was standing in the middle of a packed club. Nope. That didn’t matter. My legs just decided they were done for the night, and down I went.
Ian, always jumping to my rescue, wrapped his arms around me yet again. Instead of pushing away from him like my brain was telling me to do, my body decided snuggling was a better option. C’mon, brain. Get control of the situation here. Okay... my brain was giving my brain a pep talk to control my body. I’d officially lost it. But he was so warm and my body fit perfectly into his side. Being in his arms just felt right, and while normally that would freak me out, I was too tired and too drunk to fight it. Goodbye rational thought, hello bad decisions.
“I’m so sad, Ian. I lost my phone and my pretty pink sparkly purse with my favorite lip gloss and my Starbucks gift card. How will I get coffee now? My lips will be dull and dry and I’ll be too tired to care that I can’t call anyone because I’ll be caffeine deprived. Why is life so cruel?”
Aaaand...kill me now. No really. I’d rather be dead than be living through this.
I could feel him chuckling as he squeezed me tighter. It felt familiar, his hold around me. I didn’t know why. I hated being touched. I couldn’t remember the last time I let a man hold me like that without pushing him away or cringing. No matter the reasons for why I felt so comfortable right then, all I could do was let out a heavy sigh and relax further into his hard body.
I wanted to dip my hand into his shirt. I wanted to rub my fingertips all over his hard chest, tracing down his abs, down to his glorious abdomen that led directly to his happy place. Happy place? I really was gone.
Holy hell, I was actually trying to put my hand in his shirt. What’s worse is that I couldn’t stop. Thankfully he had the good sense to do it for me. Giving my hand a light squeeze and smiling down at me, he started towards the exit.
“Come on, sunshine. Let’s get some fresh air and you can use my phone to call the police. We’ll get this figured out for you. You can feel me up all you want once we get you sobered up.”
“Why are you being so nice to me? I’m such a bitch to you. You make me so angry. I can’t help it. Why do you make me so angry? I want to touch your face.”
Laughing and moving my hand from his face, he continued to hold me gingerly. Like I was made of porcelain. That should have made me angry. I was not weak; I didn’t need to be babied. But he was so warm and cozy, I just couldn’t muster up the energy to be mad.
“I’m being nice to you because you are drunk and need someone to take care of you, and despite whatever it is you think of me, I’m actually a pretty decent guy. At least, I like to think I am. And I make you angry because I can. You make it so easy, and you are so adorable when you get frustrated I just can’t help myself.”
“You think I’m adorable?”
“Among other things.”
“What other things?”
“Maybe we should have this conversation when you are sober.”
“I think you know me well enough by now to know that this conversation will never happen when I’m sober. And since I plan on never drinking again, this is your one chance to take advantage of my vulnerable self.” I immediately came to a halt and stiffened from my own words. He didn’t let me stop for long though, instead he urged me to keep going.
When we finally emerged from the club, the cold air felt amazing against my hot skin. I didn’t know if I was hot from the club or from the beautiful man’s arms wrapped around me, but either way I was on fire. My skin was slick with sweat and was covered in goose bumps from the cold. Ever the gentleman, Ian draped a jacket over my shoulders. Where did he even get a jacket? Damn him. He was making it harder and harder to hate him.
Stacy stepped out moments after we did, and Ian walked us both over to the side of the club and told us to lean against the wall and not move while he called the police.
“Bossy bastard.”
Stacy and I burst out into an uncontrollable fit of giggles, and strangers turned and stared. I’m sure we were a sight. Sweaty, disheveled, drunk and giggling. Slinking down to the ground Stacy and I laid our heads back, legs stretched out, crossed at the ankle. Despite how badly the evening had started, I was actually having a lot of fun. Probably the most fun I’d had in a really long time.
“I think Ian’s into you.”
Snorting derisively at Stacy’s remark, I couldn’t help but inwardly feel the butterflies of longing. I was still too drunk to stop them before it happened. Longing is not something I allowed myself to feel. Still, I couldn’t help but let my mind wander for just a moment and imagine what it would be like to actually go on a date with Ian. Would he take me to a nice restaurant? Show up at my doorstep with flowers? Treat me to a romantic evening? I would hate all of those things. Something told me he would know that, though. He read me so well it scared me.
It didn’t matter. I couldn’t entertain those types of thoughts. Ian dated the city’s elite, not boring, simple girls like me. I could never give him what he wanted. He was used to the nice restaurants and romantic evenings. It’s what normal girls expected and enjoyed. If he really was the nice guy I was starting to believe he was, then he deserved better than me anyway. I still didn’t even know what he did for a living, but it was obvious he had lots of money. I was sure he wouldn’t want my baggage coming along and screwing up his perfect life.
Just as my thoughts took a depressing turn, my pity party was halted by the approaching cop car. An extremely attractive man stepped out from the driver’s side and Stacy and I simultaneously went slack jawed. Damn, he wore that uniform well. He was the verify definition of tall, dark and handsome. My thoughts were too preoccupied with Ian currently to be affected by this man’s good looks, but Stacy was always a sucker for a man in uniform.
Looking over at her confirmed my suspicions. This was about to get interesting. If the sparkle in her eye and devious grin she was wearing wasn’t enough to convince me that she was about to do something stupid, then her not-so-casually yanking the top of her dress down to expose more cleavage was a dead giveaway.
Ian immediately shook the officer’s hand, explaining the situation. It was a miracle there was someone sober and responsible there to help us. I didn’t think I could form a coherent sentence right then. The fact that Ian kept having to take care of me sobered me up just a little, though.
The officer eyed us speculatively, obviously assessing our drunken state. I’m sure we were a hot mess. We were still in a hysterical state of laughter when the officer approached.
“Good evening, ladies. I’m Officer Chad Stevens. I am here to…”
Before he could even finish his sentence, Stacy was trying to stand. Trying being the key word there. When she finally made it to her feet, she immediately put her hands on the officer’s chest and tried to give him a seductive look but ended up looking more like she was constipated.
“Hey, Officer Sexy Pants. Are you here to arrest me for being a very, very bad girl? You might want to use your cuffs, I can be very feisty,” she slurred, her face inches from his.
The officer took her hands and gently pushed them away and looked at her with a mix of pity and annoyance. Did this happen to him often? Even drunk I’d imagine not very many women would have the balls to be so forward with a cop the way she was. I’d always envied her confidence when it came to men. Not right at that moment, though. Right then I was too busy laughing at her to be jealous of anything.
“Ma’am, unless you’ve committed an actual crime then no, I am not here to arrest you. However, you ladies have clearly had a lot to drink tonight, so I hope neither of you had planned on getting behind the wheel.”
“No sir,” Ian chimed in. “I’ll make sure they get home safely. They took a cab here.”
Stacy, being the idiotic slut she was, decided it would be a good time to try and solicit a man coming out of the club, offering her services in excha
nge for money. What the hell was she doing? She was being so ridiculous and normally I would be mortified, but I was too drunk to care. I dug Stacy’s phone out of her purse and tried to take a video, but I was too inebriated to figure out how to unlock the damn screen.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you can’t solicit a man for sex, especially in front of an officer. Are you trying to get arrested?” All pity was gone from the officer’s face and all that remained was the annoyance.
“Why yes, officer. I think you’ll quickly realize just how determined I am. If breaking the law is what I need to do to get you to put your hands on me, then that’s what I’ll do. I’ll even resist a little. I like it rough.”
Oh good God, Stacy, shut up.
The officer grabbed Stacy’s elbow and lead her towards his car. You could see the excitement in her eyes. She clearly thought she’d gotten to him, but apparently she was too drunk to see what was really on his face. Anger. He was not amused by her antics. He gently pushed her into the back of his car, but when she smiled and started to speak, he slammed the door in her face. Stacy started banging on the window, calling the officer all sorts of colorful names. With his back to her and her shouts muffled behind the window, you could see the smirk he was trying to conceal. He was enjoying making Stacy angry.
“I think this one needs a night in lock up to teach her how to behave in public. Will you make sure your friend gets home safely and tell her to report to the station in the morning when she has sobered up to give a report?” Ian politely nodded, but the look on his face made a bubble of laughter burst from my mouth when he finally registered what the officer had just said.
“You’re not actually going to file charges against her, are you?” Ian looked shocked, but quickly relaxed when the officer laughed and gestured dismissively to his question.
“No, I won’t document anything. Just want to scare some sense into her. As soon as she sobers up enough to make it home, I’ll let her go.” Ian hurriedly handed the officer Stacy’s purse. “Have a nice night,” the officer said to us as he got in his car.
And as quickly as he came, the officer left, and I was alone in the hands of my new pseudo enemy. That fine line between love and hate? I was walking it right then. And I was scared shitless at which way I was going to fall.
Chapter 9
Ian
I could see Adalyn’s struggle to gain control over her mind. She had a look on her face of intense concentration, her eyebrows scrunched together and a scowl on her face. Getting her in my car had been quite a struggle. Even when she could barely walk she still put up a good fight. That flirty, cute Adalyn that had walked out of the club with me was long gone. Cold and closed off Adalyn had returned yet again.
“Quit looking at me and keep your eyes on the road, dumbass. I’d like to make it back to my apartment alive. I may not have a job, a boyfriend or any idea what to do with my life, but I still have a life and I’d like to keep it that way.”
She was hunched over, arms crossed, looking straight ahead. It was adorable. I bit the inside of my cheek to try and keep from smirking but it didn’t work and when she caught me smiling she became even more agitated.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Laugh it up, buddy, because this is the last time I’ll ever let myself be in the position to take any kind of help from you. I don’t need a knight in shining armor, so quit trying to weasel your way into my life. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I’m not going to give in to your manipulations. Save it for one of your floozies who are too dumb to see through your bullshit.”
“Okay, I don’t even know where to begin with what you just said. First of all, I wasn’t laughing, I was smiling. It’s not my fault everything you do makes me smile, even when you’re being a giant pain in my ass. Second of all, what game do you think I’m playing? I’m not trying to weasel my way into anything and I can certainly tell you don’t need saving. Why does my wanting to spend time with you have to have an ulterior motive? And lastly, why do you assume all the women I date are dumb? That’s pretty judgmental of you. Although, based on the assumptions you’ve obviously already made about me, I should have deduced just how judgmental you could be.”
She visibly winced and I could see the guilt on her face. Finally, some real progress. This facade of being a bitch was easy to see through, as much as she wanted to believe otherwise. Although I hated the thought that I’d only managed to make progress because she was drunk, I still chose to view this as a win.
“I’m sorry,” she said turning to me, “I know I’m a bitch. I’d say I can’t help it, but I can. I’d say I’ll try harder not to be one, but I won’t. However, just because I’ve accepted I’m a horrible person doesn’t mean I relish in hurting people and am too proud to apologize. So again, I’m sorry. Hopefully when we wake up tomorrow we can just put all this behind us.”
“I accept your apology. But you’re wrong.”
“I know. I have no idea the IQ level of the women you date and I shouldn’t have assumed as much. Based on what I know of you so far, it’s easy to see that you could obviously find a woman who is the whole package.”
“Thank you, but that’s not what you’re wrong about.” Ah, that got her attention. Her eyebrow rose and she looked at me with confused annoyance. I didn’t give her a chance for a smart ass reply this time. “You aren’t a horrible person. And you’re not a bitch. There is a reason you put on this don’t-give-a-shit front, and I’m going to find out why. Eventually you’ll see that you can be real with me, Adalyn. You can keep trying to push me away, but I happen to enjoy a good challenge.”
“Oh, so that’s your game,” she snapped at me, and without having to look I could feel her piercing eyes. “I don’t cream my pants at the sight of you and you can’t stand that. Are you seriously so cocky that it’s so unfathomable that a woman wouldn’t be interested in you? You want to know why I’m a bitch? It’s for that exact reason. Assholes like you who think your games don’t have the power to destroy people.”
“Another piece of the puzzle. I take that to mean that some dumbass has done that to you in the past? You can elaborate on that later, but let me assure you, that’s not what’s happening here. Is it so hard to believe that I find you interesting and want to get to know you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Silence. I could tell she wasn’t going to say any thing more, so I dropped the subject. For now. I’d already gained valuable insight from this little exchange alone. Apparently the trick was to keep her talking, if you could keep her in one place for long enough, that is. She had made a bad habit of running away from me already. For someone who was so obviously guarded, she wasn’t very good at hiding her feelings. It may not be intentional, but my guess would be that deep down she’s desperate for someone to really understand her.
With that thought, I realized it was time to admit to myself that I was already in way too deep when it came to Adalyn, and I had no plans of getting out.
It wasn’t until I pulled up to her apartment that it dawned on me. Her purse was stolen. That meant we didn’t have a key to get in. She was already starting to unbuckle her seat belt.
“Slow down there, Sunshine. You’re coming home with me. We…”
“The HELL I am,” she interrupted before I could explain. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but I am not near drunk enough to sleep with you. I was actually starting to think you might not be as big of an asshole as I thought you were, but if you’re willing to take advantage of someone not in full control of their decisions then you are an even bigger asshole than I originally thought.”
“Whoa, calm down. If you had let me finish, I would have explained that you don’t have a key. Your purse was stolen, remember? So unless you want to park your cute little ass on the lawn and wait for Stacy to come home God knows when, then you don’t have a choice.”
You could see her mind working, tryi
ng to figure out a way to avoid coming to my place but not have to sleep outside like a homeless person. I think she was actually contemplating sleeping outside, but it was freezing out, so I waited patiently for her to finally give up. After what felt like an hour, she finally huffed a sigh of resignation and sank back into her seat.
“Fine. But if you put your fucking hands on me I will seriously have your ass thrown in jail. You get to sleep on the couch while I sleep in your room with the door locked. I don’t want you trying to sneak a peek at my lady bits while I’m sleeping.”
“Lady bits?” She actually smiled a little. It was brief and was barely noticeable, but I still saw it. “Don’t worry, Sunshine. I’d love to have you in my bed, any way I can get you.”
Chuckling when she groaned in response, I turned the corner and headed to my apartment.
Adalyn was passed out before I made it halfway to my apartment. I didn’t have the heart to wake her, so when we pulled up to the front I handed the valet my keys and turned to scoop her up. The bellman gave me a questioning look, no doubt thinking my carrying in a woman clearly passed out into the building was bizarre. I’d never had a woman here, let alone an unconscious one.
Getting my apartment door unlocked without dropping her was somewhat of a challenge, but once I managed to make it inside, I carried her straight to my room. Yeah, I had two really nice guest rooms that had never been used that I could put her in, but I liked the idea of her in my bed. As much as I wished I was going to be in that bed with her, just having her in there, knowing the next time I laid down her scent would still linger was enough to make my cock hard.
Down boy. Now’s not the time.
She mumbled something I couldn’t understand as I laid her down, but I could hear it clearly the second time as she rolled over. My name. And if hearing my name come off her lips while she lay in my bed wasn’t enough to make my soldier stand at attention, then the moan that followed it definitely was. Was she having a naughty dream about me?