by Harper Sloan
"I knew you were stupid for letting him go, but I didn't think you were stupid enough to fall for the good old dare trick. Lacey, is it? Whatever, doesn't matter. Listen to me now because the next time this happens, he won't be able to keep me from you. You let him go, and I will never be as stupid as you. You might have a ring he gave you, but it stopped being more than a hunk of metal and a rock the second y'all broke up OVER a year ago. Stop being a pathetic excuse for a woman sniffing after a man who doesn't want you, and move the heck on."
I hear the sirens, but I'm unable to do more than watch Nikki defend herself--and me.
"He'll always be mine," Lacey gasps, winded from her fall.
Nikki throws her head back, her long blond hair shaking down her back. My hands itch, wanting it in my fist while I take her hard.
"He let you go and didn't want you back. If you ask me, he never was yours to begin with."
"He will be back. Mark my words." For the first time, a little of Lacey's confidence cracks, and I see that she isn't as confident as she would like us to believe.
"Wrong. He's got me now, and I won't ever do anything to screw up what we have. Whatever you think it was you shared, we've got that and then some. You ever seen what it looks like when two people find their forever? Well, open your eyes, sweetheart, because it's right in front of you."
Even knowing she's acting, her words hit something inside me that makes my chest warm and my heart pound. I clench my fists when that sensation gets more intense. Nikki steps back at the same time the flashing lights paint the outside of the restaurant. Stepping into my hold, she doesn't look away from Lacey as she rolls and climbs to her feet.
She wasn't wrong; my ex never was the brightest crayon in the box. She shows everyone watching that when she leaps forward and punches Nikki right in the eye two seconds after the officer steps out of his car.
"Jesus." I look up and see the officer, one I recognize quickly from his connection to Nate, as he frowns down at Lacey, and the other officer with him handcuffs her. "You know, Nik, I thought you might be exaggerating when I heard it was you who called this in."
"Would I do that?" Nikki laughs, curling even more into my side. I tighten my hold, not wanting any space between us. Not letting myself question that.
He just laughs, moving Lacey away from us. I tune him out while he says something into his radio then addresses Lacey. My eyes only for one woman. And the crazy woman just smiles up at me, one red eye and all.
"That was fun."
"Fuck," I whisper, pulling her into my arms and pressing my lips to her eye. I move my hand to the back of her head and press her against my chest while I look over her head as Liam puts my ex in the back of his patrol car.
After he finishes questioning the witnesses, he walks back to us and shakes his head with a grin at Nikki. We had moved to lean against my car while he got his statements, waiting for our turn.
"Haven't seen you around in a while, squirt."
"The school year started back up and I've been busy keeping the youth of America from boredom. How are Megan and the kids?"
"They're great," he answers, his whole demeanor changing at the mention of his wife and children. I don't know him too well, but I know enough through Nate that I wouldn't call him a stranger. "You pressing charges?"
Nikki says no at the same time I say yes. She looks up, studies me for a second, and then nods. She shocks the shit out of me when she looks back at Liam and ignores me as if I'm not even there.
"You'll have to forgive Shane; he doesn't like it when someone messes with his girl. My precious, he's like that."
"Your girl," he repeats, looking at me with lips twitching with amusement, but his eyes hold a lot of questions.
"Thanks for coming," she continues, ignoring the two men at her side and completely clueless to the heat in his stare. "If you don't mind, I'm really hungry, and I was promised a meal before a great night of fun at his place. Do you have something where I can write my statement down?"
Who the hell is this woman?
"Yeah, Nik," he says, shaking his head at her with a small smile. He walks away and opens the trunk of his patrol car, returning a moment later with an incident form. "Fill this out and I'll let you know if I have any follow-up questions later so you two can get out of here. I'm sure Megan's going to want more than I can give her when she hears about this, though, so I'd expect a call from her before me."
Thirty minutes later, we're back in my car. Lacey might have lucked out with Nikki refusing to press charges, but unfortunately for her, Liam still placed her under arrest for disorderly conduct since he witnessed her erratic behavior firsthand--not to mention her physically putting her hands on Nikki with the intent to harm. She won't even spend the night in jail; I'm sure Daddy's princess will have him bailing her out immediately, but there isn't shit I can do about that. I make a mental note to let the bouncers at Dirty know Lacey is officially banned from the club, something I should have done sooner. Had I, then maybe she wouldn't be so fucked in the head thinking I would take her back.
I glance over at Nikki, her hair now dry from the drink, but the dressing from the salad still staining her top. She's wearing a small smirk on her lips, not even fazed by the events of the night.
"Hey!" She jerks up straighter and points forward. "Taco Bell?"
"Do you ever do what someone would expect you to do?"
She giggles. "Never, handsome. Never."
Dangerous game, indeed.
"So ..." Nikki mumbles around a mouth full of her burrito. "You were engaged?"
I finish chewing the bite I had just taken and wash it down with a drink before answering. "Not really."
"Explain that."
"I was with her for a few years. She moved here with me when Nate opened Dirty and I took the job he offered. We'd talked about marriage before, but nothing serious and more me entertaining her when she would bring it up. When I gave her that ring, it was more of a one day we might kind of thing because I was honestly sick of her bitching about it. It was never an engagement ring, and she knew that. I think I always knew we weren't right for each other, and it was easier to dust off our troubles with shiny shit than put up with her screaming all the time."
"You bought her a ring with no intention of marrying her? Harsh, Kingston, harsh."
"Not my finest moment," I agree. "But I didn't lead her on. She knew what it was."
"So what happened? You weren't ready to break it off with her then, clearly, but what happened to end things for y'all?"
I lean back in my seat, looking around the empty dining area of our local Taco Bell. None of the employees are paying us any attention. We might as well be in our own world.
"She fucked someone else."
"Ouch. Been there. I take it she didn't stay with him long?"
I let a grunted huff. "Her. She didn't stay with her for long and correct."
Nikki's mouth opens wide, her eyes round. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Do you know any man who would joke about their ex cheating on them with another woman?"
"Well, no."
I lift my shoulder, not saying anything else. What else is there to say?
"When Seth cheated on me, I blamed myself for a long time. He always told me that he felt like he was sleeping with a dead person because I was apparently that bad in bed. It took me some time to see things clearly. I know now he was lacking and not me. I imagine it's the same for your situation."
"You know the sad part," I tell her, stopping when her phone rings. She doesn't even look away from me, something that used to drive me nuts with Lacey. She never gave two shits about ignoring me when her phone went off in favor of whatever notification came through. "The sad part is I wasn't even that upset. She gave me an out from a relationship that was suffocating me."
"Why didn't you just break it off with her?"
"You know, I don't think anyone has ever asked me that. Maybe I was wrong for not ending it before she had a chanc
e to cheat. I thought I loved her, but after we split, I realized what we shared was never close to that. Sure, at a time I cared about her, but love? No."
Nikki nods, taking another bite.
"I'm sure it's not a shock that she wasn't the most level-headed person."
"Understatement," she snorts.
"She would get jealous. So fucking jealous. I guess it just wasn't worth the fallout that I knew would come if I broke it off, so I just kept on, resenting her more and more with each day that passed. The day I caught her with Hannah, I felt nothing but relief."
"Hannah? You mean the same girl who you said hello to earlier?"
"That would be the one."
"Wow. That's some messed-up stuff. Sounds like an episode of The Young and the Restless."
"Welcome to my life."
"So that's why you're single? Because of what Lacey did to you?"
"Partly," I tell her honestly, weighing my words while she waits for me to continue. "You know what I do at Dirty when I'm not in my office. When I'm working the bar, which isn't often anymore, it's my job to use my sexuality to make the customers feel some kind of rush, the same rush that keeps them coming back day after day. To those women, every time I dance, they think it's some unspoken promise. It's not easy for someone to see the man they're in a relationship with charming other women for a living."
Nikki brushes it off as no big deal, but I've never met a woman who didn't get jealous when faced with that situation I just described. Ever. None of the guys, with the exception of Nate, are in relationships. Dent had a woman for a while, but just like me and Lacey, she couldn't handle him working at Dirty.
"I used to strip," I continue, not sure why I told her that.
"I know." She smirks. "Nate isn't shy about his past. He told Em and me a long time ago about how he knew you."
I narrow my eyes. "That's it; nothing else to say?"
She places her burrito down and tilts her head at me. "What do you want me to say? I'm not like those little insecure girls you seem to be comparing me to, Shane. I don't get jealous. If someone is with me, they have all my trust until the day they don't deserve it anymore. Plus, it's kind of hot."
"Kind of hot?" Is this girl for real?
"The idea of my man working hard for his business, using his body to drive women mad enough that they crave him but knowing I'm the one that he comes home to? The only one who gets what he taunts others with. Yeah, that's hot."
"Are you real?" I voice the question bouncing around in my mind.
She giggles. Cute as fuck. "I don't know, honey. How about you take me to one of our homes and find out for yourself how real I am?"
I'm up from the table without having to be told twice. She chuckles the whole time while I toss our trash and grab her hand to pull her from the building. When I have her outside, I spin her body and press her into the side of my car with my hips. I rub my hard-as-fuck cock against her, loving the fuck out of that hum that comes from her parted lips. Her head tips back when I close the distance between our mouths.
Right before mine touches hers, I smirk. "Add honey to the yes column."
Then I take her mouth, kissing her deep. Giving anyone who drives by a show, I thrust my body against hers slowly, driving us both mad. Her nails bite into the skin exposed from my rolled-up sleeves, and when I pull away from her and we're both panting heavily, she tightens her hold.
"I thought there was no first date sex," she gasps, still trying to catch her breath.
"Fuck the first date."
"PLEASE!"
His hand lands against my swollen center again, the sensation stinging through my whole body. I pull at the ropes keeping my wrists bound to his headboard and feel the overwhelming need for more of him cranked up to dangerous levels.
"I'm being lenient, Nicole. Keep it up and I'm going to think you're purposely not following the rules."
What the heck did I do wrong? He drops his head back to my soaked pussy and picks up where he left off. His tongue, mouth, and teeth driving me so high I swear I can see heaven.
Rules, Nikki. Focus.
Sir! Why I can't ever remember that stupid word, I don't know. Probably my subconscious trying to get more of his hard handedness against my skin. Who would have thought I would enjoy being spanked so much?
When his teeth bite my clit again, the emptiness I feel without him inside me becomes too much to handle. I pull at my bindings again, the rope soft but still chafing my skin with all my thrashing.
"SIR!" I scream. "Please, Sir! I'm so empty."
He lifts his head, and I look down my naked body at the man between my legs. His bearded chin is wet, soaked with my arousal. His eyes shining with golden swirls of heat as he looks back up at me. I don't look away. I can't look away.
"You want my cock, mon colibri?"
I nod my head frantically.
"How badly?"
"Desperately," I answer shamelessly. "Sir."
He lifts from his position between my legs, kneeling back between my spread legs. His eyes no longer looking into my face but down at my exposed sex. He keeps looking, breath rushed, and I feel myself growing even more wet from his perusal. When he takes his shaft in his hand, slowly stroking his angry looking flesh, I whine. I'm helpless to keep the sound to myself. I feel like I'll die if he doesn't fill the emptiness.
His free hand reaches over, and the binding on my ankle loosens. He switches hands, not losing a beat in his strokes. When the other ankle is free, I have to fight with my own need to keep my legs where he placed them earlier. Wanting to please him just as much as I want him to please me. The turbulent roller coaster of desire flies off the tracks the second he moves and flips me. He jerks my hips up, gently pushing me up to my knees. The binding on my hands giving me just enough slack to have my arms cross without pain.
At the same time as he grabs a fist full of my hair and jerks my head back, he enters me in one long, hard thrust. I scream, close my eyes, and push back just as firmly as he's pushing in. Just like the last time with him, my mind fogs and I become drunk on the feelings he brings forth with his touch. Each deep thrust bringing me higher and higher.
"Fucking perfect," he grunts, releasing my hair and grabbing both sides of my waist to keep his thick cock deep inside me.
I wiggle but his hold bruises to keep me still. My eyes close as my core clamps down on him; I'm so close but need him to move.
The roaring of my blood rushing through my body is the only thing louder than the animalistic sounds that leave his mouth when he starts moving, and I come instantly. I feel my body trying to pull his thickness back in each time he pulls away, leaving just the tip of him inside me. When I don't think I can take it anymore, he pushes in deep and drops his body heavily against my body. His cock twitches, and his groan of completion vibrates against my back.
"1Encore mieux qu'avant," he says against my back, pressing his lips to the space between my shoulders. "2Encore mieux."
"That's it," I gasp. "I'm getting Rosetta Stone."
His rich laughter bursts from his lips as his breath bathes my damp skin. I'm sure he thinks I'm joking, but I make a mental note to find the easiest way to learn French as soon as possible. When he pulls out, I miss the feeling of him instantly. He helps free my hands, rubbing my arms after the ropes fall loose and kissing my palms before lying down and pulling me into his arms.
"This isn't how I thought tonight would go," he finally says.
I wiggle in his hold, and his arms loosen enough for me to turn. I place my hands against his chest, rubbing the smooth skin while looking into his eyes. His fingers rub circles on my hips. His other arm under my head.
"I'm not complaining."
"No, you definitely aren't."
I mirror his smirk, neither one of us breaking eye contact.
"You were mad outside the restaurant, weren't you?" I ask, voicing the question that had been on the tip of my tongue since we left. I knew he wasn't happy. I could see it in the tens
e way he was holding his body. "You might say you don't have to be in control outside the bedroom, but that isn't entirely true, is it?"
"It's not."
"Why? I'm not complaining; I just want some help understanding it."
He shifts our hold, rolling to his back and settling me against his side. His free hand--the one not holding me to him, lands on top of mine, pressing my palm against his chest. The steady thump of his heart against my hand soothes me.
"When Libby and I were growing up, we didn't have it easy. I guess, it's my way of making sure I don't ever have to feel helpless. Mama did her best. She worked so many jobs, and I'm sure that played a part in her being weak enough for the cancer to take over. I promised myself the day she died that I wouldn't let anyone else be in charge of what happened to my life."
"That's a lot to take on, Shane. You know it's not a bad thing to share the load with someone every now and then."
The silence ticks by, and for a minute, I'm worried I overstepped. What are the boundaries to this thing? Heck if I know. It just doesn't feel right not to speak up, trying to get him to let me help him see a different way of doing things.
"If you would have told me that a few weeks ago, I probably would have laughed in your face, cherie. Now, though, I'm starting to think you might be on to something."
"Does that mean you're going to let me take control next time we're getting hot and heavy?"
"Hot and heavy?" I feel him shake his head. "Fucking cute."
I curl into him more. "For however long you'll let me, I'll be here if you need to discuss anything. I don't want you to think that because of what we're doing, I'm not willing to be there for you."
I let my words settle, hoping he hears the sincerity in them and doesn't read them as me being needy. I honestly hope that, if this ends tomorrow, he can still see me as someone to count on in his life. I'm not going to lie, though--just thinking that this could end fills my stomach with a lead weight.
"Nikki." He sighs, pressing his lips to my head. "What the hell are we doing?"
I shrug, the movement awkward with our positions. "No clue, Shane, but at least we're both on the same boat of confusion here in our muddled waters."