After The Break

by Andrea Joan

  I need to apologize. “Look, Skylar—”

  “Don’t.” She shakes her head, stepping back when I go to reach for her. “Obviously I somehow fucked up when I bought you a car. Forgive me for trying to show my gratitude. But you’re right. You need to work more. Earn your paycheck so you stop feeling like a ‘boy-toy.’ Lucky for you, we are all going to Vacancy tomorrow night. The pool house is still yours, so feel free to sleep there tonight. Be ready by ten tomorrow. And let’s make sure we keep it professional, so it’s completely clear what the fuck you are actually being paid for.”

  She throws my words back at me before stomping her cute little ass upstairs, making sure to slam her bedroom door for good measure. I know I fucked up, but I also know there’s something not right here, and though my need to go after Skylar is manifesting, I stay put. Whatever this is she’s going through, she has to be ready to come to me on her own.

  “Well, that’s one way to handle it, O’Connor. Way to hit every insecurity of hers in one breath,” Winter says from behind me. Shit, I was so caught up that I forgot she was still here.

  “Fucking forgive me for lacking sensitivity at six in the damn morning after I just got gifted an expensive as fuck car from my girlfriend, who incidentally has been acting off for the last few days. This doesn’t seem at all odd to you?”

  “I told you she wasn’t like us.”

  “Yeah, and I still don’t know what that cryptic bullshit means. Is she…” I rub the back of my neck, drawing in a deep breath before I speak because honestly, I don’t know if I’m ready for the answer to this. “Does she have a drug problem or something?”

  Winter laughs like I’m joking, but I find nothing funny about it. “No, she doesn’t have a damn drug problem. Are you for real right now?”

  “Are you? I’m not an idiot, Winter, and believe me when I tell you I’ve been around the block a few fucking times. The erratic behavior, she’s barely slept in days but that hasn’t slowed her down one fucking bit. Sky seems to be turned up to fucking ten all the time. I can tell you that is exactly how I was acting when I was doing coke.” She’s even been fucking me like she’s high on the shit, but I decide to leave that part out.

  “Jesus, you did coke?”

  “Oh please. You live in LA, don’t act like I’m the first person you’ve ever met who’s done it. And I haven’t touched the shit in years.”

  “Look, just give it a few more days and she’ll be back to her old self. Skylar gets this way sometimes, and no, maybe it isn’t exactly normal behavior, but nothing about her life is normal. How many seventeen-year-olds that you know buy a freaking mansion to live in? How many girls you know whose pictures are all over magazines by age twelve? And don’t even get me started on her dick of a father. Skylar handles her life differently, that’s all, and if you can’t handle that you should move on now before she falls in love with you, if she hasn’t already.”

  “Well, I need to get going. I have a lot to do today, including apparently returning this car to the dealership. Just give Skylar some space and give her a break. See ya tomorrow night, O’Connor,” she says, grabbing the keys to the car off the floor where Sky threw them before walking out the door.

  Winter’s words are hardly comforting, and it’s still possible Skylar has a drug problem and is really fucking good at hiding it. Her previous fuckwit of a bodyguard even included that accusation in the lawsuit he’s threatening to file against her. It wouldn’t matter to me if she had one. I’m the last person who should judge her for that. But it does matter that she isn’t being up front with me, that if she does have one she doesn’t trust me to help her.

  “Oh fuck no.”

  Nope.

  No.

  No fucking way is Skylar going out to a club in that sorry excuse for a dress she has plastered to her sexy as fuck body right now.

  “Noah, is everyone else ready?” she asks, refusing to look at me, completely ignoring my outburst.

  “Yep. Winter, Amber, and Erik are in Barry’s limo outside. Cass texted Winter earlier. He changed his plans and decided to meet us there. You look gorgeous, by the way. Knew the Posen dress was the way to go.” He kisses her on the cheek then smirks at me as if he knows I’m about to lose my fucking shit.

  What she is wearing is no dress. It’s just purple lace that’s almost completely see-through, thicker appliqués of lace barely covering her tits and pussy. It’s a long-sleeved dress, it hits her thighs just right, and it isn’t even that low cut, but it’s sexy as fuck and has no place being seen in public.

  “Great! Let’s head out,” She turns to grab her purse off the table, and that’s when I really lose my shit because all I see is the naked, smooth skin of her back.

  “Where the fuck is the rest of your dress?” I growl.

  “And that’s my cue to go.” Noah laughs awkwardly. “I’ll tell everyone you’re on your way out in five, okay?”

  “Don’t bother,” I tell him, my eyes still locked on a pissed off Skylar. “We’re taking her car. We’ll follow you.” There’s no way I’m going to go to a club and not have a way for us to get home on our own whenever we want. We could also use some privacy to talk about what happened yesterday. I’m not spending another night in a bed without her warm body next to me.

  “Skylar, you good with that?”

  My jaw clenches as I stare her down, silently daring her to say no.

  “It’s fine. Go ahead, Noah. We’ll meet you at the club.”

  “All right. See you soon then.” He winks at her before walking out the door. “You really do look beautiful, by the way,” he yells before the door shuts.

  Jackass. She turns to look at her reflection in the mirror hanging in the entryway, swiping a finger across her lower lip before pulling her ponytail a little tighter. When she’s finally done, she looks at me through the mirror. “You clean up nice,” she says in a dry tone that irritates me.

  Although I would never admit it to her, I did agonize slightly on what to wear to a club like this. I had no fucking clue and I didn’t want to look like a slob standing next to Skylar. I actually called Shay to ask for advice. After having to answer fifty-five fucking questions, she finally told me to wear my Lucky jeans and the black Kenneth Cole dress shirt she bought me for Christmas last year. Thank god I bothered to pack both.

  “Let’s go then.” She turns and walks towards me—no, not towards me, past me—to the garage. Before she’s able to make it, I grab her elbow and turn her around to face me. I take her other arm and march her backwards until her back is to the wall, placing my other hand next to her head so I’m caging her in. Her pupils immediately dilate, her breath coming in short gasps, her eyes trained on my mouth. It’s been a whole day since I’ve kissed those full, pouty lips so I don’t waste a second before pressing my mouth to hers.

  She can be pissed at me, that’s fine, but she can prove it with her mouth rather than her fucking attitude.

  And damn does she ever.

  She sucks my tongue into her mouth, biting my lower lip and running her fingers through my hair while grinding her pussy into my thigh that has found its way between her legs. When my hands grab her ass and I realize she isn’t wearing any panties, I swear I almost come on the spot. By the time we finally break apart, getting some much-needed air, I grab her ponytail, pulling it so her eyes meet mine. I make sure she is looking at me when I speak to her.

  “Part of me wants to rip this fucking dress off of you and tear it to shreds so no one sees you in it,” I rasp into her ear before sucking the earlobe into my mouth, causing her to moan and grind harder. “But there’s another part of me that wants to watch you walk around that club knowing that every motherfucker in there will be lusting after what’s mine.” I kiss her again, hard, for good measure. I’m two seconds away from pulling down my zipper and taking my cock out so I can fuck her against this wall when she suddenly places her hands on my chest and shoves me backward.

  “Good thing you don’t have to de
cide then, isn’t it Liam, seeing as a bodyguard has no input into what I decide to wear.” She shoulders past me and into the garage.

  Fuck. “Listen, Sky, we need to talk about what happened yesterday.”

  “Actually, Liam, we don’t. You made your point. Winter took the car back, and now I want to go out and have some fun.”

  “That was about more than the car and you fucking know it.” She can’t play dumb with me. Sky may have her friends walking on eggshells around her, but not me. I care too fucking much.

  She sighs. “Liam, look, you want to talk about what happened yesterday, fine. We can do it tomorrow. But tonight I just want to go out, have fun, and pretend I’m like every other normal girl out there. One that knows how inappropriate it is to buy her boyfriend-of-the-month a car, one that gets out of the house more than once or twice in any given week because she’s not scared or worried about paparazzi or strangers hounding her. One whose boyfriend also isn’t employed by her, making everything apparently more awkward than she realized. Does that work for you, or would you like to continue to dictate to me how you think I should behave?”

  She doesn’t even sound mad when she says it, just defeated. Fucking fuck me, I fucking suck. I literally want to punch myself in my own face. I could start this night out with an apology, but I’m not actually sorry because I’m not in the wrong. Empty apologies are for assholes. There is something I can do for her though.

  Sky wants a fun, carefree night, then the least I can do is help give it to her. Whatever our issues are can wait. My main concern is getting her smile back. Snatching the keys to her Lotus from the hook, I stride over to the passenger’s side where she stands and open the door, causing her to back up. “You want fun, sweetheart?” I grab the back of her neck and pull her lips to mine, kissing her roughly. “I can give you fun.”

  “Fun or fucking fun? I have to say, without the fucking from you I don’t feel you’re truly committed.” She slides into the seat and I’m right behind her, starting the car and pressing the garage door opener, all while trying not to smile at her sassy as fuck comment.

  “Cute, baby. Now why don’t you tell me where I need to go so we can get your fun on? The sooner we do that the sooner we can get the fun out of the way, come back here, and get the fucking going.”

  She rattles off directions. I like that she’s back to teasing me. I also really like the thought of fucking her later. This dress is going to be the death of me, or at the very least the death of my cock by the zipper that is currently cutting into it. When I feel fingers creep up my thigh, I jump, my foot accidentally slipping against the gas pedal. I look at the small delicate hand inching closer to my dick then up to Sky’s face. The corner of her lower lip is held captive by her teeth, making her face look mischievous.

  “What are you doing, Skylar?” I practically pant her name.

  “I missed you last night.” Her voice drops to a sultry octave, her hand rubbing my length through my pants. By the time I hit the first red light, she has her seatbelt undone, my zipper down, and my cock in her warm, wet mouth.

  “Fuck, baby,” I groan. I’m so aware we should not be doing this, that it’s dangerous on so many levels, but when my dick hits the back of her throat and she gags on it, my hand has a mind of its own and pushes her head down even further. A car horn sounds behind me, and when my eyes open I see the light has turned green.

  How the fuck am I supposed to remember where to go when all I can concentrate on right now is her tongue swirling around the head of my dick?

  “Fuck, Sky, your mouth is killing me, but you need to stop before I end up killing us.” That demand didn’t even sound believable to me, which is probably why she doesn’t stop, continuing to fuck me with her mouth. I grasp the back of her neck tightly, feeling my balls tighten and that familiar tingle at the base of my spine. When she moans, it sends a vibration over my sensitive skin and I know I’m about to lose it.

  “I’m about to come, Skylar, and if you don’t want to ruin that pretty dress, you better fucking swallow.”

  She sucks harder, moves up and down my shaft faster, and when she gags yet again, I lose it. I come so fucking hard that the damn steering wheel almost snaps under my grip.

  “Wow.” Fucking understatement of the century, I know, but I have no words. I’ve had road head before, but nothing like this, and never in a million years did I think Skylar would want to suck me off in her car where anyone might be able to see. All it takes is one person with a camera phone on the sidewalk to notice. It’s not like we’re on the freeway here.

  “Did you like that?” she asks, while doing me the favor of tucking my now soft cock back into my pants.

  “Like it? Sweetheart, I like pizza. That was fucking phenomenal.”

  “To be fair, pizza is also phenomenal.” She pulls the visor down and fixes her hair, adding some type of lip gloss to her mouth meant to erase any sign that my cock was just in it. I’m about to ask why she did it when we’ve barely spoken since yesterday, but before I get a chance, she speaks first. “We’re here!”

  THIS CAN’T BE RIGHT. This can’t be the club Sky was talking about. It looks like a vacant building. No sign, no line, no paparazzi. It looks more like a warehouse than a nightclub.

  “Baby, are you sure this is it?”

  She laughs. “Of course I am. I’ve been here once or twice before. Pull in over there.”

  I turn right and drive down an alley, immediately spotting the underground garage. “There’s a code to open this gate?” Why is there a coded gate to get into a parking garage for a club?

  “Yeah. Just type in seven, six, seven, one, one, five.”

  I do, and the gate opens. I drive down the ramp to the parking spaces and…holy fuck.

  “Skylar, what is this place?” The parking spaces are filled with the newest Ferraris, Lambos, Porsche Carreras…three of them in fact, and a few Aston Martins for good measure, not to mention a Rolls Royce. Each car is more impressive than the last. I feel like I just entered Willy Wonka’s side business. I’m starting to get hard just looking at them.

  “It’s Vacancy. Well, it’s the parking lot anyway. Oh! There’s an empty spot over there by that black and yellow car.”

  “Black and yellow car?” I groan and shake my head at her. “Sky, that’s a Bugatti Veyron Supersport.”

  “Hmm.” She shrugs her shoulders.

  “Hmmm? That’s a four-million-dollar car and there are two parked down here. No wonder this place is fucking coded.”

  The thought that maybe this is why she bought me that car this morning suddenly worms its way into my mind. Like maybe she would be embarrassed that I don’t have a car like this of my own to park down here. I quickly dismiss it, though; that isn’t her. She has never once seemed materialistic or judgmental of my finances.

  “I think this one is my friend Radar’s, actually. He only takes it out on special occasions.”

  “Radar? As in the rapper?” She nods, smiling sweetly at me. “I think I forget who you are sometimes. This is all kinds of surreal right now.” I turn the car off and get ready to exit when she stops me with a hand on my arm. When she pulls me in for a kiss, I’m stunned. When she straddles me, I’m even more shocked, and fucking impressed that she was able to cross the console so easily. That voice inside my head keeps whispering, though. This isn’t her, this isn’t her, this isn’t her.

  Something isn’t right.

  But between her sweet berry scent invading my senses, her pussy grinding into my cock, and that addictive tongue of hers working its way inside my mouth, it’s hard to fucking concentrate. When she pulls back, trying to catch her breath, I cup the sides of her face and look into her eyes. “What was that about?”

  “That was about me making sure our night starts off right. Yesterday sucked.” She presses into me even further and I grip her hips to stop her. I’m hanging on by a fucking thread, and as much as I want to fuck her, now is not the time. “Let’s make up for it tonight, bodyguar
d.”

  “Don’t. Don’t fucking call me that.”

  “Sorry.” She places a soft kiss to my cheek before getting out of the car, making sure to pull her dress down. Not that it matters, the fucking length isn’t the problem. With a heavy sigh I follow behind her, making sure not to slam the car door as hard as I fucking want to. Both of us being a brat tonight isn’t going to help anyone. This night has started out bad and I have a feeling it’s going to end worse.

  “Morningstar! Hurry your ass up, love. We need you for the password!” Noah is running toward Sky. He latches on to her arm and pulls her quickly ahead toward the rest of the group who are all congregated near a door I’m assuming is the entrance. She turns while being pulled along and yells to me, “Damn, I’m just so wanted,” and throws her free hand into the air. A little cocky but cute as hell. Just like that day she walked into my bar.

  That’s my Skylar.

  I jog up to the door and catch them before she gets too far out of sight. I’m the last to go through, right behind Amber and Winter, following them into a plain, small concrete room. Some young guy dressed in all black is standing at a podium and behind him is a half-naked chick dressed in a jeweled bikini, dancing in a cage to a song I don’t recognize. It’s oddly hypnotic.

  What in the hell is this place?

  When he comes around the podium, I move to stand closer to Sky. He starts handing clipboards with some type of document to everyone, and when he hands me mine I just stand there staring like a damn idiot.

  “Sir, you need to sign this before you go in.”