Damage (Havoc #2)

by Stella Rhys

  “That’s nice but you probably don’t want to touch me there right now.” I looked down to see my hand on his upper thigh. He winced as I snatched it away. “Alright. What’s your idea, princess?”

  I peered down the bar at Mikey. He wasn’t far enough away so I leaned in to whisper in Jesse’s ear, rapidly and breathlessly detailing my scheme for fear that I’d lose it to my jumbled mess of thoughts. Jesse leaned in closer, making my leg twitch when he gripped my knee for balance. I didn’t let it stop me. My lips moved a mile a minute as I mapped out a plan, exhaling hard when I finally got all my words out, and clearly. I couldn’t help being satisfied, even a little proud of myself.

  But when I pulled away from Jesse, I found his heavy gaze resting on my heaving chest. He lifted it slowly to my red lips and flushed cheeks, my blood just starting to rush with adrenaline. He let his stare linger on me for another few seconds before sucking in a sharp breath and shaking his head. It seemed like an odd time for it but the look in his eyes couldn’t be described as anything but pure lust. Come on. My face grew even hotter as he looked away with a distinct shift in his seat and a fuck under his breath. “Jesse – ”

  “Don’t start with me. I’m allowed to be turned on by the fact that you’re smart.” He tossed back his entire glass of whiskey and grimaced. “Yeah. No wonder Abe fell so fucking hard,” he muttered, staring down the bar and flagging down Mikey to get started on my plan.

  chapter eighteen

  For what Jesse considered a fair price, Mikey Guinness handed over his cell for the night. “I didn’t even know they still made these pieces of shit,” he murmured as he clicked through the chunky Motorola flip phone. “Then again it’s managed to stay in tact all these years and I’ve already gone through five iPhones, so maybe we’re the ones getting played here.” I could see Nate itching to laugh at the comment but he successfully fought off the urge.

  We were all at a pool hall along the highway, waiting for the next step. The plan was to arrange a get together with Stefan as Mikey, who had already helped set things into motion at the bar. It had taken two hundred dollars and barely any convincing before he’d called Stefan to plant the seeds of our story. “Yeah, man, I got just enough to come out for a couple days. Work’s got me bummed, you know. Yeah, man, I’ll bring some of that shit. Okay, I’m out of minutes, bro. Text me.” And that was that. Stefan, a notorious nightlife addict, was apparently party-starved enough to take the bait.

  Now, we just needed to hear back from him.

  Of course, there was no timetable on that. The lead was promising but by no means a guarantee. It was nerve-racking to consider that Stefan might never text back. So to take the edge off the wait, the four of us found a busy pool hall to drink at. The scene was bizarre to say the least. The bar was large but as usual, we were attracting looks. I could only imagine how strange we must’ve looked to everyone – four out-of-towners in complete silence around one another, drinking with solemn expressions and for the most part, avoiding each other’s gazes. We had forgotten how to relax and be somewhere for the purpose of having fun. It seemed like a foreign concept and it took a solid hour for us to familiarize ourselves again.

  “Solid eight,” Nate finally said, looking to Abram for confirmation on the blonde he’d been exchanging eyes with across the room. Abram gave a nod and with that, Nate went to talk to the girl, giving the three of us something to chuckle at till we drank enough to join him at the pool table.

  The blonde’s name was Allie. Another few drinks and we were best friends for the night – Isla and Allie, Allie and Isla. The two of us played pool against Nate and Abram, losing spectacularly. “I have no idea how I’m still concentrating right now,” Nate said as he stood behind Allie, who bent over in her short denim skirt. Her ample chest grazed the felt as she lined up her shot. I could see Jesse looking down her tank top from the other end of the pool table. I wasn’t expecting it but all I felt was relief – relief that for once, the majority of the attention wasn’t on me. Besides, Abram’s eyes alone were enough to make me feel hot.

  “Oh my God, you guys are so cute,” Allie squealed as Abram stood behind me to give me pointers – or rather, to give himself an excuse to press himself against my ass. I had peered over my shoulder to smirk at him but he’d kissed me before I had a chance and it was at that point that Allie started gushing. “Aren’t they the most gorgeous couple?” she whispered to Nate, who stood behind her, an arm wrapped around her pinched waist. He didn’t answer her question, too busy whispering things in her ear that made her giggle and pout. They were being so couple-like and cute that Jesse had to excuse himself to the bar. It was official: Nate had gone long enough without sex to be nice to a girl. I was thankful for that.

  “Hopefully, that puts him in a better mood,” I murmured to Abram with amusement, trying to keep my composure as he bent me gently over the table, slipping his hand under my cropped shirt and molding his fingers over my breast. “Hey,” I scolded gently, though I was sure it was too dark for anyone to see what he was doing. Biting my lip, I felt his hot mouth on the back of my neck. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting myself enjoy his kisses and the naughty little massage he was giving me under my top.

  “Just for good measure.” His lips curved against my neck as he pinched my nipples till they were both rock hard and fighting against the cotton of my shirt.

  “Asshole,” I whispered, amused. Clearly, I’d had enough to drink that I was okay with letting this happen in public. And shamefully, that part turned me on the tiniest bit, especially as I felt Abram’s arousal pushing against the denim of my shorts.

  “This is dangerous.”

  “What is?”

  “Getting me this worked up while I have you bent over like this.”

  “Because you’re totally going to fuck me in the middle of the bar.”

  “I could.”

  I burst out laughing, taking the shot. But when I tried to stand straight again, Abram slammed me back against his cock. I gasped as my elbows hit the felt again. “Take another shot,” he murmured in my ear, rumbling deep from his chest as I slowly arched my back and rose to my tiptoes, rubbing my pussy gently against him. “Fuck,” he collapsed onto my back, grinning into my skin.

  “See. Two can play this game, Abram Lenox.”

  “I’m learning this as we go.” His voice was low, husky as his hot breath coated my neck, his erection torturing me through my shorts. God, yes… I felt a light, breathy moan edging to the tip of my tongue. No one would even hear if I let it out. But when I opened my eyes, I choked it back. Because at the end of the table I had a solo audience, his stare fixed s unapologetically on me that I froze. Abram’s hands all over my body, I stared back at Jesse, startled and quickly, for reasons I couldn’t fully grasp, ashamed.

  “Don’t be a fucking creep, Toro.”

  Nate’s laugh pierced through the tension of the moment. I shot the ball and hastily stood up straight, giving Abram a quick smile to distract him from the other two. “Another round?” I asked him hastily. From the corner of my eye, I could see Nate walking over to Jesse, letting his body crash straight into him, their faces too close for comfort as they began to mutter a mile a minute. The second Abram was gone, I went to fix the situation, using cute, blonde Allie to my advantage.

  “Boys,” I rolled my eyes at her, nudging her toward Nate as I went for Jesse. We pulled them apart easily, but I couldn’t get Jesse to stop glaring menacingly at Nate, even as I pushed him farther and farther back. “Can you not?” I hissed.

  “He was talking about you.”

  “Jesse, I don’t care,” I said, though I was barely able to finish my sentence as Nate came barreling back, poor Allie stumbling in her high-heeled efforts to contain him.

  “You know you’re just asking for it, asshole,” he snarled at Jesse. “You think this is a fun game? Piss him off some more and he’ll pull out every tooth in Stefan’s head till he’s choking on his own blood – and trust me, it’ll still
be days till we let him die.”

  “Nate, do not threaten him with that!” I growled, pushing all my weight and more against Jesse to keep him back. His face was completely blank but every one of his muscles twitched and flexed against me, desperate for a piece of Nate that I refused to let him have.

  “I’m telling you – don’t try to swing your dick, Toro. You wanna fuck around, pick the trashiest girl in this room and screw her till you’re done looking at Isla, because trust me, you don’t know Abram. You haven’t seen that crazy son of a bitch truly pissed yet and I promise you, it’s nothing any of us want to deal with. You think I haven’t told him about whatever the fuck is going on with you two because I’m nice?” He sneered. “No. I’m trying to save my own ass from that side of him. That’s what it is. Now straighten the fuck up before you screw us all.”

  I breathed hard as I watched Nate then stalk off after Allie, hopefully to apologize. Swallowing, I slowly pushed off of Jesse’s body, looking up at him with a frustrating mix of both anger and sympathy. “Jesse, just stop provoking him. He shouldn’t have said what he said but you shouldn’t have even engaged his bullshit. He’s crazy,” I whispered, keeping one eye on the bar in anticipation of Abram’s return. I heaved a sigh when Jesse ignored me to keep staring down Nate, his muscles so tight under my hands that it felt like I was touching a stone wall. It put me on edge. Any time Jesse was dead serious, without so much as a hint of humor on his lips, I knew trouble was coming. “Jesse, please. Promise me you won’t fight him tonight.”

  He still stared across the room. “Define fight.”

  “Don’t punch anyone tonight, Jesse. I don’t care if they provoke you. Just swallow it. We have a good lead and this could be over soon, but not if you guys act up. So promise me, Jesse, that you won’t. No fighting tonight or ever during this trip. Please.”

  Looking down at me, Jesse’s hard torso relaxed under my palms. “One more time.”

  “What?”

  “‘Please.’ And my name.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Please, Jesse.”

  “Without the sass.”

  I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. “Please, Jesse,” I let it out, sans attitude. He stared into my eyes. I waited for his stupid, charming grin and when it finally came, I groaned with relief. “Fucking love that,” he muttered with irritation before nodding. “Fine. No fighting for the rest of the trip. You have my word.”

  I thanked him and broke away just in time to return to Abram, who was coming back from the bar with the cutest, sexiest little grin on his lips. When he looked at me, I cocked my head, thankful for his ability to immediately pull me back into him, helping me forget everything else around me – at least as much as I could. “What’s that look?” I asked.

  “Bartender said he’d never leave home if his wife was as fine as mine.”

  “You have a wife?” I bit my smirk as he circled his arm around my waist and kissed my neck.

  “Tonight I do.” Abram took my hand. “A gorgeous one,” he added, his blue eyes gleaming as he studied me in a way that made me feel as if we were alone, the world and everything in it stopping to give us this rare moment of quiet. I held my breath as Abram’s lips parted to say something else. But with a little laugh to himself, he decided suddenly against it.

  “What?” I teased to hide my genuine curiosity.

  “Nothing,” Abram murmured before the bartender called him back to take his credit card. I realized only after he left, because of the tingle still humming on my skin, that he had been stroking my ring finger. I looked down at it. Staring, I shook my head to myself, repeating the word coincidence in my head till I’d pushed away the frilly fantasy that had dared to pop into my head for a second. Yellow roses, lacy veils and white dresses. All these beautiful things I had no business thinking about. Not now, not here or ever.

  Standing in the middle of the bar, I sucked in my bottom lip. Maybe not ever. Just not for a very long time. I allowed myself that idea and as a result, must’ve looked like an idiot, smiling by myself in the middle of the bar for a second. Catching myself, I suddenly looked around, scanning the area for Jesse and Nate like a mother hen ensuring that her kids were behaving well. There was nothing but smiles and laughter in the room, which eased me for all of a second before I realized that neither Jesse nor Nate were present. I squeezed my drink, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up as my eyes shifted slowly around, waiting for it – waiting to hear a crash or broken glass or a woman’s scream to indicate their fighting.

  But there was nothing.

  My shoulders eased. And just as I breathed – bang.

  The gunshot sound had my blood running like ice till I realized it was only the burst of a back door flying open. Still panicked, I watched Nate storm through it, pushing past the crowd, his face red and a vein bulging from his forehead as he spit a string of curses till he was out the front doors. Watching them swing shut, I felt a familiar dread creep into my stomach and while everyone quickly resumed to their business, I couldn’t. Weaving slowly, tepidly through the crowd, I made my way out the door that Nate had come in, walking past the chipped red fence and garbage cans to follow what started as a faint sound.

  I don’t know why I kept going when I realized what it was. Fuck, yes, fuck – the moans were pleasured, tortured, on repeat and in unison with the sound of flesh slapping flesh.

  Turning the corner of a wall, I froze.

  Bent over a patio chair was pretty blonde Allie, her breasts swinging between the back of the chair she leaned on and the wooden table she gripped. From behind, Jesse pounded her, his thrusts deep, hard and pitiless. My legs filled with concrete, refusing to let me walk away. Unblinking, I stood there, watching Jesse drill the blonde girl till she screamed and shook with an orgasm that at least a few people in the bar had to have heard. I caught sight of his thick shaft as he pulled out, jerking himself over the condom before plunging back in and resuming that animal pace. His biceps bulged, his jeans sliding down his ass as he caged her, ramming in and out.

  But his stare was bored, flat.

  Till it floated away to spot me.

  My heart stopped, his stare flaming with a flash of surprise. But in the same second, it settled on me, searing into me. With Allie slumped, her legs weak and her lips still dribbling pleasure, Jesse fixed that dead gaze on me. He didn’t look away. It stayed glued to me. And with each angry thrust between her legs, it traveled over my face, glinting more and more awake. Paralyzed, I knew the second it was going to happen. And the second it did, his throat dispelling the longest grunt as he shuddered inside her, I left, my pulse pounding in my ears as I ran back into the bar. Inside, I panted, opening my mouth wide with a desperate need to fill my lungs with new air – to replace what I’d swallowed while watching Jesse fuck a girl and cum to me.

  chapter nineteen

  There was still no text from Stefan by the following morning. I lingered at the counter of the highway diner we’d stopped at for breakfast. I had made an excuse to be there – breaking a hundred for no reason at all – because I couldn’t bear the tension at the tables. We sat at three separate booths, in the general vicinity of each other only because we were all waiting for Mikey Guinness’s cell phone to ring. Thus far, the only texts he received were from his girlfriend. Jesse tossed the phone across the table every time it was her.

  “Better get back to those fine-looking men of yours.” The lady counting my bills nodded behind me, where Nate’s volume was gradually rising as he went back and forth about something with Jesse. Jesse and his unflappable smirk.

  “I’d rather not,” I muttered, turning back when the argument ended with Jesse ambling off and Abram tossing his headphones to Nate, keeping him busy like a tantrum-prone child.

  “Which one’s yours?”

  “The big one.”

  “I like that one.”

  I laughed. “Me too.”

  I was counting my change when Jesse came out of the bathroom, changing gears mi
dway through his stride. Rather than return to his table, he came toward me. “I’ll take a black coffee and one of those to go,” he nodded at a bagel I was sure he didn’t really want. The lady eyed me before turning to start his order. I stared straight ahead, hell-bent on ignoring him.

  “What, you mad at me?”

  “No.”

  “Why won’t you look at me then?” Jesse waited for me to answer but I didn’t. “Look at me, Isla.” Mischief curled in his voice. “I promise I won’t come this time.”

  I cut my eyes to him and shot daggers. “Don’t do this to me, Jesse.”

  “I do a lot of things to you. I’m not sure which one you’re referring to right now.”

  I shook my head with irritation, unsure of how to even word what I meant, so I changed the subject. “That was wrong, what you did yesterday.”

  “I did exactly what Yappy Dog told me to do.”

  “With the girl he’d been talking to all night.”

  “Well, she was the only one in that room worth looking at twice. Besides you, obviously.” Jesse leaned against the counter, drumming his fingers along a bottle of Heinz. “Look… I don’t know what we’re fighting about this time but I’m sorry. I’m sorry I fucked that girl, I’m sorry you saw it and I’m sorry I couldn’t stop looking at you.” He lowered his voice when the lady turned around with a blatant “I-hear-this-but-won’t-acknowledge-it” face. She plopped a paper bag in front of him and walked away, not even bothering to take his money. “I swear, Isla, I meant to look away. I knew I should but I couldn’t. It was a heat of the moment thing, alright? I don’t think you’ll understand till you have a giant load you have to blow and a dick that’s losing interest, which I assume will be never, so let’s just move past this one and chalk it up to things guys do to avoid blue balls.”