He lifted me onto my feet, squeezing my arm, and approached the fight. A crowd had formed a circle to watch, and Jordan stepped into the middle. He took Greg by the collar and yanked him back.
The older man looked ready to fight Jordan, too, but he stepped back when his eyes landed on the Aces cut. “I don't want any trouble. I was defending myself,” he said, raising his hands.
“I know, walk away,” Jordan said. The man simply nodded and walked slowly to his friends. It was strange, but I felt a tingle between my legs as I watched Jordan take complete control of the situation without even throwing a punch.
“Everyone, go about your business,” Rem said, holding Izzy at his side.
The crowd moved away slowly, and Jordan turned to Greg.
“Why did you stop me? I could handle him,” Greg insisted, all while staggering a bit.
“Maybe, but this is no place for a fight,” Jordan responded.
“What are you talking about? He spilled his drink on Cece.”
“And he apologized,” Jordan said calmly.
Greg shook his head. “I couldn't let him insult her. Aces stand up for their women.”
“You are not an Ace,” Jordan said a little too loudly. Heads began to turn in our direction again. “And this is why you haven't earned a prospect patch. Aces don't pick a fight for no reason, and we certainly don't do it with kids around.”
The brothers stood in silence, simply glaring at each other. I agreed with Jordan that a fight was unnecessary, but it wouldn’t do any good to embarrass Greg either.
I touched Greg’s arm. “Hey, I appreciate you trying to defend my honor, but let's just go.”
He wouldn't look at me, but he nodded. I gave Jordan an annoyed look as I passed him.
I waited until we were in the parking lot before I asked Greg for his keys. He didn't argue, and we just stayed quiet on the way to my house.
I kept my legs closed tight, still feeling the wetness that had been produced when Jordan stopped the fight.
Consciously, I knew my body was just reacting to the alpha male. He took control of the situation so quickly, and everyone nearby seemed to recognize his power. It was heady. But I didn't want an alpha male, I reminded myself. They were dangerous. A man like Jordan would conquer me body and soul, and I would surrender without a fight.
Greg was more my speed. He wasn't perfect, but he didn't pose a threat to my heart or mind.
I parked in front my house. “Do you think you can make it home?” I asked, knowing he was probably too drunk to drive.
“I’ll just walk,” he said, opening his door. I got out, too, and handed him his keys, his face sullen.
He started walking away, obviously still upset about what happened.
I grabbed his arm. “Hey, um, what do you say to renting a movie and getting some pizza tomorrow night?”
He looked down, jingling his keys. “Yeah, okay.”
“Your place at seven?”
“Yeah,” he said and then turned away again.
I went into the house, wondering why I was giving Greg another chance. I no longer felt any kind of physical attraction to him, but it seemed wrong to break up with him after he had been scolded in public by his older brother.
Tomorrow night we’ll talk, and I’ll let him down easy. I hoped he would understand, but something told me it would not be a pleasant conversation.
Chapter Ten
Jordan
That look from Cece was still tearing me up as I rode back to the clubhouse. I hated how she gave me a chastising look while Greg got her sweet words and sympathy. She didn't like how I scolded Greg in front of other people, I get that, but Greg had it coming. She probably thought there was a better way to handle it. Even if she was right, there was no way I wasn't putting Greg in his place. Not after he pushed her.
Greg was lucky I didn't beat the shit out of him for that stunt. Instead of going to bed, I headed back to my office, hoping some coding would help me calm down. I plopped down in my chair, but I didn't turn on the computer. I turned to the side and stared at the wall, willing this anger … this jealousy to go away.
What were they doing right now? How was she comforting him? I had a vision of her bent over Greg's lap in his parked car, taking him into her mouth. My rage seethed, making my hands tighten into fists.
I was so busy thinking about Cece's mouth that I almost didn't notice Rita at my door.
“You look stressed. Anything I can help with?” she asked. Her Van Halen t-shirt was torn to show off her chest and midriff, and her acid wash jean shorts were cut nearly to her groin. She leaned against the doorway on one arm that stretched above her head and angled her hip out to display her perfect body for my gaze.
I hardly thought about it before I said, “Your mouth, now.” I undid my jeans as she sauntered over, her eyes wide with excitement. She got on her knees in front of me and took my meat out, all while biting her lush bottom lip. I watched as she put her mouth around my cock, opening wide to take it deep. I usually loved to watch a woman blow me, but tonight was different. The sight of Rita was turning my stomach.
Man, am I fucked up. Rita was a beautiful and sexy woman. There was no reason not to enjoy her mouth on my dick. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, trying to get my mind right. But Cece kept appearing and the image of her mouth on Greg. I wanted her away from Greg and in Rita’s place. Admitting that to myself had the image in my brain changing, allowing Cece to be kneeling at my feet with her mouth around me.
I groaned aloud as I felt her sweet, luscious lips wrap on my cock. I imagined those jade green eyes with the black liner looking up at me as she took me deep. I thought about what I would say to her if she was truly here. Probably something about how fucking beautiful she was and call her a good girl before she took me to the back of her throat. I’d tell her how badly I wanted inside her. How I would tear that tight pussy apart, making it mine in every way.
I imagined her moaning around my cock as I spoke to her. I wanted her pussy to be dripping for me. I’d tell her how she was all I thought about. How I wanted to take care of her. How I wanted to give her everything she ever wanted if she would give herself to me, submit to me. I needed her surrender to the feelings between us.
My mind’s eye had her lifting her mouth from me so she could say please, please take me. She was begging me to have her, to be her first.
It was too fucking much. I opened my eyes and picked Rita up from the floor before I bent her over my desk. I had enough sanity left to grab a condom out of my drawer and slip it on as she pushed her shorts down in invitation. Closing my eyes, I pushed inside in one quick thrust, seeing Cece beneath me. I growled knowing that Cece’s pussy would be tight around me and she would cry out from my invasion.
I let my imagination run away with the fantasy. Cece was beneath me and I was fucking her hard, but she looked over her shoulder at me, loving every thrust. I would watch my cock stretch her wide, and in this dream, I would be bare inside her. The thought of nothing between us had my dick swelling, ready to come. I gripped her hips and pounded into her, wanting as deep as possible, probably leaving bruises under my fingertips. The feeling started in my balls and then tingled up my spine. As I came, I imagined spilling every drop deep into Cece's young, tight pussy, claiming it as mine. It felt so damn good.
I finally opened my eyes to see Rita smiling at me from over her shoulder. “Wow. Jordan. That was … intense,” she said.
Shit. I wondered if I said something out loud that was meant for Cece.
“Yeah. Thanks,” I said as I trashed the condom and did up my pants. I didn’t say anything else as I left the room, not wanting to encourage Rita in the wrong way.
Rem was at the bar when I came in, looking down at his phone.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Came to see you about what happened tonight,” he said.
I rolled my eyes, knowing it was Izzy that made him come talk to me. “Whiskey, now,” I
said to Frankie, one of the newer prospects behind the bar.
“Want to talk about it?” I heard the smile in Rem’s voice as he spoke.
I sat down on the stool next to him and rubbed my eyes. “Not really.”
“It's Cece, isn’t it?”
I felt my brows draw together at I looked at him. How the hell does he know?
“Isabel told me how she found you two the other night.” He gave me a half smile.
The prospect set the bottle down in front of me, and I snatched it before he could pour it into a glass. “She should have kept her mouth shut.”
“Relax,” he said, his voice turning protective. “She only told me.”
I just shook my head, knowing that I wasn’t mad at Izzy.
“Obviously Greg presents a problem, but it probably won’t last between them,” Rem said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
He shrugged. “The few times I’ve seen them together, it didn’t seem like obsession or even lust. At least, not from her end.”
I brought the glass to mouth and downed the liquid in one gulp, wishing Rem hadn’t said that. I felt the same way when I saw them at the festival, but I thought it was wishful thinking on my part. Now that it was confirmed by a third party, it gave me hope, which was dangerous.
“Does she want you?” Rem asked.
I nodded. Cece tried to hide it, but I could see it in the way she acted around me. She became nervous and annoyed, like she was fighting her own feelings.
Rem sighed. “Then when the opportunity presents itself, I suggest you take it. It’s not like you’d be breaking up a marriage,” he said. His hand came down on my shoulder. “And you deserve to be happy, Jordan.”
I scoffed. “So, it’s true love? Not all of us are as lucky as you.”
He laughed. “I think you need to fuck her. Then you’ll know if it’s simple lust that can be sated or if it’s something else.”
I looked at him. “Was that how it was with Izzy?”
Rem looked at the bar and then nodded. “I knew it was something more than lust before I fucked her. It was only after I had her a few dozen times and the need only grew stronger that I knew it was love.”
I poured myself another shot and lifted it toward Rem.
“To the kind of lust that can never be sated,” I said.
Rem brought his beer to my glass and we toasted with a satisfying clank.
Chapter Eleven
Cece
“Cece, you can close out now,” Mark said over the PA system. I opened my register and took out the money drawer, excited to clock out a little early. It was a few minutes before closing time, but the store was empty and there hadn’t been any customers for the last half hour. I wanted to shower before going to Greg’s tonight.
Not to mention, I needed to prepare my plan to break up with him. I wasn’t even sure if I needed a plan. This was my first break-up, after all. I needed to have my reasons thought out at the very least.
What is a nice way to tell a guy he is a selfish asshole? Do I want to be nice about it?
These were all things I had to decide before I saw him. I let out a sigh as I closed the register and walked around my counter to head toward the back.
I heard the sliding doors open behind me, and I sighed again. Of course, a customer would arrive when I was excited about leaving early. I have the worst luck.
I did a one eighty to go back to my station but froze when I saw the ski mask. I only had time to blink before he pointed a handgun at me and screamed, “Cash now.”
At first, I just shook my head, not believing this was happening, thinking any moment the guy dressed in all black was going to flip off the mask and say, “Just kidding.”
Then he was walking toward me, the gun coming closer. “Are you fucking deaf? I said cash, now.”
Somehow my hands did his bidding even though my brain was still hung up. I quickly flipped the mechanisms in the drawer and bunched each stash of cash in my hand, holding it out to him. I cowered as he came even closer and grabbed the bills out of my fingers. Then he hit the drawer out of my hands, sending coins crashing everywhere.
“Where’s the rest?” he screamed.
I shook my head and looked down, not wanting to put Mark in danger. I hoped he heard the crash.
The man grabbed my arm, still pointing the gun at my head, and dragged me toward the back. I couldn't help the whimpering and soft cries with every step. All I could think was that he was going to kill me, and I couldn’t stop him.
Mark was already standing when we came to the door.
“Cash,” the man yelled.
Mark held up his hands slowly. He was calm and collected, like he knew everything was going to be okay. “I'll give you everything you want but point the gun at me,” Mark said.
“I'm not stupid.” He tugged me closer and shoved the gun to my temple. “Cash.”
Mark moved slowly to the safe on the floor and started to enter the combination.
Suddenly, the gun was pulled away and I was tugged backwards by my captor. He let me go, but I tumbled to the floor where I curled into the fetal position and covered my head to protect myself. I heard the clatter of metal and the grunts of a fight.
I kept my head down, even after everything became quiet. Then I felt someone’s hands on me, pulling me to him. I cried out and struggled, hitting out with my fists.
“Cece, it’s me,” the man said.
I opened my eyes to see Jordan looking down at me. My hands stopped flailing and reached out to grip his cut, pulling him closer so I could press my face into his chest. I couldn’t help but breathe in his scent as I gulped air into my lungs. I wanted to burrow into that scent and stay there forever.
“Did he hurt you?” he asked, his voice deep and steady. It took me a moment, but I shook my head as tears flooded my eyes, soaking into his t-shirt.
“I hit the alarm,” I heard Mark say. “Jordan, man, what were you thinking? The gun could have gone off.”
Jordan’s arms tightened around me. “I could see the safety was still on,” Jordan said with a rough edge, making his chest rumble against my cheek.
They continued to talk, but I tuned them out, just trying to calm down. But I couldn’t seem to stop crying, and I began to whimper. I should be happy. Everything was fine, and yet I still felt scared.
Jordan’s hand came to my hair, and I felt his lips at my ear. “It’s the adrenaline,” he whispered to me. “It will wear off eventually. Just keep breathing.”
His voice, so strong and masculine, I couldn’t help but obey, sucking in air through my nose and releasing it through my mouth. Jordan kept hold of me, his arms tight around me like a protective cocoon. I don’t know how long we stayed like that until the sound of sirens made me open my eyes.
By the time the police interviewed me, my tremble had settled enough that only my hands shook when I wasn’t holding them together. Jordan never left my side, even when the officer asked to speak to me alone.
“John, Mark’s security cameras should give you everything you need,” Jordan said to the officer. They must have met before, but I didn’t care to know how. “Let me take her home.”
John gave Jordan an annoyed look but agreed to let me go.
The robber woke up from Jordan’s beat down as the cops were putting zip ties on his wrists. They pulled the mask off to reveal a man in his forties with thinning red hair and small blue eyes. He kept his gaze on the floor as they took him to the cruiser.
“I’ll drive you home,” Jordan said, and I nodded. He helped me into his truck, his fingers lingering on my thigh after he buckled me in. We were about to turn left on 2nd Ave. when I remembered my date with Greg.
“Wait. You can take me to your place.” He glanced at me, his gaze stormy and intense. “I had planned to meet Greg there,” I explained.
He nodded. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I don’t want to go home.” For the first time in my life, I needed company. Gre
g was good enough.
Jordan gripped the wheel for a moment, as if he was trying to decide something himself. Then he was turning right on 2nd.
Chapter Twelve
Jordan
I knew Greg wasn’t at the apartment, but I didn’t say anything to Cece.
Before I left the clubhouse to meet with Mark, I had broken up a fistfight between Greg and Skinny. It had been over some poker game where Greg had accused Skinny of cheating. When I pulled them apart, I spun Greg around to give him hell, but stopped when I saw his eyes. They had been bloodshot and droopy, like he was stoned. I told him to shower and then sleep it off in my bedroom.
I should have felt bad about bringing Cece home under false pretenses, but I really didn’t. Ever since I saw that fucker holding a gun to her head, I couldn’t stand the thought of not keeping her close.
I glanced over at her, sitting there in jeans and a sexy t-shirt that showed just enough cleavage to make me crazy. And her hair was in a loose braid that fell over her shoulder, giving her that goddess look again.
We made it into the apartment, and she looked around.
“I guess he’s not here yet,” she said quietly.
“Greg won’t be coming. He got stoned and is sleeping it off at the clubhouse.”
She crossed her arms and let out a little huff, obviously thinking about what an ass my brother was.
She turned, her annoyed look landing on me. “Then why did you bring me here?”
I simply stared at her, letting her see the desire that had been burning for her since the moment I saw her.
She bit her lip and stared back at me. I approached her slowly, and she backed up, not stopping until she was backed against the door. My hands went to her hips, my thumbs finding their way beneath her shirt to feel the skin just above her jeans.
My hold wasn’t so tight that she couldn’t push me away, but I wanted to trap her, isolate her so that she only saw me. I looked down at her, my virgin goddess, my elven princess, slim and frail yet tall enough to fit me perfectly.
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