I let out a breath-filled laugh and hang my head. “Sorry.”
“See? I got your back. I saw you out here, so I knew you’d be getting there soon enough.”
I glance to Turner, who’s clearly impressed with Curtis. If those two haven’t had sex yet, I’m guessing tonight’s the night.
“Well, go get your woman,” Turner says.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Curtis says, and we both turn to him.
I’m growing impatient, but I feel I at least owe him a moment. “What?”
“Look, I don’t know what went down last night, but Turners says you blew it.”
I huff out a breath and shake my head. “And?”
“I tried to be your wing man, told Kaylee how great you were, but you keep fucking it up.” He’s looking at me like we’re in the huddle during time-out and I just fumbled the ball.
“What’s your point?”
“My point is, it’s time to be real.” His eyes flit to Turner. “Just be honest with her, tell her how you feel and what you want.”
Like that’s so damn easy. At least not with Kaylee. Everything I am and ever have been changes when I’m around her, which leaves me flailing. But I want this conversation over so I nod. “I know. I’m working on it.” I lean back to get a look down the hall; Curtis’s man is heading this way so I enter the suite and approach him. I don’t even know him but I stop right in front of him and say, “Why did you leave?”
He’s taken aback by my abruptness, sees Curtis come up behind me, and replies, “It’s cool. Those guys left. She’s talking to some old dude now. Archie or something.”
I say nothing to the three of them as I by pass the guy to head down the hall.
When I reach what looks to be the master suite, I see Kaylee by the window, her brow creased, arms folded. “I know what I saw, Archie.”
Then Archie comes into view, hand running over his thinning hair. I pause, all my senses becoming alert. The conversation seems serious and private; I could back away before they’ve seen me. I start to.
“Why are you always so fucking dramatic, Kaylee?”
I never gave Archie much thought, though he acts like we’re best friends. Right now I want to step up in his face and ask why he’s talking to Kaylee like that.
“Justice?” I turn to see Kaylee flash me a bright smile “You’re here!” She wobbles over to me, and I couldn’t be more disappointed that she’s happy to see me. This isn’t her. I take her by the elbow to keep her steady when she reaches me. When she leans in like she’s going to kiss me, I pull back, confused by this whole scenario. “Oh fuck,” she says, her smile fading. “I forgot I’m still pissed at you.” She glances over her shoulder at Archie. “Pissed at that asshole, too.”
I look at Archie, even though I have no idea what the hell I just walked into or why Kaylee is smashed and acting crazy. I’ve never seen her drink too much; even in my days of heavy partying, Kaylee was the controlled, casual drinker.
“Come on.” I guide her out of the room, not even acknowledging Archie’s interrupted conversation. “Just keep walking straight to the door. We need to talk.”
“Damn right, we do!” she says too loud as we walk through random groups of people. Most of them narrow their eyes because they too know this is not normal. Others laugh and return to whomever they were talking to.
I lead her by the elbow out the door and into the elevator where she pulls her arm from my grip and leans against the wall. “Who invited you?”
“You don’t want to know.”
Fire burns in her eyes and she folds her arms. “You called Archie?”
“I’m sorry. I had to see you, and I knew he’d float me an invite.” I step over to her, and she turns her head away from me. “I know I have some explaining to do, Kaylee, but I don’t know if you’re going to remember it in the morning.”
She turns to me then and takes my chin in her hand. Then she inches her face toward mine until we are a breath apart. “I thought you liked me.”
Even seeing the venom and hurt in her eyes, I crave her. I want to kiss her so badly it hurts, but I know I can’t. Not until I tell her what happened last night and get her to forgive me.
She holds my face a moment longer, the alcohol on her breath strong—definitely some sort of whiskey.
“I do, Kay. I swear to you, I do,” I whisper back before the door opens. She pushes my face away and moves toward the door, swaying as she walks. When I examine her full-length, black jump suit from top to bottom, I notice for the first time she’s barefoot.
I catch up to her because who knows where she thinks she’s going. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and smile at her. “This way, baby.”
Her slits for eyes widen. “You shouldn’t call me that.” Her words are slurred and sad. I hate that I did that.
We get to my room and when I let us in, Kaylee goes right to the bed and stares at it. “This where you had sex with Elise last night?” Then she glares at me over her shoulder.
I come up behind her and take her by the waist, pressing my face into her hair and inhaling. “I did not have sex with Elise last night,” I say quietly in her ear. “I stayed awake all night, staring at my phone, hoping you’d answer.”
“Really?” Her tone is less doubt and more relief. She turns her head to the side, her lips parted, sending fire to every part of my body. Damn, she’s hard to resist; even in this disheveled, awkward, slurred-speech state, something about her calls to me. Our chests heave in sync, the look in Kaylee’s eyes something I’ve seen many times before, only not on her. But her lust has been accelerated by booze and anger and frustration, and I won’t take advantage of that.
I spin her to face me and take her face in my hands. I press my lips to hers, softly and only for a moment, before pulling back. “Oh, Kay… If only you knew how incredible you are.”
She averts her eyes and shakes her head. “I’m not…” Then she pulls her lips tight and locks eyes with me. “You’re just trying to distract me.”
“I’m not. I want to explain everything to you. Can we sit?”
She flops down on the bed and almost wobbles off the edge. I sit close enough to her that there’s no space between us. Taking her hand, I say, “I came to New York with Elise, but we’re just friends.”
Kaylee rolls her eyes but doesn’t say anything.
“It’s true. The only reason I came with her is because I was dying to be here with you. I didn’t want to tell you because Elise paid for the whole trip, even this room,” I say, glancing around and feeling like a complete jackass.
A burst of air shoots from her. “God, I should have known…” She’s shaking her head now.
“It’s not like that. Not exactly.” I don’t know what’s worse: Kaylee thinking I’m still sleeping with Elise or her knowing the real truth. “Look, I know you know that I completely screwed up my life for years. Part of that was me spending just about every dollar I made modeling.” I avert my eyes to avoid her disapproving gaze. “When I quit, I vowed to come back and come back strong. To get out of debt, save money, and get back to college to finish my degree. And I’m doing that now but I still have a ways to go. So, when Elise asked me to come and offered to pay, I accepted because I wanted to see you, and knew I couldn’t afford it.”
I stare down at my lap and let Kaylee take that in. When her hand pulls at my chin, I look at her.
“So nothing happened between you two?”
I shake my head.
Her lips disappear under her teeth. “Then why would she do it? Why bring you if she’s not getting anything out of it?”
“Elise can’t stand going anywhere alone. Especially not for social events. Sometimes she runs into her ex-husband and if I’m on her arm, she feels like she can stand up to him. But she knows there can be nothing more between us but friendship.”
A half smile emerges from her lips. “I believe you, Justice.”
I take her hand, bring the palm to my mouth and place a kiss t
here as we stare into each other’s eyes. Her grin widens to a full-on smile, and I even see a touch of pink in her cheeks. “Thank you, Kay. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when I saw you, but everything happened so fast with that asshole and Koko, and then I finally had you in my arms and—”
Kaylee’s arm hooks my neck and her lips press to mine urgently. We nip at each other’s lips a few times before we sink into a deep kiss, our tongues reaching and brushing. I pull her closer by the waist, a soft moan escaping her. I’m finally alone with Kaylee, her in my arms, on my bed, her skin soft and sweet-smelling calling to me, her mouth so eager for mine. Nothing is stopping us from being together—except my damn conscience.
I pull back from the kiss, remove her hand from my neck. “Kaylee…”
Her brows furrow. “I thought this was what you wanted.”
I let out a loud breath. “More than anything I’ve ever wanted. But not like this. Not tonight.”
She seems to think about it a moment as she sways on the bed. Then she pops up and heads to the mini bar. “Then I guess we need to get you caught up.”
I chuckle and come up behind her, stopping her by taking her wrist. “We’re not doing anything but going to bed.”
She freezes. “We are?” she says quietly with her back still to me.
“Yes,” I say, releasing her arm and stepping away. I go to my suitcase and pull out a T-shirt and sweats. When she turns I hand them to her. “Here, you can change in there.”
“Oh.” Her sad puppy dog eyes and pouty mouth are not just adorable but cause the blood to pump faster in my veins, shoot to places that have the power to take over my decision-making. I want her so bad in hurts, but I’m not letting her out of this room tonight.
Instead of going to the bathroom, she reaches for the tie on her jumpsuit. Then she pulls the shoulders off, revealing a black lace bra covering gorgeous full breasts. Damn. Of course, I’m standing there ogling her like it’s my first time seeing a Victoria’s Secret catalog.
“Aren’t you going to take your clothes off, Justice?” she says, pulling the outfit over her hips and letting it fall to the floor. Lord have mercy, I deserve some kind of freaking medal for this night. Her matching black panties ride low on her waist, and when she walks over to the bed—without the clothes I gave her—I see the most perfect plump ass cheeks, the bottoms of them peeking out from the lace.
I watch as she climbs into my bed, her hair on my pillow, those hazel eyes pinning me from across the room. “Are you coming to bed?”
I shake my head and smile before grabbing the shirt and sweats, carrying them over with me. I strip down to my boxer briefs as she watches, the whole thing completely testing my limits. She sees the evidence of that when her eyes pan to my chest, abs, and then lower. I shrug with a playful smile and climb in behind her.
If I’m not getting Kaylee with her legs wrapped around me screaming my name, I’m damn well going to get my fill of spooning. And that’s exactly what I do—arm snug around her waist, chin on her soft shoulder, nose smelling her sweet mane.
She reaches up and runs a hand down my cheek, and I think my heart might beat right out of my God damn chest. “Thank you, Justice,” she whispers.
She needs to sleep it off, but something is still needling my brain so I see if she’s still conscious. “What happened with Archie tonight?”
Her breathing heavy, she doesn’t answer.
I lie there a few moments and repeat the question, nudging her body gently.
“What… Archie?” she mumbles.
“Yes. What happened, Kay?”
“Don’t believe him.”
I don’t know if she’s drunk and sleepy and talking nonsense or what, but I have to know. “What, baby?”
“He’s…a liar, and he’s going to hurt her.” She grips my arm that’s around her waist. “He promised me and he lied. And it’s all my fault.”
“What is?”
I wait for her to respond, but she says nothing more. I hold her tightly, trying to stay awake as long as I can, just in case I never got to hold her like this again.
Chapter 12
Kaylee
I wake with an urgent need to empty my stomach, but when I open my eyes, something doesn’t feel right. I stare at the ceiling and fight back the nausea as I run through the events of last night in my head. I don’t get far because I’m distracted by the sound of breathing. Crap. I should probably be concerned about who the hell is in bed next to me—or where I’m at, for that matter—but I’m more concerned that I left Koko alone all night in this city. What the hell was I thinking? Obviously, I was attempting to avoid thinking all together. Well, I did a damn good job of it.
I slip out of bed as slowly and quietly as I can manage, my fear and embarrassment keeping my stomach from turning over. When I stand, my head still feels dizzy and it aches like a bitch. I see my jumpsuit on a chair in the corner, so I tiptoe over there. Snagging it, I take a moment to peek over my shoulder at the man in bed.
My heart stops. I have to cover my mouth so I don’t gasp. Justice mother-freaking Bridges! No! Why would I ever do that after he humiliated me like that? There will be time to beat myself up later—I need to get the hell out of here. Slipping on my jumpsuit, I keep a death glare pointed at Justice, in case he stirs. Then, after scanning the room and not seeing anything else that belongs to me, I sneak out of the room for the walk of shame.
I pad down the hall, not even knowing what floor I’m on. And where are my damn shoes? Real great, Kaylee. In the elevator, I give myself an internal girl talk, telling myself I don’t really know what happened. Maybe you didn’t sleep with him. Right! This is Justice Bridges we’re talking about. Still, he might be a huge flirt and has women throwing themselves at him, but that doesn’t mean he’s devoid of common decency.
I reach my room and knock quietly at first, worried I’ll wake Koko. Obviously, my brain is still toast because I don’t have a purse or a key, and if I don’t wake her, how the hell do I think I’m getting in there. “Koko!” I yell in frustration as I pound on the door.
Seconds later she opens the door, her finger to her lips, her brows knitted at my noise. She’s dressed and clearly wide awake so I don’t know what her deal is…until I enter and see her laptop open and hear Japanese. Crap. Koko facetimes with her parents a few times a week. She lives in fear they’ll find something unacceptable and make her come home. Though she’s nineteen, she must respect her parents’ wishes and doesn’t want to disappoint or disgrace them.
I shrug and mouth a sorry, walking past her and behind her computer so they don’t see me. At home, though, they often want to talk to me.
As I’m grabbing some clothes, I listen to the conversation in Japanese, catching my name a couple of times. When I glance up, I smile for the first time this morning, seeing a stack of books behind her on a table, the computer conveniently pointing in that direction.
I quietly slip into the bathroom to change, clean up, and see if I can retrieve some memories of last night. “Oh, my God,” I say out loud and then flinch, hoping they didn’t hear me. The sight of me in the mirror would give no clue I was ever in front of the camera. What did I do to myself? Leaning my hands on the sink, I stare at my pathetic reflection. Since when did I ever let a man bring me down like this? Of course, I’m attracted to Justice, and yes, he got to me when we danced. Correction: he dipped into my heart and soul that night; that’s why it hit me so hard when Elise showed up. But going on a drinking binge because I felt hurt and rejected? I shake my head at myself because I’ve always thought of myself as independent, strong, and— Then it hits me: I wasn’t drowning my sorrows because of Justice. Well, not only because of Justice. It was fucking Archie.
As I undress, pieces of last night come back to me, incomplete and jagged. I remember seeing Archie and one of the new girls, Mina. Then I confronted him at the party. “That’s right,” I whisper to myself. I fought with Archie about it and…that’s when Justice came in. A knot for
ms in my stomach as I remember throwing myself at him, more than once, even though I was pissed at him. Wow, I really am a mess. Anger burns through me that I let two men reduce me to a weak, drunk, idiot.
I slide my legs into a pair of sweats, vowing to remove the toxic males from my life. So that’s it. That’s how I ended up in bed with Justice…because I became what I hate: one of those ridiculous girls who will do anything for his attention.
Jamming my hands around my toiletries bag, looking for deodorant, I picture Justice’s face. I feel tears prick at the back of my eyes. Could I have been so wrong about him? My breathing stutters, becomes heavy as my heart both hurts and still longs for him. Why?
I don’t have all the answers, so I can’t crucify him yet. I should probably talk to him first. Ask him to be honest with me and tell me what happened. I shouldn’t assume anything. I take in a few breaths, resigned to waiting before reacting. I apply my deodorant, put it back, and then turn to grab my shirt, but something in my periphery in the mirror catches my eye. I freeze, move the hair to the side so I can see the back of my neck. “Son of a bitch!”
The small red mark there is unmistakable. I can’t believe that asshole marked me. I stare at it in the mirror, a chill spreading across me. I close my eyes and there are flashes of something, but mostly it’s a feeling rather than actual images. Heat runs from my cheeks down my chest and stomach, then finally reaching the apex of my thighs. My eyes pop open, and I blow out a breath. I will not succumb to the memories or the feeling. He doesn’t deserve it, the lying, dirty bastard!
I throw on my shirt and storm out of the bathroom, not even knowing what to do next. I grab shoes and socks, then take them to my bed where I sit and put them on, trying to decide if I should head to the gym where I can work out my anger or go find Justice and kick his ass.
Koko is on her bed, reading, but she glances up at me with concern. “You want to talk about last night?”
I show her a tight smile and try to remember she’s young, sweet, and naïve. “I’m sorry I left you last night. I shouldn’t have bailed like that.”
Beautiful Bridges (Bridges Brothers Book 3) Page 10