Double Betrayal (Surviving Book 3)

by Frost, Ada

  “If it isn’t my fantasy girl. Here to make my dreams come true, babe?” Phil shouted. I laughed and shook my head.

  Will’s eyes darkened as a sly, sexy grin slid across his face. Tingles raced through my body as his eyes followed my every move. After Izzy’s disastrous party, both of us had called a silent truce. I may end up being the fool, but I did believe him when he said he and his wife were separated, especially seeing as Johan and Lou had both backed that up. I wasn’t sure of the story, and maybe that made me a disgusting whore, because he still made my pulse race and I still wanted his body to swallow me up.

  “Hi.”

  “Hi,” I replied shyly.

  “Get your sexy little arse over here,” Phil demanded, throwing his towel over his shoulder and leaning over the bar. I turned my back to the bar, keeping my eyes fixed on Will. Pushing myself up, I sat on the scarred wooden top. Phil’s arm banded around my waist and the other hooked under my legs to lift me up and over to his side. He kissed me on the cheek. “I may just hold you here all night, gorgeous.”

  I chuckled and nudged him in the ribs with my elbow. “Get off, you old pervert.”

  He laughed, placing me on the floor and swiping at my arse with his towel. Fully into the role of the flirty barmaid, I placed my hands on my thighs and bent slightly. “Please, sir, I want some more.”

  He threw his head back and guffawed loudly. “You’re not taking my tips, you little minx.”

  I smiled coyly. “What?”

  He pointed his index finger at me. “You – you, lady, have set the challenge.”

  I lifted my finger to my mouth and coyly bit my nail, batting my eyelashes and swinging my hips. He shook his head jovially. “Fuck, I’m in trouble.” He turned with a smile and went into the back office. I smiled and turned to face Will. My smile slipped when I noticed the scowl in his face.

  “What?”

  “Are you two...?” He pointed into the back room and to me.

  I made a disgusted face. “No, not at all. He’s been friends with Acis and Cas since they were kids. That’s just…gross.”

  “Oh, wow, kick a man in the balls, why don’t ya?” I spun on my heels to face Phil. My cheeks heated and I opened my mouth to explain, but Phil laughed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “This tiny thing here is trouble, mate. If her brothers don’t kick your arse for touching her, then she’ll chew you up and spit you out. I’ve been in love with her for years and she keeps breaking my heart.” I dug my elbow into his ribs. “See, she’s a feisty little thing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve a tips challenge to win.”

  “Oh, you wish.” I walked to the end of the bar where a group of young lads were standing. I’d have guessed they were in their early twenties and definitely on the pull, seeing how as every short skirt went by, each pair of eyes followed.

  “Right, lads, what can I get you?” I plastered my most flirty smile on my face and leaned against the bar so my girls peeked out the top of my t-shirt. Phil insisted on plain white fitted shirts as a uniform; personally, I thought he was just a dirty bugger with a boob fetish. With the fluorescent lighting, my underwear glowed, and like a charm, their focus was on my tits. I smiled brighter. I knew using my sexuality was wrong, but if those idiots thought because I had breasts it was okay to stare, I found it plausible to use them for my own personal gain. As long as they looked and didn’t touch, I didn’t care.

  “What’re you offering, babe?”

  “If it comes in a bottle, I can grab you one; if what you want comes in a C cup, I gotta walk away, babe.” I winked at the youngest looking of the group and made him blush. I was probably at school the same time as these lads, but for some reason, I felt ancient to their happy, carefree youthfulness.

  “Four Buds, a pint o’ Carling and—” He looked around the group. “Where the fuck is Zack?”

  “Blonde bird over there.” One of their group said. We all looked in that direction. I wasn’t sure who Zack was, but there was a bloke with his tongue down a blonde lass’s throat. I smiled and shook my head. I turned to grab their order and collided with two gorgeous emerald eyes. His mouth lifted at the corner; a devious smirk appeared, lighting his eyes. The hair lifted on my arms and nape. I liked that smile; it was a precursor of delicious things to come – usually followed by me coming. Let’s face it, what girl could resist a dark, delicious, and naughty dessert.

  “It would take all of them and more to give you what I can give you.”

  I laughed loudly at his arrogance, popping the tops from the bottles. “Good lord, you’re egotistical.”

  “No, truthful. Can you deny it? I bet if I slipped my hand into your panties, you’d be wet for me, and only me.”

  Heat flooded my body and I would have been lying if I’d said I wasn’t ready to be taken by him. I may also have needed therapy, because the way he said ‘panties’ in his deep accent was so sexy. I turned to look at the group of lads to douse the fire burning through my veins. I knew for a fact none of them had captured my attention like Will. They were cute, particularly the shy one, but they weren’t the ones setting my skin aflame. The fire starter was sitting across from me with a grin that said he knew my thought patterns.

  “Maybe not one, but I’m not averse to taking a few of them home.” I turned to look at him with a nonchalant shrug. “Could be fun, being serviced by more than one man; a girl has her needs. I’m a greedy girl.” I offered him a bright smile and picked the drinks up. Will tried to mask his shock, but I saw it glaring at me from his gorgeous eyes. I placed the blokes’ drinks down and grabbed a glass for the pint. I turned to use the draft tap and saw a brunette woman had captured Will’s attention. His body was still facing forward and his arms were resting on the bar, but his head was turned toward her. He glanced down her body, and then his attention was on her face. She was beautiful and rather tall, no doubt wearing skyscraper heels. She turned her body toward him and offered him a flirty smile. I lost my bravado and gave the lad his drinks, took his money and left them to their night. I didn’t like seeing Will being chatted up, and I certainly didn’t like his interest in the woman. I was more annoyed that either of those things bothered me. I’d sworn years ago I wouldn’t let a man into my life to cause chaos again. I wasn’t just burnt by love; I was set on fire and cremated. I didn’t like to think of myself as a bitter person; cautious would be more appropriate. I enjoyed sex; I liked feeling a man’s body against mine. Sometimes the sex was good, occasionally great, and rarely phenomenal. Okay, so it was only ever phenomenal once. But the bastard was ogling another woman’s goods, so let’s just say that boat had sailed. I pulled my metaphorical big girl knickers up and walked over to them. I plastered my fake smile on and laced my voice with sickly sweet honey.

  “What can I get you?” I glanced between the two and noticed Will’s attention was firmly on me. His hands were locked around his glass and his eyes flared with molten gold. When we’d first met, he’d been touchy feely, so it was a sign he wasn’t interested in her when his hands stayed around the glass. I did a little happy dance inside, and then chastised my inner twinkle toes for being so childish.

  “I’ll have a glass of merlot, please.” She placed her manicured hand on Will’s large arm. “Can I buy you a drink?”

  “No, babe, I’ll get these.” The condescension in the way he sneered ‘babe’ at me, let me know he heard the exchange between me and the lads, and I wondered if he was disgusted with me and my actions. The woman didn’t make the distinction, though, and her smile grew. He glanced at the other end of the bar where I first served the group of lads. I followed his gaze and sucked in a breath. Will’s jealous. A flirty grin crossed my lips. I stared straight at him and refused to hide the shit eating grin that spread across my lips.

  “Merlot, you say?” I kept my eyes fixed on Will and caught her nod in my peripheral vision. I knew there was a bottle already open on the counter behind me, but I turned and bent at the waist, sticking my arse in the air. I knew my skirt
was too short to do that with any dignity, so yeah, my knickers may have been visible to certain eyes. I reached for the very bottom shelf. I could feel two emerald orbs devouring the view. I pulled out a bottle and grinned when I caught the heated reflection of Will in the mirror behind the bar. I turned and presented the bottle to the woman.

  “Is this okay?”

  Her smile slipped as she turned her head to look at me instead of Will. “I asked for Merlot; that’s Chenin Blanc.” Usually her snotty retort would have pissed me off, but the fact the man she was currently eye-fucking had his eyes fixed on my arse was victory enough, and let’s face it, I knew the difference between white and red wine. I’m not fucking colour blind, but it did mean I had to put that one back and get her the correct one out. How silly of me. I bent again, but this time looked over my shoulder and grinned at Will. He bit his bottom lip and grinned at me, shaking his head.

  I poured the correct wine and Will a bourbon. I placed his companion’s wine on a coaster and offered his drink to him. When he lifted his hand, I brought the glass to my lips and took a sip, watching him over the rim. I swallowed and ran the tip of my tongue along my top lip. Bunny Boiler spluttered in revulsion, gripping Will’s arm tightly. I smiled, placed his drink on the bar, and took Will’s money.

  “Keep the change, the show was worth it.” His smile spread clean across his face, and bloody hell, he was gorgeous. I stood on the small ledge behind the bar and crooked my finger at him. He stood and leaned over the bar to me. I pressed my lips against his ear.

  “She isn’t going to let you rip her knickers off and bend her over your bike before you fuck her hard.” I pressed a teasing kiss to his stubbled jaw, nipping it, and pulled away smiling. His eyes glazed over. I swallowed and wished all that pent-up power was pounding into me. His latest fan sent me an evil glare, and if stares could kill, I would have been six feet under. I went further down the bar and served some more punters.

  More men came and went; I flirted, laughed, and smiled my way into tips. Will glared, snarled, and growled at them. I liked the tease he brought out in me, and I knew that night I would not be resisting him. I would be going to his place and riding him until I collapsed in exhaustion. A buzz of anticipation tingled through my body. I was electrified with excitement.

  Each time I passed by, I put extra sway into my hips, knowing he was watching my every move. I didn’t look at him; it was an awareness I had engrained into my every nerve. I could almost feel his hands running over my heated flesh, his tongue tracing the contours of my–

  “Oh, fucking hell,” Phil groaned at my side, startling me. I followed his line of sight to see Castor staggering across the pub. He reached out as he neared the bar and flopped against a stool. He haphazardly climbed onto it, gripping the wooden countertop as if his life depended on it.

  “Hey sish - din knows yousworking,” he slurred, and the fact he was speaking was a loud blaring alarm; shit was hitting the fan.

  “Go home, Castor.”

  He chuckled and bobbed his head as if it was far too heavy on his shoulders. “Needs drink furst.”

  “No, you need to sleep this off.”

  He slid sideways, almost stumbling from the stool.

  “Cas!” I called, trying to reach for him but missing.

  Some bloke grabbed his jacket and pulled him upright.

  “Oi, dickhead,” he all but screamed. Cas reached inside his jacket, pulling out a worn looking envelope that I had seen so many times I’d lost count. He ran his fingers along the scruffy edges like it was a priceless jewel. I threw my head back and looked up at the ceiling, praying for patience as I pulled out a tumbler, poured a single shot of vodka and slid it across to Cas, sliding my hand into his and squeezing.

  “Just one.”

  He glanced up at me with glassy eyes, then turned his hand and threaded his fingers through mine. “Thanks.”

  “Where is she?”

  He lifted his shoulders, dismissively shrugging, like he didn’t care. I knew it was a lie, but he was past the talking stage and into drowning-his-sorrows stage. My brother wasn’t teetotal by any means, but he was generally a happy, sweet drunk. This – this was Castor in drowning-his-pain mode.

  I moved away and served a few more punters at the far end of the bar. I kept surreptitiously glancing over at my brother. I hated how destroyed he looked; his shoulders were hunched over the bar and his head hung heavily as he stared down at the battered envelope. My heart sank watching him; we had the same ritual year in, year out, and I hated it.

  “What was that all about?” I startled at the interruption and snapped my gaze to Will, who was staring down the bar at my brother. I followed his gaze to see Cas with his head resting on the bar. He looked pitiful.

  “Unrequited love is a bitch.”

  Will bobbed his head and studied me a moment before rising from his seat. “I’ll go keep him company while you work.”

  My heart fluttered in appreciation of a tender action. He could have just blown me off, said to hell with the drama and engulfed himself with the merlot-drinking – okay, I wouldn’t be a bitch.

  “Thank you.” I reached across the bar and squeezed his hand.

  “Anything, Pix, to bring back your smile.”

  I walked away and kept my eye on my brother and Will. Castor never lifted his head, just lay with his head resting on the bar. Will’s lips moved as if he was talking to Cas; every so often he would lift his glass to his lips and take a sip of his bourbon. Had Castor been engaged, I would have guessed it was a particularly intense conversation by the frown on Will’s face.

  “Em! Acis ain’t answering his phone,” Phil shouted across the bar at the end of our shift. The bar was now empty apart from the few bar staff, Will, and Cas.

  “Date night; he’s probably preoccupied by now.” I shuddered, hating that image.

  “My car is out front; I can take him–”

  “And how the hell are you going to get his drunk arse out of the car, tiny girl?” He laughed. I narrowed my eyes at him; he knew better than most not to doubt me. I always matched my brothers when we were kids. I made a point if they could do it, I could do it, too. But when I glanced at the booth now sporting a passed out Castor, I conceded I would struggle. Will had stuck by his side the entire night, and even though my brother was passed out drunk, he wasn’t causing any trouble.

  “I’ll help; she can take me home after,” Will said.

  “I don’t think –”

  “Sorted, Dad,” I replied sarcastically. Phil shook his head and continued to clean the bar down. We cashed up, put the stools away, and sorted the glasses and spills. I rubbed my aching back as I stood over Cas, watching him sleep. Warm hands gently cupped my hips and large thumbs rubbed the base of my spine in hypnotic circles. God, that felt amazing. I moaned and leaned my head back on his chest. His thumbs worked under my shirt and the waist of my skirt.

  His hot mouth pressed against my ear. “You’re a magnet. I can’t resist you, Pixie; I need you. My dick aches with the need to be inside you.”

  I shuddered out a breath. I pressed my backside against his crotch, and true enough, he was hard and ready. I wanted to bend over, pull my skirt up, and say ‘have at it’.

  “I - I need to get Castor home,” I stammered as he pressed his hips into me.

  “Afterward, you’re mine.”

  I couldn't speak. I bobbed my head in agreement.

  He moved and I felt adrift without his heat pressed against me. He hefted Castor up onto his shoulder like he weighed nothing. It was incredibly sexy watching his muscles tense and flex.

  “Ready?”

  “Always, when you’re around.” I spoke before my brain could register the words. Will chuckled and started for the door. I followed, watching his jeans hug his tight arse. I wanted to bite those taut cheeks.

  The night air hit us and Cas grumbled but didn't wake. I pointed over to my car and walked ahead.

  “What the fuck is this?” Will’s
voice boomed in shock.

  “What?”

  “This isn’t a car; it’s a fucking dinky toy.” I chuckled. It would be amusing to see his giant frame fit inside my Corsa. He lugged Castor into the backseat, curling his body into the confined space. He opened the passenger door and muttered a curse as he pushed the seat as far back as it would go and folded his huge body into the car. I giggled as I sat comfortably behind the wheel.

  “Laugh it up, Pixie,” he growled, but I caught the slight amused curl of his lips.

  We pulled up to my brother’s house and Will deftly pulled a still passed out Cas from the backseat. We settled him inside. I stared down at him sleeping and knew I had to come back and stay because in his state, he wasn’t safe to be left alone. But I had to take Will home.

  “I can sleep on the couch and you can take me home in the morning,” Will said softly from the doorway. “Might be safer. Or I could call a cab?”

  I looked over my shoulder at my brother and let out a frustrated breath. “Would you mind? I can take you home as soon as he wakes up. But I’ll put fresh bedding on the spare bed; you can sleep in there. You think the car was small, my brother’s sofa is tiny.”

  His chest vibrated with a deliciously deep laugh. “Come here.”

  I gasped when he pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me in a tender embrace. I felt his body tense, as if he too realised what an intimate gesture it was. But he pressed his lips to the top of my head and I relaxed into his safe body. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my nose in his chest.

  “Been a long time since I did this, Pix,” he muttered into my hair. I closed my eyes and melted against him.

  “Me, too,” I whispered, not caring I was offering a small piece of myself to him. I didn't do tender or gentle anymore. I fucked, and when it was over, I left. I wasn’t sentimental and didn't expect nor care whether they called the next day. To be honest, it was easier if they didn’t. But with Will, I found myself praying he would follow, he would call, and that terrified me.