by Belle Aurora
“I refuse to believe there’s nothing you can do,” I stated, leaning in.
Another shot gone and Anika licked her lips, blinking slowly as the liquor did its thing. “Trust me. It’s finished. He tried, he fought, and all I did was reject him over and over. And this guy”—she looked at each of us—“he isn’t the type to forgive and forget.”
“Who is he?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
Anika responded, “Someone who finally realized I’m not worthy of him.” She looked dismal, her fingers playing with an empty shot glass. “And he’s right. I’m a terrible person.”
“No,” Mina said, putting a consoling hand on hers. “If you want him, there has to be a way. I’ll bet you haven’t even tried.”
The waitress brought eight more shots and placed them on the table. I smiled at her in thanks and watched Cora push another in front of Anika before downing her own. “Mina’s right. There has to be something you can do. What have you tried?”
Anika’s words began to slur. Oh yeah. She was hammered. “I’ve tried,” she insisted with a finger to her chest. “I have. I’ve tried talking to him.” She wore a look of annoyance. “But he’s so aloof. So damn polite, you know? Like, I know you’re mad at me. Just yell at me already so we can kiss and make up. Because I want to kiss him.” She turned to look at me, her eyes lightly glazed. “I want to kiss him, Nas.”
“Then you’re gonna kiss him,” I vowed, reaching out to squeeze her fingers.
“You promise?” Ani looked so hopeful that a tender smile stretched at my lips.
“I promise, but we can’t help unless you tell us who it is.”
Anika was already shaking her head. “I can’t. It’s too much. It would change everything.”
I didn’t understand. Why would it change everything?
Unless….
My face void of expression, my mind worked a mile a minute.
No.
She couldn’t mean who I thought she meant.
She… She couldn’t.
Could she?
And while my brain shot formulas all over as I tried to figure out who this mysterious man was, Cora chimed in. “Well, talking isn’t gonna do the trick. But there is something you could do.” She toyed with another shot, her eyes losing focus as she slowly nodded. “I think the answer is clear, Ani.”
“It is?” Ani asked quietly, wide-eyed in anticipation.
“Of course.” Cora grinned then. “You’re just going to have to seduce him.”
Anika blinked. She blinked a long minute before she burst into laughter. Almost hysterically, she exclaimed, “I can’t do that!” As we all grinned at her hilarity, her laughter slowed, then stopped, and her expression turned serious as she asked conspiratorially, “Can I do that?”
I thought about it a second. “Fuck it,” I said, egging her on. “What do you have to lose?”
Anika scoffed. “Only my dignity and self-respect,” she muttered irritably.
“Sex changes things,” Mina added. “It could go either way. It might ruin things or rekindle what you lost. But—” Her lips pursed. “—it is the kind of extreme he won’t be expecting from you. I think the action speaks volumes.”
Anika tilted her head, nodding lightly while taking in every opinion.
Cora clapped, then laughed. “I knew you bitches would be Team Stealthy Sex.” She focused on Anika. “Look, it’s easy, babe. You need the element of surprise. Even better if you corner him.” She waggled her brows at Ani. “Maintain eye contact, take your panties off real slow, and throw ’em at him. The rest is up to him. Trust me, you’ll know real quick if he’s down or not.”
Well, I never.
I frowned to myself. Then realization hit. My eyes widened as a slow grin spread on my face. I swiveled to face Cora full-on. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you, you little skank?”
Sure, I acted holier than thou, but the truth was, I wasn’t at all surprised. Cora was very free-thinking when it came to sex, and she did not believe that sharing your body with somebody you didn’t know very well made the experience a cheap one. Having lost out on intimacy from her family, she found it where she could, and I did not judge her for that.
Intimacy was my lifeblood.
Cora smiled foxlike but went on. “The next step is to turn your sweet little ass around, bend over like a cat in heat, and wait.” Her eyes sparkled, and she licked her lips seductively. Cora’s confidence was a treat. “This move has yet to fail me—I swear to God.”
Anika’s brow rose, and she pinched her lip absently.
Ooh. This little fish was intrigued by the bait dangling in front of her nose. She was thinking about it, all right.
“I don’t know.” Her tone bled with uncertainty.
“Stop thinking so hard,” ordered Cora. “Just do it.” Her expression softened. “How badly do you want this guy?”
“You have no idea” was her breathy reply, and I could basically see all the cogs turning in her mind until, finally, a small smile tipped Anika’s lips. “Okay. I’ll give it a shot.”
“Yay!” I exclaimed happily, taking her arm and shaking it excitedly, laughing as she groaned, seemingly in regret. “You’re gonna have hot sex with a hot guy and reel him in with pussy power.”
“Wow.” Mina’s eyes widened comically. “You are braver than I am.”
“Oh hush.” Cora waved Mina’s skepticism off, then slipped out of the booth. “Now, we’re going downstairs to dance, and Anika is going to practice flirting.”
“No, I’m not,” Anika protested, a mild frown on her face, but Cora was already pulling her to her feet.
Cora just grinned. “Sure, you are, babe.”
Left alone at our table, Mina grinned, then held her hand out to mine. I took it with a smirk. We made our way downstairs, ignoring the blatant and hungry stares of the men we passed along the way. The minute we hit the dance floor, I swayed to the music, hypnotized by the steady beat.
It didn’t take long before I felt someone press up against my back. At first, I thought it was a mistake, but when I looked back, a frown pulled down my mouth. The tall man winked down at me, dancing close enough to feel my ass against his crotch.
Uh… excuse me, sir. Are you lost?
My glare was lethal as I turned around, and the single word I spoke sliced harshly, sharp enough to decapitate. “No.”
I had to give it to him. He didn’t even flinch. Just put his lips to my ear and said, “Oh, c’mon. You can’t dress like that and not want attention. It’s the middle of the week, and you’re at a club. I know what you’re looking for. I got it right here.” He looked down at my cleavage. “Just giving you what you want, baby.”
My brain flatlined, and white noise enveloped the space between my ears.
Fury rose up to engulf me as a whole. I was surprised no one could see the hellfire licking and whipping around me.
You dirty fucker.
The guy obviously had no idea what he put into motion when he grabbed my hips, spun me, and pulled me back into his growing erection. My body turned rigid. I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste blood and silently prayed for patience.
Unfortunately, my prayers often went unanswered.
It’s okay. Take a breath. Calm down. You got this.
All at once, my shoulders fell, and my body turned lax. I pasted on a lusty smile and slowly turned to face him again, peering up at his mouth. Licking my bottom lip, I moved closer. The way his smile widened told me he thought he was getting lucky tonight.
Oh, you poor, silly man.
The distraction clearly worked, because when I rested my hand on the fly of his pants, his lips parted, and his eyes lowered again to the valley between my breasts. I guess he misunderstood where this was going, because when I seized his junk, a look of shock took over his face, then his squeal of agony sounded.
I squeezed, digging my nails in, clutching his dick harder.
“What’s the matter? Yo
u were rubbing up against me. You want this, right?” I blinked up into his face, narrowed my eyes, and uttered innocuously, “Just giving you what you’re asking for, baby.”
The minute the guy’s friends tried to intervene, the girls jumped in, arguing, pointing, and yelling.
And I merely looked him in the eye, my grip never wavering. “For future reference, when a lady says no, she means it. That is not up for negotiation.”
Cora put her hands up to block one of his friends, then smirked. “What’s the matter, gorgeous? Don’t like being touched? Maybe you should’ve worn something less revealing.”
Doubled over in pain, a string of spit dribbled down his chin as he bellowed, “Let go, you crazy bitch!”
Unblinking, I held him tightly. “Apologize,” I demanded, bored-like.
Mina slapped at one of the guys reaching for me. “Get your hands off of her!”
The asshole tried desperately to shake my hand off. “I’m sorry,” he panted out. Then louder, “I’m sorry! Fuck.”
Security arrived the moment I released him. Without taking my eyes off the dirtbag, I watched his friends become outraged at the fact that they were the ones getting escorted out.
“Are you serious?” The groper, his red eyes rimmed in wetness, pointed at me and thundered, “She’s the one who attacked me!”
An arm came around me, and Anika shocked me by adding a very drunk, very snarky, “Oh, honey. You’d be so much prettier if you smiled.”
Mina, still panting, gaped at her. Cora snuffled out a laugh, and when I swung my head to look at my bestie, I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling.
“What?” Anika blinked one eye at a time, wobbling on the spot. “He was an asshole.”
Turned out, a drunk Anika was a sassy Anika.
Our night resumed, and instead having ruined my evening, the incident with the jerk seemed to break the only string of poise I had holding me together. Adrenaline running through me, I laughed more openly than I had in years, and a playful attitude I don’t think I ever embodied took over. We danced for what felt like hours, the girls continued to drink, and when we moved to the center of the dance floor, my eyes unconsciously moved toward the entrance.
I stilled completely.
Uh, what in the freaking shit?
Goddammit. Annoyed, my lips thinned.
Okay. Who was it? Which one of these fuckers did it?
With pursed lips and a gut full of anger, I scanned my surroundings to find the culprit.
My eyes passed over Mina, the most likely perpetrator.
She winked at me, swaying to the music, dancing without a care.
Hmmm. No.
When I peered at Cora, she licked her lips invitingly, then blew me a kiss, bopping along to the song.
Okay. Not her.
Anika, dancing off-beat to a song only she could hear, didn’t even look like she could operate her phone at the moment.
Definitely not.
And then it hit me with the force of a knee to the gut. My eyes shot upward to the VIP section, and when I saw Nik and Max exchange a chin jerk with the three dark, looming men who just entered the club, my jaw tightened.
Bingo.
Putting my hands to my hips, my mouth gaped at their disloyal, traitorous selves, and as though my cousins could feel my gaze burning holes into them, they both looked down at me at the very same time. The second they saw my furious expression, they panicked.
While Max ducked out of sight, Nik scrambled, pointed toward a corner of the club, suddenly rambling as if he’d been in conversation the entire time. It took him a minute to realize his brother abandoned him, and when he finally noticed, he did a double-take at the empty spot next to him.
My brow rose in question.
Knowing he was had, he pinched the bridge of his nose before looking down at me apologetically and mouthing, “I’m sorry.”
Sure, you are, you big jerk.
Our girls’ night was officially over.
6
Nastasia
The car stopped in front of my house, and I stumbled my tipsy ass out, making my way around to help Anika out at the very same the Vik did. We reached for the door simultaneously, our fingers brushing, and when I pulled back as though I’d been zapped, his stoic stare landed on me with the weight of a building, and it did not have the desired effect.
I think it was meant to be cautionary. But damn. It was kind of sexy.
My core clenched with longing, and I was a little pissed—at myself, mostly. I was also buzzed in a really mellow way.
Astoundingly, the night didn’t end when Vik and my brothers got to The White Rabbit. I expected a scene. I didn’t get one. I predicted the cold fury of my brothers. That didn’t happen. And when the guys simply acknowledged us, then took a seat at the bar, it somehow felt more foreboding than if they just approached us and ordered us home.
My brothers—both looking flawless in suits—sat while Vik, dressed in black fitted jeans and a navy shirt unbuttoned one too many buttons, revealing the dove taking flight inked onto his broad chest—simply stood with his back to the bar, his eternally hooded gaze watching us closely.
My stomach dipped. I wanted to climb him like a tree and take a bite of his banana.
Ugh. Unfair.
The girls were having a good time, and I was not ready for the night to be over. Surely, they could be reasonable. I had my doubts, but I was willing to try for the sake of our girls’ night.
On edge and anticipating a fight, I tramped over to them, leaving the girls on the dance floor. Three sets of impassive eyes trained on me, and I rushed out an irritated, “It wasn’t a big deal. I took care of it.”
Sasha, unfazed by my anger, lifted a brow and spoke evenly, “I know. We heard.”
Whatever I was going to follow up with left my vocabulary.
Okay, then.
Confusion coated my voice. “Then why are you here?”
Drinks were placed in front of them. Lev responded, “We thought you might like an escort home.”
Ah-ha! I knew it.
Hackles rising, I hastily cried, “We’re not ready to leave yet!”
And when Lev blinked at me, then responded, “All right. We’ll wait,” my balloon, full to the point of bursting, was let go, air rushing out as my exasperation quelled.
Right. Good.
I was winning. Why did this feel wrong?
Unsure of this entire situation, my shoulders fell, and I uttered, quiet and hesitant, “You didn’t have to come. I’m not drinking. I’ve got this.”
Vik was having none of my attitude. “We didn’t have to come. We wanted to.” When my insecure expression met his cool one, I paused, and he went on. “I know you’re more than capable of looking after your own ass.” The statement was placating in the same way a cool stream of water soothed a mild burn. He looked me up and down, an appreciative hint to his gaze. “But I’m happy to watch it too, kiska.”
Kiska.
Kitten.
The grin he ended on made my entire torso turn to jelly.
Oh no. He was doing that thing I liked. The thing that made me want to throw myself onto the floor in cow pose and look back at him invitingly.
Talking.
With his mouth.
Lord, help me, he hadn’t shaved. And I liked that too.
Internally, I broke down, feigned crying, and stomped my feet like a child throwing a tantrum over a stuffed toy they couldn’t have.
My eyes dipped to his lips, and for a second, I stopped breathing. I could almost feel his stubble against the delicate skin of my neck.
He looked like a snack, and I was damn near starving—in some places more than others.
You’re just thirsty. Get a grip.
Leaning back with an air of confidence, he jerked his chin toward the dance floor, and I wanted to step forward and run my tongue along his sharp jawline. “Drink. Dance. We’ll be here when you’re ready to go.”
I hesitated.
I’ve got you.
He did. He always had. And that was the problem. I didn’t know a life without him.
I examined the shot, and my heart turned gooey.
It was a blue kamikaze.
He remembered.
Lev’s face softened, and as Mina rushed past me with a little squeal of happiness, throwing herself into my brother’s waiting arms, I watched their lips connect, and my own curled.
And there went one of our party.
The longer they kissed, the larger my frown grew. Throwing back the shot, I slammed it onto the bar, my front skimming Vik’s hard body before snatching Mina out of Lev’s arms. My brother’s glare was deadly, but I didn’t give a flying, flipping shit.
All I said was “No! This is our night. You will not seduce your wife away from us. Do you hear me, Lev?”
At Lev’s unhappy face, Mina stretched for him. I pulled her out of reach.
But when Cora stumbled into my back with an “Oops,” I threw Mina right back into her husband’s arms. Mina looked up at my brother with hearts in her eyes and muttered tenderly, “Hi, baby.”
Sasha glared.
Lev immediately softened, drawing his tipsy wife close.
“Hello, mouse” was his sickly-sweet response, and Mina was lost to him.
I clicked my tongue.
My heart.
Also… stahp.
Cora slid into the small space by Lev, then leaned over the bar, calling out, “I’m thirsty. Whose sausage do I have to suck to get another round over here?”
Anika stumbled over, and Vik stepped forward to offer his sister his hand. I shouldn’t have noticed the way his strong arm flexed, but really, how could I miss it? She gripped it tight, smiling up at him affectionately, and revealed in a loud whisper, “I’m drunk,” ending on a tinkling laugh.
Vik sat her down on a stool, and his lips tipped up in a smile reserved only for his sister. “I can see that.”
With Anika sandwiched safely between Vik and Sasha, Cora placed a shot into my hand, and because I was too busy wondering what color boxers Vik was wearing, I almost downed it without looking. So, when Vik glanced over and took the glass out of my hands with a frown, one could say I was a little perturbed.