by Amiee Louise
“I’ll see you at lunch, baby, I’ll text you.” He says with a wink. “I love you.”
Cole gestures for me to step out of the apartment before him. But I spin around, suddenly feeling more than a little rebellious.
“I-I’ve forgotten my phone, sorry, just give me a sec.”
Cole nods, and I go back into the apartment. I rush into the kitchen, grab a set of Sam’s car keys from the magnetic rack not knowing which car they are for, and I quickly shove them into my coat pocket. I go back into the apartment, kiss Sam goodbye, and go out of the door. I silently follow Cole into the waiting lift, and we go down to the parking garage. We step out of the lift, and Cole’s phone starts ringing.
“Yeah, all clear, mate.”
I take advantage of Cole’s distraction and push the key fob—the lights of an electric-blue Dodge sport flash. I rush over, quickly open the door, and jump into the driver’s seat. I see Cole sprint across the parking garage; I start the engine and pull out of the space at a speed.
“Peyton!” Cole’s face is panicked, and he puts his hand to his head. “Fuck!” I hear him curse and I look at him with sympathetic eyes, mouthing the word ‘sorry’, as I drive out of the parking garage.
I push the black button on the dashboard, and the security gate opens. I pull out of the parking garage and almost instantly my phone starts ringing, Sam’s name flashes up on the screen. I ignore the phone and begin my journey to work.
I am more than happy to have gained some of my independence back, and it is the first time I have been behind the wheel of a car since my accident. I could get used to this car; it is sleek, modern and drives like a dream. My phone rings constantly until I open the door to the shop. Seb’s face lights up as I walk in.
“Mornin’, honey bunny.” He gets up from his seat and walks over to me. He pulls me in for a bear hug.
“Morning, pumpkin.”
“It’s so good to have you back, babe, I’ve missed ya.”
Seb has been in America for two weeks finalising the details on his new shop, this is the first time I have seen him since he visited me in hospital.
“You’re looking so much better.”
I smile. “Thanks, babe. I feel much better, actually.”
My phone starts ringing again, and I silence it.
“Is everything all right, honey?”
I nod. “Yeah, everything’s fine, nothing I can’t handle, sweetie.”
I go to the back of the shop to stow my stuff away, and my phone starts ringing again. I see Ruby’s name flash up on the screen.
“Hey, babe.”
She lets out a breath. “Thank God you’re all right. Sam called, he has been trying to get hold of you, he sounds really pissed. He says you dodged his security and took off in one of his cars.” I hear the smile in her voice.
“I might have dodged Cole and drove to work in one of his sports cars! He has me constantly monitored. Fucking hell, Ruby, there’s a guard sitting in a four by four right outside the shop. He is being ridiculous,” I say, exasperated.
“I know you were trying to teach him a lesson, and I think you succeeded, but please call him back, babe. Let him know you’re all right, he is going postal back there.”
“OK, I’ll call him, babe. I’ll see you back at the flat, later.”
“Bye, sweetie.”
I hang up, switch my phone to silent, and put it in my bag. I need to teach Sam not to be so possessive. I go back into the shop and Harley has arrived. Harley Hernandez is a close friend of Seb’s who runs Black Tiger Ink and guest spots for Seb from time to time. Harley is half-Spanish, medium height, very muscular, and with a medium build. He has long black hair pulled into a ponytail, with a black and white skull bandana around his head. He has a dark, trimmed goatee and light-brown eyes. We have a history; we went out on a few dates, and he was one of the men I slept with while I was trying to get over Callum. He smiles as he sees me.
“Beautiful, Chica. Peyton, looking as ravishing as ever.”
He kisses me on both cheeks, and Seb rolls his eyes.
“Do you mind not harassing my shop manager, Harley. Cheers, mate.”
Seb and Harley both laugh. I go over to the reception desk and sit down. I take the lid off my Starbucks cup and take a long sip, relishing the caffeine as the warm liquid slides down my throat. I sink back into the leather chair and put my feet up on the desk, but I am startled, as I look up and see Sam’s large frame in the shop doorway. His stance is loose, and he is breathing heavily; he looks positively murderous. He opens the door and strides in, his eyes locking with mine. Seb sees the look on his face and comes over.
“What the fuck do you think you’re playing at, Peyton?”
I stand up defiantly and move towards him.
“What’s going on honey? Is everything OK?”
Sam looks at Seb. “This isn’t your concern, Seb.” Sam’s voice is cold, and Seb folds his arms, his muscles bulging.
“I think it is when you’re quite clearly upsetting her.”
Sam takes a deep breath, and I can see he is counting to ten to try to calm himself down.
“You were suffocating me; you won’t let me out of your sight since the accident. You’ve got a guard sitting outside the place where I work, for fuck’s sake. What was I supposed to do? Humour you? Do as you tell me like a good little girl? I don’t fucking think so, Sam,” I spit out angrily, and Sam growls. His stance is predatory, and his fists are clenched tightly at his sides. I can feel the anger radiating off him in large tsunami-like waves.
“Don’t test me, Peyton. I’m trying to protect you; don’t you get that? You dodged Cole, and you took my goddamn car. I was going out of my fucking mind!” His raised voice is raspy, and he frantically runs his hands through his hair. “Anything could have happened—”
I hold up my finger to stop him. “But it didn’t. There’s a fine line between protecting me and suffocating me, Sam. You’re being irrational.”
Sam goes to step closer to me, but Seb moves in front of me, his large frame shielding me from Sam.
“Back the fuck up, mate. I think you’ve said enough, you need to calm down,” Seb says in a calm voice.
They are toe to toe, and the way they are sizing each other up, I think they might start fighting in the middle of the shop floor. I side-step Seb and get in-between both of them.
“Sam, Seb, please stop.”
Their eyes are still locked, and I try to push both of them back to no avail, due to their sheer size and strength compared to my small frame.
“Please, just stop!” I plead with both of them.
“It’s all right, honey. Harley, get her out of here, mate, please. Sam and I need to have a little chat,” Seb says calmly. Harley comes over and takes me by the wrist. As Harley’s hand makes contact with my wrist, I hear Sam snarl, and I roll my eyes.
“Come on, mi Amor, there are no appointments for an hour or so. I’ll make us some coffee. I think there’s some chocolate biscuits tucked away somewhere.”
He smiles and takes me into the back of the shop. He switches the kettle on, and I put my hand to my head.
“That was … how you say? Intense?”
I nod, and Harley smiles.
“The two men in your life fighting for your honour.”
I shake my head, and he hands me a chocolate biscuit. I bite into it; there is nothing like a hit of chocolate to calm the nerves.
“It’s not like that at all. Since my accident, Sam has been acting strange. I can’t help but think he is keeping something from me. Seb’s just trying to protect me; he is like a brother to me. Sam can be intense and extremely pig-headed when it comes to protecting what’s his.”
I find myself strangely comfortable with telling Harley my troubles. It should be awkward that we had sex, but it isn’t. He makes us both a cup of coffee and hands me the cup, regarding me intently.
“So you’re his then? You’re his property to do as he pleases and speak to how he
pleases?”
Harley’s brow furrows, and I shake my head, feeling the need to defend Sam.
“It’s not like that at all, Harley.”
I am leaning against the worktop biting my nails nervously when he brushes my arm.
“It will be OK, miquerido.”
I hear raised voices from the shop; I put my cup down and rush out. Harley is following close behind me, and I find Sam pinned to the wall with Seb’s large hand closed around his throat. Seb is a few inches taller than Sam is, and he looks positively menacing. Seb draws his fist back, and Harley stops him, pushing him a few inches away from Sam.
“Seb, stop,” I call out.
Seb drops his fist and lets go of Sam’s throat. Sam goes to grab Seb, but I step in front of him, and Seb jabs his finger at Sam, his jaw clenched tight.
“You ever fucking speak to her like that ever again, and I swear your pathetic rock star life won’t be worth living.” Seb’s voice is cold and harsh. Sam’s eyes harden.
“I can’t fucking compete with you!” Sam runs his hands through his hair, and his jaw is tense. I move closer to him until I am inches away from him.
Whoa! Where did that come from?
“Baby, I’m yours, you don’t have to compete for my affections, but if you carry on behaving the way you are, you’ll push me further away.”
Sam takes a deep breath, and his eyes start to soften.
“I’m so sorry, angel.” His voice is hoarse and broken; I cup his face in my hands.
“I’m sorry I ran from Cole, I felt so … trapped, but I understand that you were trying to protect me.”
He envelopes me in his strong arms.
“Please don’t run from me, angel, I can’t bear it. Something happened way beyond my control, and it ripped me open completely. I felt raw, like you could be taken away from me with a blink of an eye. I would die for you, Peyton, and I’m doing everything in my power to keep you safe. Everything I do is for you. Everything I own is yours. Everything I am is down to you, and I’m the man I am now because of you. If we hadn’t met, I would still be that empty shell that used sex to forget how bad my life had become.”
I squeeze him tightly, and it is as if our argument is forgotten. Seb clears his throat. I let go of Sam and we both smirk.
“PDA in my shop is a hard limit for me, honey.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Someone’s been reading too many erotic novels about kinky billionaires.”
“Touché!”
Sam kisses me gently on the lips. “I need to go, baby, I skipped out on a TV interview this morning, and the guys are pretty pissed with me. We’ve got a bunch of interviews, photo shoots, appearances, and signings today, but I’ll call you as soon as I’m free.”
I nod. He smiles that dazzling smile and leaves the shop, saluting to Seb and Harley as he leaves.
“Well, that was … eventful!”
“I’m so sorry, Seb, I shouldn’t bring my domestic shit to work with me, it’s unprofessional.”
“Don’t worry, honey, it’s fine, honestly.”
He kisses the top of my head and with that, the dramatic events of the morning are soon forgotten as we lose ourselves in our work. The day is busy even just sitting behind a desk, and I am glad when the closed sign goes up.
“Do you fancy coming for a drink to start the weekend?” Seb says as I’m getting my coat on and I nod.
“Yeah, OK, babe, why not. Just one, though.”
“Of course.” He winks.
“I’ll call Ruby to see if she fancies joining us.”
Seb nods. “The more the merrier, honey.”
I call Ruby, and she agrees to meet us there. I re-apply my makeup, and we lock up the shop. I link Seb’s arm and walk to a bar near to the shop called Oscillo. It is a large bar with an urban bordello and a unique burlesque style with its ruby-red ceiling, tassel lampshades, and candelabras, with a solid Wild West saloon-style bar. It is one of my favourite bars, and the food is to die for. It’s just what I need to unwind after today. We walk in, and Seb goes to the bar.
“What are you having to drink?”
I don’t hesitate, this place boasts the best cocktails. My favourite is called a Pont berry: vodka, cranberry, and cassis liqueur.
“A Pont berry, please, babe.”
Seb raises his eyebrows. “Got it.”
Harley gives Seb his drink order, and we go to find a table. We grab a free booth, and I scoot along the bench seat.
“So, you and the rock star. Is it serious?” Harley sits so close to me I can feel his warm spicy breath on my cheek.
“Do you mean are you still in with a chance?”
He laughs. I have your card marked, Hernandez.
“OK, you caught me, you can’t blame a guy for trying, and you are more stunning every time I see you.”
I am about to respond when Seb comes over with the drinks followed by Ruby. He climbs in the opposite side of the booth.
“Hey, babe,” she says.
“Hey, Rubes.”
Harley moves out of the booth and leaves the table; Ruby scoots in next to me.
“What the fuck is his problem?”
I roll my eyes. “Long story.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Oooh, do tell.”
Ruby takes a long pull on her glass of wine. I suddenly feel myself blushing, and she eyes me carefully.
“Fuck me, you shagged him, didn’t you?”
I take a sip of my drink and nod shamefully.
“It wasn’t my finest hour, babe, believe me.”
She narrows her eyes and asks, “Was he good?”
Seb almost chokes on his beer across the table.
“TMI, Ruby, I have to work with the guy. I don’t want to be picturing him butt naked, thanks!”
Ruby smiles sweetly and blows him a kiss.
“So, details, was he good? Marks out of ten!”
“A lady never kisses and tells, babe,” I say coyly, and she pouts.
More than a few drinks later, I get up to go to the toilet, and I am more than a little bit drunk. I go to the ladies and am surprised that I don’t have a thousand missed calls from Sam. I wash my hands and check my reflection in the mirror. I leave the toilet and see Harley in the corridor talking to another man. He has long blonde hair and looks almost European with pale-blue eyes. I listen to their conversation in the shadows.
“She was a tiger in the bedroom, she loved to be tied up and blindfolded. She was a … how you say … kinky bitch!” The other man starts laughing, and Harley continues,
“I swear that rock star she is dating, he is one lucky son-of-a-bitch. He has no clue what he is letting himself in for.”
My heart drops when I realise he is talking about me.
“She loved it when I pulled her hair, she liked it rough, and it was the biggest turn on ever. I have never met anyone like her, she is a sexual goddess. It’s always the quiet ones, man, I’m telling you, and we Spanish know how to give a woman an orgasm.”
They both laugh, and I can’t believe what I am hearing. What a fucking prick! I knew he was a slimy bastard but not to this extent. It’s not even as if it’s true; men fucking embellishing their sexual encounters to make themselves look good. I am so fucking angry right now. I take a deep breath and walk confidently down the corridor, smiling sweetly at Harley, halting his conversation, and walk straight past him. I sit down with Ruby; Seb is nowhere to be seen. Her brow furrows when she sees the look on my face.
“What’s happened, babe? You were gone for ages. I was about to send out a search party.” I shake my head, and she strokes my hand. “Tell me, someone’s upset you.”
“Fucking Harley Hernandez, that’s who. I came out of the toilet, and he was bragging to some guy in the corridor about having sex with me. It might be my paranoid brain playing tricks, but I’m certain the guy he was chatting to was a reporter.”
She raises her eyebrow. “What a little prick. He is not going to get away with this, babe.”
>
She gets up, and before I can stop her, she is striding off. Seb comes back over with more drinks.
“Where’s Ruby going?”
I shake my head, exasperated. “Are you sure you’re OK?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m fine.”