Chapter 3
Imogen
The shot burns as it slides down my throat. “Holy shit,” I laugh as Izzy and I slam the glasses back down on the bar. “We have to do it again.”
“You’re on,” Izzy laughs as she turns to the sexy guy behind the bar. “Hit us again.”
The bartender smirks as he refills the glasses and we instantly pick them up before throwing them back. It burns, but it’s a welcome burn. “Come on,” I say as we put the glasses down and replace them with our strawberry daiquiris. “Let’s dance.”
Izzy doesn’t need to be told twice as she follows me out to the dance floor. We’ve both drunk way too much, but neither of us are slowing down. It’s been a great night and we plan for it to finish on a high.
Rylee had hired a DJ not long ago and it was the best thing to have happened to her club. Well, honestly, her club was already incredible and has always been the most popular spot in town, but to me, there’s always been something extra exciting about seeing a DJ.
A drummer though… don’t get me started on drummers. God, they’re hot. Drummers have always turned me on. I think it has something to do with the way they like to bang things. Hmm, you know who really likes to bang things? Caden. Caden Fucking Mitchell. The man sure knows how to bang.
The music wraps around me and I feel completely lost in the moment, that is until Izzy drags me off the dance floor and into the bathroom while practically holding her vag. “Fuck, my bladder is about to explode,” Izzy groans as she hurries into a stall.
I hear her hurrying around in there and I giggle to myself as I decide it’s best that I pee too. “Oh, my God,” Izzy sighs in relief. “That’s so much better.”
I chuckle to myself as I finish up and come out to wash my hands. Izzy stands by the mirror touching up her lip gloss and I go to join her with my phone out and ready. We take a handful of selfies before Izzy gets carried away flicking through the pictures and adding filters so she can post it to her Facebook.
“Shit, your boobies look good in this one,” she says as she flicks the phone around to show me. “I could just squish my face right in there.”
“Shut up,” I grin as I look at the perfect, round curves peeking out from the top of my black dress. A lot of girls have issues when it comes to loving their own bodies, but not me. I love it. I’m petite with a firm waist and full boobs. I get the eyes of all the men in the room and call me conceited, but I enjoy it, though, I’m not up myself about it. It’s just the way it is.
I don’t purposefully go out looking for attention, though, some would argue that I do, especially with the way I’m dressed right now. But tonight is about letting loose and having fun. Usually, I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl.
As Izzy finishes up with the pictures, I can’t help but take a special one for Caden. I shimmy my dress down a bit, pull out my most seductive, luring smile and take a quick selfie. I laugh at the sexy photo before pulling my dress back up and opening a new message to the one and only Caden Mitchell.
Imogen – Hey, big boy.
I attach the picture and make sure to add a wink emoji before hitting send with a giggle. He’ll definitely get a kick out of that and probably a lot more.
Izzy and I are halfway back to the dancefloor when my phone starts buzzing in my bra. I pull it out and grin at his name across the screen. “Well, hello,” I say over the sound of the music.
“Hey, babe,” he says with a chuckle. “Where the hell are you? I can barely hear you.”
“The Dark Room,” I say with a smile as I hold a hand over my other ear, trying to hear him a little better, but it’s near impossible over the sound of the club. I’m tempted to go outside, but I’m having too much fun.
“Ahh,” Caden says. “Are you ok? How are you getting home? Who are you with?”
I resist rolling my eyes. While Caden is absolutely dynamite in bed, he’s absolutely infuriating. I mean, right next to my brother and father, he’s the most overprotective man I know. He’s treated me like a little sister my whole life so I was shocked when this whole thing developed between us, but don’t get me wrong, I was absolutely thrilled about it too.
The guy is hot and I’ve watched a string of women pining over him which is what had me interested in the first place. I mean, with all those women, he must have been doing something good between the sheets and I wasn’t disappointed.
Except for right now.
“I’m fine, Caden,” I say with a slight groan.
“How are you getting home?” he repeats.
Izzy gives me a curious look and I flick the phone around to show her the screen. She reads his name before giving me a grin and rolling her eyes, knowing exactly what’s going down right now. After all, Izzy has been my best friend since before I could walk so Cole and Caden are just as protective of her as they are of me.
“I don’t know,” I grunt. “We’ll probably catch a taxi.” The music changes to a song that’s a little more upbeat and I find myself desperate to dance again. “I have to go,” I tell Caden. “The bar is calling my name and I need to shake my ass.”
“Shit. Don’t hang u-”
I hang up and slide the phone back into my bra. After all, I’m supposed to be celebrating Izzy’s newfound freedom tonight, not obsessing over the man who’s currently rocking my world and blowing my mind.
Izzy and I head back to the bar to get ourselves some more yummy goodness before shaking our asses until they can physically shake no more.
It’s well past two in the morning when we stumble out the front doors of The Dark Room. We hold onto each other’s hand while laughing at the way Izzy fumbles over her heels.
I look up and down searching out a Taxi when someone approaches from the parking lot. I get ready to start digging through Izzy’s purse for the pepper spray I know she keeps when the person gets closer and the figure becomes very familiar, in fact, he’s so familiar just the sight of him has my legs clenching together.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Caden as a gust of wind blows my hair back away from my face and puts a chill right through to my bones. I cross my arms over my chest and run my hands up and down, trying to keep them warm.
I’m not surprised when Caden pulls his jacket off and throws it at me. “I’m taking you idiots home. Get in the truck.”
“You were just in the area, were you?” I question as I get busy pulling his jacket on and trying my hardest not to be seen inhaling the intoxicating smell that comes with it.
He smirks that sexy smirk that has me crippled inside. “Something like that,” he grunts before indicating with a flick of his head to get a move on.
“Yes, sir,” Izzy salutes before breaking into a fit of giggles and following behind Caden.
I hurry along and keep my eyes firmly on his tight ass as he walks. Caden and I have been doing this little dance for nearly a year now and it’s been great. We’ve managed to maintain the same relationship we had prior to getting in bed, but now we have the added bonus of hot sex. He’s still an overprotective ass and I still do everything in my power to push his buttons.
If I’m being completely honest, I have to admit that I actually really love the way he’s protective of me. It’s his annoying way of showing he cares and apart from my family, he’s the only man in my life who’s ever been able to get away with it. I’ve gotten rid of guys for much less in the past, and I swear, Caden could do monstrous things, and no matter what, he’ll always have this special piece of my heart. We have a strange relationship, but it works.
I don’t know why but since we started sleeping together, I haven’t been able to bring myself to be with anyone else. It’s not like we’re exclusive nor will we ever be. It’s just sex with no strings, so I can’t explain why I haven’t jumped in the sack with anyone else. Maybe Caden just has me completely satisfied that I don’t need another man, or maybe I can’t be bothered with anyone else as I know that no other man is going to be anywhere near as good.
I mean, the things he does to my body. Wow. My knees shake just thinking about it.
We’re just about at Caden’s truck when a familiar voice calls out behind us. “Hey.”
I turn around and find Rylee walking our way with her handbag hanging off her arm and her car keys firmly in her hand. “Hey, how are you?” I smile as I duck away from Caden and give her a welcoming hug.
“Good,” she laughs as she steadies me. “How was your night? I hope you didn’t drink as much as last time.”
“Guilty,” I smile. “We had a great night. Thank you so much,” I say, referring to the drinks which were free of charge all night. “Izzy really needed it.”
“No problem,” she says before looking over my shoulder at Caden who steps up beside me. “What are you doing here?”
“She drunk dialed me,” he tells her as he hooks his thumb in my direction. “I’m pretty sure she was looking for Cole’s number but hit me by mistake. I was out anyway so I thought I’d stop by to make sure these two get home.”
“Thanks,” she smiles. “Cole’s had a big night and I have no doubt he would have gotten himself out of bed to come and get her.”
“Um… I’m right here,” I say. “Did it occur to either of you that I don’t need you guys picking me up every time I leave my apartment? I am an adult, you know.”
“I know that,” Rylee laughs. “But as long as you’re still breathing, you’re going to have them hovering around you, whether you like it or not.”
“I know,” I groan before looking up at Caden. “Come on, you better get your ass moving before you have to carry Izzy up the stairs.”
At that, he looks back at Izzy who’s leaning against the side of his truck with her face smooshed against the cold window. “Shit, she’s smudging her makeup all over it,” he sighs before hooking his arm over my shoulder and dragging me away.
I look back over my shoulder at Rylee who’s watching us with a knowing grin and I have to wonder if she knows, but it’s not possible, nobody knows. I haven’t said a word and I know Caden wouldn’t say anything unless I was comfortable with it.
“See you later,” I say with a little wave before allowing Caden to lead me to his truck. “I think she knows,” I tell him on a whisper.
“Nah,” he says but there’s no conviction in it. When it comes down to it, it’s completely possible for her to have worked it out. She a smart woman and we’ve all been in the same room hundreds of time. She could have easily witnessed the little looks we give one another. “She would have said something if she knew, or at least said something to Cole who would have ripped me a new asshole by now.”
“Good point,” I grunt as we make it to his truck. Caden helps Izzy into the backseat while I make myself comfortable in the front.
Just as I had thought, twenty minutes later, Caden is walking up the stairs with Izzy draped over his shoulder. I unlock my apartment as usher him in before ducking down to my bedroom and grabbing a spare pillow to place down on the couch so he can lay her down. I grab the blanket off the back of the couch and throw it over her before yanking off her heels. She snores a little and makes herself comfortable before settling into a deep sleep.
“You ok here?” Caden asks as I kick off my own heels and head into the kitchen for a glass of water.
I finish off the glass before placing it down and strutting right up to him. My hand rests on his chest and I tilt my chin up so I can look him in the eye. His arms instinctively wrap around me and he pulls me in tighter. “Why don’t you come to bed?” I murmur as I press my lips to his.
He shakes his head ever so slightly but still manages to kiss me back. “You know my rules,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “I will remember it in the morning,” I argue.
“I don’t care,” he says. “I don’t sleep with girls who are drunk, no matter the circumstances.”
I do my best to bat my eyes lashes at him, but all that does is make my head spin. Shit, maybe he’s right. I should probably lay down. I give him a smile knowing sex is off the cards for tonight. “Your loss,” I tell him.
“Believe me. I know,” he says before curling his fingers around mine and dipping his head to kiss me again. “Come on,” he says. “Let me put you in bed.”
With that, he leads me down my hallway and pulls my dress over my head. I don’t miss the way his eyes rake over my body or the way his dick bulges in his pants. He wants me and I love that he does, but he has rules and I’ll respect them even if it kills me. Besides, I have a glow-in-the-dark friend hiding under my bed who can relieve the ache the second he walks out. Hell, if he isn’t fast, I might not wait for him to leave.
Caden pulls the sheets back and helps me to slide in bed. “You good?” he asks, repeating the question I never answered earlier.
“Yeah,” I tell him. “Thanks for coming and getting us.”
“It’s no big deal,” he says.
“It is,” I tell him. “I know you weren’t actually out. If I had to bet on it, I’d say you were already in bed.”
With a twinkle in his eye, he presses a kiss to my forehead and steps away to shut off the light. “Goodnight, Imogen,” he says, confirming what I already know.
“Night, Caden.”
With that, he walks out of my room and closes the door behind him. I hear him moving around my kitchen and I have no doubt he’s putting out two glasses of water and some painkillers for me and Izzy come morning.
Not long after, I hear him fiddling with the lock on the front door before closing it as he leaves.
I let out a sigh. Caden is going to make some woman extremely happy one day. He’s going to love her so fiercely that she’ll never want for anything, and honestly, the thought makes me a little jealous.