Courtney
“Are we going to talk about the other day?” Mom tries for the millionth time.
“I already told you. We’re friends.”
She purses her lips together as we pull into the parking lot of the shop. “Sweetheart, I’m not comfortable with this. He’s…after all he did…” Anger flashes in my mom’s blue eyes. “He ruined you, baby.”
I stiffen and shake my head. If she only knew how badly he ruined me last night, there’s no way in hell she’d let me go work for him today. Or ever for that matter. “I deserved my sentencing,” I tell her softly. “But we’re working on a friendship now. He’s fixing my car. I’m helping him out. It’s fine, Mother.”
A heavy sigh escapes her. “I just worry about you. You’re so…”
Fragile.
That’s the word she likes to use on me to others as if I don’t hear her talking to my aunt Elaine on the phone all the time.
I’m not fragile.
At least not lately.
Despite Rome saying that he hates me, his body tells me something totally different. When I’m around him, I feel stronger. Fierce. Brave.
“Everything is okay,” I assure her, my voice unwavering.
She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “All right. I trust your judgment.” A smile plays at her lips. “Oh, I may be out late tonight. Don’t wait up.”
I lift both brows. “What? Why?”
Her cheeks tinge pink. “I have a date. Well, another one.”
“Another one? Mom, you never told me you had a first one!”
Her laughter is one that used to warm me as a child. Carefree. Beautiful. Comforting. “We’ve been seeing each other for a little while now. I wanted to tell you, but…”
“But what?”
“I wasn’t sure how you’d take it.” She bites on her bottom lip and she seems younger to me.
“I’m happy as long as you’re happy.”
She nods. “I am. He’s so good to me. And handsome too. Of course you already know that.”
I frown. “I do?”
“Keith. It’s your boss, Keith. Ever since the trial…” She smiles.
“This has been going on since then?”
“Things are pretty serious.”
I reach over and hug her. “Oh my God, Mom! I’m so happy. Of all people, Keith is the nicest person ever.”
She pats me and chuckles. “He’s wonderful. This is such a relief that you’re okay with it.”
We pull away and I grin at her. “I’m more than okay. I’m really happy for you both.”
Someone bangs on the hood of my mom’s car, causing both of us to scream. My eyes lock with Jamal. He flips me the bird before sauntering inside.
“I hate that guy,” I groan.
“Does he harass you? Because if he does, you don’t have to go in there. I’ll find a way to repair your car. You don’t have to do this,” she says, her brows furrowed together.
“It’s fine,” I repeat. And it is. Jamal can kiss my ass.
We say our goodbyes and I hurry inside. Jamal sits at the front counter as if he’s waiting for me. His dark eyes are cold and calculating.
“What are you staring at?” I hiss.
“I was just wondering when we started hiring dumb cunts.”
I shake off his rude comment and start for the shop door. Before I can wrench it open, he grabs my bicep hard enough to make me yelp in pain.
“Your attitude fucking stinks,” he snarls, his spittle spraying my face.
All irritation falls away as terror claws its way up my throat. I’m staring up at this creep when I feel heat behind me. My body responds. The hairs on my arms stand on end and my aching body trembles.
“Is there a problem?” Rome grits out, barely containing his anger.
Jamal laughs and releases me. “She was about to fall. I grabbed her right before it happened.” He yanks the door open and disappears into the shop.
I expect Rome to ask me what happened or want to talk about last night. Instead, he grunts before jerking the door open. He stalks into the shop and I have to hurry to keep up with him. We make it all the way into the supply room without speaking a word to each other. Once inside, he slams the door shut and I yelp.
“What did I tell you?” he demands, his jaw clenching with rage.
I look down at my uniform shirt and jeans. Today I’d left the dark lipstick at home and just have shimmery rose gloss on my lips. My messy hair has been pulled into a ponytail. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“I don’t know…”
His eyes are on mine as he stalks me. I stand there like the sheep he claims I am because I want to get devoured by him. Again. Last night is on constant replay in my mind. With each step, his features tighten and become more murderous. His body pushes mine until I’m pinned to the wall.
In a shockingly gentle move, he caresses my cheek. His brows crash together and his eyes dart all over my face as if I’m a puzzle he’s trying to understand.
“I said stop being so fucking pretty.” His forehead leans against mine and he clenches his eyes shut. “Why do you have to be so goddamned gorgeous?”
I smile, despite the fact he seems furious about his words. “I didn’t wear much makeup.”
His palm finds my throat and he runs his thumb along the flesh. “It’s you. There’s no hiding it.”
“I can’t control that,” I say with a soft chuckle.
“I could make you wear a bag over your head,” he utters, his warning serious. “Fuck, you make me mental.” His lips find my neck and he sucks the flesh hard. “Maybe if I mark you up, people will stay the fuck away.”
I moan when his teeth scrape across the side of my neck. “Why do you want them to stay away?”
His palm cups me between my thighs and he expertly massages my clit through my jeans. “Because you’re mine to torment.”
Because you’re mine.
I conveniently leave the rest of his words out of my mind.
“Yes,” I agree. My head tilts to the side as I offer him more of my skin. “You better show them.”
He sucks hard on my flesh. Over and over again. He bites me until he makes me bleed and I scream. I try to push him away, but then he’s licking away the hurt as he draws pleasure from me. My legs shake and my knees buckle the closer to my orgasm I get. Last night, I didn’t get one because the sex was over as quickly as it began. I’d had to go home and take care of myself. But it wasn’t the same. I wanted it to be him.
“I’m going to ruin this cunt,” he warns, his touch soothing despite his tone. “I’m going to ruin you.”
“I want you to,” I breathe.
He nips at my ear and his hot breath sends me careening for the edge of sanity. All it takes is a few more circles of his fingers before I’m lost completely to the madness only Rome Murray can invoke. I cry out and my knees give out. But he’s there. Still delivering pleasure between my thighs but holding me up with his other arm. I clutch his shirt and ride out the dizzying waves. The moment I come down from my high, he releases me and jerks away as though he’s just remembered I’m a poisonous plant he’s not supposed to touch.
“Stay in here. Don’t open that door for anyone.” He scrubs at his face and pins me with his wild green eyes. His inky black hair hangs over his brow and the raven on his neck seems to breathe in cadence with his own heavy breaths.
“Not even for you?” I bite on my lip as I devour his sexy appearance. I love the wife beaters he wears that look painted on his perfect body. I love the smooth curves of his muscular arms and shoulders that are colored with ink that tell a story I want to know. I especially love the way his thick cock bulges in his jeans. He may lie and say he doesn’t want this, but his body knows the truth.
“Especially not for me, sheep.”
A sound of annoyance escapes him and then he’s gone, slamming the door behind him. I can hear his keys jangle as he locks me inside. This should terrify me considering half the time he looks like he wants to destroy me. Instead, I feel safe. Like he’s keeping me just for himself.
I like that idea a whole lot.
My phone buzzes in my purse and I let out a ragged sigh. Every muscle in my body aches from the way he’s run me physically through the ringer the past couple of days. I’m wobbly, but I fall into the chair and check my phone without incident.
Rome: You’re coming home with me tonight.
A chill skitters through me.
I like that idea a whole lot better.
In my head, going home with Rome meant alone. Just the two of us. But as we walked through the shop earlier, he was barking out orders to people. Mike, pick up some fuckin’ food. Jamal, don’t get the cheap vodka this time or he’ll take it out of his paycheck when he has to go buy the real shit. Nick, leave the skanks at home this time. Hector, tell your old lady where you’ll be at so she doesn’t show up again with a baseball bat thinking you’re sleeping around on her.
Feeling out of place, I followed Rome, like the sheep he always claims, into his car. He only spoke to me when he drove by my house. Pack a bag and make it quick. I’d been able to change clothes and scribble a note to my mom telling her I wasn’t coming home, but I didn’t even have all my toiletries packed before he started honking the horn.
Impatient ass.
Now, I’m completely out of place. I’ve tucked myself away in the corner of the kitchen while Rome’s modest home fills with some familiar faces from the shop but many more I’ve never met. He’s nowhere to be seen and I’m stuck talking to some guy named Kyle.
“You go to school around here?” Kyle’s eyes keep dropping to my cleavage and I now wish I’d thrown on a T-shirt rather than a tank top. The white material hugs my skin in a way I’d hoped would get Rome’s attention. He didn’t even look up from his phone earlier when I got back into the car. He certainly didn’t notice I’d changed into a denim skirt and was showing all kinds of leg to him. The moment we arrived at his house, he bolted. Again.
“I’m hoping to go to the community college this fall. I’ve been working on getting enrolled.” I flash him a fake cheerleader smile. What I don’t tell him is by “working on getting enrolled,” I really mean praying the dean approves my application. Convicted felons have to get special approval and all.
“No shit?” he says, a lopsided grin on his face. “My brother goes there. If you see Brad Nixon, that’s him.”
I keep the plastic smile in place. “Okay.”
He starts telling me a story about God knows what, but I’ve lost all interest. The room seems to stand still the moment I sense Rome’s presence. My eyes dart between people crowding the kitchen so I can look for his sexy face. The moment my stare locks with his smoldering green-eyed one, every hair on my flesh stands on end as though he’s the one creating this electromagnetic pulse. Kyle drones on, but I can’t look at him.
All I see is Rome.
His perfectly chiseled jaw clenches in that angry way that sets my blood ablaze. He’s not wearing a shirt after his shower and looks good enough to eat in all his lean, muscled tattooed glory. His jeans are holey and worn-out from years of wear, but they look good on him, hanging low on his hips. The black band of his boxers peeks out above them, hiding what I know is a huge dick.
A dick that was buried deep inside me last night.
I shiver at the reminder. Rome gets stopped by some guy who slaps his shoulder and laughs like a freaking buffoon. I take the moment to stare blatantly at his abs that are so cut and defined they almost don’t seem real. His oblique muscles are hard and contoured, bracketing the trail of dark hair that disappears beneath his boxers.
I want to lick him there.
From right below his belly button along that flesh that leads straight to his cock.
My body feels as though it will combust at any moment. I lick my lips and dart my eyes up to find him staring hard at me. Angry. Hateful. But so damn hot.
“Are you cold?” Kyle asks, his hand gripping my bicep. “You’re shivering.” When he starts rubbing up and down on my skin, the goosebumps only get worse.
“I’m fine,” I utter, ignoring the burning glare that’s being shot at me from across the room. I guess we’re back to square one. Him hating the ground I walk on.
“Here,” Kyle says with a chuckle. “This will help.” He turns away from me and grabs a bottle of vodka. After splashing some into a red solo cup, he hands it to me. “Warm you right up.”
Kyle is cute in a baby-faced way. Floppy brown hair. A smattering of freckles on his cheeks. Big brown eyes. Crooked smiles for days.
He’s just not him.
Fire and fury and ferocity.
Kyle is not Rome.
Sharp and severe and hard.
I sip the disgusting liquor and make a face.
“I never said it was good,” Kyle says with a laugh. “Just that it’ll warm you up.”
“It’s so gross.” We both laugh when I make another face after I sip it again.
A giant body bumps into Kyle as it pushes past him. “That’s because you kids are drinking this cheap shit Jamal brought, that fucker.”
I nearly choke the moment Rome reaches between us into the cabinet beside me. His hard chest brushes against mine and I let out an audible gasp.
“Drink this instead.” He sets a different bottle of liquor down beside me on the counter, but I can’t look at it. My eyes are glued to the raven on his throat. Pulsating. Breathing. Living.
“No shit? Thanks, man,” Kyle chirps from behind him.
Rome makes no moves to retreat from me. His body heat warms me faster than the alcohol ever could. I chance looking up at him. His still-wet hair hangs in his eyes, but it barely masks the flickering of rage. The greens and browns in his irises seem to swirl and glow as he watches me.
I should just reach up and kiss him.
Then we could go back to this weird sexual energy we have and not this barely contained hate he has for me. Kyle reaches around him to pluck my cup from me. Still, neither Rome nor I move. Rome’s eyes dart to my lips for a second, but then his nostrils flare as he tears away his gaze.
“Careful,” he sneers, his thumb brushing across my breast and teasing my nipple through my shirt and bra. “Dress like a whore…” He pinches my nipple and I cry out. “Get treated like a whore.”
Prickles of tears assault my eyes, but I refuse to let him or anyone see me cry.
“I’m not a whore,” I hiss under my breath.
He laughs. Cold. Cruel. Mocking. “Keep telling yourself that.” He looks over his shoulder at Kyle. “She’s all yours, big man.”
I’m still in shock long after he leaves my presence.
“What an asshole,” Kyle jokes as he hands me back my cup.
I chase my tears with the better tasting vodka. No sips. Just one quick chug. My throat burns, but I’m already shoving the red plastic back into Kyle’s hands for more. He chuckles and pours another shot’s worth into the cup.
“Cheers,” he says, his body moving closer to mine.
“To what?” I almost snap out the words but soften barely.
“To getting fucked up.”
Fine. I’ll drink to that.
Another fake smile and I down the liquid fire.
“You look really nice,” Kyle says as he once again appreciates my top.
When I steal a look after Rome to see if he notices my top too, he’s laughing with Jamal and some short, black-haired girl. My stomach flops and I greedily accept another one of Kyle’s offered shots.
This is going to be a long night.