Chapter Twelve
Jasmine
We hang out by the bar, three couples having a night out, and it’s both bizarre and heartbreaking. It’s all I wanted once, but it’s too late now.
“So, how’s the shop coming along then, Grace?” Amelia turns to me. “She’s opening a cupcake shop, did you know? Must be Destiny.”
It takes me a second to realize that’s the name of the shop, and not a comment on why Grace is opening one in the first place.
“I’m getting there.” For some reason she blushes, as though she’s embarrassed Amelia brought the subject up in front of me. “Although, I don’t know what I was thinking to start my own business and plan my wedding for the same year.”
“You’ll be fine.” Amelia smiles at her like they’re good friends, and I take a sip of my soda to drown the small stab of regret that I’m the outsider. I was always the outsider. This isn’t my life anymore. And even if I could stay and start over, I wouldn’t.
Without much encouragement from Amelia, Grace talks about her wedding plans and I steal a sideways glance at Ty. He and the other guys are a little way along the bar, as though they’re deliberately giving us space to get to know each other, and unease slides through me. What does it matter if I get to know them or not?
Overreacting, much? It’s probably a lot more to do with the fact they don’t want to listen to wedding gossip. It’s not like the whole world revolves around me. Get over yourself, honey.
I take another sip of soda to hide my choke of laughter. Just because I’m not staying doesn’t mean I want Grace and Amelia to think I’m weird. Anyway, it’s fun, not least because both girls are nothing like the chicks Zach used to hook up with. Nothing like the old ladies of the Bastards, either, who took their cue from Angie and treated me like something stuck to the bottom of their shoe.
From the corner of my eye, I notice three guys lounging against the bar, and they’re not being subtle in the way they’re ogling Grace and Amelia, who appear oblivious.
Do those guys have a death wish? Can’t they see the bunch of Bastards beside us?
One sidles along the bar and offers me a lecherous grin. Wait. Me? “Hey, sugar. What’re you drinking?”
I give him my best court attorney smile, which reportedly has the power to freeze a perp’s balls at a hundred paces. “I’m not interested. But thanks.”
“It’s just a drink.” He shrugs, clearly thinking I’m playing hard to get. No balls, huh? “No strings.”
His two friends join him, zeroing in on Grace and Amelia, and I smother a sigh as Ty and the others prowl toward us like we’re their property and need protecting from predators.
That’s exactly what they think. I know that. Always have.
Yes, but it’s been a long time, and I no longer need anyone to look out for me. Especially since I know exactly the way the Bastards deal with anyone stupid enough to hit on their women.
Ty slings his arm around my shoulders and I tense, not fooled by his outward calm. It doesn’t matter how casual we are. This week, I’m his. And he’s never shared.
“Take a walk.” His voice is deadly, but the idiots don’t beat a retreat while they still can. Jesus, how drunk are they? Don’t they have any idea who owns the Hammer?
“Fuck you, asshole.” The one who tried to chat me up curls his lip at Ty, and no Bastard ever takes that kind of attitude without causing bloodshed. My grip tightens on my glass, and nerves spike through my chest.
Is this the way it’ll always be?
…
Ty
Jas goes rigid, and fury pumps through me. Tonight was going great until these douches showed up. I don’t recognize them, but even if I did, it wouldn’t make any difference. Their fate was sealed the second they made a move.
I release Jas and step forward, shielding her with my body. Adrenaline pumps through me, and I flex my fists in anticipation as Zach and Gage take up position by my side. Yeah, I’m all for a fair fight. It won’t take five of us to show them no one messes with a Bastard’s old lady.
They’re trapped with their backs against the bar, and for the first time, real fear flashes across their faces. I stare right in the eyes of the one who dissed me. “Something you want to say to me?”
He doesn’t answer, but his bottle of beer slips through his fingers and smashes on the floor. It won’t take more than a couple of punches to teach these shitheads a lesson. I glance over my shoulder, shooting Jas a cocky grin to let her know this’ll all be over in under a minute.
There’s a sad, resigned look in her eyes. She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t need to. Fighting doesn’t solve everything. Her words from the other day when I turned up after the midnight run rattle through my mind. She’d bitten her lip, and her eyes were suspiciously glassy, and like a dick I reveled in the knowledge she still cared enough to get upset because I was hurt.
Sometimes you just need to let things go. I’d laughed and told her I never let things go. Hell, I have a rep, and it’s everything. But looking at her now, doubt crawls in.
Unlike the other night, these pricks aren’t worth it. I know that. They’re probably shitting themselves right now, and giving them a few bruised bones isn’t going to change anything.
They’ll never come back to the Hammer.
I turn back to them, shoulder to shoulder with Zach and Gage. Am I really going to do this?
“Get out of here.” I don’t raise my voice, but it’s like the entire club falls silent, even though the band’s still playing and only the six of us can hear me. I step back, and after a second’s hesitation Zach and Gage mirror my actions. They might not agree with what I’m doing, but they’d never question me in public.
The three of them scuttle away like cockroaches, and I let out a long breath before catching Zach’s keen gaze. “You got a problem?”
“No, bro.” He slaps my shoulder and strolls off to wrap Grace in his arms. I catch Gage’s smirk, but he doesn’t say anything before pulling his girl toward him.
I face Jas. She’s staring at me as though she’s never seen me before. “You let them walk.”
I shrug. “Didn’t want to spoil your night.”
She traces her finger along my jaw. “Wow.” Her voice is soft. “You really have grown up, haven’t you?”
I loop my arms around her. “I told you a lot of things have changed since you left.” Sure, I hadn’t been talking about myself at the time, but I have. We both have. “I don’t need to show you how tough I am just to impress you anymore.” I grin because I never really needed to do that, but I want to see her smile again.
She doesn’t smile, but she threads her fingers through mine and pulls me toward the stairs. I tug her around to face me. “You want to go home already?”
“No. There’s something I need in your office.”
“You left something in there earlier?” She only had her purse, and she didn’t leave that behind.
“I didn’t say that.” This time I don’t resist, and she leads me up the stairs until we’re outside my office door.
She gives me a sideways glance and holds out her other hand. “Key.”
I drop it into her palm. “The plan was for me to drag you in here later tonight.”
“Well, plans change.” She pushes open the door and flicks on the light. I follow her inside, not bothering to hide my lecherous grin. “I think you’ll enjoy what I have in mind.”
“I’ll bet.” Images of her spread eagled on my desk fill my head as she locks the door behind us. “Lucky for you I’ve a couple of rubbers in my pocket.”
“Lucky for you I’ve a whole pack in my purse.”
I laugh and pull her close. “Long night ahead, huh.”
“That’s right.” She eases back, slides my cut over my shoulders and carefully places it on a chair. “I hope you have plenty of stamina.”
“For you, I’ll keep going all night.”
She pauses halfway through unbuttoning my shirt. “Only for me?” It’s obvious she thinks I’m spinning her a line. With anyone else, I would be.
I shrug out of my shirt, and she tosses it onto the floor. “Only for you,” I confirm, not sure why I need her to believe I’m not fooling around. “I don’t care about anyone else.”
A warning thuds in the back of my mind, but I ignore it. They’re only words. They don’t mean shit. Except I never sweet-talk chicks like this.
Only Jas.
I exhale a harsh breath, relieved she isn’t calling me out on it. But the strange, sad smile she gives me, as though she still doesn’t believe a word, is worse in a way.
Forget it. I push the unease to the back of my mind and grab the hem of her dress. “Your turn.”
She grips my wrist. “Not yet.”
I growl, and let her push my hand away. “Thought there was something in here you needed. You want me to get you off while you’re still dressed?” Now it’s crossed my mind, I like the idea a lot.
“Maybe later. Right now, I want to do something for you.”
This is sounding better by the second. “I like the way your plan’s shaping up, babe.”
“I thought you would.” She traces my lion tat with the tip of her finger, as though she’s relearning every line of the ink. Then she does the same to the sheltering crab, and something hot and hard fills my chest.
No girl’s ever done that. Not in ten years. And not because they didn’t try, intrigued by the Leo and Cancer signs, and thinking it’d make a great conversation.
Not fucking likely.
They never made that mistake twice.
I cover her hand and hold her palm against my chest. Just like I used to, but back then it was a possessive, automatic reaction. My girl and everyone knew it.
I don’t know what it means now. Slowly she slides her fingers from my grasp, her nails raking along my skin. Her gaze never leaves mine. With practiced ease, she unbuckles my belt, but instead of dragging my jeans down my legs, she pauses, her hands on my hips.
“You want some help there?” There’s a rough note in my voice, but I don’t follow through because it’s obvious she knows exactly what she’s doing.
“Back up.” She gives me a little push to get me moving. “I want you on the desk.”
“You’re stealing all my lines tonight.” But if that’s how she wants me, I’m sure not complaining. My butt hits the edge of the desk, and she hooks her thumbs into the waistband of my jeans, but still doesn’t rip them off me.
“Sit.”
“It’d be a lot easier if you’re the one sitting on the desk.”
“Not for what I have in mind. Are you going to argue all night, or just go along with it?”
“I’m not arguing.” I park my ass, and it’s damn uncomfortable with the open zip digging into my dick. “I’m suffering in silence.”
She follows my glance. “Ouch,” she says, but not as though she means it. “Maybe I’d better fix that.”
“If you want some action tonight, then yeah.”
She gives a little huh of laughter as she rearranges her handiwork, and I let out a relieved sigh as my jeans end up halfway down my thighs. I should’ve gone commando tonight.
“Is that better?” She tugs my hair free from its tie. You’re the only one who’s ever done that. Strange how a small action can mean so much. “No lasting damage?”
“I’ll survive.” I loop my arms around her waist but don’t pull her any closer. Her nails graze the back of my neck and across my shoulders, and I groan. “Maybe.”
Her deceptively sweet smile more than makes up for the frustration burning through my blood. She brushes her lips across mine, a barely there kiss, and it’s the hottest damn thing ever.
“Maybe?” she echoes, her breath warm against my ear. “Is that a challenge?”
“It’s anything you want it to be.” I palm her ass and ignore the powerful need to swing her around and fulfill my own fantasies of having her on my desk.
“Hmm.” Her tongue and teeth tease my earlobe while her fingers play havoc over my back. “I’m not here to keep score. Just to drive you out of your mind.”
“You’re halfway there already.”
“Only halfway? I need to up my game.”
I choke out a laugh and slide my hands over her thighs. Damn dress. “There’s nothing wrong with your game.”
She smiles against my jaw and then digs her fingers through my hair, holding my head as she kisses me like it’s the end of the world.
I trap her between my thighs, but she’s still not close enough to ease the throb of my cock. Her mouth and tongue are driving me crazy, sweet and hot and everything I’ve missed and craved for way too long.
Her hand wraps around the back of my neck as she breaks our kiss. “It’s not a game,” she whispers, but before I can even think of an answer to that, she moves down, brushing her lips over my shoulder and across my chest.
I manage to loosen her hair, and it tumbles down her back. I grunt in satisfaction and wind some strands around my fingers as she swirls her tongue around my nipple.
I fist my hand in her hair, pressing her more securely against me. My eyes close as she sucks and nibbles, and I’m way past halfway out of my goddamn mind.
“Bite me.” It’s a feral growl, and she smiles, her teeth grazing my flesh, but she doesn’t immediately obey. Instead, she scrapes her nails along my back, and I arch into her.
“Playing by my rules tonight, remember?” Her breath is hot against my skin, and she gives me a long, leisurely lick that I feel all the way down to my dick.
“I don’t remember agreeing to that.”
“I never said you did.” She sounds as though she’s trying not to laugh. “Do you really want to argue the point?”
Hell, no. “I’ll shut up and take it like a man.”
“That’s more like it. Although, it’s okay if you scream. I won’t mind.”
I pull her head back. She’s smirking, and it blows my mind. “I don’t scream. Not even for you, babe.”
“That’s the second challenge you’ve given me. How about a third? You might as well make it worth my while.”
I can’t even remember what the first one was. “How about you quit talking and just go down on me? Is that challenge enough?”
“Lame.” She shakes her head, and I relax my grip on her hair. “I’ll make you scream without going anywhere near your mighty dick.”
I choke out a laugh. “Mighty dick? Now who’s being lame?”
“What, don’t you believe me?” She looks up at me with those big brown eyes, and I’ll believe anything she says.
“Prove it.”
She lowers her head and circles my chest with hot, open mouthed kisses. Her hair falls across her face and slides over my skin, and if this is my reward for walking away from a fight then, damn, it’s more than worth it.
Her teeth clamp around my nipple, and she sucks hard, digging her nails into my back, gouging the flesh. It’s both pain and pleasure, and I grip her head, tangling her hair as I rear into her, wanting, needing, more.
My briefs are so tight that my dick’s in agony, but there’s no way I’m ripping them off just to gain some relief.
The tip of her tongue swirls around my nipple, and all I can hear is my harsh breath drying my throat. Don’t stop. It’s impossible to speak, but a cracked groan escapes me, like I’m dying.
She eases back, her breath hot against my damp skin. “You taste so good.”
“More.” I sound feral, and she smiles as she presses her mouth over my raw flesh. She takes her time, licking and kissing, and when she suddenly sucks me between her teeth like a fucking vampire, I damn near combust.
Her hands are everywhere, roaming over my back and hooking into the band of my briefs. I grunt in frustrated pain as she drags them down my legs, her nails flaying my naked thighs. She’s marking me as her property, and I fucking love it.
Without warning, she takes my hands and pulls me upright. “Chair.” It’s a breathy command, and I don’t even think before I collapse on the chair by the side of the desk. She sinks to her knees and continues to torture me with hot kisses across my stomach, her wicked nails scoring my chest.
My head falls back, and my eyes close. Christ, she’s killing me. Every bite and every scratch is winding me tighter, and every teasing lick and kiss unravels my mind. When her breath drifts across the head of my cock, I grasp handfuls of her hair, not even caring how my agonized groan echoes through the office.
She presses lingering kisses along my length and flicks the tip of her tongue across my balls. I slide back in the chair and widen my legs to give her better access, but my jeans are tangled around my calves, and I grunt in frustration.
Without missing a beat, she rolls on a condom, and before she’s even finished, her mouth encloses my head, hot and wet. The vision of her between my spread thighs going down on me is fucking insane.
It’s like the first time. The last time. As though there’s not been anyone since her. I give a strangled groan as she wraps her hand around me and sucks me in deep. She cups my balls and strokes her fingertips over me, her head moving in tandem with my desperate thrusts.
Pressure builds, blinding me to everything but Jas. Her mouth and tongue own me, and I don’t want this to ever stop. A desperate roar burns my throat. Not yet. But it’s too much, and I can’t hold back.
Fingers tangled in her hair, I fuck her sweet mouth, and she takes it all. Everything. I slump back, breath harsh, heart thundering, sucked dry.
I don’t know how long it takes before I can focus, but she’s sitting back on her heels, watching me with the most beautiful smile on her face I’ve ever seen.
It’s not over yet.
We’ve got all night.