Volatile Obsessions by Dee Garcia (32)

Two weeks had rolled by since the night Rome showed up at Vybe and, thankfully, he’d kept true to his word.

I hadn’t seen him.

Hadn’t heard from him.

Nothing.

On the one hand, I was grateful. Everything had spiraled way out of control, and we were falling captive to desires at an alarming pace. The only way to keep it at bay was to stay away from each other altogether.

A task easier said than done.

I was constantly astir. On edge. Wanting to seek him out. My body craved his touch, his kisses, the low timber of his voice in my ear when he growled in satisfaction. I wanted him so badly it—

“Earth to Lux.”

That was Suki as she snapped her fingers in my face.

Refocusing on her dolled up features, I found Ramsey looming behind her, too, both of them staring at me with curious eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked, arching a tattooed brow. “That’s the third time you’ve zoned out in the last half hour.”

The sad part was, she was absolutely right.

Drowning in a Roman King-induced Lala Land was all my brain seemed to be able to do these days. The flashbacks were so lucid, I actually felt the loss of his touch whenever I came to.

But since I was still somewhat ticked at Suki for forcing him on me that night, I hadn’t bothered telling them yet. It would only confirm Suki’s point, which would lead to a speech.

One I didn’t care to hear.

Rolling my eyes, I shooed them away instead and rose onto my feet from Suki’s cloud of a bed with a sigh. “I’m fine.”

“You sure about that?” she called out right as I sauntered into her bathroom to get myself ready for our evening.

Black Widow make up covered the entire countertop, along with a straightener, a curling iron, and a large jug of fake blood.

Can’t have Halloween without some gore.

“Yes,” I lied, reaching for the eye primer.

“Positive?” she pressed.

“Mhmm.”

“Hundred bucks says she was day dreaming about King again,” I heard her murmur to Ramsey.

Wand in hand, I jerked still. “I heard that!”

“You were supposed to!” she yelled back.

I loathed when they did this shit.

Slamming the small bottle back onto the counter, I poked my head around the threshold and glared at my two so-called best friends. “Fuck you, okay? I was not day dreaming about him.”

“No?” Suki crossed her arms, distributing all her weight on one stocking-clad leg. “Then what were you dwelling on so hard? And don’t say nothing because you know I’m not that vapid.”

Ramsey followed suit, daring me with the quirk in her expression to lie, and still all I could do was shrug.

“It’s nothing. Just some work shit.”

Suki and Ramsey exchanged a knowing look before they pinned it on me.

“I’m calling bull, L,” Ramsey piped up first.

“Oh, it’s bull, alright,” Suki agreed, bounding up to me with an accusing finger pointed at my chest. “Do I need to remind you I was there? I saw you, L, and I don’t mean just your performance. I saw you and King outside after the fact. All of it.”

Ramsey gasped and shuffled forward, too, as my entire body broke out in goose pimples. “What happened?”

“You wanna tell her or should I?” Suki snapped.

I bounced my gaze between the two.

Should I tell them?

Had Suki really seen or was she spouting shit out of her ass to get me to talk? Wouldn’t be the first time.

“Well, I’d like to know what you supposedly saw before I tell Rams how insane you are.”

Suki looked at me like I’d lost my mind, her mouthing popping open and all. “Are you kidding me right now? Is he frying your brain cells that much?”

“Just tell me what you saw Suk!” I barked.

My patience had about reached its end.

“They were arguing.” She turned to Ramsey. “I couldn’t hear about what exactly with the music blaring, but they were arguing, Lux had him cornered. And from one second to the next, they were on each other like rabid animals. Like they needed each other to breathe.”

Ramsey’s eyes blew up. I could almost see a million little hearts swimming to the surface within them.

“Is this true?” she asked.

I didn’t move a single muscle. Didn’t speak. I just stared at them with the most blank expression possible.

Wasn’t blank enough, though.

The answer must have been written all over my face given the way realization dawned over hers. “You’re sleeping with the enemy?!”

Fucks sake.

Attempting to remain as calm as possible, I offered them a simple shake of my head. “We haven’t slept together.”

“Yet,” Suki chimed in.

“No, not yet, for your information,” I retorted. “We came to an agreement actually.”

An anxious silence briefly filled the room as they stood before me, waiting for me to elaborate.

The sigh that left me could not have sounded more exasperated. “We agreed to stay away from each other.”

Suki scoffed and rolled her eyes while Ramsey busted out laughing, shaking her flaming red head.

“I’d like to point out that I—”

“If you say called it so help me God, Rams,” I growled, beyond irate at their reactions.

“She did, though,” Suki countered in her defense. “We both did, but that’s beside the point. I could give three fucks if you’re turning him inside out or not. What I want to know is why the bloody hell you’ve been hiding this from us? I mean, I suspected, hence why I did what I did, but really? Really, L?”

The was a tinge of an ache in her voice. An ache I’d put there by being unnecessarily secretive, an ache that lanced right through me and wound itself around my heart.

I couldn’t have felt more like scum than I did in that moment, swallowing down the lump of guilt that had briskly accumulated in my throat.

“I’m sorry, okay? It wasn’t intentional. I barely knew how to handle it myself so I kept my mouth shut.”

“Yeah? And now I’m going to keep my mouth shut before I say something that’s going to ruin our evening to shit,” Suki grated.

“Both of you stop.” Ramsey stepped between us, holding a palm out to our chests. “Now is not the time to hash this out, but we will discuss this later, got it?”

The question was clearly directed at me, and while I really didn’t want to go into depth on this topic just yet, I knew I didn’t have much a choice anymore. They knew and there was no way to backtrack from here.

“Fine,” I conceded, my voice even and surprisingly steady. “I’m going to finish getting ready then. If you need me, I’ll be doing my makeup.”

“Don’t put on too much,” Ramsey called out behind me. “Our masks will cover it.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.

She had a point, but only to an extent. Purge Crew or not, I didn’t intend to wear the damn thing all night. Ladies drank for free until ten, and I planned to be blasted by then.

Twenty minutes later, I’d made myself up to near perfection and was mid-way through applying falsies when my phone vibrated on the counter. I stole a quick glance at the screen as I set the lash in place, only to do a double-take and nearly drop the damn thing in the sink.

My heart immediately started banging in my chest. I stared at the message for several long moments before dropping the tweezers and snatching up the phone.

Deep down, I knew damn well who it was, but I tried convincing myself otherwise. I mean, it couldn’t be, right?

When the reply came through almost instantaneously, I peeked out into Suki’s room to ensure they weren’t going to barge in at any given moment, and shut the door, pressing my back flush against its cool surface.

It was him.

Thump, thump, thump.

My fingers moved at lightning speed.

So was I, but no. I couldn’t allow it. We all know what happened the second I let that man anywhere near me…

Setting the phone back onto the counter, I dragged my gaze up to my flustered reflection. Getting rid of Roman of was going to be harder than I thought.

My phone buzzed yet again.

If I told him, he’d show. There wasn’t a single doubt about it in my mind.

So I opted for vague.

And that’s how I left it, hoping like hell he’d take the hint and leave it at that, too.

Spoiler alert…he didn’t.

Creepy glowing masks with the X’d out eyes.

Blood-stained white tees.

Black thigh-high nylons.

By nine o’clock—and without further inquisition on the Roman front—the girls and I made it to Club Space in our full-on Purge gear.

By nine-thirty, Stryker and his boys joined us at the bar, also in Purge ensembles.

And by ten, I’d effectively accomplished my goal for the evening.

I was feeling good.

Really good.

The kind of good where everything is wonderful and comical, where everyday problems and stressors don’t exist—leaving you weightless.

Dazed.

In a state of bliss.

Smile on my face, I swayed around on the crowded dance floor with my girls, jamming out to Major Lazer. We were packed together like lab rats, but I didn’t care.

I couldn’t be bothered to give a single fuck.

The vibe in here was insane.

Freeing.

Strobe lights above flickered and flashed in different colors, heightening the energy rippling through the club with every minute that passed. Bodies writhed to the beat, drinks were passed along, substances of all kinds were consumed at every turn.

It’s like Ultra and Halloween fucked on ecstacy and had a baby.

Taking another sip from my drink, I dragged my gaze over to Suki. She was shamelessly all over Stryker, staking her claim for every woman in the near vicinity to see. Ramsey wasn’t too far behind with Marco either, though hers wasn’t as possessive as it was drunk and horny.

I shook my head amusedly.

Fucking slags, the both of them.

When G-Eazy and Halsey faded in with “Him and I,” hoots and hollers of approval erupted all around us. Even I belted out an appraising scream, lifting my arms in the air.

I threw my head back.

Shut my eyes.

I loved this song despite what it stood for and who it made me think of.

No, we’re not going there…

Pushing him back to the recess’ of my mind, I continued swaying my hips, rocking side to side sensually, completely lost in the music.

But that’s when I felt it…

Searing body warmth.

A strong arm around my waist.

A possessive hand at my hip and warm lips ghosting along the column of my neck.

No.

I stilled in place, melting inadvertently into this familiar touch regardless of my girls standing not five feet away.

Regardless of my brain screaming, “Abort, abort!”

“Didn’t I tell you that you couldn’t run from the King?” His voice somehow boomed in my ear above everything else, reeling me further into him.

Not a single word came out of my mouth.

And believe me, I tried. My mouth popped open, ready to outcry my demurral.

But words failed me.

Suddenly, I was ten times more buzzed; light-headed, weak in the knees, my stomach one giant knot.

He was here.

How?

Why?

“Tongue tied, are we?” Roman chuckled, rolling his hips against me.

Again, I couldn’t answer. It felt like every set of eyes in the room was on me.

On us.

The girls’ were for sure. Stryker and Marco, too. I didn’t have to look their way for confirmation; their stares were more than palpable.

Fixated.

Downright shocked.

I had to get Roman out of here before the drunken inquisition started.

Reaching back, I gripped his wrist and yanked him off the dance floor without any explanations. In my half sensible state, I trudged through the masses in an emotional fog, the palm of my hand aflame at the feel of Roman’s skin beneath my own.

Why the fuck was he here?

How did he find me?

Is this what it had come to? Him stalking me because I wouldn’t give him what he wanted?

Correction, what you both want, commented that little voice in my head.

I almost groaned aloud, frustrated at everything, especially myself. I never should have let him kiss me. Never should have let him put his hands on me. Never should’ve given him that fucking dance either.

I should’ve stood my ground and told Suki to handle it.

But no, the masochist in me wanted another taste, and I gave in.

Twice over.

The span of the club seemed to go on forever until finally the front doors came into view. I picked up the pace, desperate to fill my lungs with fresh air, to put an infinite amount of space between us and end this once and for all. I was literally dragging him, weaving in and out of every person standing between me and some sort of freedom.

The second we made it out into the muggy October night, I yanked Roman across the street without regard for oncoming traffic and whipped him onto the sidewalk with a growl. Chest heaving, I released him with purpose and took several steps back, inhaling heaps of air.

“What? What the fuck do you want?” I questioned, arms flying out in frustration, my gaze colliding with every set of eyes on us.

It seemed we’d enraptured an audience in our hasty exit.

Roman laughed softly, clenching and unclenching his fists as he began advancing on me. “You know what I want.”

Each step forward felt like the ground shook along with it, propelling me backwards on shaky legs until my back hit the stucco exterior of another club.

“I want you,” he gritted out.

“And I’ve already told you no.”

He was on me in seconds flat, looming over me, his face illuminated by the streetlamps around us. Hands falling to my hips, he pressed himself against me as the tip of his nose skated along my jaw.

Fend him off, fend him off, fend him off!

Ridiculously dazed after two point five seconds of contact, I somehow managed to shove his chest and jerk him off me just slightly.

But he was back in double the speed.

The look that awaited me—while satisfied to have me where he wanted me—was also completely serious. “No isn’t really an option.”

I saw red, pure flaming indignant red.

Who the hell did he think he was? How many times did we need to go through this for him to understand?

“You agreed! What part of stay away—”

“EHHH,” he cut me off with this obnoxious buzzer sound, cocking his head to one side. “Don’t come at me with that bullshit again because right now, at this point time, it’s the wrong fucking answer, and you know it damn well.”

He growled that last bit.

So deep and so deliciously malevolent, I actually found myself shivering, drawing that sinister grin across his face.

Feeling victorious, he assessed me closely from head to toe, blue eyes blazing, his breath hot against my cheek. “You know you’re mine, Lux—have been for a while now. Since before that kiss if you want to get technical.”

I rolled my eyes, hoping the darkness would hide the heat building in my cheeks. “I’m not yours, and you seriously need to get over that.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, kitty kat. I’ll obsess about whatever and whoever I want,” he purred, dragging the pad of his thumb along my bottom lip.

I laughed sardonically to keep up the appearance, but he was already wearing me down. I’d been alone with him less than five minutes and he was already wearing me the fuck down.

My heart galloped.

My stomach flip-flopped a million times.

How did this man always manage to do this to me, and more importantly, why did my body always betray me?

“You laugh, but I don’t hear a no. You know I’m right,” he added.

“No, you’re not.”

“I am, trust me. I can see right through that shiny metal shield you hold in front of me. You want me as badly as I want you. Two fiends in one fucked up pod.”

“You’re delusional,” I stated and he chuckled.

“Sometimes, I suppose, but I’m not when it pertains to this. Have you taken a moment to really think about what this could mean? Do you know how powerful we could be together, Lux?”

“I’m already powerful,” I barely grated.

“Yes, you are. Now imagine that doubled. Double the power, double the rewards. The benefits,” he growled, rolling his hips against me. “You know I’d never let anyone hurt you, right?”

A blatant scoff left me. “Yeah, cause you’d rather hurt me yourself.”

“Only in all the delicious, torturous ways you like, love.”

I swallowed deeply, trying my damndest not to envision the filth his words brought to mind.

“We had an agreement,” I reminded him. “Why do you insist on making this harder than it needs to be?”

Breaths shallow, his nostrils flared. “Because I can’t stay away from you. I only agreed for your sake—that doesn’t mean it’s what I want.”

“You want Miami? Take it! Take it all! If it means you’ll leave me be then just fucking take it all!” I bellowed, trying and miserably failing to push him away.

He was far too lithe, though.

Catching my wrists in his grip, he shoved me back into the stucco as a growl unfurled from deep within his chest.

“I don’t want it if I can’t have you. What part of that don’t you understand?”

“All of it. I was serious then, and I’m still serious now. Stay away from me, Rome. Go find someone else to aim your crazy at!”

Not really what I wanted, but I hadn’t accepted that yet.

Hadn’t even realized it yet.

Until I stormed back into Space and he didn’t come after me…