Текст книги "Being a Jett Girl"
Автор книги: Meghan Quinn
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 20 страниц)
I pressed my hand against her face and cupped her cheek. “Thank you, little one, for trying for me. I know sometimes my style is against your nature, but I appreciate you trying.”
“Anything for you, Jett.”
I gripped her chin and placed a very gentle kiss on her lips before pulling away.
“Sweet dreams, little one. Get some sleep.”
Every time I left her to herself, I saw the pain that crossed her face but that was a pain that I would ignore because even though Goldie was etching a hole in my black heart, I still had my boundaries and sleeping in the same bed was a boundary I wouldn’t be crossing. There was a reason why no one but me had seen my bedroom because there is a line in my life that no one is allowed to cross, not even a sassy, foul-mouthed, honey-haired girl, no matter how much she plagued my mind.
Chapter Three
“Pour Some Sugar on Me”
Lo
“Someone seems to be in a good mood,” Babs said as she ran next to me on the treadmill.
Lately, I’ve been killing it on the workouts and it was oh, so gratifying when the strong and powerful Kace couldn’t take me down with his burpees and push-ups. I held right up there with the other girls. Yes, when I got back to my room I soaked in my tub for hours, trying to heal my sore muscles but still, I stuck it to him.
“Jett came home last night,” I said, keeping our conversation simple. I still felt a little awkward that the other girls were never called up to the Bourbon Room. Don’t get me wrong, I was ecstatic about it but I always felt awkward talking about my…involvement with Jett. It wasn’t a relationship, it was just an involvement.
“Ahh, I see. That’s why you have some steam to burn off. You’re no longer moping around the club because you got some man last night.”
“I wasn’t moping,” I replied, trying to hold on to a shred of dignity.
Babs saw right through me as she said, “Okay, Lo. Nice try. I know you better than that.”
I smiled and continued to run my warm-up as the other girls trickled in for our daily workout. We all knew the drill. We did ten minutes on the treadmill and then did whatever kind of plyometric crap Kace planned for us, then ended with either some weights or a little bit of yoga. It was a good hour and a half to two hours that we spent in the gym almost every day. I wanted to complain but when I looked in the mirror and saw how toned I was, I had to admit, well-fucking done, Kace, well-fucking done.
Once we wrapped up our warm-ups, we noticed that the man with the whip hadn’t shown up yet which was very strange, he was usually in the gym before any of us.
“Where’s Kace?” Tootse asked, confused as she wiped the sweat off her brow.
“No clue,” Francy replied as she put a stray hair behind Tootse’s ear. They were adorable together and sometimes had me wondering if at some point I should take a tour down Tuna Town because it seemed like they had it going on. I was jealous of their relationship, of seeing how affectionate they could be without a worry or care.
Pepper looked at her watch and said, “Well, he’s not here so that means our workout must be canceled. I have some massive school work I have to get done by tonight because I’ve been procrastinating and dreaming up new choreography so I’m going to peace out girls.” She slapped our asses and took off.
“I have some colors to review for my makeup line so I’m going to take off too,” Babs replied as she winked and ran out the hallway and up the stairs.
And then there were three.
Tootse and Francy smiled at each other and Francy pulled Tootse into her arms and asked, “Shower?”
A devilish smile spread across her face as she nodded. They entwined their fingers, gave my cheek a little pat and then walked up the stairs together.
“Must be nice,” I muttered as I lightly kicked one of the exercise balls in the room.
I had a lot of decisions to make when it came to my school work but I wasn’t in the mood to do that and I was only allowed on the third floor when Jett invited me so offering to take a shower with him would be looked down upon, so that left me with one other option that was probably the worst choice but I apparently love walking on the wild side, so I headed to Kace’s room.
I knew where his room was located but never actually been there. I was eager to see where he lived, what his room looked like, maybe catch a glimpse of the mysterious man.
Located in the back hallway, on the first floor, where there were no lights and was a little frightening, was Kace’s room. The hallway wasn’t in the best of shape like the ones upstairs and his door looked like it was made of the cheapest wood available. Talk about a servant’s wing, this was it for sure.
A pang of hurt soured through me as I thought about Kace living alone back here. It seemed so dreary, so sad that I kind of wanted to tell him he could move into my room if he wanted. There was plenty of room for him to do so. I laughed to myself as I thought of Jett’s reaction to Kace and I becoming roomies, it wouldn’t go over well that’s for sure.
The image of braiding each other’s hair and staying up late, eating popcorn…
“What the hell are you doing here?” Kace said behind me, making me jump right out of my damn bra.
“Jesus Christ!” I yelled as my heart pounded in my chest. “You just can’t scare people like that.”
“I asked you a question.”
I put my hand on my hip and said, “Well excuse me for wanting to check on you. You didn’t show up for the workout so I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Kace stepped into the light and tried to move past me but not before I saw the bloody lip he was sporting and the bruises across his face.
I stopped him by pulling on his arms and said, “Oh my God, what happened to you?”
I went to touch his lip but he pulled away and sidestepped my embrace.
“Leave,” was all he said as he blew by me, opened his door and quickly shut it.
Well, that was rude.
My mind debated with itself as I tried to figure out what my next move was going to be. I could leave like he asked me to and go up to my room, maybe paint my nails, do some girly shit or I could do what was in my blood and defy the man and walk right into his bedroom. I never liked straying from being myself…so I puffed my chest, gave myself a quick pep talk and walked in his room.
The hallway that seemed like ghosts were popping out of the walls was a stark contrast to Kace’s actual room. His room was so cozy, so welcoming. He didn’t have much on the walls but the neutral tones that he used made the whole room feel inviting and warm.
As I looked around, I noticed there really wasn’t any kind of personal items hanging or on display. The only thing I assumed was a memento from his life was a pair of boxing gloves hanging on the wall and a picture of him and Jett that was framed and on his night stand. Other than that, it was a pretty bland room.
There was a door open next to the window in the corner of his room so I crept toward it, trying to be quiet. As I worked my way forward, I heard a shower running and stopped in my tracks.
Kace was showering. Kace, the brooding but oh so hot man, was showering! I needed to leave for many reasons but as I told myself that, my feet seemed to move forward rather than backward. My body was so defiant.
Curiosity won out as I walked forward and snuck a peak into his bathroom. It was a little smaller than mine but still updated and nice. There were a few male hygiene products on the bathroom counter and a green toothbrush but that was about it. My eyes wandered to the glass encased shower that was steaming up but not steaming up enough because what I saw had me panting like a damn dog in heat.
Kace stood in the middle of the shower, naked and totally lost in the water dripping down his body. His hands were running through his hair, showing off his well-defined muscles as well as the tattoo that was still a mystery to me. It was along his rib cage but was in such loopy cursive that I had a really hard time reading it. His muscles flexed as he moved with the water and droplets ran off his skin like the sexiest damn rain I’ve ever seen.
Cleaning his body with a bar of soap, I watched his hand run across each curve of his torso, which started a throb in the center of my core. I held on to the side of the door as my breathing started to hitch from the soft porn that I was watching.
I looked closer and noticed a deep v-cut in his waist that had my mouth watering as my eyes ran farther south, very south.
Hello!
Holy fuck, at that moment I realized Kace was seriously packing, like those are some balls I want in my mouth. He was just as big as Jett and just as trimmed. I wondered what he might look like when he was erect. Every nerve in my body was set on fire as I tried to pry my eyes away but I couldn’t, I was fascinated. I was entranced; I was peeping at a penis that I shouldn’t be but yummy was he hot.
His hand ran down his body even farther and washed the length of his penis, making it stand slightly to attention from his touch. I heard a slight groan release from his mouth as his hand traveled back up his body and across his stomach. Even the little grunt coming from the steamy shower turned me on. Even though I knew my heart was saved for Jett, there was still a little part of it that was saved for Kace and right now, that little part was beating widely.
Totally fixed on the little show that was playing in my head where Kace came at me with that giant salami roll he had between his legs, I missed the fact that the shower had turned off and Kace was now standing in front of me, naked.
“Get a good show?” he asked as he reached for a towel but still not covering up.
I didn’t know what to say other than, “Errrr, doye,” so I kept my mouth shut.
He wiped droplets of water out of his hair as he continued to show off his now growing erection.
He was turned on, from me staring at him and I was turned on because he was so damn sexy that I didn’t have enough confidence to walk away.
“You know, I never stare at you like that so I would hope for the same respect,” Kace said as he wrapped a towel around his waist which still showed off his erection.
Shaking my head out of all the amazing and glorious thoughts of Kace, I looked up at him and said, “Just thought I would show you how I felt every night.”
“I’m pretty sure the members don’t drool,” he said while pointing to the corner of my mouth.
I quickly ran the back of my hand across my lips, wiping away the apparent drool that collected during Kace’s one-eyed monster show.
“There was no drool,” I lied, which made the corner of Kace’s lip twitch.
“You forget the fact I have eyes, Lo. There was drool. Now you can tell me what you’re doing here or you can get the fuck out.”
Always such a moody bastard.
I looked him up and down one last time, taking in his well-defined six pack, the smoothness of his chest and the way his muscles flexed when he got angry. I was working my way back up to his eyes when I spotted more bruising. Automatically, my hand flew to his ribs as I looked up at him.
He flinched from my touch as I said, “What happened to you?”
“Drop it, Lo.” He pulled away and walked to his sink.
“I’m not going to drop it when you have bruises all over your body and you missed a workout. Clearly you were in some kind of trouble and you must be embarrassed or something. You can talk to me, Kace.”
The momentum of his body startled me as he swung around and pinned me against the wall. He got right in my face and said, “First of all, what did I tell you about being friends? It’s never going to fucking happen. Second of all, if I was ever in some kind of trouble, then I would be able to take out whoever came my way.” He raised his fist and said, “Do you see this? This will fucking kill a person so don’t underestimate my ability to take care of myself ever again.”
His tone of voice was so deep, so evil that he was actually scaring me.
“Now, run the fuck along or I’ll tell Jett that I caught you sneaking into my room and watching me shower with your mouth wide open and drool hanging out of it.”
“You’re an asshole! I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Well fucking don’t. I don’t need you, Lo. I was fine before you came here so just leave me the fuck alone.”
I wanted to make a snarky comment back to him about maybe thinking about finding a woman to take care of his mood but I was done with him. There was only so much a girl could take and I was at my limit. Kace could suck it.
Not giving him a chance to say anything else, I turned on my heel and walked out of his room. I was going to leave his door open just to be an ass but thought better of it, I didn’t want to make my workout even harder than it was probably going to be tomorrow, so I turned around and grabbed the door knob to shut it and that’s when I saw it. That was when I saw Kace, sitting on the floor, with his head in his hands, crying.
Wavering between what to do and what not to do, I went against all my instincts and shut the door. Clearly the man was going through some heavy shit and I was the last person in the world that he wanted near him. It hurt to know that after all of the advice and comfort he had lent me in the past, he wouldn’t allow himself to rely on me in return.
I walked back up to my room, feeling sorry for the man and upset that he wouldn’t confide in me. I wanted to be his friend, I knew we had potential to get there but he just wouldn’t break down that wall to let it happen and I didn’t know if it was because of the feelings he harbored for me or if it was because he was just that closed off but whatever it was, it hurt like hell.
When I walked in my room, there was a fresh bouquet of flowers waiting for me on my nightstand. There had to be a little leprechaun in the house that kept replacing them because the moment they started to wilt, they were instantly replaced.
I sauntered over to my nightstand and saw a card that was sitting in the arrangement. I sighed as I pulled it out and smiled to myself. Kace might be irritating and hard to understand but at least I had Jett, the all-encompassing Jett Colby.
I pulled out the letter and read.
Lo,
Thank you for last night. After three long days of business meetings, I was pleased to see you, here, in my home, with open arms. I look forward to many more greetings like that.
-J
The man had his grip wrapped around my lady balls. A simple note could take me out to dream land. I was a goner.
Chapter Four
“Better Days”
Jett
“In the next two weeks your schedule is really going to pick up, sir,” Jeremy, my assistant, said as he started touching his iPad, flipping through whatever the hell he had on there. “You have some meetings and late night events that require your presence.”
“What kind of events?” I asked as I stared at my computer, answering e-mails.
“The socials you asked me to book you so you can hob knob with some of the city planners and officials that have a say in Lot 17.”
Hob knob…only Jeremy would say that.
“How many?” I asked as I was instantly annoyed about Lot 17 being brought up in conversation.
The property was still up for grabs but my dad was one step further than me in claiming the whole damn thing so he could build his hotel that was going to be very uncharacteristic and an eyesore for the historic and classic city of New Orleans. Plus, the lot belonged to the kids, it should be a park, no question about it but my dad was such an evil fuck that all he could think about was himself. It’s a wonder I was able to grow up with such a man.
Jeremy clucked his tongue as he counted on his iPad. “You have about five different events in the next couple of weeks that you have already accepted invitations for.”
I peeked over my computer as I looked at Jeremy. “Five?”
“Yes and they all have a plus one with them.”
Sitting back in my chair, I ran my hand through my hair as I thought about the events that I so desperately did not want to attend.
“Do I have to bring someone?” I asked as I went through a mental rolodex of the women I could invite.
“It would be best if you did. Many of the men you will be talking to have wives and the wives need to be charmed as well.” Jeremy nervously looked up at and said, “You know, Lo might be a very good partner to bring with you—”
“Absolutely not,” I cut him off as I pulled out my address book and started flipping through names.
Clearing his throat, Jeremy pushed his luck. “She has the personality that will win people over, she’s infectious…”
“She’s also a Jett Girl and I don’t want anyone to associate her with the club, it would be detrimental to reveal her persona. No, and don’t suggest it again.”
Jeremy just nodded his head as I flipped through my address book. Most of the women that were in my book were either married or no longer living in New Orleans, had it really been that long since I’ve actually dated? I thought about it and it had been. I started the Lafayette club a while back and haven’t had the need to accompany women since I had them at my disposal in the club. I cringed from thinking about the word, disposal, that was not how I treated them and I chastised myself for thinking of the girls like that. They were by no means disposable…especially Goldie.
“What about Claudia?” I asked looking up at Jeremy.
“She’s dating some mogul in Dallas.”
“Damn,” I muttered as I thought about the long-legged, black-haired woman. She would not have been a hardship to court around the town to these different events.
I flipped through some more names and smiled inwardly. “Keylee Zinc, I know she is not dating anyone and I just saw her a month ago around Jackson Square.”
Jeremy did a quick Google search and smiled. “Total country club material. How do you know her?”
“We grew up together. She left New Orleans for a while but I just saw that she moved back. She would be perfect. Find out her number so I can give her a call.”
“Give who a call?” Kace asked as he walked in my office without even knocking. The man lacked manners most of the time but then again, we were comfortable with each other enough to not have to knock.
I looked up at Kace and saw that his face was bruised and his posture hung low, it must have been the anniversary. Had it really been an entire year again?
“You look like shit,” I said as Kace took a seat in front of my desk. Jeremy eyed Kace with terror and infatuation in his eyes. It was comical to see my gay assistant fawn over my right hand man. Kace had no fucking clue either.
Kace shrugged his shoulders and repeated, “Whose number do you need?”
“I don’t believe that concerns you.” I turned to Jeremy and said, “That will be all.”
Jeremy nodded, smiled at Kace and then took off and shut the door to my office like a good little assistant.
Once the door was shut, I walked over to the buffet in my room that held my bourbon and poured a glass for both Kace and myself. I handed it over to him and sat back down behind my desk.
“When are you going to stop paying people to beat the shit out of you every year? You know you just end up pummeling them without them even knowing what they got into.”
Kace didn’t answer as he took a sip of his Bourbon. He stared off past my shoulder.
“Did the girls notice?”
“Just Lo.”
“Why just Lo?” I asked as I crossed my ankle over my knee and sat back in my chair.
“She came looking for me in my room.”
I automatically sat up and said, “What the hell was she doing in your room?”
“Apparently getting an eyeful,” Kace said with a slight smirk. Smug bastard.
“The girls are not allowed back there,” I gritted between my teeth.
“I know that but do you really think Lo is going to follow your rules? She barely submits to you when you ask, like hell if she is not going to go snooping around. You know her, once she has her mind set on something, she’s going to make it happen.”
The fucker was right. Goldie was a loose cannon, a mustang, a hellion, she would do whatever she wanted and there was no stopping her.
“What did you tell her?” I asked, annoyed.
“I didn’t. I told her to leave.”
“And she listened to you?”
Kace sat back in his chair and smiled over the rim of his glass as he took a gulp of my expensive– as-hell bourbon. Irritable fuck. I hated that Goldie and Kace had some kind of connection, hated it with every damn bone in my hollow body. It didn’t slip past me that they shared something, that there was an underlining attraction they had for each other, it was easy to see but what kept me sane was the minute I walked in the room, all of Goldie’s attention was drawn toward me. I was the one she truly wanted, Kace was just a little side show for her. I was the God damn main event.
Changing the subject I asked, “When are you going to stop letting people beat the ever living piss out of you? You look like hell.”
Kace didn’t answer me, he just looked down at his hands.
“How does it even help the situation?”
Kace blew out a long breath and said, “You know when you first started the Lafayette club and opened the Bourbon Room? You brought girls up here to forget, to forget and control the pain that coursed through you from Natasha’s rejection?”
I winced from the memory but nodded.
“It’s completely fucked up on so many levels but this day—” he looked me dead in the eyes and said, “—this day was the worst day of my life. Not only did I ruin any sort of normalcy and future I might have but I destroyed that of a little girl’s, of a family’s. I killed a man, Jett.” I nodded as I watched the pain pour out of Kace. “Getting my shit beat up for a couple of hours relieves the pain that I feel every damn day of my life. Feeling someone’s fist connect with my face blacks out the emotions rolling through me, the thoughts that haunt me every day. What if I didn’t get drunk that night? What if I didn’t let him provoke me? There are so many questions running through my head that paying some dickheads to take me to a back alley and fight me is the only way I can survive this day. It’s the only way I can manage the pain.”
Kace was all kinds of fucked up and I truly felt bad for my friend. We dicked around with each other most of the time but we had a general understanding for each other and what we have gone through in our lives. We had demons that we were trying to fight everyday but Kace was facing an army of them and it was rare when he talked about them so when he did, I made sure to be there for him.
Watching him sit in front of me with his head hung in shame and his leg jittering up and down had my stomach twisting in knots. I couldn’t imagine the pain and torment he went through on a daily basis so even though it didn’t make much sense to get the crap beat out of him, I kind of got it. It was a little escape from the reality he had to face every day.
Not wanting to get too deep with him because he would just close off, I said, “You know where to find me and the Bourbon.”
Nodding his head, Kace tipped his glass as a salute to me and then took another sip. Silence fell between us as we soaked in the moment of just being in each other’s company.
Breaking the silence, Kace said, “Seriously, what number is Jeremy looking up?”
Sighing because I knew Kace wasn’t going to drop the topic, I said, “Keylee Zinc’s. I need an escort for some events I must attend in order to get in with the Lot 17 project.”
“Keylee? The tiny tart with tits?”
A small smile spread across my face as Kace brought up Keylee’s old nickname from school. She was small like Lo but had olive skin and raven black hair that was almost to her waist. Her eyes were a deep gray color and she had a rack that had the guys in high school dragging their tongues around on the ground. She still did have a great rack but now that she was all grown up, she has tightened her body up, graced her neck with a set of pearls and showed a classy display of cleavage. She had just enough class that would work for getting along with the wives of the men I had to impress and just enough sexiness that the husbands would appreciate the arm candy I brought along.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Why aren’t you bringing one of the girls, like Lo?”
My attention snapped up to Kace as I tried to read his face. He was serious, he wasn’t even trying to dick me around.
“You know I can’t bring one of the girls, everyone would know that they are a Jett Girl. I will not put them in that position.”
“Everyone is going to assume Keylee is one,” Kace suggested. I shrugged my shoulders not caring. Keylee’s welfare was none of my concern. Yes she was attractive and we grew up together but if it came down to her or one of my girls, I would rather sacrifice her reputation over my girls’.
“Jett, you’re going to fuck it up.”
“Fuck what up?” I asked, trying to tamp down the anger that was starting to boil. I didn’t take well to people questioning me, ever.
“Everything with Lo. If she finds out that you are out with some other woman, she is going to freak out.”
The thought crossed my mind but she wouldn’t find out, at least I hoped she wouldn’t. It wasn’t like Goldie gallivanted around with the same people I did. Her friends were locals on Bourbon Street and mine were in St. Charles, they were vastly different.
“She won’t and it doesn’t matter. We’re not exclusive.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Kace called me out. “Lo would be perfect, she would give you the extra help that you would need.”
“She has no class,” I practically shouted, hating myself for admitting the thought that was hounding me in the back of my mind.
Kace sat back in his chair and eyed me with distaste. Taking the last sip of his Bourbon, he set the glass down on my desk and said, “The only one who has no class is you. That girl has done everything you’ve asked. Why not give her a shot rather than instantly putting her down? She might surprise you.”
“Not going to happen,” I muttered as Kace walked away, opening my door where Goldie stood with her head hung low and a defeated stance.
Shit.
