Текст книги "Masquerade"

Автор книги: Nyrae Dawn

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Chapter Thirteen ~Bee~

Maddox is pissing me off. His text today about not coming in pushes me over the edge, which in turn makes my anger shift from Scratch to myself. Why the hell do I care if he comes in or not? That he’s been acting strange ever since we almost kissed after his sister’s tattoo?

We’ve slept together twice, and yet it’s always been as if nothing happened right afterward. Not this time.

There’s nothing more intimate than a kiss…

I shake my head at that, not willing to let myself think of it or what it would mean for Maddox and I.

I’ve spent way too much time thinking about him—I mean it—already.

A client left a few minutes ago and there’s not much going on here. I play around online, looking up some of my favorite font sites, always looking for something new and different that I can use.

When the shop phone rings, I revert from stressing about Maddox to being a horrible daughter and checking the number to make sure it’s not my mom before I pick it up. It’s a number I don’t recognize, so I grab the phone. “Masquerade.”

“Bee? This is Laney. Maddox’s sister.” Her words are dragged out, her speech a little slow. My heart rate makes up for it, though, suddenly speeding.

“Yeah. What’s up? Is Maddox okay?”

She giggles at that, relieving some of the stress and making me think she’s really drunk or something. “Worried about Maddox are you?” She giggles again before adding, “I’m sorry. I don’t handle pain meds very well.”

There goes my rapid beating heart again, though I’m not sure why.

“It’s cool. Is everything okay?” I ask her.

“Yeah, I think so. They said I could go home, so I’m assuming.”

“Who said you could go home?”

“The hospital, silly.”

Oh yeah. This girl is on something good. “Are you looking for your brother, Laney?”

She sighs. “Yeah. We got into a fight today and he’s going to feel guilty now. Not that he wouldn’t have felt guilty before, but ’specially since I got into a car accident. I’m fine, though. Just a little neck pain and a hurt wrist.”

Worry takes me over, though for some reason it’s not about Laney. She said she’s fine and I believe her, but I hear what she’s saying too. I’ve seen how Maddox is with her and if they got in a fight and then she got into an accident, he’s going to be pissed at himself.

“Maddox isn’t here,” I tell her.

“Shit… Adrian’s phone is broken. We haven’t gotten him a new one yet. He’s going to feel guilty too. What’s with these boys we love feeling like everything’s their fault? The world isn’t their responsibility.”

I don’t call her on the fact that I don’t love Maddox. I’m not even sure how much I like him, but what I do know is what we have doesn’t belong in the same sentence with her and Adrian. I’ve seen them together once and I know that.

“I was hoping Maddox was at the shop. He’s going to freak if I don’t tell him. I tried his phone, but I think he turned it off.”

“He texted earlier that he wasn’t coming in today. I know he works this evening, though I’m not sure if he’s in already or not.” He almost lost it when she got a tattoo; this is going to make him go through the roof. Why? I can’t help but wonder. I mean, I get it—she’s his sister and he loves her—but why is he so protective of her?

“Well, thanks anyway. I need to try and get a hold of Cheyenne or maybe Colt. Even if my car was running, not like I can drive right now.” She giggles again.

“I could… I could come and get you if you want?” I feel strangely nervous as I ask, but the girl doesn’t deserve to sit around in the hospital trying to get a hold of her friends. Not when I’m sitting right here doing nothing. Something also tells me it will be easier on Maddox to see her at home rather than at the hospital. Ugh. This should have nothing to do with him.

“Really? You don’t mind? I hate hospitals. Maddy and I, we’ve spent a lot of time in them with our mom.”

Why? What’s wrong with her? “Yeah, sure. No problem. I’ll be there in a few minutes, okay?”

“Thanks, Bee. I appreciate it.” She pauses. “He looks at you different, you know? The fact that he looks at you at all says something.”

Everything inside me begins shutting down. Don’t do that. Don’t tell me that. Instead I laugh it off. “You tell them to lay off those pain meds, okay? You’re not making any sense.” After hanging up the phone, I shut everything down in Masquerade, lock the door, and head straight to the hospital.

* * *

The whole way there, I consider stopping by Lunar to tell Maddox what happened. Unsure if it’s the right thing to do or not, I steer clear. I don’t think busting into his work to tell him the only person in the world he cares about is in the hospital is smart. It would be different if she wasn’t okay, but they’re sending her home, so she has to be.

When I get to the emergency room, I realize something very important. I don’t know her last name. Which means I don’t know Maddox’s last name either. That’s strange, right? I’ve slept with this guy twice and I work with him almost every day, but I don’t even know his last name?

“I’m looking for Laney,” I tell the ER registration clerk.

“Laney…?”

“Actually it’s Delaney. She goes by Laney.”

She waits for more.

“Dark hair, gray eyes, and she got into a car accident. Does her last name really matter? She called me to pick her up. How would I know she’s here if she didn’t call?”

Her lips purse and I can tell she doesn’t like my attitude. Not that I blame her.

“What’s your name?”

“Bee.” Ha. I don’t have a last name either. At least not one I’m giving her.

“I’ll be right back.”

She leaves, I’m assuming to go ask Laney if the tatted up bitch outside is really here for her. A minute later, the sliding doors open and she leads me to one of the curtained rooms.

When I slip inside, Laney’s sitting in a wheelchair with a neck brace on, a wrap around her wrist, and a big bruise on the side of her head. My heart does this tumble-and-drop thing before trying to work its way back up from my feet. Oh yeah, Maddox is going to flip.

“It’s fine. They want me to wear this for whiplash. I’m seriously okay.”

“Your brother’s not going to think so.”

“Neither is my boyfriend. I’m surrounded by brokenly noble men. You get used to it after a while.”

I let out a little laugh. “I’m not really the kind of girl who gets used to something like that.”

There’s a small smirk on her face that says she doesn’t believe me.

The nurse comes in then and goes over Laney’s discharge instructions with her. Pain meds, appointment with her doc the next day, and rest. The nurse looks at me. “So she’s okay? Just wear that stuff and check in with her doctor? There’s nothing else we need to know?”

She shakes her head. “If the pain increases, come back, but she’s fine. Just a little banged up. I doubt she’ll even have to keep wearing the neck brace. Her X-rays looked good.”

I nod and the nurse leads us out. She helps Laney get into my car and then we’re on our way. Laney begins giving me directions to her apartment; then she gets quiet.

“He’s a good guy, ya know,” she says after a few minutes. There’s no question about who she’s talking about.

“I know.”

“He cares too much sometimes, but he doesn’t know how to show it. He keeps it locked in.”

I can see that too… “Why are you telling me this?”

She’s stiff in the passenger seat and I can’t tell if it’s because of my question or her injuries.

“I’m not sure. I thought you should know, I guess. He’s not the easiest person to get to know. He’s my brother and he’s been my best friend my whole life and he still won’t really let me know him.”

The sadness in her voice, her words, works its way inside me, making me feel heavy. And maybe slightly alone. “He’s lucky to have someone like you who cares about him so much.”

The same way I have people who love me? People I lock out the same way Maddox does with his sister? Then again, love doesn’t always make sense. Look at Rex and Melody. It made them steal me.

“I’d do anything for him and I think it’s pretty obvious he would do anything for me too.”

“You don’t need him in the same way you used to.” I’m not sure where the words came from but as soon as they leave my mouth, I know they’re true.

“I leaned on him more than I should have. I asked a lot of him where our mom is concerned and that was hard on him. But… meeting Adrian? I grew up a bit after that. I know how to be strong on my own and if I need help, I have Adrian there. He supports me instead of taking over the way Maddox does. We’re stronger together than either of us ever were alone. I want that for Maddy one day.” She pauses for a second. “He’s my brother. I’ll always need him. Still, things aren’t the same now.”

I nod but don’t reply. This isn’t a conversation I am going to get into with her. When she opens her mouth to say something, her cell phone rings. “I’m okay, Maddy,” she says instead of hello. She pauses while he says something. “I only have a few bumps and bruises. I’m already on my way home. Bee is taking me.”

I can’t help but wonder what he has to say about that.

“You don’t have to come… chill out, okay? I’m not in the mood.”

He says something else and then she replies with, “See you in a few minutes.” Laney groans. “That went well.”

I can’t help but laugh and think she’s pretty cool.

* * *

“You had to have an upstairs apartment?” I tease as I help Laney up the stairs.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why my body feels so stiff. I’m going to kick Adrian’s ass for his phone. I feel bad you have to help.”

“Nah, no worries. I’m only giving you a hard time.”

As we turn the corner, I hear muffled voices ahead of us. Down the hall, Adrian stands next to an open door, laughing with Colt. As if he senses her, he turns around, his eyes landing right on Laney. Even from thirty feet away, I see the fear flash in his face and then he’s here, wrapping his arms around her.

“Christ, Laney. What the fuck happened, baby? Are you okay?”

“Shhh. I’m fine. I accidentally rear-ended someone, but everything’s good.”

He doesn’t seem convinced. His dark eyes are wide, lost. He runs a hand through her hair, down her back, her arms, as though he’s trying to make sure she’s really there.

“It’s okay, Adrian. I’m good. I promise.” Still, there are tears in her eyes. Not from pain, I can tell.

Adrian wipes them with his thumbs. “Come here, Little Ghost,” he whispers in her ear, and then lifts her into his arms. Colt and Cheyenne have come out of their apartment or maybe Adrian and Laney’s. I’m not sure, but my question is answered when Adrian doesn’t go to the same door. He’s carrying her away, Colt and Cheyenne right next to him, all of them asking her what happened.

I turn, realizing my job is done. I’m not going to interfere with the four friends. The only thing I needed to do was get her home, which I did.

“Bee. Don’t go. Come with us.” Laney’s looking over Adrian’s shoulder and then he turns.

“Shit. I’m sorry. Yeah, come on.”

The need to walk away tugs at my feet; then Laney adds, “Please?”

“Yeah, come on. Someone has to help us calm these knuckleheads down. They’ll be freaking out over her all night,” Cheyenne laughs.

A ball of awkward energy forms in my stomach as I step toward them. I follow the foursome to Adrian and Laney’s apartment. As soon as we get in, Adrian carries her right back to her room.

“I’m thinking he’s going to want to strip her bare and make sure she’s okay all over.” Colt grins and Cheyenne smacks his arm. “What? It’s what I’d do to you, Tiny Dancer.”

And there goes that feeling to run again.

He gets closer to her and lowers his voice, but I still hear him when he says, “In fact, I think I’ll do it anyway. You know, just to be fucking safe and all.”

“Oh my God—”

“Where is she?” Maddox cuts Cheyenne off as he pushes into the apartment.

“She’s in her room with Adrian. She’s okay, Scratch.”

He ignores me and heads for the hallway. The bedroom door is open so I know they’re not really doing what Colt said. Automatically, I follow him. Colt and Cheyenne must be just as worried because they’re coming too.

“I’m fine,” Laney stresses as Maddox turns into the room. She’s sitting up on the bed, Adrian kneeling in front of her with a hand on her hip.

“What happened?”

“I accidentally hit someone.”

“Shit,” Adrian mumbles at the same time Maddox asks, “Is it your brakes? Christ, Laney. I told you to get those checked.”

At that, Adrian pushes to his feet. “You need to back the fuck off right now. She’s not a kid. The last thing she needs is you making her feel like shit about it.”

Colt steps closer as I do the same, my breathing fast.

“Fuck you,” Maddox tells him before moving closer to his sister. “Are you okay? What did the hospital say?”

Adrian doesn’t stop there. He grabs Maddox’s arm. “You’re in my house, man, with my girl. I know she’s your sister, but I’m tired of dealing with this shit. You need to have a little bit of respect.”

“The same respect you have for her by not making sure she’s driving around in a car with brakes that work?”

Adrian’s face goes cold and hard at that. “I’ve dealt with a lot of shit from you, but don’t ever make it sound like I wouldn’t do any-fucking-thing to take care of her.”

Colt gets closer, taking Adrian’s arm. “Both of you need to calm the fuck down.”

Laney pushes to her feet and wobbles slightly. “I am so tired of dealing with this from both of you guys. I got into a fender bender! It’s not the end of the world.” She turns to Maddox. “I love you, Maddy, but Adrian’s right. You need to have more respect for him. I love him too. He’ll always be a part of my life. And he loves me. It’s not his job to take care of me… We take care of each other.”

I’m surprised when Adrian looks Maddox in the face, his anger gone. “I get it. You know I fucking get what you’ve been through together. If anyone knows how much I love her, it’s you. She brought me back. She makes me become someone Ash would be proud of. I would take on the whole fucking world for her and you need to open your eyes and see that.”

It’s as though all the air has been sucked out of the room. Everyone is deadly quiet. Even though I’m obviously the only person in the room who doesn’t know the history of that, even my own pulse pounds in my ears. What have they been through together? Who is Ash?

I’m surprised when Maddox steps back and gives Adrian a small nod.

“You’re okay?” he asks his sister.

“Yeah, I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about and Bee was great too. She came down, picked me up, and helped me get home.”

Maddox turns and acknowledges me with the briefest glance before he gives her another nod.

“Thanks for that. I owe you one,” Adrian tells me. I shake my head, all my attention on Maddox.

“I’m gonna go. I’m supposed to go back to work. I’m glad you’re okay.” And then he looks at Adrian. In typical male fashion, they don’t speak, only nod at each other again.

Instinct makes me follow Maddox out. He doesn’t say a word to me as he takes the stairs quickly. It’s not until we get to the parking lot that I speak. “Hey. Good to see you too.”

“I gotta go,” is all he says. Then he gets onto his motorcycle and he’s gone, leaving me alone.

No. He’s not leaving me; he has no responsibility to stay. I don’t want him to either. I need to start remembering that.

I get into my car and head back to Masquerade. It’s more a home than my house is. It’s where I always go when I need to be reminded of who I am. Of Bee.

I don’t turn on the OPEN sign and I lock the door behind me. There are new blinds I just put on the glass door, so I close those too.

Hours later, I’m still sitting in Masquerade, thinking about what went down at Laney’s house today and wondering all sorts of things that I usually don’t let myself get close enough to anyone to think about. I jump when a clap of thunder sounds. It’s dark outside, nothing but the sound of the sudden rain slapping against Masquerade and the ground and me.

That’s when I hear it. That familiar rumble. And then I see the lights. Without looking through the blinds, I unlock and open the door. My breath catches in my throat when I see Maddox standing on the other side. His midnight hair flat against his head and rainwater pouring down him.

In this moment, he’s sexier than he’s ever been. He’s beautiful.

Chapter Fourteen ~Maddox~

I rode around for hours, trying not to let myself think about much of anything, except thinking ended up to be all I did.

Christ, Adrian is right. Who the fuck do I think I am? She’s my little sister and she has her shit together more than I do. She doesn’t need me. And him? If the fact that he’s with her at all doesn’t prove how much he loves her, nothing else will.

I swore when it started raining that I was going home, yet here I am, standing in front of Masquerade—in front of Bee, the girl who took care of my sister.

“Are you going to let me in?”

Without a word, she steps aside and I walk in. I hear the door close and the lock click into place behind me. I’m soaking wet, a pool of water beneath me on the floor.

“I think I have some towels in the back,” she tells me. When she walks by, I reach out and grab her wrist. It surprises me when she stops so easily.

“You took care of my sister twice. The first time it was your job. The second time, you didn’t have to but you did. You closed your shop and you picked her up when I was being an asshole and ignoring her calls.”

I wait for her to pull her hand away. She doesn’t. Instead, she stands there and looks straight at me.

“All I did was give her a ride. It’s not a big deal.”

“I wasn’t there. I told her I would always be, and I wasn’t. You were. That…” I close my eyes. Means something to me. When I open them again, I grab the bottom of my shirt and pull it over my head. Tossing it into the sink, I open the cabinet and pull out the piercing supplies and set them down. Then I walk over to the display of barbells and pull one out. Behind me, Bee hasn’t moved or spoken yet.

There’s a voice in my head that tells me how fucking ridiculous I am. How hard is it to say thank you? Words have never been easy for me. Actions speak louder and this is the only thing I can think of. I told her I wouldn’t let her pierce me because I didn’t trust her, but she was there for my sister. That’s the best kind of trust I can think of.

“A simple thank you would work.” Her voice cracks slightly. I’ve never heard it from her. She’s always calm and in control. Not now.

“What the fuck are words? People put too much stock in them when they don’t mean shit. Anyone can use them. People lie every day. I may not be good with words, but this I can do.”

“Okay.” She walks toward me. “I’m grabbing the towels. I’ll be right back.”

It means a lot to me that she doesn’t ask if I’m sure or doesn’t try to talk me out of it. Most people would. If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t be doing it, and I wonder if she knows that about me.

“Take off your pants,” she says when she walks back in the room. “You’re getting water everywhere.”

She tosses me a towel and then begins to lay the other one on the chair before reclining it. My jeans stick to my legs as I pull them off. They go into the sink with my shirt.

I can’t believe my hand actually fucking shakes as I dry myself off. I run the towel over my hair, too, but it doesn’t do much and I toss it and sit in the chair.

“I guess the rain helped one thing—they’re already hard.” She rasps her finger, with black-painted nails, over my nipples. I hiss, suddenly wanting her to touch me somewhere other than my chest.

If I were in the mood to laugh right now, I would. I’m sitting in a tattoo chair, wet, in nothing but a pair of boxer-briefs. When her eyes skate down my body with almost as much heat as a touch, I groan.

“We doing this?” It’s the same thing I asked the first night I met her.

Bee walks to the sink and washes her hands. Then she opens a new needle and the barbell package before grabbing a disinfecting wipe. I close my eyes when she cleans my left nipple.

“One or both?”

“One.”

Bee leans over me with a marker in her hand. She is so fucking sexy, all blond hair and tattoos, that small piercing in her nose, and I suddenly want my teeth tugging gently on the one in her belly button.

She puts a small dot on each side of my nipple, measuring it with her eyes to make sure it’s straight.

“What do you think?” she asks, still looking down. I don’t take my eyes off her.

“You’re the professional.” I trust you. At least in this I trust you.

“Maddox?”

“Don’t. Don’t ruin it with words. Please.”

“It’s going to hurt like a bitch,” she says.

“Most things do,” I reply. We both know I’m not talking about physically.

She nods before picking up the needle. Her hands are steady. Somehow it doesn’t surprise me. Not with her. The barbell fits on the end of the needle, and then she grabs the piercing forceps and clamps them down on my nipple. Bee lines the point up with the spot from the marker.

“Don’t move. It’ll be quick. You need to stay still. I’ll be careful.”

I nod, start to close my eyes, but then think, Fuck that, and watch her instead. I don’t take my eyes off her when a sharp, stinging pain shoots through me. Christ it fucking hurts. My whole body tenses up as the little needle stabs me. “Fuck!” I grit out, but then the barbell is in and she’s twisting the balls on each end.

“It takes a long time to heal. Like six months. You have to be really careful. You don’t want it to get infected. Shit, I can’t believe I did this without talking to you about it—Maddox.”

I grab her and pull her onto my lap so she’s straddling me. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I don’t know,” I say, and then I pull her mouth to mine. My chest throbs like a bitch. It has nothing on the desire I feel for her right now.

She doesn’t pull back as I take her lips. She shudders and there’s a little bit of pride in me that likes that. She’s rock-steady while working, but I made her shake.

Her legs straddle me in the tattoo chair. My tongue slides in and out of her mouth, taking the kiss as deep as I can. She matches me stroke for stroke, the whole time keeping clear of my piercing.

“We shouldn’t be doing this.” She drops her head back so I can kiss her neck.

“Say the word and I’ll stop, but fuck, I want you right now.” I think I might need her.

Her hand slides between us before she pushes it under my boxer-briefs. This time it’s me who shudders when she wraps her hand around me. The same hand that pierced me.

She stills and I’m actually scared she’s going to pull away but then she says, “I can’t sleep with you in this tattoo chair. There’s something wrong about that.”

It only takes me a second to push to my feet. “Take your shirt off,” I tell her as I start to work the buttons on her jeans. She does it. Then her bra while I’m stripping her bottom half. The urge to kiss every tattoo hits me again, but I don’t. Instead, I stand. “Please tell me you have condoms.”

“They’re in my purse.” She grabs one, her tight little ass on display, while I kick out of my underwear. When she hands it to me, I rip it open and sheathe myself.

As I lift her, she wraps her legs around my waist. I take her mouth before holding her up between a wall and myself. Take her to the couch. At least take her somewhere to lay her down. I feel like an animal, the way I come at her, but she’s rotating her hips against me and digging her nails in my shoulders.

“Maddox… please.”

It’s all I need. I take her nipple between my teeth before pushing inside her. We both cry out as I pull back and push forward again. It’s fast and furious, like every time we’ve been together.

And yet, it feels like more too—as though there’s something here that wasn’t there before. I quicken my thrusts, needing this to be about what she makes me feel physically. Telling myself that’s what it is.

I rasp my tongue over her nipple before pulling back slightly and wondering how it would feel if she could do the same to my pierced one.

My thumb brushes over the stars on her side as I push in, harder… faster.

I feel her stiffen before she cries out in completion and I’m right behind her. Her body squeezing everything out of me.

“Oh my God. I don’t know if I can stand,” she says, so I carry her to the back room and lay her on the couch. I take a quick trip to the bathroom to get rid of the condom, clean up, and grab a washcloth for her.

“Ummm… here.” I hand it to her awkwardly.

“I am so going to sleep well tonight.” A lazy smile tilts her mouth and I have the strange urge to kiss it. I never kiss someone after sex.

“Are you staying here?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Okay… yeah…”

Then as if she realizes what we did and who we are, she opens her eyes and says, “You can stay. Though I don’t know if you want to and honestly I don’t know if we should.”

I love her honesty.

Yes. “We shouldn’t.”

“Yeah.” She nods. “I guess you’re right.”

I go to the closet she has back here and pull out the blanket and pillow I know she keeps. I hand her the pillow and then lay the blanket over her.

“I’ll lock up.” Thank you. Not just for grounding me tonight, but also for caring for my family.

The honesty in those thoughts scares the hell out of me. It’s exactly what I feel. Grounded.

“Thanks. Read the aftercare instructions for your piercing, okay? You need to clean it a few times a day, and I want to see it tomorrow, okay? I really fucked up tonight, Maddox. I didn’t even have you sign a consent.”

“I’ll sign one. And it wasn’t your fault. I sprung it on you. I needed it. It was all me.”

“Still. I don’t lose my head like that. It’s… I don’t like that I did.”

My mouth wants to close up. The words try to bury themselves so they won’t come out, but I owe her something too. Tit for tat. “It wasn’t just you. I lost my head too.”

She nods.

“It’s… it’s too much. I’m going. You’re okay here? You sure?”

“I stay here all the time, Maddox. I don’t need to be taken care of, remember? I’m not that girl.”

“I know.” I turn for the door, really wishing I didn’t have to go out there and put on wet clothes again. I make it halfway down the hall before I turn and go back. Quickly, before I change my mind, I kiss her forehead. “Thanks.”

Before she can reply, I walk out, fight my wet clothes back on, sign the consent and leave it on the desk for her, and grab the aftercare instructions. It’s not until I’m on my bike driving away that her words play back. I don’t need to be taken care of, remember? I’m not that girl.

For years I’ve avoided that. I’ve never wanted to take care of a woman. I’ve had my hands full with Mom and Laney, but for once I find myself wishing someone needed me, maybe even just a little bit.