Текст книги "Be My December"

Автор книги: Rachel Brookes

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 26 страниц)

My silence and obvious gawking caused her to chuckle.

“Yeah, I’ve changed a bit over the years. My annoying big brother likes to say I’m the ugly duckling who transformed into a swan,”

“You look beautiful.” I finally found my voice and gave her a nervous yet friendly smile. I was not planning on reuniting with anyone from my past while I was here but now on my first night back I was running headfirst into my past and someone from college at that.

Ashlyn Hart had been in a few of my classes and lived in the same dorm. We spoke in passing, but she was always so shy and kept to herself, she was exactly like I was now. That Ashlyn was completely different to the Ashlyn standing before me who now had confidence and charisma falling off her.

Ashlyn’s brow furrowed as she moved toward the vanity and began applying her own lip gloss. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

Fuck! This wasn’t the conversation I wanted to have in the bathroom of a high end gentleman’s club, especially not on my birthday. I dropped my eyes to the floor and started twisting my hands as the first signs of panic bubbled to the surface.

She caught on to my shift in mood and thankfully changed the subject by saying, “Just so you know, you are officially known as the girl in the red jacket to a guy out there.”

“Uh, well that’s interesting.” I laughed nervously and shook my head.

“You have someone out there who is showing more interest in you than he has in anyone in God only knows how many years.” Her emerald eyes sparkled as my cheeks flushed a deep crimson.

“What’s his name?”

“K—”

“Eden Rivers, we have a bar full of drinks, and I am ready to celebrate your birthday in style so put your Kellie Carter hat on and get the fuck out there!” Tori strutted through the bathroom, her hands on her hips and a look of pure determination cemented on her face; she completely missed that we weren’t in the bathroom alone.

“Jesus, don’t get your panties in a knot.” I laughed, rolling my eyes at my excitable friend. I turned back toward Ashlyn to find her slipping her lip gloss in her clutch and her gaze met mine. Shit! Tori had mentioned Kellie Carter. “I, uh, use a pretend name when I’m out. It’s like a thing I do.”

I held my breath as I awaited her response. It sounded so pathetic. I was a grown woman who pretended I was someone else when I went out. God, she was going to think I was a complete idiot.

“Who am I to judge? Kellie it is.” Ashlyn’s smile was infectious, and I found myself smiling back at her.

“How about you just be Eden tonight?” Tori suggested as she looked anxiously at Ashlyn, a look I didn’t miss. “How about you try it? I’ll be right by your side.”

Was she serious? Where the hell was this coming from?

“Tori, I can’t,” I whispered and instantly my defenses shot to life.

“Babe, you can but you won’t.”

“Tory, this isn’t the place to discuss this. I am Kellie tonight and that’s the only way I will be staying here. Your choice. Am I staying or leaving?”

“Just trust me Eden. This isn’t the nig__”

“Am I staying or leaving?” I repeated and the look of defeat that flooded her face gave me my answer.

Tori shifted her eyes away from mine and they landed on Ashlyn.

 “Ashlyn, Tori…. Tori, Ashlyn. I went to college with Ashlyn,” I announced and looked between the girls. I couldn’t ignore the look in Ashlyn’s eye as she watched me. I didn’t even want to think about the rumors, the comments, and the snickers about me after I fled college four years ago.

I shook the thought from my head and moved toward the door. I stopped when I grabbed hold of the handle and turned back to look at Ashlyn.

“How would you feel about coming and having a drink with us for my birthday? As you heard, drinks have arrived, and there are women just waiting to strip for my birthday.”

 “How could I possibly refuse an offer like that?”

“Ready?” I asked with a fake smile as I looked between Tori and Ashlyn while my insides were jittery with nerves.

“Sure,” Tori mumbled and her energetic need to get me back out into the club seemed to have disappeared quicker than I could say boo.

“Babe, please just let me do this. I promise that next time we are out back home I’ll just be known as Eden.”

Tori crossed the room until she stood beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me in close. “What happens if there is someone out there, what if there is a guy out there that may make you believe in guys again?”

“That’s very unlikely babe,” I huffed.

“But what if there is?” she continued pestering. “Will you at least give the guys out there a chance?” Tori’s voice dripped with a motherly tone. Seriously, was she really going to act like I was thirteen?

Frustration raged like a wild bull within me. My fists clamped and my fingernails dug into my palms, like a sharpened blade. Tori was the one person who knew my inability to say a word as simple as no, but here she was blatantly rubbing it in my face and pushing me until I was balancing precariously on the edge of completely losing it. Suddenly the feeling of rebellion roared to life, and I lifted my eyes from the floor to meet hers.

“Yes.”

I plastered the biggest smile I could muster on my lips and shifted my gaze back toward the mirror to give myself the once-over while silently wishing for confidence to burst to life within me. My gaze fixated squarely on the girl who reflected back at me. My blue eyes were wide and swimming with reluctance, and my red painted lips were drawn tight together in instilled stubbornness. I was very aware of whom this girl was, and I knew there was no way in the world that she could be around tonight. I swallowed hard and it only took a couple of frantic blinks to witness the girl I knew as Eden Rivers disappear right before my eyes as my gaze turned resilient. I was the girl in the red jacket, I was Kellie Carter, and I’d be fucked if I wasn’t going to play the part. I had been pretending for four years, what damage could another few hours of soul destroying lies do?

“Let’s go.” I shot.

I didn’t wait on their response. I pushed the heavy door open and instantly my body was intoxicated by the music coming from the stage. My lingerie envy resurfaced as I focused on a vivacious blonde strutting around in a lacy black number. Note to self: put a Victoria’s Secret visit in my planner. My heels vibrated against the wooden floorboards as I walked with fake confidence toward the bar. I slid onto the bar stool I had left abandoned and slammed down the first shot I saw.

The stool beside me scraped against the floor and Ashlyn slid in and joined me at the bar. We sat in a comfortable silence yet I couldn’t help but notice her eyes falling to me on more than one occasion or the subtle smile constantly gracing her lips. Ashlyn and Tori soon began flirting up a storm with the very handsome bartender who seemed to be glued to the space in front of us while I continued to swirl the cosmopolitan around in front of me.

My eyes were drawn across the bar as the feeling of being watched swept through me like a torrent. It wasn’t lost on me that Ashlyn not so subtly looked over the shoulder of the bartender as he flirted with her, and she seemed to be distracted by something or someone. My eyes locked onto the culprit whose eyes were fixated on me. I felt my stomach flip-flop at the sight of the man across the bar. He looked to be a few years older than me and was dressed in a black button-down shirt that clung to his broad chest; the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows showing strong arms. My curious eyes took him in; thick brown hair, a strong jaw covered in stubble, and intense eyes. And the moment his lips twitched into a smile when he realized he was caught, a dimple appeared.

Oh god.

His eyes bounced quickly from mine, and he turned his body away from the bar and leaned effortlessly with his back toward me. A woman with bleach-blond hair, heavy makeup, and a scrap of red lace covering her surgically enhanced body sidled up to him and proceeded to put her hands all over him. He stiffened under her touch and his head shook from side to side as she leaned in to say something to him.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.

My instinct to ogle a handsome man took over and I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. No matter what lock I had placed on my body and heart, I was still a woman and there was a beautiful man and my eyes didn't listen as my head told me to look away.

Suddenly without warning, he cocked his head to the side and flashed his gaze back to me and now I was the one caught staring. A hint of a smile flashed over his lips, giving me the opportunity to relish in the perfectly placed dimple in his right cheek yet again.

I felt myself nervously return his smile, something that I never did. How strong were these drinks? The smile that hung on his lips suddenly fell and his eyes narrowed in on something happening behind me.

“I’m going to take you home tonight.”

A hot thick breath battered my bare neck as unwanted fingers ran down the length of my back. My throat immediately tightened, squeezing out every last bit of air I could muster and my eyes shot wide with fear at the sound of those words. Fuck. Slowly, on its own accord, my body twisted on the bar stool to come face to face with the intruder. The moment I looked at him, I felt the cockiness he was portraying smack me hard. The smug look on his face as his beady, imposing eyes roamed over my face and then focused solely on my chest, caused bile to rise from the depths of my stomach. Where the hell was Tori? Ashlyn? When did they disappear? My eyes finally latched onto Ashlyn walking toward the other side of the bar, and Tori was nowhere to be found.

I was on my own.

“Come and have a drink with me?”

No!

My mind completely shut off. I felt myself floating away from reality. My body reacted before I could comprehend what I was doing, before I could stop myself. The threatening tone in his voice and the burning of his fingertips into my flesh made me shift into survival mode and I knew I had to protect myself by allowing my body to say yes. Just like I had for the past four years. I rose on shaky feet, his hand gripped tightly around my arm causing a shot of pain to roar through my body and he jerked me away from the bar.

We moved away from the main bar and the dim lights above that were intended to add an ambience were now providing the perfect cover for me to be taken into the shadows. He pulled me towards a vacant couch and proceeded to push me down until I was practically sitting on his lap. I had to allow my mind to shut off, to take me to a place of solitude and bliss, away from the reality pressing into me in the form of his over eager hands. My eyes darted through the club and they fell to the man from across the bar.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

I jumped at the harsh statement that threatened in front of me. The voice was thick with a velvety tone that oozed confidence and intimidation and the undertones of a growl weren’t missed. If a voice could cause a shiver to run down your spine that would ignite every part of your body then his voice was exactly that. Safety had arrived. Safety that was the man from across the bar.

 

The moment Eden walked back into the bar I took her in without reluctance. She was a perfect example of uniqueness; a vision of nervousness while desperation to leave floated off her. I watched with increased interest as she made her way back across the bar with …Ashlyn. Fuck me.

I sat by the bar completely engrossed by this girl. The moment our eyes first connected I immediately turned into a fucking dog in heat. Josh had disappeared to god only knows where and as beer after beer passed my lips, my gaze never faltered.

My body stiffened, and I watched in complete horror as Chris Edwards slithered up behind Eden just after she had given me the sweetest of smiles. It felt like it happened in slow motion. Eden stood from the bar stool and allowed Chris Edwards to lead her to the far corner of the club without question, his hand gripping her arm with force.  His other hand was all over her; fawning her body like a piece of fucking meat. Her eyes darted furiously around the bar looking for something or someone to latch on to. Panic filled her face. She didn’t want to be there. My legs moved before my brain kicked in. I think I heard Ashlyn’s voice behind me, and I think she was yelling for Josh but I couldn’t be sure. I marched across the floor like a possessed caveman or something just as fucked-up. My eyes never moved from her. No one deserved to be in the presence of Chris fucking Edwards.

“Don’t!” Ashlyn appeared beside me and grabbed hold of my arm desperate to stop me and my manic thoughts. It was no good, I was like a charging bull, with only red in my sight. It was pretty fucking accurate considering I was storming toward the girl in the red jacket.

“Leave it,” I snapped back, and continued toward the girl who looked frozen stiff with fear.

Her eyes rose from the floor and found mine amongst the crowd and for a brief moment hope flashed before me as she locked onto my gaze. I shuddered at the thought that this would be our introduction, but I couldn’t let that stop me. I felt bile rise from the pits of my stomach as Chris’s hand skimmed up the length of her thigh. When his lips fell to her neck and his fingers brushed over her crotch, I felt a fury pulsate through me that I never knew existed. Fuck this! I increased my pace until I was almost at a jog.

I’ve come to believe that your past shaped your present and your present influenced your future, and right now it was slapping me in the face. My past had molded me into the person I was today; a man whose faults, regrets, and worst mistakes swam through his veins and were so ingrained in his memories that there was no chance of hiding. But it had also made me the type of man who refused to stand back anymore; it made me not give a fuck; it made me storm across a crowded room to save a girl who didn’t know who the fuck I was.

The moment I stood before them I exploded.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I roared with such fevered intensity that even the stripper on stage froze for a moment. “I turn my back for two fucking minutes, and it’s just enough time for you to disappear and let this guy feel you up? You are mine. Stand up.” I glared at her as my teeth gritted shut. Eden’s eyes widened and the color fell from her face as she took in my words. I was yelling in this poor girl’s face. I heard Ashlyn inhale sharply behind me, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh standing with the woman I had earlier seen with Eden.

Chris put his filthy hand on Eden’s ass as she attempted to stand and pulled her back into his lap. “Piss off Crawford. This one is mine. Go back to your preppy little office and leave us the fuck alone.”

I saw red. “Get. Your. Fucking. Hands. Off. Her.”

“She wants it, and she certainly hasn’t said no. Look at this tight little body, the little slut was begging for it.” His hands tauntingly ran up and down her thighs, running higher than they should as a smug look took over his face. I reached out and snatched her hand pulling her away from his grasp with all of my strength until she crashed into my chest.

“Stay here,” I growled into her ear, hauling her close to my body which allowed me to feel her thudding heart against my chest. I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist locking her in and then turned my attention back to Chris. “Get the fuck out of here Edwards and stay away from my fucking girlfriend.”

A cocky laugh boomed from him. “She isn’t your girlfriend.” He looked knowingly between us. “I know what this is. You just want to dive into that sweet pussy yourself, don’t you Crawford?”

I unlocked Eden from my embrace and moved her so she was standing behind me. With one step I was chest to chest with Chris. I didn’t hesitate. “I don’t just dive into her pussy Edwards. I fuck it hard, I taste every inch of it, and I savor every shudder that she makes. That pussy is mine so just remember that when you are fucking some three dollar hooker tonight.”

I didn’t stick around to hear anything else Chris decided to spit. My hand encased Eden’s, entwining our fingers in some protective move that I couldn’t put into words. I tugged on our joined hands, and she instantly followed me though the crowd toward the far corner of the bar where we were still close enough to the action yet able to be hidden from the fuckwit likes of Chris. My mind raced with what I could possibly say to explain my irrational actions. Since when had I become some knight in shining armor? When we reached a vacant couch, I halted and promptly dropped her hand from mine. Stepping back, I collided with the hard wall of Josh’s body and over my shoulder I found him staring at me with curious eyes. I ran my hands through my unruly hair and groaned in frustration.

“Do something dickhead. All eyes are on you after that little performance. You don’t go caveman and grab your woman and then just stand beside her like she’s a stranger.” Josh threw at me, and his eyes darted between me and Eden.

He was right. I looked back toward the sleazy corner of the bar and wasn’t surprised to find Chris and his crew watching with knowing smirks on their faces. I had two choices. I could walk away right now, leave the bar knowing that I had done a good deed and hope to Christ that Eden could take care of herself, or I could man the fuck up and finish off what I started.

Within a heartbeat, Eden was against my chest, and my arms wrapped tightly around her waist so her back was against with my chest. Resting my chin on the top of her head, I couldn’t help but notice how well her body molded against mine. She still hadn’t spoken, but her body roared every unspoken word. She was rigid in my arms, frozen in fear and what I was sure was confusion, and after I heard her inhale sharply, she was now holding her breath.

I leaned down until my mouth was beside her ear and whispered, “You’ve got to breathe.”

She simply nodded while she trembled like a leaf in a hurricane against me. Her hands clutched onto my bare forearms that rested over her stomach for dear life and her sharp nails dug into my flesh, sending a shot of pain up through my arms, but I didn’t say a thing.

Her body continued to tremble and my grip tightened, pulling her body closer to mine. She was completely breaking down in my arms, and I didn’t know what the fuck to do so I did what I hoped would calm her down. I attempted to provide her comfort and calm while the crowds around us continued with their night completely oblivious to what was happening.

“I need a drink.” I barely heard her voice.

“Come again?”

She turned her face until she was looking at me, her eyes cowering with panic. “I need a drink,” she repeated louder.

“Come on then.” I released my grip, and my hand fell to the small of her back as we moved towards the black leather couch.

She haltered and whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Two words that no woman should ever say when it came to what I just witnessed. She turned around slowly only for me to find her eyes brimming with tears ready to spill over her cheeks. She inhaled sharply at the look of sheer outrage that I knew graced my face.

“Look at me,” I demanded and painstakingly waited for her blue eyes to meet mine.

Finally she looked at me and I let out a breath. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You hear me. Nothing.”

“Who are you?” she asked meekly as her eyes danced over my face.

Who was I? How could I possibly answer that question?

“I am the guy who’s going to keep you the fuck away from assholes like Chris. That’s who I am.”

 

I missed his security the moment he left.

It confused the hell out of me.

I wrung my hands, and my eyes shifted around the bar as fear revisited me, I looked at everyone like they were a threat. This was the part that I hated; the paranoia, the never-ending fear, the crazy thoughts that swamped my mind.

“Can someone please tell me what just happened?” I asked, finally finding my voice as I shifted my gaze and watched the man with the super soft hands storm toward the bar. I could feel my body trembling against the black leather of the couch I sat on, and my heart was thumping erratically in my chest. If I didn’t get myself under control within the next couple of minutes I would collapse into a wave a panic and that was something I didn’t want anyone to witness.

“It seems that my brother is playing the knight in shining armor card tonight.”

A deep voice rumbled behind the couch and words laced with amusement and intrigue grabbed hold of my attention. I shifted on the couch and found the guy who held a strong resemblance to the guy who just minutes ago had screamed in my face and then saved me from the evil clutches of who I now knew as Chris.

“This is Josh. Josh, this is, uh…Kellie,” Tori introduced, her voice trembled as she spoke.

At the sound of my name, Josh’s eyes flashed quickly over to Ashlyn who looked on with a completely unreadable look on her face, before he found my eyes again. “Nice to meet you Kellie.”

I shook the hand he held out and then he and Ashlyn collapsed on the couch opposite me and fell into quiet conversation. I leaned back against the plush leather and took the opportunity to take in the guy who had offered me protection in a very confrontational way. He stood rigid at the bar; his shoulders slumped as he looked at his phone. He was a towering figure of strength and intimidation, a true vision that deserved respect. Tall, masculine with sensuality dripping off him, he oozed confidence.

“Are you okay?” Tori grabbed my hand as she took a seat beside me. When I turned toward her, I was greeted with worry that was etched on her face which offered me a unique kind of comfort.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted truthfully.

I was safe; I was away from the threat but my heart continued to beat furiously in my chest, and I felt myself jump every time someone would come too close to me. I hadn’t been in a situation like that since that fateful day. I was usually so careful. I usually had Colby with me. My inability to say a word as simple as no frustrated me, it was a hindrance, it was an open invitation for the wrong people, just as it had been tonight. But my fear of the consequence was so overwhelming that it overshadowed every other option.

“I am so sorry I wasn’t there.” Her voice wavered under her words.

“Stop! This isn’t your fault. Look at it this way, you got your wish. I’m now waiting for a drink that’s being bought by a handsome guy.”  I nodded toward the bar and once again took in my rescuer.

“Do you know who he is?” she asked, as her eyes ran over his body.

“No clue.”

“Fuck he is hot though, and he can’t keep his eyes off you.”

I felt my cheeks flush at her words, and as if he was magnetic, I found myself drawn to look at him yet again. I inhaled sharply as I found his eyes fixed on me. He stood at the bar, leaning back against it with a beer bottle in his hand. He looked like he was contemplating something. Was he planning to escape? He had no reason to stick around but I knew I had to thank him and I had to do it a million times over.

When I couldn’t bear being under his gaze any longer I shifted on the couch and focused everywhere but him. I counted the number of lights that lit up the chandelier above, I scrutinized the lingerie the girls were wearing, and I mentally made a note of the lingerie I wanted to look at when I visited Victoria’s Secret; I was in the middle of determining whether the cute blonde was wearing violet or midnight blue panties when the couch beside me dipped and my senses were overcome by the familiar scent that I had breathed in as I had been crushed against the broad chest of who I knew as Crawford.