11. Chapter 11 – Tamen
Chapter 11 – Tamen
“T hat’s my girl.” I gave her mocking praise, earning a sloppy, wet kiss. Normally I’d cringe at the sensation, but for her, I endured. She was the only one who got away with making a mess of me. “Who’s your favorite man in the whole world?”
“Don’t even fucking try it.” Maddox glared at me over the top of his beer bottle as I swayed with his daughter in my arms. “I mean it.”
I rolled my eyes at him and turned us away from his angry glare. The man couldn’t take a fucking joke to save his life.
Rory squealed in my arms and babbled obnoxiously as I walked around the hippy restaurant we were at, some place Liv and Peyton picked out to celebrate Maddox’s birthday. I wasn’t even going to show up, even though Peyton had threatened violence against me if I didn’t come to the place in the city for dinner. It wasn’t very often that everyone came into the city anymore, and it was expected since I lived in the city now that I would make an appearance.
Which was exactly why I hadn’t planned to show up. Simply out of spite.
But then Sloane had gotten into my head and fucked around in there enough to leave me needing a distraction, and Rory’s big goofy toddler personality was exactly where I’d find that.
Her little brother, Asher, was asleep in Liv’s arms, completely oblivious to the noise and chaos of the trendy place going on around him. I had little hope for him ever liking me, like Rory did. The kid came out looking exactly like Maddox, and I was guessing his personality would match his grumpy old dad’s.
“So,” Peyton interrupted, drawing me back into the group where they all sat around a low informal dinner table as we waited for our meals, “How’s Prism coming along?”
I squinted my eyes at her, as everyone else seized the opportunity to have an interest in the topic and stared at me expectantly. It was a trap, because Liv and Peyton hated that I was opening a sex club, a fact they made known every single time I came around. Which was why I didn’t come around much anymore.
“Yeah,” Dane leaned back, crossing one ankle over his knee as he put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “I’ve heard you have a grand opening scheduled for two weeks from now.”
“It’s fine.” I shifted Rory in my arms.
“That’s all we get?” Peyton huffed.
“Why would I tell you more than that? You’ll just yell and nag at me about it.” I scoffed.
She huffed a breath, and I rolled my eyes.
Rory leaned over my shoulder to look back out the big window, looking out over the street behind me, and threw her arms into the air excitedly as she wiggled to get down. I lowered her to the ground, completely sure that she’d throw herself to the floor to get whatever she wanted outside and, as expected, she tottered around me and slapped her little palms against the window.
“Bow!” Rory cheered, “Rainbow!”
Liv blushed embarrassedly, “Oh god, she likes that woman’s rainbow hair. Go get her before she breaks through the glass.”
My blood ran cold as I turned around and found a pair of molten lava eyes aimed directly at me from the other side of the window.
“Bloody hell.” I whispered as Sloane’s lips parted and her eyes squinted angrily before dropping to the cherub cheeked toddler banging against the glass excitedly. My Rainbow looked like a wet dream of mine, dressed in the skintight red dress I bought her, with flawless makeup and her hair styled beautifully. But I wasn’t stupid enough to let her beauty trick me into missing the anger radiating off her body. I set her up tonight, cruelly sending her to dinner all alone so she’d remember that I was always in control. Bending down to pick Rory up, Sloane turned on her heel and marched back down the sidewalk towards the entrance to the restaurant. “Come on, darling. You need to have your big scary daddy holding you for this.”
Maddox eyed me suspiciously as he took Rory and glanced over at the door where Sloane was all but running toward me. Liv scoffed, “Let me guess, you know the angry rainbow?”
“Yeah,” I sighed, leaning over Peyton to grab my jacket. “Best I leave, now.”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Liv shook her finger at me. “We want to see the angry rainbow cut you a new ass.”
“Rainbow!” Rory cheered, and I felt Sloane’s presence behind me.
“I hate you all.” I deadpanned, turning toward the woman of my dreams and my nightmares. “Sloane.”
Maddox hissed behind me, “ Oh , it’s Sloane.”
“Don’t Sloane , me!” She hissed, “You weak, sniveling pathetic piece of English shit!”
Dane snorted, covering it with a cough, and Liv chuckled, “Oh, I like her.”
“Fuck off, Little Hacker.” I threw over my shoulder and faced the angry rainbow again. My pretty little angry Rainbow. “Let’s talk outside.”
“No.” Sloane cried, ripping her arm out of my hand as I tried to steer her backward. “Don’t touch me!”
A server appeared behind her and awkwardly tapped her on the shoulder, making my hackles raise up as he touched her. “Ma’am, we cannot allow any outside alcohol in our restaurant.”
Without even glancing away from my stare, she lifted the bottle and shoved it at the man’s chest. “That’s fine, it’s empty anyway.”
“Did you drive here?” I interrupted as the server took the bottle and left. I hated that my family was staring at us like they were watching the most entertaining sitcom of their lives, but Sloane wasn’t in the mood to leave. And I wasn’t in the mood to embarrass either of us in public.
“No, I walked!” She snapped, “Because the car you hired to drive me to your little prank, took off, leaving me abandoned halfway across the city!”
“Tamen.” Peyton sighed behind me, and I waved my hand at her dismissively.
“So, you walked drunkenly across the city wearing that?” I scoffed, “Are you incapable of ordering an Uber for yourself?”
“I swear to god!” She cried out, squeezing her fists tight like she was imagining the way they’d feel around my neck. “I hate you!”
“The feeling is mutual,” I shrugged and then tossed my jacket at her. “Put that on, and I’ll drive you home.”
She scoffed and tossed my jacket on the floor, crossing her arms over her lush chest, drawing my eyes to it for the hundredth time. “I’d rather—”
I waved my hand at her, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Puke in your handbag and eat it.” I shivered dramatically at the disgusting thought. “Let’s go, anyway.”
“Don’t touch me.”
“Let’s save Tamen any bodily harm this evening,” Peyton cut in, rising from her seat and stepping between Sloane and me with an exaggerated glance my way as she faced my Rainbow, “Even though I’m one hundred percent sure he deserves it. Hi,” She held her hand out to shake, “I’m Peyton, Tamen’s sister-in-law. My husband Dane,” P motioned to Dane who smiled at her, “Is Tamen’s brother. And if anyone knows how much of a pain in the ass he can be, it’s me.”
Liv snorted mockingly from her seat, and I glared at her, but she didn’t stop. “He hit her with a car once, put her in a coma for a week.” Liv said with a shrug, “Yet she still lets him come around, I don’t understand it.”
“I didn’t drive the bloody car—”
“Shut up,” Peyton argued, elbowing me in the gut. “No one cares what you have to say.”
Sloane’s golden eyes flicked back and forth between the girls and me, like she couldn’t quite believe how they were speaking to me. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“That’s fair.” Peyton slid her arm through Sloane’s, and I groaned as she pulled her toward the couches as our server appeared with a massive tray of food. “Would you like some dinner? You can have Tamen’s plate while you tell us all about what he did tonight. Chances are we won’t be surprised in the least by his actions, but we can help you plan your revenge.”
“I can’t believe this, does loyalty mean nothing to you people?” I argued as Sloane sat down in my seat next to Peyton, eyeing me angrily still.
“Tee-Tee!” Rory wiggled out of Maddox’s arms and tottered back over to me. “Eat! Eat! Eat!”
I groaned again, scooping up the annoyingly cute kid and sitting down in a chair at the end of the table next to Sloane, “Fine.” I sighed, settling her on my knee. “But if the angry rainbow stabs me with her knife, it’s all your fault.”
Rory giggled and clapped her hands together excitedly before reaching for a French fry off my plate. “Pretty rainbow!”
Sloane glanced over at Liv holding Asher and the grizzly bear next to her, then back to me, with Rory on my lap. “You have kids?”
Liv cringed and shuddered violently, “Ew, not a chance. The babies are ours,” She nodded to Madd and then glared at me. “But Rory there is obsessed with her uncle Tee-Tee and I’m afraid if we made him go missing, she’d never forgive us for it. Peyton’s my sister and this is my boyfriend, Maddox. I’m Olivia. And for the record, I’m the president of the ‘I hate Tamen’ fan club, something I’m sure you’re very willing to be a part of, so you’re safe around us.”
Sloane’s eyes rounded as she nodded once. “Blackmailed into letting him come around by the adorable kiddo. But would take him to the train station if you could get away with it,” She nodded again, grabbing a fry off my plate that I was reaching for and taking an aggressive bite out of it. “Got it. That makes total sense.”
Liv cackled as I stared at them both in confusion, “God, I like her. She can take your place in our family, T.”
I glanced over at Sloane from my chair and watched her as she tipped her head back and laughed at something Maddox said. Christ, did she have no taste in humor? The bear was the least funny person walking the planet.
Yet Sloane seemed to enjoy his presence. Everyone’s actually. She stormed into the restaurant an hour ago and melted right into the group like she had belonged amidst it for decades.
She fit in better than I did.
And the people in it were the closest thing I had to a family anymore, but they didn’t even actually like me.
They loved Sloane, however.
“I have to go.” I rose, pulling my wallet out from my pocket and tossing a couple of bills down on the table.
“Running away?” Dane mocked me, “Color me surprised.”
Thankfully, Rory was passed out on the couch with her head on Maddox’s lap; otherwise, she would have made it impossible to make an Irish exit, as the girl loved giving dozens of kisses for goodbyes.
“Whatever.” I sighed, sliding my arms into my jacket and nodding once to the group, “Have a lovely evening.”
I only made it a few steps from the table when I heard Sloane say something to the group that sounded a hell of a lot like a goodbye. Cringing, I quickened my pace, weaving through the crowded restaurant; I felt like I took two steps backward for every step forward as I hurried to leave.
By the time I made it to the dark hallway leading to the restrooms and the back exit, my palms felt as if red-hot pokers were running up the lifelines on them. If I didn’t make it out of the restaurant and into the quiet seclusion of my car quickly, I’d snap.
And then there was no telling who would meet my knife when I lost control. Remodeling Prism had kept me too busy to relieve my stress and sate my thirst for death, leaving me on edge.
Every time I ran into someone else, I envisioned what they’d look like with a gash across their windpipe as the contents of their circulatory system emptied itself down the front of their clothes.
Fuck. I was in trouble.
Clearing the back door, I walked through the dark parking lot toward my car as a thundering echo filled my ears, blocking everything else out.
Realistically, I knew she was following me, her heels made the same annoying sound on the restaurant floor as they did the blacktop parking lot, but when Sloane grabbed my arm as I got to the side of my car, conscious thought ceased.
Rounding on her, I swung us both against the corner of the brick building, slamming her against it with my hand around her throat. “Big mistake, Rainbow.”
She dug her nails into my hand, breaking the skin as she stared up at me with round eyes fighting against my hold on her. “Tamen.”
“You need to leave.” I growled, slamming my fist into the brick wall next to her head as I closed my eyes and fought to keep from tightening my hand around her throat anymore.
“What’s wrong with you?” She hissed, and I smiled in the darkness as I tilted my head to the side and ran my nose up the side of her face, inhaling her intoxicating scent.
“So many things.” I said and tightened my hand on her throat even though I knew better. “So many bloody things.”
“Get off me.” She cried, fighting me off with her sharp nails and swinging fists.
“Good girl.” I moaned, making her fight even harder. “Finally, show me what you’re made of.”
“Fuck off!” She grunted and swung her knee up into my groin and I coughed at the burn, curling forward with a grin on my face, nonetheless. Her hands continued their assault, hitting my face and sides as I held firm to her, fighting through my nausea and delirium.
I should have known that my pretty little Rainbow wouldn’t go down without a fight. I should have known she’d take me down with her.
But I never expected her to discover the blade tucked into my waistband while I was distracted by the sensation of her pulse throbbing against my palm in sync with the one in my hardening cock. And I sure wasn’t expecting her to hook her heeled foot behind mine, dropping me to my ass against the side of my car, following me forward until the tip of my favorite blade pressed against my sternum.
She coughed, rubbing her neck as I chuckled like a maniac sitting up to stare at her mockingly.
“My, my, my.” I hummed, “My pretty little Rainbow has some thunder and lightning in her clouds after all.”
“Shut up!” She hissed, pressing the knife into my chest firmer. “You’re a fucking nut job!”
“Duh,” I licked my lips and bent one knee, laying my arm over it as I waited for her to make her move. “I told you to get the fuck away from me.”
“Wrong.” She leaned over me and grabbed a handful of my hair, tipping my head back into my car as she stood over me. “You keep drawing me in. You keep forcing me to be around you for your own sick enjoyment, playing with me like a sick voodoo doll.”
I licked my lips, and her eyes fell to them, “And you keep playing right along. Like maybe you might win if you try hard enough.” I tilted my head, pulling at her hold on my hair until I moaned sardonically at the feel. “You need to leave.” I repeated.
“Why?” Sloane asked, twitching her hand with the blade in it. “Do you think I’m afraid of you?”
Leaning forward into the blade, letting it pierce through my shirt and into my skin, I grinned again. “You should be.”
We were playing a dangerous game of chicken, one that might leave me on a kabob in the end, but I couldn’t stop. I needed to see the depth of Sloane’s mind and how far she’d go.
I ached to see her win. To defeat me. Finally, someone I’d actually let defeat me.
Leaning forward again, her wide eyes fell to the blade, watching the blood pool in the thin white cotton of my shirt before snapping back up to mine.
“Do it.” I dared.