Chapter Fifteen
Nixie
The sounds of hushed voices wake me from what I thought was a dream, but the ache between my legs and the unfamiliar bed say otherwise.
“I told you not to disturb me tonight, Reid.” I hear Calvin mutter into what I can guess is his phone.
“Yeah, alright, alright. I’m on my way, but you fucking owe me, brother. Dragging me away from my girl like this.” He hangs up the phone before his brother can reply.
Him calling me “his girl” makes my heart flutter, but I can’t help but wonder where he’s going. Laying in the bed, my mind starts to contemplate what I should do next. Do I make it known that I’ve heard him, or do I stay asleep? But Calvin answers for me before I make the choice myself.
“I know you’re awake.” He chuckles as he makes his way to the side of the bed.
I check the time on my phone, which states it’s three in the morning.
“Where are you going at this time?” I question.
“Family business. I’m sorry, darlin’. Hopefully, I won’t be too long. Go back to sleep.” He kisses my forehead before making his way out the door.
Sitting up in the bed, the house is quiet and there are hardly any noises from outside, apart from sounds of the car on the gravel moving away from the house. What kind of family business do you have that you are leaving at such a time in the morning? I hardly know him or what he does, apart from owning the club, yet here I am, in his bed, alone after what was literally the best sex of my life.
Rubbing my hands down my face, I swing my legs out of bed and walk over to his chest of drawers. I’m met with black upon black rows of t-shirts. Jeez, this guy needs some color in his life. Grabbing one, I pull it over my head, letting it fall down my body. It snags on my hips a little, but it’s comfortable.
Walking out of his room, I pad quietly down the stairs. The house is dimly lit, so I can see what’s around me. Nosing around downstairs, there’s three rooms plus the kitchen, which is about the same size as my apartment alone. Opening the door to the last room I’ve yet to explore, I see what I can only describe as the most perfect room in existence.
Bookshelves fill the wall to the side of me. Two of them have some books on them. A fireplace on the opposite wall, with the back wall behind glass doors. There’s a U-shaped sofa in the middle of the room that just brings everything together.
Browsing the books, I find many I would read. There are all the smut, romance and fantasy stories a girl needs. I wouldn’t peg Calvin as a book reader let alone a reader of these kinds of books. The thought of him sitting in this room, reading about fairy porn makes me laugh.
The sky is changing from the dark night to the light colors of dawn seeping through. The sun will start coming up soon, so I’m definitely not going to sleep any time soon. So, I do what any book lover would do and grab a book from the shelf, getting comfy on the sofa.
I’m halfway through the book and the sky is bright now. I can hear what I assume is the front door open and close softly. He walks down the hall and stops right at the door to the room I’m in. I busy myself with the book, but I can feel his presence already in the room.
“Wondered how long it would take for you to find this room,” his voice softly invades my ears.
I turn to find him arms crossed and leaning against the doorframe. His eyes are tired and his hair messy, like he’s ran his fingers through it a number of times.
“Everything okay?” I question, gauging how he will respond. I know we don’t know each other that well, but surely I deserve some kind of explanation as to why he had to leave me at stupid o’clock in the morning.
He lets out a sigh and walks to the sofa, sitting down beside me. I close the book and put it down in between us.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he says as he rests his head on the back of the sofa with his eyes closed.
Okay then. Not exactly the answer I was hoping for…
I scoff as I go to pick up the book again.
He bolts straight up, covering my hand with his to stop me from picking the book back up. “What?” he asks.
“I hoped I would get a better reply to why you left me at three in the morning for ‘family business’, especially when you come back with either your blood or someone else’s on your jeans.” I raise my eyebrows at him.
“I know this is new, and I’m still getting my head around the fact that you went all stalkerish on me at the beginning, but I don’t want to go into whatever this is blind.” My voice is firm, but inside, I’m shitting myself. I don’t know what’s come over me. I’ve never been this direct with anyone in my life before.
He looks at the blood spot on his jeans and hangs his head low.
“If I tell you, you will run,” he says.
“How do you know that?”
“Because.” He gets up and starts pacing in front of the fireplace. “We’ve already had a fucked up way of starting our relationship, thanks to me, and if I tell you what I do, you will run.”
I stand from the sofa. “If I didn’t run when you stalked me, I’m not going to run when you tell me you kill people,” I state firmly.
His eyes dart to mine in a panic. “Oh, come on. It”s not that hard to guess.” I roll my eyes.
“Do you know how many books I’ve read about this exact situation? I just never thought I’d be living it in my real life.” I laugh.
“You’re not scared?” He raises his eyebrow at me.
“Would you ever hurt me?”
“There is nothing in this world that would ever make me hurt you, and if someone else did, they wouldn’t live to see the next day,” he says as he walks toward me and takes my face into his hands, forcing my eyes to meet his.
And I believe him. I know he would never do such a thing. I feel it inside me that he is sincere about that.
Pulling away from him, I walk back to the sofa and sit down.
“So, these people you hurt, do they deserve it?” I question him.
“Yes. Without a doubt.” He sits back down next to me, looking at me with questioning eyes, like he doesn’t quite believe that I’m okay with this.
“Well, that’s it, then.” I shrug my shoulders at him and pick up the book I set down before.
“Really? You’re okay with me killing people?”
“If you can justify it, then yes. I can only assume you have been doing this long before you met me, and I’m not going to come along and start telling you to stop what you’re doing. If this is important to you and your family, then fine.”
“Where have you been all my life?” he asks.
“Hiding,” I laugh at him. “But one thing I will say is, I don’t want to be a part of anything like that. I don’t want to know who, what, why, when.”
“Deal,” he replies. He moves closer to me and picks up my legs and rests them onto his. “I promise you, darlin’, I would never put you in any risk like that.”
“Thank you.” I smile at him.
I open the book, finding the page I left it on. Calvin begins massaging my legs, and it honestly feels like heaven. Finding out he kills people should have me running straight out of this house and as far away as I can. But yet here I stay, cuddled up on his couch with the same hands on me that he uses to kill. These books have really done a number on my brain. I let out a small laugh at the thought.
“What’s so funny?” he asks me.
I shake my head at him and continue to read. “Nothing.”
That’s how I spend the entire weekend with him, reading, massages, and of course, finding every available surface in his house to fuck on.
What more could a girl need in life?
As Calvin drives me home on Sunday evening, I can feel the good mood slipping away. Things with Darcy were left awkward.
“What’s on your mind?” Calvin asks as I continue to look out the window.
Sighing, I respond. “Things with Darcy have been awkward lately. More so since me and you,” I state.
“If she was a real friend, she would be happy for you, no?” he says firmly.
His words are true. But Darcy has always been a great friend through everything. No matter what.
The car comes to a stop outside my building. This weekend has been amazing, to say the least. Calvin reaches across and gives my hand a squeeze before getting out and making his way round to my door and opening it for me.
“True gentleman,” I smirk at him.
He doesn”t give me time to step away as he backs me into the car door, his breath hot on my neck, sending shivers all over my body.
“We both know I don’t fuck like a gentleman,” he whispers in my ear, “or do you need a quick reminder right here, right now, darlin’?” His eyes level with mine now, questioning me.
Oh, boy. Tempting as that is, I know I should go before we go for god knows how many more rounds. I need a hot bath and some time to be that little bit less sore down there.
“Maybe next time.” I tap his cheek and walk toward the building. He catches up to me in no time, opening the doors for me like the gentleman he claims not to be. I smirk as I walk past him. His head shakes as I walk past.
The elevator ride is quiet but not awkward. I did tell him that he didn’t need to walk me straight to the door, but he insisted. I find my keys in my bag as we walk down the corridor. Reaching my apartment, I can’t hear any noises out here, but Darcy can be quiet sometimes. Taking a breath, I step inside. The space is dimly lit, but small lamps are dotted around.
A wave of embarrassment comes over me. After spending all weekend in Calvin’s big home, I wonder what he must think.
Before I could even let my brain fly off the handle, Calvin reaches and holds my chin in his fingers and tips my head to meet his gaze.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asks firmly.
My head nods back automatically.
“If you need anything, no matter the time, ring me. I will be here.” His voice is very firm tonight, which only makes me obey him automatically again.
What kind of voodoo shit does this guy use?
“I will. I promise. Thank you for an amazing weekend,” I tell him as I try to avoid eye contact ,which is hard to do when he still has my chin in his fingers, forcing me to look at him.
“Good girl,” He smirks.
A door opens to who I can only assume is Darcy. Calvin plants a quick kiss on my lips, winking at me before he makes his way back down the corridor and down the stairs. Clearly, he doesn’t want to wait for the elevator. I let out a small laugh and close the door.
I can sense Darcy in the background, waiting for me to turn around. Blowing out a breath, I hold my head up and turn around. Before I can even say anything, she rushes toward me, her arms flying around me, pulling me into a hug. My whole body suddenly relaxes. I didn’t realize how much I was holding in.
“I’m. So. Sorry. Nix,” she says in between sobs.
“It’s all good,” I reassure her as I put my own arms around her, returning the hug.
“No. No it isn’t. I should never have acted like that before you left on Friday night.”
“Let’s just forget it and move on, okay? You know I don’t like holding onto things, especially silly little fights between us,” I tell her.
She nods and smiles at me.
“I do have just one question though, Darcy.”
We walk over to the sofa and sit down.
“Sure. Shoot,” she tells me.
“Why? Why did you act the way you did?”
She lets out a sigh. “Honestly?” She looks at me and I nod. “I don’t know. I think it just kind of threw me that all of a sudden you were actually interested in a man who wasn’t just a friend-with-benefits kind of guy this time. And if i”m being honest. I was jealous” she looks away
The statement shocks me. “Jealous? Why?”
“Well, this is going to make me sound like shit friend now.” She sighs, avoiding eye contact with me by looking up at the ceiling. “I know I’ve never lacked in the male companion compartment, but it was nice knowing I would be coming back to having you in the apartment, and we could sit together and talk shit and laugh about it,” she says with a shameful tone to her voice this time.
Okay. I wasn’t expecting that.
“I really am sorry, Nix. I was jealous that someone else has now got you at the weekend.”
“Thanks for telling me,” I reply, because that’s all I have. I don’t know what else to say to that. I’ve never once reacted like that when she left me to go hook up with whoever.
“So are we good?” she asks.
“Yeah, sure,” I tell her.
She squeals and jumps up from the sofa. “Thank god. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you,” she tells me as she makes her way to the kitchen. Me? I just sit here. She’s my best friend, but now I’m questioning things.
“Oh, by the way, you got a delivery yesterday. I left it in your room,” she tells me as pours a glass of wine. “Want one?” She holds up the glass.
“No thanks, I’m good. I’m just gonna go to bed.”
She nods and goes back to topping up her glass.
Walking to my room, I find the delivery box on my bed.
Strange, because I haven’t ordered anything recently.
The box sits on my bed with my name handwritten on the top. No address, just my name.
Tearing the tape off the top, I open the box to find a dozen roses. All dead and crumbling apart with a white envelope on top of them. Inside the envelope is a note,
You may have him now. But soon he will be mine.
That’s all.
No name.
No reason.
Just when I think my life is looking up, something always comes along to drag me back down.