14. Miles
14
MILES
“ T ell me.” Settling back in my chair, I crossed one ankle over the other knee. “What’s it like going out for boys’ night when two of you are settled down?”
Colton and Noah exchanged a glance, both of them smirking. “Different,” Noah announced. “Not in a bad way. But different.”
“I sure as hell don’t mind.” Evan snickered, lifting his glass to the two of them. “More for those of us who choose not to get tied up with one pussy for too long.”
“Watch it,” Colton growled out. It was amazing how he could suddenly go from affable to murderous. “Don’t talk about my girlfriend that way.”
“Or my sister,” Noah added, narrowing his eyes, but it didn’t last long before he chuckled, jerking a thumb at Colton. “Or his sister, for that matter.”
“You mean to tell me the two of you didn’t kick each other’s asses over that?” I found it difficult to believe either of them would have been all right with the other fucking their sister. It was sort of a code, even I knew that, but I’d never had close friendships like theirs. Acquaintances at most. Roommates, classmates. Nothing like this. Nothing with history.
“Noah tried,” Colton told me with a smirk.
Holding up a hand, Noah insisted, “I held myself back for Rose’s sake. I didn’t want her to watch me beat the shit out of you.”
“A likely story,” I concluded, and laughter rose among the five of us.
“Oh, Miles.” Colton lifted a hand to signal for a server. “Did anyone talk to you about my parents’ anniversary party next week? Tuesday night. It was the only time the old folks could agree on.”
“I hadn’t heard anything about it,” I admitted. “Would it be appropriate for me to be there?”
He nodded, almost laughing off what seemed to me a reasonable question. “I’m sure they would love to meet you.” I could believe that, strangely enough. Even Magnus and Evelyn struck me as genuinely warm and welcoming after weeks spent under their roof—time had clearly softened them. What a shame it did nothing to change the shitty choices they made in their younger days or the consequences of those choices.
Lucian caught my attention when he placed his empty glass on the table, rolling his eyes as he did. “What he means is… our mothers can’t wait to get a look at you.”
“Here comes something I would like to get a look at.” Evan wore a charming grin that all but melted the panties off our server, who took a few moments to eye fuck him before looking around the rest of the group.
I could understand what they meant about having more women to go around now that two of their members were spoken for. The girl attempted to get Noah’s attention, yet he only offered a brief, friendly grin then checked his phone. What would that be like, meeting the single woman with the power to make all other women disappear? I’d never imagined it possible. The sort of fairy tale people enjoyed telling themselves—true love and all that bullshit.
I followed Noah’s lead, looking at my phone and ignoring a handful of emails from associates. Even I couldn’t bring myself to care about HR issues and staffing questions at half past ten on a Friday night. There were limits. Boundaries.
“Where are the girls tonight?” Evan asked.
“Oh, they stopped off at that new club in the meatpacking district. The one Valentina was promoting.” Colton checked the time. “They’ll be out for a while still.”
I hadn’t crossed paths with Aria this evening. Why was that so strange? Something felt off. Unfinished. Spending the past two nights together, we’d made a private joke of the term film discussion , always using that as our excuse to escape to one bedroom or the other. It already had me craving her beyond all reason. Soon, there would be no choice but to forget her, but an entire week stretched between then and now.
A smart man would have set his sights on another woman—any woman. They surrounded us, orbiting our table like satellites, hoping to be pulled in by one of us, and doubtful it mattered which. I had my pick of every height, weight, hair color, and skin color. A veritable smorgasbord awaited me.
Yet I felt empty. Flat. Uninspired. Rather than take advantage of a willing stranger, I pulled up our text thread and shot Aria a message.
Me: What are you wearing?
Risky? Perhaps. There was always a chance someone might see. Pretend all she might, we both knew she got off on a bit of excitement. The thrill of knowing she was a bad girl. Something told me she hadn’t gotten much experience being bad before we met. How fortunate I was to open her up and broaden her horizons.
She didn’t keep me waiting. While fresh drinks were served, her text came through.
Aria: Clothes. The same as I always do.
“What’s so interesting?” Evan noticed my grin and craned his neck, attempting to peer at my phone.
“Your mom was reminding me of how good she is at tonguing my balls,” I retorted, shoving him away with a laugh. “Obviously.”
Noah coughed hard enough to raise a few worried looks from passersby. “Oh, fuck,” he choked out, laughing again. “Warn a guy next time.”
“That was good,” Colton agreed. To his credit, Evan laughed it off. There was something almost unnerving about that. How willing they were to accept me as part of their group. There had been no trial period or point where I was expected to prove myself worthy of their esteem. They had simply given it to me. Granted, my flashy toys may have helped a bit, but they could only take a person so far.
Returning to my phone, I tapped out another message. Now that I’d caught her attention, there was no resisting the urge to play a little.
Me: How about sending me a pic? For visual aid purposes.
She must have been as keen to screw around as I was since she replied almost instantly.
Aria: How about waiting until I see you later?
Me: Since when have I been that patient?
Aria: I’m convinced you’re the devil. You know that, right?
It took biting my tongue to suppress a laugh. She only thought she knew. Rather than reply, I laid the phone face down on my lap, certain she wouldn’t disappoint.
“I’ll see you guys later,” Evan spoke, staring across the crowded bar. Clearly, he’d found his diversion for the evening. I caught a glimpse of a leggy blonde staring at him before my phone buzzed with a new text.
“Fuck,” I breathed out, nearly dropping the phone once I’d opened the photo she sent. My eyes darted left, then right, then I dared steal another glance of Aria’s shaved pussy. Either she’d gone out without underwear, or she’d taken them down for me. The result was the same, regardless. A potentially painful erection began to stir.
Tucking my phone away rather than risk exposing her more than she’d exposed herself, I cleared my throat. “What do you think about checking out that new club?” I suggested. No way was I waiting to see her at the penthouse after she’d thrown down the gauntlet. Her little stunt deserved to be matched.
Noah shrugged, looking around. “I wouldn’t mind catching up with Sienna.”
“More like whoever is trying to hit on her,” Evan predicted with a smirk as he approached his muse for the evening.
Looking my way, Noah grunted. “You’re the one who fights in bars. Kick his ass for me, would you?” Yet my suggestion had done the trick, the others standing and checking their pockets as Colton settled the tab.
On the way across town, I sent Aria another text, my heart beating faster now that it was a matter of minutes until reality would replace a photo.
Me: Go to the ladies’ room and wait for me. Be there in five.
She would have a dozen questions, none of which I would answer until we were face-to-face. By then, there wouldn’t be a need for words to teach her what happened to girls who sent me nudes to tease me—even if I’d started things.
“Valentina outdid herself,” Colton observed as our car pulled up in front of the club.
We cut our way through the crowd with ease—camera flashes going off around us, voices ringing out as a long line of partiers waited to get past the velvet rope holding them back. I didn’t see exactly how much cash Noah tucked into the palms of each bouncer, but it was enough to get us inside with no problem while a handful of would-be guests grumbled behind us. The music was damn near deafening, and I recognized a handful of famous faces as we entered the club’s main room beyond the front desk.
“How are we supposed to find them in all of this?” Colton shouted and scanned the room of roughly a few hundred people, where most of them danced, posed for photos, and drank plenty of what was probably overpriced alcohol.
“I need to find the restroom,” I called out. “If I run into anyone, I’ll let them know we’re here.” It made sense to head deeper into the club, assuming the bathrooms were in the rear. There was a short line of women waiting by an open door. Was this the only restroom? I would have to take a chance. Surely, I couldn’t be the only man in existence who’d ever sneaked his way past a line of impatient women.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” the girl at the front of the line demanded, hands on her hips, while a chorus of female voices rang out behind her.
“I need to pick up my girl,” I called out. “She texted she was sick in here.”
“We’ll get her for you!” another woman further back in the line insisted, but I pretended I didn’t hear her, nudging my way through the open door and passing a pair of giggling women on their way out. They eyed me and giggled harder but made no attempt to stop my progress.
Half a dozen stalls were in there and a row of sinks across from them, topped by a mirror running the length of the wall. Women clustered there, checking their makeup and complimenting each other. “Aria?” I called out, catching everyone’s attention. “My girl is feeling under the weather,” I explained with an apologetic smile.
“At the end of the row!” she replied. I headed straight in that direction, biting back a grin, and eased the metal door open to find Aria waiting, arms folded, scowling.
“How are you feeling, love?” I managed to wait until the door was closed before chucking at her irritation. She wasn’t irritated enough to deny my demand, was she?
“I met you in here,” she whispered fiercely, tapping the toe of a strappy stiletto heel. “Okay? I took the dare.”
Right. Because that was all I’d had in mind. Even if it had been, the sight of her in a tight leather skirt and low-cut, sleeveless top would have changed my plans. She had pulled out all the stops tonight, and the thought of other men ogling her luscious body left me glad I’d joined her before any of them made the fatal mistake of putting a hand on her.
“What are you doing?” she whispered as I slid the latch side to lock the door.
My answer was covering her mouth with mine, tasting vodka and olive brine lingering on her lips. The dirty girl liked dirty martinis. “You think you can tease me like that, and I won’t have to attack you?” I whispered, kissing her again, my tongue halfway down her throat by the time my hands slid beneath her tight skirt. Turning, I backed her against the door and pinned her there with my body.
The hands she pressed to my chest tightened to fists, clutching my shirt once the simple act of igniting her passion was complete. I raised the skirt to her hips, and she lifted a leg, wrapping it around mine, grinding her hips in a frantic attempt at humping me. While voices overlapped and echoed on the other side of the metal door, she slid a hand between us and lowered my zipper.
Just when I thought I had the upper hand, she insisted on topping me. “Bad, bad girl,” I whispered in her ear, breaking the kiss, my tongue teasing her lobe. She arched against me, and I fisted my cock, guiding it against her seam, my dick jumping at the contact with her wet folds. She was still pantiless, the naughty thing.
“Where’s your panties?” I hissed before stroking the head of my cock between those plump lips. She pressed her face to my neck to muffle her high-pitched cry on contact with her hot flesh.
“My purse,” she breathed out, bearing down on me, rocking her hips against my hand then taking my rigid cock in hers. Pure lust made my head spin before I claimed her mouth again to muffle her whimpers as I slid two fingers deep inside her tight cunt. She was bad for me, only for me. There was something surprisingly hot about it, knowing I was turning her into a risk-taker.
“Who’s in here?” a woman called out from the other side of the door while Aria stroked me, using precum to lube my shaft. Her fist moved in a blur, and I matched her speed, pounding my knuckles against her sensitive flesh. The end was just ahead, rushing up on both of us.
Suddenly, she went stiff, her mouth hanging open in a silent scream as her muscles contracted around my fingers. I reached out blindly for the toilet roll and pulled a handful free to catch what shot from my tip a moment later. By the time the rush passed, I was weak in the knees and laughing softly at what we’d done.
Aria slapped my shoulder, then held a finger to her lips. “Let’s not be too obvious,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. “I can’t believe that happened.”
She was still sandwiched between the door and me, and I couldn’t resist taking advantage of that, kissing her until she sighed, melting the way she always did when it came to me.
We had so little time left together. I had to take every opportunity to enjoy her before no chances were left. Fuck, I was going to miss this.
“You know what I think?” I asked, brushing my lips against the tip of her nose. “You’re an adrenaline junkie.”
Snorting, she shook her head, then went through the motions of straightening out her clothes and hair with trembling hands. “I’m the furthest thing from it.”
She didn’t have me fooled. I caught her pleased smile when she thought I wasn’t looking.