Chapter 2 - Jade
My hair is pinned up and secure under my wig, and I’ve curled and styled the long brown wig the best I can.
My makeup is… presentable. It’s nowhere near what Hazel can do, but I’m learning, slowly.
If my good-for-nothing brother and cousin would stop stealing her away to try to woo her, I would have had her come and do it.
She always does so much better, but of course, they had to fly her to Russia for the week.
I’m not sure how Trent hasn’t figured out what’s going on with them yet, but I sure as hell am not going to be the one to tell him.
Hey, babe, did you know your sister is totally getting dicked down by my brother and my cousin, both members of the Bratva? Oh, and maybe even Elio, who is a whole other branch of the mafia I’m not even going to get into…
Yeah, no thanks.
Hazel’s a big girl, and she can be with whoever she wants so long as they treat her right. I don’t need to run and tell her brother.
Though I can’t wait to watch him finally figure it out one day, the signs are all there. He’s just so oblivious because she’s his baby sister.
I go into my closet, pull out my dress bag, clutch, and shoes, and lay them on the couch.
Jake picked up my dress, but I made him promise not to look at it and ruin the surprise. And boy, are they in for a surprise.
One of my favorite parts of these little date nights is definitely their reactions. The whole point is to get someone else’s attention, and in doing so, I get theirs about a million times over.
Rick almost busted a blood vessel the first time we did this, but he’s gotten better, kinda.
He still goes all crazy dark and possessive, but now he saves that for once we're back home, and he isn’t going to blow our cover. I’d love to say I don’t care for the whole alpha male thing, but that would be a lie. I fucking love it.
What we do is important, but I can’t lie. There’s always some part of me that craves him barging in and breaking jaws the way he did that first time.
With a shake of my head, I push the memory away. If I keep thinking like that, I’m going to have to grab a backup pair of underwear.
Pulling the dress from the bag, I hold it up in front of me, looking at my reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors that line the right side of my room. A wicked smile curves my lips at the thought of them seeing me in this.
“Knock, knock.” Zander’s voice carries through the door as he slowly pushes it open, waiting for my reply.
I could hide the dress, tell him to go downstairs and wait with the others.
But where’s the fun in that?
Besides, I’m pretty sure he accused me of being a tease earlier. Now would be the perfect time to show him exactly how much of a tease I can be.
I don’t move, standing in front of the mirror, as I watch him come in the door behind me. It takes him a second to look around, but before long, his eyes lock with mine, and even from across the room, I can see the affection that shines in them.
Which also means I see the moment his eyes land on my dress, and the affection turns to lust.
Zander’s always been easy to read; he doesn’t split hairs, and there's no guessing. Honestly, I love that about him. The fact that he’s a little unhinged only adds to his appeal to me, whereas someone else might not be able to handle him.
I’m not one to believe in things like fate often, but with these guys, it's hard not to. It’s like I was made for them and they for me.
“Doll…” He pushes the door closed behind him without looking away, his voice low and hungry.
It's been a few years now, and I'd like to think I know them, which is how I know that Zander just went into hunting mode. He's like a cat, and he seems to think that I'm the mouse right now.
That just won't do.
He stalks toward me, his eyes eating up the dress even though it's not on me yet, and I let him. It's not until he gets about three feet away that I finally say something.
"Have a seat," I tell him. His eyes snap back to mine, and I can see his indecision. Stuck between wanting to continue toward me and listening.
In the end, he moves toward the bed, but not without pouting, and I can't help but smile as I watch him go. If he thinks this is bad, he's going to be really upset in a minute.
Turning to face him, I can't help but smile. "I told you we didn't have time for this before. We’re on a tight schedule."
“I came up to see if you were ready,” he says, and honestly, if I didn't know him so well, I might believe him. He wears those sad puppy-dog eyes so well that it should be a damn crime.
“Oh, did you?" He nods fast and hard, as if that might determine whether I believe him or not. It doesn't.
“Well, I’m not,” I say, holding up my dress, letting it hang in the air between us. “But since you're here, you can help me.”
I slowly pull the dress from the hanger it was delivered on, and he tracks my every move the way I knew he would. Moving back to the couch, I let the hanger drop and carefully drape the dress over the arm. My back is to him, but I can feel his eyes as he tracks my every move.
Without turning around, I stand upright before reaching down to grab the hem of my shirt and carefully pull it over my head.
I made sure to wear one of the guys' shirts, Kratos’ to be exact.
That way, I could do my hair and makeup and not destroy it when I changed.
Usually, I opt for a button-up. It makes things nice and easy, but I’d stolen this from Kratos last night, and it’s damn near like a dress or nightgown, just too comfortable to resist.
I let it fall in a heap on the floor, and I hear the growl from behind as Zander realizes I’m not wearing a bra. Or maybe it's because these shorts are so short and tight.
Who am I kidding? It’s probably both of those things. Zander loves my body, each and every scar, has since the day he saw them years ago.
All my guys love me. I know that, but Zander has always had a way of making me feel beautiful just by the way he looks at me. Honestly, I think he might love me more because of my scars, which sounds crazy, but it’s Zan, so…
I don’t even try to stop the smile that spreads across my lips as I slowly push my shorts down my legs, bending at the waist and purposefully giving him an eyeful of my ass.
“I said have a seat,” I tell him when I hear the bed creak, and I’m kind of shocked it took him so long to move. He did better than I thought he would. I’ll have to reward him for that later because, for now, this is all for my entertainment.
He huffs, and I look back at him over my shoulder as I straighten up once again. His arms are crossed, and his lip is jutting out in a pout, but the heat has yet to leave his eyes.
Everything I need is on this couch, which is perfect for the little show I plan to put on for him.
My bra and panties are both black and lacy to match my dress. The bra is strapless because the dress is off the shoulder. I take my time putting on my bra before I turn and have a seat to slip on my panties.
Is it necessary? No, not even a little bit, but watching the way his teeth sink into his bottom lip lets me know it was the right call.
Despite how fun all of this is, I wasn’t joking about us being on a schedule.
So, with my bra and panties on, I pull my dress up my legs, shimmying it up past my hips and pushing my arms into the sleeves.
Looking up through my lashes, I find Zander’s eyes already on mine, his hand resting on the bulge in his pants that he’s not even trying to hide.
Dresses are impractical, and heels are a nightmare, but both are unfortunately required more often than I’d like. I can manage both just fine, but I’d be lying if I said it was easy to zip them up on my own. Thankfully, I’m not alone.
Holding my dress to my chest, I walk the few feet to where Zander sits on my bed, watching how his pupils grow with every step I take.
It’s a miracle there’s any color left by the time I make it to him, but I don’t take long to look him over, instead turning around and dropping down onto his lap and pulling the hair from my long brown wig over my shoulder to expose my back.
“Help a girl out?” My voice is low and breathy, even though I'm not doing anything to make it that way. I might be doing this to tease him, but I’m not unaffected, especially not now that I’m sitting on his lap and can feel just how hard he is for me.
He doesn’t move, and I turn to look at him over my shoulder.
“Zan?”
His tongue darts out to wet his lips before he finally moves. His hands come up so slowly that it feels like he’s been put in slow motion. I feel his fingers ghost over the exposed skin of my back, and I can’t stop the chill that runs down my spine as desire pools in my stomach.
Fuck, this might have been a bad idea, but it’s too late to back down now.
His left hand grips my waist, holding me still as his right hand makes slow work of the zipper before he hits the bare skin of my shoulder blade.
I should pull away, but I’m trapped. My eyes flutter closed as his fingers move up the exposed skin of my shoulder toward my throat.
I melt into his touch, letting my head fall back as his fingers close around my throat.
It would be so easy to fall into him, to give in to what we both want right now.
With all the willpower I have, I push to my feet and head back toward the couch where the rest of my outfit sits. Zander groans in frustration, and while I understand his annoyance, for some reason, it’s funnier when it’s him, and his reaction helps take the edge off for me.
Well, that and the distance.