Chapter 11
eleven
Zander
"It's starting to get hot and suffocating in here," Jameson says to Indi.
She nods in agreement. They rarely go out late anymore because of Rio, but tonight she's staying overnight at a friend's house.
I told my brother that if my kid was out for the whole night, I'd be fucking in every damn corner of the house.
He considered that for a minute, only Indi was anxious to get out.
She was thrown into instant motherhood, and starting with a preteen was probably not ideal, but she and Rio are inseparable. They adore each other.
Ronan and I manage to find standing room near the stage. The women are already filling in any pockets of air, hoping for a chance to catch Nate's eye. Ronan leans closer so he doesn't have to yell. "I think I should have taken up singing. Nate's got these women sweating in their panties."
"Yeah, don't think you can just take it up, buddy. You've got to have some actual talent. Hey, what happened to Ruby? Thought you two were getting serious."
Ronan shrugs. "Got bored of each other. We were trying that whole submission, dominance thing. I was kind of getting into it. Tying her up, the blindfolds, spanking but then she wanted to turn the tables. She wanted me to be the submissive. I laughed and that sort of ended it."
"You like to give but not receive," I say wryly.
"Yep, pretty much. I mean I've been handcuffed to bed frames before, and well, that can be fun when a girl goes down—"
"Never mind. Don't need to hear about your sex life." My phone vibrates in my pocket. It's Kiera. She had to work late and told me she'd get to the Gold Rush eventually.
"Hey, I'm out in the alley. Can you get me in? I don't want to wait in line."
"I'll see. Just wait there." I put the phone away. "Gonna see if I can get Kiera in through the back door."
Ronan laughs. "Yeah, I hear she's into back door stuff."
I shake my head and roll my eyes. I cut through the crowd toward the hallway that's off limits to customers.
It leads to another small hallway and eventually the back door and alley.
Harry and his crew are so busy serving drinks they don't see me slip through.
Harry probably wouldn't care since it's just me, but when I walked into the bar he did that whole pointing at his eyes and then turning his fingers on me thing from across the room to let me know I'm still on his shit list.
I reach the back door and push it open. Kiera is texting someone. She puts her phone away. "About time," she says grumpily.
"What the fuck are you talking about? I walked straight back here."
"Whatever." She waves her long nails at me and sidles past.
"Next time you can wait in line," I say.
She stops in the hallway, turns and throws her arms around my neck. She pushes her body against mine. "I'm so damn horny. Let's slip into one of those rooms, you know, where the band hangs out on break." She reaches down and rubs her hand against my cock.
"Hmm, we might be able to get away with it, but Harry's already got me on his blacklist, so we can't get caught, which means keep the screams to a minimum."
Kiera's wearing such long fake lashes she can barely open her eyes. "You're cocky. Who says you'll make me scream?"
I wrap my arm around her and pull her closer even though she's already pressed tightly against me. "Oh, I aim to please, sweetheart."
We are both so hot and ready we don't notice that the band has stopped playing. Footsteps and voices follow. Nate is the first one around the corner. "Shit, Z, get a room."
"Thought we had one until you stepped around the corner. How long's the break?" I ask.
"Fifteen and that break room is already gross as fuck. I don't need to sit on that couch and think about you doing whatever it is you're planning to do on it."
Kiera laughs. "Well, Nate, if you don't know, maybe I could show you. Or you could join us."
I push her off me and hold her at arm's distance. Kiera's dark red lips turn to a pout. "Yeah, I don't have threesomes with another guy and especially not with my brother. Let's get you a drink. I think the moment's passed."
I reach the doorway that leads back to the bar area. I stop to check if it's clear. Kiera grumbles and tries to give me a push. "What are you stopping for?" She's extra grumpy now that our quickie has been postponed. With the way she's acting, I'm fine cancelling it altogether.
"Uh, I had to sneak in here because you didn't want to wait in line," I say sharply back to her. Harry is across the barroom. His server, Patty, sees me in the doorway. We're friends, so she just winks. I step back into the barroom.
Kiera grabs my arm. "I want a glass of white wine."
"Yeah, fine." The crowd has dispersed into random clusters for conversations while they wait for the band to come back on. The only people holding their places are Nate's superfans. They've crowded around the front of the stage.
I'm looking down as I reach into my back pocket for my wallet, and I run into someone. "Sorry bout that."
"Just glad you missed my toes with those giant feet." I know the voice and the attitude well.
My face pops up. "Nev, sorry didn't see you." I look around and don't see Hoffman. "Where's your date?" I don't even try to hide the sarcasm.
Kiera clutches my arm and peeks around my shoulder. "Where's my wine? Oh, hey, Nevada. Didn't see you there."
Nev bows her head politely. "Kiera. Didn't see you either." She looks up at me. "Forgot you two had a thing going on."
I don't answer, but I badly want to let her know it's not a thing at all. In fact, tonight may very well be the end of the not a thing for good. I forget, until I see her again, that Kiera can be a whiny brat. Sometimes great sex isn't worth the hassle.
"How long has this been going on with Hoffman?" I ask, knowing full well it's not my business but asking anyway.
"Don't think that's any of your business, Mr. Wilde."
"Agreed but I need to warn you—that guy's doing something sketchy. Not sure what yet but—"
Nev rolls her eyes. "Oh brother. Here we go again. It's Joshua Vickers all over again."
"Joshua Vickers?" I ask.
Kiera smacks the side of my arm and then rubs her hand. "Fuck. You goddamn stone wall. I'm leaving. Why don't you and little miss perfect have a nice conversation, and maybe later she can make you a fucking sandwich."
Nev holds back a smile and moves a few inches to the side as Kiera storms past. "Uh, I think your sure thing date just left you."
"Good riddance. Who the fuck is Josh—Oh that dick in high school who asked you to the prom? He was a dick."
"Yeah, you made that clear. I was thrilled to be going to that stupid dance, and I'm not even sure why. I guess for a moment I was stepping out of my teacher's pet, nerd bubble, and I was going to be—I don't know—normal."
A few customers try to get past us to the bar. I give them a look that lets them know to find another route, so they do.
Nev laughs. "Still the charm of the town. And you ruined the whole night by showing up at that prom. I thought Principal Kirkland was going to fall over from a stroke when you boys walked in."
"His fucking fault. He banned Jameson and me for no damn reason."
"Uh, the two of you did donuts in your old Chevy on the blacktop area for like ten minutes, during the lunch hour, and you ignored all the whistles and teachers who were waving their arms and cussing you guys out.
Who knew Mrs. Bowman, the Health Ed teacher, had that kind of language stored up under those floral print dresses. "
We laugh. The rest of the noise in the bar fades away, and it feels like I'm standing alone with Nev, just the two of us, with our usual connection. It's always that way when I'm with her.
"I went to that prom to make sure that dickface didn't try anything with you cuz I heard him bragging to his buddies out on the football field that he was buying condoms so he could teach you a thing about having fun. Those were his exact words."
"You remember those, do you?"
I nod emphatically. "Yep. Sure do. I almost laid him flat right then, but the coach walked over right after he said it."
"Well, you did stop him from trying anything.
In fact, you basically put an abrupt end to the whole damn prom when you started that fight with him.
" Nev looks past me. "Oops, there's Dane.
I'm on my way to the bathroom. He's waiting.
But I am sorry about your date." She smiles at me and tries to walk past.
I move to block her. "Seriously, Nev, Hoffman's not for you. He's dealing with shady people."
She takes a deep breath. "Just stop, Zander. Stop always interfering with my life. Dane treats me well. I'm not an idiot. I know how to take care of myself." The light half of our conversation is over, and she's angry. She stomps past me.
"Nev." I reach for her hand, but she pulls it away and hurries through the crowd to the bathroom.
Screams of joy tell me Nate's back on stage. People start bunching together again in the middle, but they part for me as I barrel through. I'm taller than most of the crowd, so it's easy for me to spot Hoffman in his bright blue shirt. He's standing at a table talking to a few women.
"Nev, Nevvie," I say as I catch up to her in the hallway. There's a line for the women's bathroom.
"Hey, Zander," a blonde says as she tucks her hair behind her ear. I know we've met, but I can't remember her name. There are a few other familiar faces, but I ignore their greetings and take hold of Nev's hand.
"Would you please leave me alone," Nev says as she follows me. She turns back. "Save my place, Lynne. I'll be right back."
We turn the corner where the remnants of an old pay phone are still hanging on the wall along with a door that says emergency exit. Never even knew it was there. I turn Nev to face me.
"Look, I promise I'm not trying to interfere, but I'm working for Hoffman and today—"
Nev put up her hand. "No, I don't want to hear it. I can take care of myself. Now I'm losing my place in the pee line."
I don't let go of her hand. "Why are you with him anyway? He's not even your type."
Her laugh is dry and angry. She smacks my chest. "What the hell do you know about it? How do you know he's not my type? Every girl in town is your type. Maybe I'm not picky either."
Her hands are still on my chest. Something she doesn't notice until I look pointedly down at them.
She pulls them away like she's touched a hot stove.
"God you're such an ass. Please, just leave me alone.
I'm making a rule. No conversations with Dane about me.
None. I'm off limits in the topic list. Got it? " She points at me as she speaks.
I can't help myself. I take hold of her wrist and pretend to bite her finger. That's where the teasing ends. Suddenly, her slim wrist is snug in my grasp, and her fingertip is against my mouth. I take the finger into my mouth, erotically, and run my tongue against it. I suck gently on it.
Nev's expression changes. Her hazel eyes turn a soft gray-gold, and her bottom lip peels away from the top lip.
Her breath, warm and short, brushes against me.
We're both taken back to that one moment in time, when the circumstances pushed both of us to lower our guards, guards that always seemed to be wedged between us.
"Zander." Her voice cracks, and she takes a deep breath as I draw her finger out of my mouth.
"Nev, sweetheart," Dane's grating tone shirks us both out of the moment.
I'm really learning to hate the guy. And the feeling is mutual.
His dark brows are so perfect, I could swear he paints them on.
Now, they're turned inwardly with anger as he marches to the small phone alcove.
"What the fuck, Wilde? What are you doing? "
I've already let go of Nev's wrist, but there's no doubt he saw me holding it.
"Just having a casual chat with my old friend, Nevvie." I make sure to use my personal nickname because he's apparently tried it, and she wasn't happy about it. That makes me stupidly happy to hear. I look at Nev. "I'll let you get back to the pee line."
Nev finally pulls her gaze from mine and it's as if having her look away is something I can feel physically.
"I'm just going to the bathroom, then I'll be out."
Hoffman blocks her. "No, hold on. Just how well do you two know each other? I think I have a right to know." He chuckles. "I mean there's no way the two of you—"
"We're friends," Nev says sharply. "And that's all you need to know. Now, if you don't let me pass, I may pee my pants." Nev stomps past him.
I cross my arms and stare at Hoffman. Jameson will rip me a new one if I lose this contract, but this fucker is standing on my last nerve.
"Just friends, eh?" he asks again.
"Nev and I go way back," I say cryptically. "And I'm very protective of her, so treat her right or—"
"Or what?" he asks bravely and then backs up a few steps as I move forward.
"Let's hope you never find out. Just treat her right."
"I plan to. Look, Wilde, I'll be honest. Your company was the only excavation company in the area with a good reputation, otherwise I'd be looking for someone else right now."
"And?"
"Let's just keep it civil. I need my foundations and roads dug, and I'm sure this contract is lucrative for your company, so seems like a win-win for both of us to just stay out of each other's way."
"Sounds good to me."
He turns to leave but looks back. "Oh, and stay out of Nev's way, too. I don't want to run into one of these little scenes again."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. I need a beer, so if we're through here—"
He hesitates, then seems to think better of blocking me. We walk past each other, and I'm sorely tempted to clash shoulders hard with the guy. Nev is just stepping into the bathroom as I turn the corner. Our gazes crash and hold, then she disappears inside.