25. Chapter 25
25
Malak
“ S o, busy means fucking?” Grey asked.
My gaze tore over to him. “Grey,” I snapped, my shoulders tensing.
“No, no, I can see the hickies on Rose, and this room is tense as fuck. Obviously, these two finally hooked up and were just ignoring us,” he huffed, pulling his hand out of his pocket.
“I wasn’t trying to ignore either of you,” Kelly insisted. “Well, okay, maybe Grey, but can you blame me after you tied me to a chair?”
Rose looked over at Grey. “Wait, he what?”
Kelly sighed, “I was going to tell you about that I—” she cut off, and her gaze shifted behind me. “Lindsey.”
I turned around to see Lindsey standing in the middle of the stairs. Her eyes ran all the way up and down my body before moving onto Grey. “What’s going on?” Lindsey asked.
I had never seen Kelly’s sister before. Despite the fact that they both had brown hair and brown eyes, they did not look strikingly alike. Lindsey’s hair was straight and cut bluntly at her shoulders, her features were sharper and of different proportions than Kelly’s.
“This is Malak, and of course you know Grey,” Kelly explained as she stepped around us and closer to Lindsey. I could feel the tension between them even from feet away.
“Uhh,” Lindsey mumbled, “Your roommates?” she asked, “What are they doing here?”
I cleared my throat and stepped over closer to Lindsey. Her head tilted up to look at me. She wasn’t as short as Kelly, but only by a few inches. Her face pinkened as I towered over her.
“Kelly wasn’t answering her phone. We were worried about her. We showed up unannounced. I’m sure you can understand being worried,” I said, my voice lowering just a bit as I tried to fluster her into not reading too much into it. It was a task that had never been difficult for me.
Lindsey blinked and then rolled her eyes, though her face was still pink. “I’m a lesbian, so that’s not gonna work with me, but, alright. I guess that makes sense,” she mumbled.
I cleared my throat and took a step back from her. When I looked over at Kelly, she was blushing and giving me a glare. I tilted my head to the side and put a hand up as if to try to assure her.
I was not at all interested in Lindsey, and she was not interested in me.
Lindsey looked over at Grey, and her brow furrowed. “Grey—Greyson Reed?” she asked, and her entire body tensed.
Grey stayed quiet, but I watched him tense as well.
“Yes, of ‘The Reeds’, but it’s all good now,” Kelly insisted.
My lips pursed. I wouldn’t take her for lying to her sister about Grey and his family, but I didn’t say anything.
“I was about to order food, so why don’t we get on that?” Rose asked.
My own eyes scanned her. I could see the marks Grey had mention peaking out of her shirt as well, and my core lit on fire. I wondered just what other marks Kelly had left on her, what marks she had left on Kelly.
Fuck Kelly and Rose not answering their phone. I couldn’t blame them — though I wondered just how Lindsey was dealing with them fucking under the same roof. I shifted on my feet. The thought of having to be quiet was hot as fuck.
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
Get it together.
I could still remember the feeling of spanking Rose’s ass in the club. Every little sound she made, the way she counted for me. I wondered what both of their moans would sound like together in tandem.
“Malak?” Rose asked.
I realized I was staring at her.
“Oh,” I mumbled, and pulled my head together, “Actually, why don’t I stop by the store? I can cook for us.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Kelly insisted.
“No, no. I love it. I’ll make some naan and butter chicken,” I said, and pulled my keys out of my pocket.
Besides, I needed some time to calm the hard-on forming in my jeans.
“I’ll get some dishes done while you go to the store. You know where it is?” Kelly asked. Her wide eyes making me melt.
“Yeah, passed it on the way into town,” I told her, and headed for the front door.
Those three are gonna be the death of me.
An hour and a half later, I was bringing dishes to the dining room table as Kelly set up plates and silverware. It was strange, actually eating at the dining room table, instead of just resigning to sit on the couch where the TV was, but honestly, as long as I could cook for people, I didn’t care where they ate it.
“That smells delicious,” Kelly said as she sat down. Rose, Grey and Lindsey all sat down as well, Lindsey sitting on the opposite of the table as the rest of them, which made for a pretty awkward scene when Kelly had to scoot Lindsey’s plate across the table from where she intended on all of us sitting to where Lindsey had decided to sit.
The atmosphere was incredibly tense. Especially once we were all sitting down, looking at our plates of food and each other. Though it was clear that Lindsey was avoiding looking at any of us, her chin was mere inches away from her own neck.
I eyed the table. Some part of me regretted coming, the other part could not give any less fucks if people were uncomfortable with having to play nice. I had spent the last half of a decade with a man who didn’t like playing nice. I could handle another night.
My gaze shifted to Grey, and I rolled my eyes, to which he mouthed, “What?”
I shook my head and dug into the food, feeling absolutely ravenous.
It was only a moment later that the sound of everyone else eating met my ears, and the tension seemed to lighten a bit.
“This is very good, ah, Malak was it…” Lindsey complimented, her voice flat and quiet. I didn’t necessarily blame the woman, the situation she was in, but I didn’t know her. I had no patience. Still, I gripped my fork a bit tighter and continued eating.
“Thank you,” I replied.
I felt Kelly’s hand on my thigh underneath the table, and my hips shifted. I looked over at her for a moment. Her eyes were warm, a soft smile on her face. I couldn’t tell if she was being hot or sweet, but frankly, it was both.
“So, you live with two guys, Kelly?” Lindsey asked.
Kelly paused, her fork a few inches from her mouth. “Uh, yeah,” she replied.
“You told me there was another girl there. Was that a lie?” Lindsey asked.
My shoulders tensed. I could see Grey tense from the corner of my eyes, and glanced at him as if to say ‘calm’.
“No,” Kelly insisted, “There was another woman living with us, Taylor. She just moved out.”
Lindsey eyed all of us from her lonely side of the table. “I see,” she mumbled and then looked at Grey. “I’d have expected you to rope a girl in and get her pregnant by now.”
“Hey, Lindsey,” Kelly scolded.
“What?” Lindsey asked. “I’m just being honest. Isn’t that what we want from each other? Grey isn’t exactly a stand-up guy.” She put a bite of food into her mouth and chewed slowly. “I say with no judgment.”
“Yeah right,” Kelly mumbled, “Leave Grey alone.”
Lindsey looked between the two of them, her brow furrowing deeply. “Why?” she asked. “What are you screwing him too?” she asked.
Kelly’s face turned pink.
“Lindsey, there’s no need for that,” Rose whispered.
“Yeah, there is. I mean, I know you and Kelly are fucking. You think I haven’t figured that out?” Lindsey asked. “Don’t you want to know if she’s cheating on you with Grey?”
Grey scoffed. “There’s no cheating involved here, Laurie,” he snarled at her.
Lindsey’s face turned red. “It’s Lindsey. As much as your small mind might not be able to process that, Lindsey.”
Grey’s entire body tensed, and he stood up from his chair. I stood up as well, placing a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged away from my touch.
“Lindsey, I know we have issues, but keep them with me,” Kelly insisted as she stood up from the table.
“Listen to your sister, bitch,” Grey snarled out.
Lindsey gasped.
“You’re in my family’s house,” Lindsey reminded him.
“Yeah, to check on your sister because we didn’t trust you not to go off at her,” Grey replied. “You can’t even get with the idea of a few people fucking.”
Lindsey huffed. “You shouldn’t even be here. Like Kelly said, the problem is with us, not you.”
“Oh, no, we’re not gonna back track here,” Grey told her. “You came at me.”
“I don’t even understand what Kelly would want in either of you!” Lindsey growled, her anger and frustration directed at both Grey and Rose.
Grey’s hands balled into fists and he whirled around towards the exit of the room.
Just like that, things started to dissolve entirely. While Kelly went following after Grey, Lindsey stormed out of the dining room as well, and I could hear the stair’s to the second floor creak violently. It was just Rose, and I left in the dining room.
I looked over at her from where she sat, two seats away from me, both of our plates nearly empty.
My shoulders tensed as I heard the front door close. I started to stand up. I needed to go after Kelly and Grey, fix things.
“Hey,” Rose said, as she leaned over and placed her fingertips on my shoulder, “There’s too many people getting in the middle of conversations that need to be one on one.”
My brow furrowed. I stood up, grabbing my plate and several of the plates next to mine, stacking them one on top of the other. “You’re one to talk,” I said as I nudged my chair in with my leg. “when did you start caring about talking things through, anyway? You certainly didn’t give a damn in the past.”
Fire flared in my ears and I walked to the kitchen through the open glass double doors. My eyes met Rose’s just as I was turning and I saw her face fall. I felt her following behind me as I stopped at the sink and turned the water on to rinse the plates before putting them in the dishwasher.
I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting from the dinner, but I knew I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Look, Malak,” Rose started with a sigh as she set the plates and silverware she had brought into the kitchen down, “I know what happened in the past—" she started, but I cut her off.
“No, you don’t know, Rose,” I told her, turning the water off and drying my hands. I tossed the towel down on the counter. “You have me an ultimatum.”
“…you chose the club, Grey, over me,” Rose reminded me, waving a hand to the side, her forehead creased.
“Because what the hell else is there for me?” I asked her, “Your parents were going to eventually force us apart. You just decided to speed that up, and I went along for the ride.”
“You could have chosen me,” Rose insisted. “I wanted you, Malak.”
My breath caught in my throat, and I turned to face her completely, stepping closer.
“I wanted you, Rosie, more than I knew I could ever want, or love, someone; but without the club, I’m just a man from a broken home with no future.”
Rose removed the distance between us and placed her hands on my chest. The feeling of her soft hands through my shirt made the back of my neck tingle. I didn’t shift away from her.
“You’ll always have a future,” she told me. “I was stupid, Malak. Afraid of my parents, afraid of fucking things up, and I only fucked things up even worse.”
I eyed her, quiet, my jaw tight.
“I was a mess when you left,” I told her. “Grey had to drag me home, drunk, passed out, barely functioning for months.” My eyes burned, but I ignored it. My hands curled into fists.
I watched Rose’s eyes grow glossy pink. “I’m so sorry, Malak,” she whispered, her fingers curling against my chest.
“Then I had to find out you were getting married, only a couple months later,” I growled at her. “Do you have any idea what that did to me, Rosie?” I reached up, and I grabbed her by the tops of her arms, just tight enough.
Rose gasped softly, her eyes widening and locking with mine. “I only did it because I thought I had to,” she insisted. “I missed you, Malak. For a year after I got married to Lindsey, all I could think about was being married to you. I ruined any chance of that.”
“Now you’re into Kelly?” he asked. “Do I even matter anymore?”
Rose’s breath caught in her throat, and a couple of tears dripped from her eyes. Her hands grasped at my shirt tighter. “You’ve always mattered, Malak, even while I’ve tried to ignore it. I care about Kelly, I care about you, fuck, even Grey, but never, I never forgot about you.”
My heart was pounding. I could barely think straight. The next moment my hands were sliding down from Rose’s arms to her hips and I pulled her closer, up onto her tippy toes. My lips captured her sweet, delicious lips in a passionate kiss. Her arms wrapped around my neck over my shoulders and I felt her body press closer to mine.
I deepened the kiss, tasting her like I might never be able to again. The way I wished I had kissed her the night she walked away from me.
“Rosalinda,” I whispered against her mouth, feeling intoxicated. I wanted her, I wanted Kelly, Grey, all of them — but right in that moment, Rose was my priority.
I was about to speak again, but Rose shut me up, her mouth engulfing my own, kissing me deeply, needly. My hands gripped tighter at her hips and the soft moan that traveled from her mouth into mine stirred my desire. I picked her up with ease, placing her on the counter. My body pressed close against hers, my cock hard in my jeans.
Our kiss broke with soft panting. I tilted my head to the side as Rose’s lips trailed hot, wet kisses up the side of my neck, along my scruffy jawline.
“I missed you so fucking much,” I growled softly.
That night in the club where I spanked her, punished her, was nothing in comparison to what was happening right then. I didn’t care who walked in right then. All I wanted was Rose’s body wrapped around my own.
I gripped her hips tightly, my fingers digging into the flesh, and a groan of pleasure escaped her mouth as it met my lips once more.
“Fuck, I missed you too,” Rose moaned. Our mouths collided once more, my tongue swirled around hers, and my hips twitched as she bit at my tongue lightly.
I growled under my breath and the next moment swept her up from off the counter. Rose’s legs wrapped around my hips as my hands moved to her ass and her arms around my neck.
“Bedroom?” Rose panted softly against my mouth.
“Bedroom,” I replied, started out of the kitchen on the opposite side towards the hallway rather than the exit to the dining room.
“Down the hall, left, right, second door,” Rose mumbled. Her mouth met with my jawline, and I struggled to stay steady on my feet.
I didn’t give a fuck in that moment what Kelly and Grey were talking about outside. Not as I carried Rose down the hallway, nor as I kicked the half-open door with my foot and entered what appeared to be a guest bedroom.
I set Rose down on the end of the bed and watched as she crawled back towards the middle. Her face was pink, and she giggled softly.
“We just washed and made this bed, you know,” she told me.
My cock twitched just thinking about Kelly and Rose, naked and writhing in the same bedding. Though for a brief moment, my stomach knotted. I closed the bedroom door behind me and started to kick off my clothing before I even got to the bed.
“Too bad,” I husked at Rose. I crawled onto the bed and in front of her, “Arms up.”
Rose did as I asked, arms up in the air. I grabbed her shirt and tugged it up over her head. She was wearing nothing underneath, her small perky breasts bouncing slightly as the fabric pulled off them. My mouth watered.
“Are you going to punish me?” Rose asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked up at me. I saw the look in her soft blue eyes. There was guilt there, the same guilt and frustration I had held for several years. For a moment, I wanted to say yes, but as her lashes brushed her cheeks, my heart melted.
“No,” I whispered and leaned down so our faces were closer. “I punished you in the club.”
My hands reached down for her pants, gently tugging them off her body. “I’m going to remind you what you’ve been missing,” I told her.
Just like that, in a second, Rose’s body was naked before me. Her pants and panties were tossed to the side, just like her shirt.
“So, you’ll never forget,” I pushed her down onto her back, and hovered above her body. My chest brushed against hers each time one of us breathed.
“I never forgot,” Rose insisted.
I swallowed hard. I wanted to fuck her so hard, so good, that if she did decide to walk away again, no one else would ever compare. I wanted to ruin her — at the same time; I wanted to cherish her. Feel her body close to mine, so perfectly hot and sweaty, not to punish her, not to teach her, or remind her. Simply to bask in it. Whether she ran away again, I didn’t care. One more time, it was better than never again.