Chapter Eleven
Nixie
Darcy comes barging into my room, turning on every light she can possibly find. I hear her walking towards the closet and going through my clothes. I groan underneath the covers that are hiding me from the world.
“I’ve let you fester around for two weeks now. Get your ass up and in that shower now. We are out tonight, and before you start, the word ‘no’ doesn’t mean shit from you tonight,” she says to me as she rips the covers off me.
“No” I tell her as I pull the covers back up to my shoulders.
“Bitch, I just said that word doesn’t mean shit tonight. You can either drag your ass to the shower yourself, or we can take our friendship to a weird level and I’ll shower you myself.” She grins at me.
“You are weird,” I tell her as I throw the covers off and get out of bed.
“Yes, yes I am. Now chop chop, bitch, we’ve got cocktails to drink.” She slaps my ass as I go past, which makes me chuckle. I shake my head at her as I make my way to the bathroom.
Letting the warm water fall over my body feels heavenly. I wash myself, trying to find the energy to deal with Darcy tonight. That girl is on a mission.
It’s been two weeks since Calvin dropped me back at my apartment. For the first week, I knew he was sitting outside my building in his car. Part of me wanted to go down and tell him to get lost and to leave me alone, but for some reason, I felt safer knowing he was watching me. I’ve read plenty of books about men like him, watching and capturing women, and now I’ve got my own little stalker going on. I feel like I’ve got Stockholm syndrome going on, which is crazy, right!? What silly woman would start having feelings for their captor? Well, me, apparently. I know this is red flag territory right now, but I can”t help but be intrigued by him.
I finish my shower and climb out. Wrapping the towel around my body, I take a smaller towel and start patting my hair dry as I walk out the bathroom and back to my room.
“Finally. I thought you got lost in there. Okay, so I’ve narrowed the dresses down to these two, and before you ask, yes, these are the only options. We need you looking even more smoking than usual for where we are going.” She winks at me and holds up the two dresses. Option one is a red dress that has just about enough plunge down the chest to be sexy but also sweet. Option two is a backless, black dress that has cute puff sleeves.
“Really? These are the best you could find?” I laugh at her.
“Girl, these are the ones that will for sure grab some attention, no matter which you choose, so it doesn’t bother me which one you go for.” She winks at me.
She wiggles the dresses in front of me. She’s too excited for us going out, which is very suspicious. I laugh to myself and point to one I pick out, and she giggles and jumps towards me.
“Oh, I was hoping you’d go for this one. It’s perfect!”
“I thought you said they were both perfect?”
“Well, I mean, they are. But this one. Perfection.” She smirks.
Darcy ushers me into the chair in front of my desk and begins to get to work on hair and makeup. No matter how many times I try to do what she does to my face and hair, it never comes out the same, so I just leave it to the expert. And truth be told, I love Darcy pampering me. It takes me back to my childhood with my older sister. I shake the memories from my head, willing them to go. I refuse to go there. Trying to take my mind off the past, I focus on watching Darcy work her magic.
“So, come on then, Darc. Tell me where we’re going tonight.”
She smirks at me, which has me narrowing my eyes at her. “Oh, just some club in town. We will have a few drinks, a few dances, and who knows, maybe even catch the eyes of some delicious men.” She winks at me.
I let out a chuckle, which made her stop and tap the hairbrush in my head. “Care to share?” She quizzes me.
“You’ve always got dick on the brain,” I laugh.
“Damn straight I do,” she says, agreeing with me.
After what feels like a lifetime in the chair, she is finally done pampering me. I go over to the bed, take the dress and shoes I’ve chosen and take them to the bathroom whilst Darcy does her own makeup.
“Hey, Darc, do you think you could help with the zipper, please? I can’t quite reach all the way,” I ask her as I walk back in the room. I find her staring at me in the mirror, her jaw open.
“What?” I ask. “Does it not look good? Of course it doesn’t,” I huff.
I start trying to undo the zipper.
“No, Jesus, Nixie. That dress was fucking made for you.” She smiles at me. “You look absolutely stunning,” she says as she lines me up to the full-length mirror. I take my reflection in. The red dress just sits perfectly on my curves. It shows off just enough boobs that it’s comfortable for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for body positivity, and you should love yourself for who you are, but we all have our insecurities. Mine are my curves, because of past trauma and being told to lose weight to fit into the “perfect family”.
Over the years I’ve known Darcy, she has constantly hyped me up on them and reminding me that I am beautiful. She truly is the best friend I could ever have.
I turn to her and hug her. “Thank you.”
I go into the kitchen to put myself a glass of wine—some liquid encouragement to get out the door. I haven’t seen Calvin since he dropped me off two weeks ago, but I have seen a black car that looks very out of place parked across the road of the building. I know it’s him. I can feel it.
Darcy comes out of the room, looking drop dead gorgeous in a dress that looks like it’s literally been painted onto her body.
“Jesus, Darcy, can you even breathe in that thing?” I quiz her.
“Breathing is for the weak.” She smirks at me.
I shake my head and offer her a glass of wine, which she takes and pretty much downs in one.
“Okay, let’s get going,” she says as she practically drags me out the door. She is not wasting any time, apparently.
We make our way down to the main doors, and I glance across the road to find it empty.
“Come on, get in, Nix,” Darcy says as she urges me forward into the cab.
The driver takes off once we are in the back. Darcy starts talking away, but I don’t pay attention. I stare out the window, my mind thinking back to everything that has happened over the past couple of weeks, wondering why Cal hasn’t made his presence more known to me. I know he’s been watching me and sending the odd text, but that’s about it. I feel like I need more answers from him. But I don’t know what to even ask.
The cab comes to a stop outside a familiar place, and I look up at the signs above the door with the name of the club in bright lights. Hidden.
Thanking the driver as we get out, I take in the outside of the club and then it hits me.
“Darcy, did you really bring me to his club?” I hiss at her.
“You bet I did,” she laughs at me as she drags me through the doors.
I pull my arm free, which makes her spin around. “ Listen, I know you have been thinking about him for the past two weeks, and I know the situation between you two is kind of weird, but I have never seen you so hung up over a guy. I just want you to experience what you read in your spicy books in real life,” she says, winking at me.
“Weird is putting it nicely, Darcy, we both know that. This whole things is beyond fucked up,” I say to her as I walk over to the bar.
She giggles as she follows me. I take a seat at the front bar and take in the surroundings. It is just as beautiful as it was the first time I came in here. So elegant.
A bartender comes over to us and sets a square napkin down on the bar in front of us both.
“And what can I get you ladies tonight,” he asks.
He’s smiling at Darcy. I look at the front of his shirt towards his nametag which is ‘Liam’.
“Well, Liam, what is the strongest drink in here?” I quiz him.
When he’s finished making eyes at Darcy, he turns to me and his face pales ever so slightly.
“Sorry, ma’am, can’t have it too strong, ‘I”m afraid.” He avoids eye contact with me as he tells me. Strange.
“Well, then. I guess I’ll just have a gin and tonic, please.”
“Yes ma’am, coming up. And for you?” He turns his attention towards Darcy again.
She sits there, tapping her fingers on her lips. “I guess I will have the same, but could I get it a tiny bit stronger, please?” She bats her eyelids at him.
“Yes, you can,” he tells her, and goes about making our drinks.
Darcy turns to me and smiles.
“What the hell was that about? How come you can get it stronger, but I can’t?”
“My guess? Him.” She nods toward someone behind me. The feeling of someone watching me comes over my body yet again, and I slowly turn and look up to windows above the seating area. I find a pair of eyes staring down at me. I knew it was his club, but I didn’t expect to see him here. I turn back and face the bar again. My palms begin to sweat and my breathing picks up just slightly, but it’s enough for Darcy to notice.
“Hey, nothing is going to happen to you. Well, nothing you don’t want to happen, that is.” She winks at me.
I try to laugh, but it comes out a bit panicky.
Darcy grabs my hands. “Nix, I promise I won’t let anything happen. If you wanna go, we can go. If you wanna go confront his ass, I will be at your side. Whatever you want. Okay?” Her voice brings the comfort I need to hear.
“I’m okay. It’s okay.” I shake it off. “Let’s have a good night,” I tell her as Liam places the drinks in front of us. He walks off, but not before I notice him look up slightly to the same windows I was just looking at.
We stay seated at the bar for a couple of hours and Liam keeps the drinks coming to us even though we didn”t ask him to do so. My eyes keep wandering back to the windows, but I haven’t seen him since. Darcy gets up off her seat and practically drags me along with her.
“Right. I think we’ve had enough liquid encouragement. Lets go get our dance on,” she says.
We walk into the back room where the music is louder, and there are people dancing and having fun. I can see Darcy’s eyes light up, like she can’t wait to get on the dance floor. Smiling at her, I drag her to the floor. “Go wild. I’m gonna get us another drink,” I shout over the music. She nods and begins to move her hips, her arms above her head.
As I reach the bar, I turn to check on her and notice some men have made their way over and are trying to dance with her. As I watch, making sure she’s okay, she must say something to them, because next minute, they are practically running away.
“What can I get you?” I turn to the bar and am met with a very pretty looking bartender with the most infectious smile on her face. I take a look at her name tag.
“Hi, Carmen. Can I get two sex on the beaches and two shots of tequila, please?” I ask her very nicely. She looks at me and then, ever so slightly, just behind me.
“I’m very sorry, but I can only serve you one drink,” she sheepishly says.
“Sorry, what?”
“I can only serve you one drink,” she repeats back to me, looking nervously behind me.
“But…this is a bar. Why can I only get one drink?”
“Sorry, miss, I have orders to only serve you one drink,” she says, still avoiding eye contact with me.
Calvin has been watching what I drink all night. First with Liam in the front bar, and now in the back bar. Is this guy serious? Who does he think he is, limiting my drinks?
“Hey, Carmen.” Her eyes shoot to me. “Are these orders from your boss, who you keep looking at behind me?”
She looks in two minds about whether or not she should answer me. “Hey, it’s okay. I just want to know. Nothing will happen to you,” I reassure her.
She nods her head just a tiny bit, giving me my answer. That asshole.
“You’ve been gone for ages now. Where are our drinks?” Darcy asks as she joins me at the bar.
“Apparently, they are only allowed to serve me one drink.” I laugh as I tell her.
“Says who?”
“Says our dear friend and stalker over there.” I nod my head toward the booths and to where Calvin is sitting with some people.
“Are you serious?”
“Fucking deadly.”
“Who the fuck does he think he is?” she begins to shout.
“Calm down, Darc, I got this.” I smirk at her.
“Oh, shit. Nix, what are you gonna do?” She laughs.
Taking a deep breath, I walk from the bar and make my way back across the dance floor and toward the booths. There’s five, and only one is occupied, right in the middle. I stop at the end of the table, looking around to see the seats occupied by guys in suits. I recognise two of the four men seated; Calvin and his brother, Reid.
Calvin is sitting in the middle with a sly smirk across his face, holding a tumbler glass, swishing around the amber liquid inside it. Asshole.
“Nixie,” he says as he takes a small sip from his glass.
Something snaps inside me. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol pumping through my veins, or the fact that he’s pretty much ignored me since he dropped me off after kidnapping me.
I let out a slight chuckle. “Oh, you remember who I am.”
Calvin’s eyes shot to my face. “Nixie,” he says, warning in his tone.
“Yes, Calvin?”I smile sweetly at him.
He maintains eye contact with me but moves his neck side to side. Hmm. Seems I’m getting to him.
I narrow my eyes at him, and an idea crosses my mind.
Everyones eyes are bouncing between me and him, smirks on their faces. His brother is just sitting with that stone look on his face.
Finding the encouragement from deep within, I lean across the table and grab Calvin’s glass from his hand, stopping him from taking a sip himself. I make eye contact with him and can see the questioning look on his face. Smiling at him, I take the glass from him and throw the liquid down my throat. Shit. Definitely shouldn’t have done that. Wow, that’s strong. I force myself to swallow without letting on how much it burns as it goes down. I can feel the sick wanting to come up.
“Thanks for the drink,” I say, smiling at him whilst I place the glass back in his hand. All the men are just staring at me and making glances at Calvin, who is sitting there with that fucking smirk etched on his stupidly handsome face again.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around? Or maybe I won’t. You do like to stay in the shadows, don’t you, Cal?” I smirk.
The last thing I see before I walk away is the smirk turning into a grin and his eyes narrowing at me.
Feeling happy with myself, I make my way back past the rest of the empty booths and onto the dance floor in search of Darcy. I spot her sitting at the bar, drinking a cocktail through a straw with some man standing next to her, trying to get her attention.
As I make my way through the crowded dance floor, I don’t see him until he’s right in front of me.
“Going somewhere?”
Before I can even get an answer out, Calvin picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.
“Put me down!” I shout at him.
“Sorry, darlin’, I can’t hear you over the music,” he chuckles.
He navigates us through the dance floor with ease; everyone just sees him and makes a pathway for him. They don’t seem to see the girl thrown over his shoulder.
We exit the dance floor and he goes through a door at the side of the booths. The corridor is long and dimly lit. I begin to smack and hit his back. “I swear to god, if you don’t put me down right now,” I say through gritted teeth.
Next thing I know he slides me down the front of his body and pins me to the wall.
“Or what? What are you going to do?” he says with a grin on his face.
I’m too taken aback to answer. I just stare at him. God, he’s good looking.
“No answer? Okay. Let’s go.” He proceeds to throw me over his shoulder again.
“You know I can walk, right?”
“I know, but I’ve been dying to get my hands on your body all night.” He smacks my ass and my mouth goes dry at the connection between his hand and me. I try to refrain from letting out a moan. We continue to go down the corridor. He carries me up some stairs without even breaking a sweat or getting out of breath.
He unlocks a door using a code and he puts me down again. I sway on my feet as he sets me down, his hand grabbing at my waist to steady me. Again, the connection of his hand on me makes me feel dizzy.
I move from his touch and take a look around the room. It must be his office. There’s a desk that is central to the wall that we just came through, and he has glass windows to the left and the front of it. I walk up to the windows and look out to find the front of the bar. I can feel his eyes following my every move. From these windows, I see Darcy still sitting at the bar, but this time someone else is next to her. They look to be in conversation. I narrow my eyes to try and get a better look, then it hits me. That’s Reid.
I let out a gasp and went to turn around to say something to Calvin, but he’s already there behind me.
“Don’t worry about your friend. My brother is harmless. Well, sometimes,” he whispers in my ear. My body reacts to him being this close; I can feel the goosebumps spreading across my body, my nipples hardening against my dress.
Calvin notices and smiles at the way my body is reacting.
“As much as I appreciate the way you respond to me, darlin’, I’m not going to touch you until you ask for it.” He winks as he walks away.
It must be the alcohol still flowing in my veins, because sober me would not do what I’m about to do. As he walks away, I follow.
Standing on my tiptoes, I whisper in his ear, “What are you waiting for then?”
Calvin spins around and I see him darken with need as he grabs my face. He licks his lips just before he connects them with mine.
They may be soft, but there isn’t anything soft about this kiss. It’s hard, greedy and electric. The buzz that is making its way through my body has me weak at the knees. Just as they buckle beneath me, he picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist.
Calvin begins walking toward his desk, he never breaks away from the kiss, until he places me on top of his desk.
“You are going to regret those words, darlin’,” he smirks as he begins kissing down my neck.
I have reason to believe that I won’t ever regret the words that left my mouth.