All This Time (5 page)

Chapter
Seven

When
the sensual song ends, the Holidays’ crowd whistles and applauds the solo
performance, begging for an encore. He kindly declines them before hopping down
from the stage. After several bar-trolls are peeled away from him by their
dates and other friends, the sexy saxophone god tips back a tumbler of dark
liquid offered from the bartender. While glancing between a few guys, he laughs
and enjoys a celebration drink and smoke.

I
can’t pry my eyes away from him. Everything about this man is spectacular.
Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so because soon he becomes very
popular and the group surrounding him begins eclipsing my view. Just before our
inevitable separation, he twists his head my direction and searches the crowd
until he finds me studying him. Catching my stare, he locks and holds it. His
shimmering eyes slowly begin heating, taking my now combustible panties
prisoner along with it. My breathing becomes labored as I imagine receiving
that same look while he nestles between my thighs and against my core.
Oh my
god I need that.

Tilting
his head downward slightly, he looks at me from under hooded eyes and I feel
like they are beckoning me toward him. My heart skips a beat in time. Dizzy
from the lust stalking my body from just his eyes on me, I struggle taking in
air. Suddenly his dark eyes shift to startle when someone near him shoves
against his back. My focus instantly lowers to his lips as he speaks to the
rude son of a bitch. His dark red lips, swollen from recently playing, needs
only two words to describe them: fucking delicious. Damn. I can’t remember the
last time I was this turned on. The satin material in my bra feels like
sandpaper against my sensitive nipples, which are now tiny pebbles begging for
his
lips. Totally eclipsed by fans the sex-god disappears right in front of my
eyes.

Not
a moment too soon either.

Natalie
plops down beside me, draping an arm over my shoulder and yelling in my ear. “I
think you and Rad are the cutest couple ever. I like you Angel,” Hiccup, “Oh,
and if you ever feel like hiring my kids, I’ll babysit you.”

“What
the hell are you talking about?” I narrow my eyes on her drunk-ass and ask,
“How much did you drink tonight Natalie?”

Dropping
her head against my shoulder, she laughs for a good solid minute. I look to her
husband for help, but he just shrugs a shoulder innocently. Her shoulders jerk
wildly while she drunkenly stammers, “I said…if you ever…feel like babysitting
my kids…, I’ll hire you.”

“Uh,”
Oh damn, not kids
. I freak a little. “Sure Natalie, the next off night I
have from the shop, after I find complete and utter bliss at the bottom of my
drink, I’ll babysit your precious minions.” I say sarcastically before tipping
my whiskey glass back.

She
continues to laugh while the rest of our group reemerges from their hiding
spots.
Decks has
his birthday present neatly tucked
under his arm and is no longer eye fucking me.
Thank you baby Jesus.
After
a few minutes of chaotic chatter about an after party they elect to crash
Lourdes’ place since she failed to show for her brother’s birthday celebration.

But
have you ever heard that little saying, “Speak of the devil and up he jumps”?
Ah, yeah, that just happened. In a blazing red Nicole Miller dress and some
“every bitch wishes she had these” red Jimmy
Choos
heels, Lourdes sashays her pompous ass straight over to our table.

“No
kiss for the birthday boy?”
Decks teases
and everyone
at our table laughs.

“Move,”
Lourdes demands haughtily, glowering down at him while angrily pushing hair
behind her ear.

She
stands hovering above all her peasants, waiting for Decks to vacate the chair
sitting on the outside of our booth, especially designated for him tonight.
Obeying his Queen, Decks scoots into our already packed booth, pulling his date
onto his lap and cramming Russ tighter against me. Instantly Lourdes spots me
and lifts a professionally arched and contemptuous eyebrow. Obviously no one
informed the Queen that I didn’t run away after our initial meeting.

“Rad,”
Lourdes purrs, boring holes through me. “Isn’t vanilla last month’s flavor?”

Russ
draws me against his chest, placing a kiss against the corner of my mouth.
“Vanilla is my favorite flavor,” he tells her and the guys whoop their
approval. The scowl on her face is priceless.

Honestly,
I can’t imagine anything making me happier. At this precise moment, fate
becomes my newest adversary, deciding to have the last laugh at my expense. In
all his divine essence, the sex-god graces our booth, dropping a kiss against
the cheek of the Queen herself. Lifting her hand up, Lourdes cups his face and
he draws her body tightly against him, pressing his still swollen lips against
her collagen injected ones. She drapes her arms around his wide shoulders as
his hands slip around her thin waist. He drives his tongue through the slit of
her lips and she responds dancing with the chaotic rhythm he is creating.

I
am a fucking voyeur.
Watching him claim ultra bitch in front of everyone in
the club has me regretting my earlier statement. Right this very minute I would
be happiest if I was the bitch in those red Jimmy
Choos
.
I’m disgusted by the jealousy twisting in my gut.

Heavy
panting makes Lourdes voice thick when she purrs, “E, don’t kiss me like that
in public. I already told you PDA is not my thing.” E, as she so affectionately
calls him, flinches at her tone. Lourdes doesn’t notices his reaction because
she quickly snatches a mirror from her purse to check her lipstick. What a
bitch! “But we’ll most certainly revisit it again once we get back to your
place.”

“My
man,” Decks stands and shakes E’s hand, “Sweet sounds from the blues king for
my birthday. I’m touched. In fact, I think I might have shed a tear.” E only
nods back.

Russ
slides his mouth against my ear, which any other time would have repulsed me,
but I’m still so entranced by E that I barely hear him until he shouts my name.

“Angel?”

Forcing
my attention away from E and turning toward Russ who has a shit-eating grin
spread clear across his face, I whine, “What?”

“You’re
staring.”

“Shut
up!” I growl softly, my eyes drifting back to E.

“And
drooling,” Russ chuckles riotously.

“I
swear to all that is holy,” I glare at Russ after searching the table and
failing to find a utensil sharp enough to cut him, “if you say one more fucking
word…” I don’t need to finish that threat. Leaning away from me in a flash,
Russ takes it seriously and shuts up.

Everyone
at the table rises from their seats simultaneously and I grab Natalie on the
elbow before she can scoot out the other side. “What’s going on?”

“After
party,” she replies, looking at me all wild-eyed, like I have something creepy
stuck on my face.

“Oh,
I guess I wasn’t paying attention. Where are we going?”

“Back
to Blues’ house,” she states through two obnoxious hiccups and then downs the
last of her drink.

Curious
about meeting the second highest ranking officer in the X’kapz and good cop
gone rogue, I smile at her and ask too eagerly, “Does he know we’re crashing
his house?”

“Yes.”
Giggling like a kid getting tickled on her feet, she bobs her head several
times before focusing on me again. “God Angel you are so funny. Like if you
were to go on that reality show where unknown comics stand up telling jokes and
you need my vote I would give it to you.” She snorts. “Heck, I’ll give you
two.”

I
shake my head because I don’t even know what the hell she’s rambling on about.
Sliding out of her seat with me following closely behind, Natalie’s laughing
slows and she catches her breath before turning around and grabbing me. Tugging
me by the hand, she drags me up to Lourdes and E.

“Angel…”
Pointing a sharp fingernail into the chest of the sexiest man I have ever laid
my eyes on, Natalie gains the attention of E.
Oh my, damn he is a big man
and so
effing
gorgeous
. And as my eyes lift to
greet his steel gaze, after taking in every scrumptious inch of him, I fall
once again into an abyss that will surely never let me go without pain, a lot
of pain. “This is Blues.”

Blues
.
Spinning out of control would be one way to
describe the way my mind feels at this very moment. Another way that you might
put it is that I just had the rug snatched out from under me. But if I’m being
completely honest, the best way for me to explain how I am right this very
second knowing that the first man to ever captivate me belongs to the Queen
bitch, I would have to say that I am royally fucked.

Chapter
Eight

We
pull up to an opulent house sitting pristine on top of a secluded mountain
sprinkled with fifty similar matching homes north of Buckhead and my lungs
seize up. Yes, my family is uber-wealthy and I’ve been in more than my fair
share of mansions before, but this…this is unbelievable. Old money lives in
Buckhead, but this part of it is a playground for new money. The entire house
is illuminated with outside spotlights and it looks like every light inside is
on, making it appear celestial against a moonless sky backdrop.

“This
is big time! Everything we’ve been hoping for is happening right now. Can you
believe this shit?” Smiling animatedly, Russ turns the key, silencing the heavy
rumble of his GTO. “Not once have they invited me out with them, but with you,
I score a damn invite to Decks’ birthday party and now we’re actually going
into the fucking second in commands bitchin’ crib.” He continues smiling like a
little kid going to the circus and seeing the clowns for the first time.

“Yeah,”
I sigh. “Stay close and let’s just be guests tonight.”

Russ
turns and glances at me, his brows pinching together. “What are you talking
about?”

“I’m
saying that we don’t need to draw suspicions the first night that we’re invited
into the inner circle.” I tear my gaze away from him, looking back at the
glowing portal into a world of more than money. Access to Blues’ house is our
egress that will allow us to clean up the drugs on the streets for future
generations. “We’re bringing our A-game tonight with the undercover roles,” I
smile at him encouragingly, “So make me proud.”

His
apprehensions fall as the corners of his mouth tip up, again. “It’s on!”

Linking
our hands together, Russ escorts me inside. Everyone in the small group arrived
before us and from the sound of it they are still in full celebration mode. We
enter the large den where they’ve gathered, sitting at a full-size tavern style
bar at the back of the room. The place is spectacular. It’s dark except for a
few recessed cans in the ceiling lighting up the perimeter of the room, and
from the blaze coming from the kindling in the over-sized fireplace on the
left-side of the room. The right wall is a full span of windows, a framework to
the ominous black lake below and Buckhead skyline in the distance.

“Damn,”
Russ whistles as we approach the bar, “Blues this is the life, dude”

Ethan
“Blues” Sloane is the nephew to one of the wealthiest and most influential men
in the south. He is considered the most sought after bachelor of the century
based on two reasons. The mega-billion dollar family empire his uncle Oliver
built from the single ideal of offering free internet access to customers in
coffee shops. Needless to say, his idea parlayed the Sloane family into the
country’s top ten percent with the world’s rising addiction to coffee and
social media. And the fact that Ethan is, according to all of the top gossip
magazines, one of the ‘Sexiest Men of All Time,’ I would have to say that their
assessment would be spot on. Although, it appears that he is no longer eligible
for the bachelor title, seeing that Lourdes has taken him off the market.

The
disturbing part about Blues is that he was once a great police officer. He
represented the city of Atlanta with an outstanding service record for several
years. He was recognized by the governor twice for his heroics in the line of
duty where he was shot once protecting his partner during a shoot out. The
other incident, while off duty, he rescued a family during an armed robbery of
a small check to cash quick service. Sadly, at some point Blues fell from grace
and became the scum that he was once good at throwing in jail.

“That
it is Rad,” Blues’ eyes flash up and he smiles at Russ, while pouring himself
glass of bourbon. He doesn’t even acknowledge me, hanging onto Russ’ arm. “Glad
you could join us tonight. Would you care for a drink?”

“Absolutely,
boss.” Russ grins wider and you could literally envelope the entire planet it
is so huge.

“None
of that business,” Blues tips the bottle, pouring another tumbler half-full and
slides it along the bar top toward Russ, “Call me Blues.”

“Angel,”
Natalie pulls on my arm, drawing me away from Russ, “Come look at this freaking
view.”

Clutching
me tightly, she drags me toward the vast scenery beyond the glass. We pass
Decks, making out with his birthday present on an oversize sectional sofa,
Murph at the end of the bar, tracking me across the room, and Wise speaking on
his cell phone, unfazed by everything and everyone.

 I
don’t know why I do it, but I glance back over my shoulder and blush red all
over after catching an odd look from Blues. No, it wasn’t odd, it was severe.
He turns away quickly, starting a conversation with Russ and I continue
crossing the room toward the windows. Natalie zones out peering at the
incredible beauty on the outside and I take advantage of the moment to settle
the damn rattlesnakes inside my stomach that woke up from Blues’ brief glare.
What the hell could his total enrapture of me back at the club and now complete
disregard mean? And that look? His blue eyes almost look demonic, taking on a
fiery glow that matches the burn from the blistering firewood.

“You’re
here?” a snarl behind me jerks me from my observations of the tall, dark god
and I spin around to find Lourdes scrutinizing look. “Don’t you feel
privileged? A little, trailer-trash nobody getting a glimpse of how the
better-half lives and I can imagine all the dirty thoughts whipping around in
that head of yours.” She steps up close and with two long, dark red painted
fingernails she pinches my sleeve and then drops her hand away swiftly. “A
warning: in my world, we deal with thieves in our own way. So vanquish every
idea you have of taking
anything
here.”

That
threat sounds more like a jealous lover’s speech instead of an owner hoping to
protect her valuables. I simply nod, hoping to keep her from knowing that I
would really rather slap the hell out of her snooty ass for saying such things
to me.

“This
is the most beautiful house that I have ever seen.” Natalie slips over to
Lourdes, who barely acknowledges the sweet girl. “You are one lucky lady
Lourdes. Taking Blues out of the bachelor lifestyle has been every single
woman’s goal for years.”

“Luck
has nothing to do with it, he has been
mine
for years,” She glares at
me, “We just finally made it official.”

“Yeah…”
Natalie croons all dreamy eyed, twirling around repeatedly and soaking up all
of the luxury the enormous room has to offer.

“Angel,
would you like a drink?” Russ asks, sidling up beside me and slinking his arm
around my back.
My hero
.

I
smile warmly. “That would be great.”

Marching
me away from the super-bitch, Russ suggests, “No cat fights here.”

“You’re
an idiot.” I snap, taking an open barstool and propping an elbow on the rail.
“I’m not the one who went all “Fangirl” on Blues earlier.” I adore teasing him
when the chance presents itself. Sometimes he makes it too easy.

Russ
parts my legs with his wide thigh, drapes his hands over my hips and leans into
me, placing his whiskey dipped mouth on the edge of my ear.
“Just
playing the part of good servant to the Dark Prince.
And you…” still
whispering, he looks me in the eyes, “What’s the deal with Lourdes being so
hateful toward you?” In a concerned tone, he says, “Usually the Queen backs off
the newbie’s once she enlightens them on the ways of the hierarchy.”

“Not
sure.” I smirk, pushing him away from me and crossing my legs and arms. “But I
can handle it. The pecking order isn’t new to me.”

He
lifts a hand to my face, pushing away a feathery strand of hair with a delicate
touch and I stare up into his serious, green eyes. Russ is a handsome man. He’s
tall, several inches over six feet, with a well defined body, from years of
working out. His silky light brown hair is short, but long enough to run your
fingers through. If we had met at a club before I became friends with Kris,
there’s no doubt I would have dated him.

“Say
the word and we’ll leave,” he whispers, placing soft lips to mine and I nod.

“Y’all
are too damn cute. I swear you could make an old married couple jealous.”
Natalie exclaims, smiling up at us. Her words are still slurry, but her eyes
have cleared and are focused now, catching us in the intimate moment and
believing it real.

“Hey
Natalie,” I smile back, “show me the bathroom?”

“Yes
ma’am.” She spins around on her heels. “Follow me, Sugar.”

After
winking at Russ, I hop off the stool and catch up with Natalie, bouncing out of
the den. I drape my arm through hers, stilling her after she stumbles into the
hallway.

“You
okay Natalie?”

“Yep,”
Nodding her head, she giggles and then wiggles oddly a little, “Now that you
mention it, I really need to pee too.” She giggles again and it echoes loudly
through the silent hall.

“Okay,
you go first.” I chuckle, pointing her toward the bathroom door. “I’ll wait out
here.”

“No
silly. There’s another bathroom at the end of the hallway.” She pushes open the
bathroom door and shuts it without another word.

I
glance down at the end of the dark hall and see several closed doors. Feeling
my bladder swelling by the second, I decide to scout out the other bathroom,
rather than chancing an accident. She could pass out on the toilet, leaving me
standing out here in severe pain. Approaching the end of the corridor, I play
the
eeny
,
meeny
,
miny
,
moe
game and let fate
choose the door.