Everything: A Singed Wings Novel (26 page)

“Good to go?” I asked half-teasingly, as I walked out and spun around in front of him.

He growled as he pushed to his feet, looking sexy as hell dressed up in his tux, and stalked over to me, hooking me around the waist with his arm and yanking me to him. “Always better than good,” he mumbled, pressing his lips to my temple. “You know I’m gonna go crazy if I see any of those drivers trying to hit on you tonight, right?”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his head, pulling him toward the door. “Don’t be silly. No one will say anything to me. I’ll be by your side all night.”

“Promise no flying off, Tink?” he smirked.

“Promise.”

We stepped off the elevator into the lobby at the same time Ashlynn and their parents did, and after a few minutes of complimenting how great each other looked, we loaded up into the waiting limo and were dashed away to another hotel, where the gala was being held. Shortly after arriving, his mom and dad excused themselves to go get ready for the Jobu’s Rum performance, leaving the three of us to fend for ourselves in a room where we knew not a soul.

Shuffling through the small crowds of people, we made our way over to the bar, where Everett ordered all three of us glasses of wine. While we waited for the drinks to be poured, my eyes darted around the ballroom, taking in the sights and sounds. The party was very much what I’d expected — money, money, and more money. The men wore watches worth more than most people’s cars, while the women showed off their wealth by the size of their diamonds and their boobs. Not really my thing.

“We can leave as soon as my dad’s done,” Everett whispered in my ear, as he handed me my drink, as if he could read my thoughts. “The sooner I can get this damn tux off of me and that sexy-ass dress off you, the better.”

I grinned over at him as I brought the glass to my lips and took a drink. “Thank you,” I mouthed.

The two of us, along with Ashlynn, found a place off to the side where we could stand and people-watch and sip our wine, but after about ten or fifteen minutes, Everett got a text from his dad that he needed help with some piece of equipment.

“I’ll be right back,” he assured me, kissing my cheek. “Just stay here with my sister. I’d take you back there, but I’m not sure if I can.”

I nodded and lightly squeezed his arm. “Everett, I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl, I promise. Just go do what you gotta do and come back.”

As soon as he disappeared into a throng of people, Ashlynn shook her head and smirked at me. “I always knew once he gave it up, he’d be a pussy-whipped fool,” she chuckled, while looping her arm over my shoulders. “I may as well start calling you sister now, ‘cause my brother is just like my dad, and there ain’t no way he’s ever gonna let you go.”

My brain refused to process anything she said after the whole “once he gave it up” part. He was a… a
virgin
before me? No, that couldn’t be possible. He would’ve told me if that was the case. I mean, that’s a pretty big deal. Right?

I blinked hard, trying to get a handle on my thoughts while acting like I knew what she was talking about. For the life of me, nothing intelligent came to mind for me to reply, but luckily, she didn’t seem to notice, because something — or I should say some
one
— else had caught her attention.

“I think I found what I’m doing tonight,” she announced, as she and some GQ model openly eye-fucked each other across the dance floor. After a minute or two, the guy tipped his chin toward the bar area, and she nodded then looked at me and offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry, sis, I know chicks before dicks and all that, but did you see that guy?”

“Go.” I laughed, shaking my head at her. “Just don’t tell your parents I approved of or encouraged this in any way. And be careful and all that jazz that you should already know.”

She nodded and looked down at her dress. “All right, I’m going. Let’s hope I don’t see you again until tomorrow morning.”

And then it was just me, standing alone as I sipped my wine, hoping Everett would return soon. Wondering if I really was his first and if that changed anything between us. I tried to keep myself busy as I waited by counting how many blue dresses I saw, and then the red ones, but shortly after I moved to black, my bladder let me know it was time for a trip to the ladies’ room. Scanning the area for either Everett or Ashlynn, I couldn’t find either, so I decided to just hurry and go and get back. I didn’t want him to return and worry, but if I waited much longer, I’d have a much bigger, messier problem.

Luckily, I located the hallway with the bathrooms rather quickly, and without a line inside, I was able to go and wash my hands in less than five minutes. I stepped out the door, ready to make a beeline back over to where I was supposed to be, but a hand caught my wrist from behind and whirled me around, bringing me face-to-face with the last person in the world I expected to see.

“Jonah?” I nearly choked on his name as I narrowed my eyes on him, unsure if the wine had gone straight to my head. “W-w-what are you doing here?”

“Belle, baby doll, look at you. Sexier than fucking ever,” he slurred, as his beady eyes traveled up and down my body, all the while still holding on to my wrist. “Goddamn, what was I thinking letting you go?”

I yanked my arm free and retreated several steps, trying to get as far away from him as possible. He was clearly intoxicated, though not fall-down drunk yet, but if he was anything like he used to be, alcohol made him more of an asshole than normal. Not that he had ever hurt me physically; he was just a selfish prick.

“What are you doing here?” I repeated, as I glanced down the hallway, planning my escape. All I wanted to do was get back to Everett. “How did you find me?”

Never taking his creepy stare off of me, he prowled forward as I kept backing up, until I eventually ran into a wall and had nowhere to go. “I just saw you as you walked by a few minutes ago, so I followed you. I’m here shooting some scenes for a movie for a few weeks and got invited by a friend,” he finally answered, penning me in with his arms, nearly singeing my eyebrows with his fiery breath, “but now that I know you live here, I may stay a while longer. We have a lot to catch up on.”

I didn’t bother correcting him that I didn’t fucking live in Argentina, and even if I did, I would never have anything to do with him again. I was once gullible enough to believe him when pictures of him kissing his costar were released in the tabloids that it was all a PR setup to promote their new show at the time, but after I walked in and saw him drilling her in the ass in our bed, I realized it was time to pack my shit up and leave with what little bit of dignity I had left. That was all the catching up I needed to do.

“Yeah, definitely not happening.” I grimaced as I tried to duck under his arm and flee, but unfortunately, he caught me by the nape of my neck and yanked me back to him, pressing his lips to mine.

“I think I can change your mind,” he sputtered against my mouth.

My knee instinctively flew up and landed a direct hit between his legs, causing him to release me and double over in pain. I didn’t stick around to see what he’d say or do after he finished writhing on the floor. Moving as quickly as I could in my heels, I hauled ass out into the main party area, relieved to see Everett just walking up to the place we were supposed to meet.

“I am so sorry. I had no idea it was going to take that long,” he said, as he strode up to me, coiling his arms around my middle and greeting me with a kiss. “Where’s Ashlynn? And where are you coming from that you’re nearly running?”

I tried to relax in his arms, but my heart continued to pound out of control. I knew I needed to tell him about what happened, but for the time being, I really just wanted to try to put it out of my head and get through the night. It had been such a perfect day; I didn’t want anything to ruin it.

“Ashlynn went to mingle around and I had to go to the bathroom,” I answered, clinging to his chest. “I tried to wait for you, but I couldn’t, so I hurried back. I didn’t want you to wonder where I was.”

“No worries, as long as everything’s good. Ashlynn will have to fend for herself. I learned a long time ago that stubborn girl is going to do whatever she wants.”

The already dim lights darkened more and people began to fill the dance floor, crowding up next to the stage. Kissing the top of my head, he turned me around in his arms so I could watch his dad and the rest of Jobu’s Rum take the stage to play a short set of some of their hit singles. As we sang along and swayed to the music, my questions about what Ashlynn had revealed and the thing with Jonah slowly got pushed to the back of my mind. And after we got back to the hotel and Everett worshipped every inch of my body, making me come with his fingers, mouth,
and
cock, Jonah wasn’t even remotely on my mind.

But the next morning, I woke up to a text from Lindsey that was a picture of me and Jonah kissing from the night before, captioned, “Jonah Jennings Steamy Reunion With Ex-Girlfriend, Belle Sloan.”

I’d waited too long.

“
IT’S NOT WHAT
it looks like.”

Last six words you ever want to hear. ‘Cause nine times out of ten, it’s exactly what it fucking looks like.

“Explain to me then how a picture of you kissing some other guy
— Jonah fucking Jennings, of all damn people — splattered on the front page of every fucking entertainment website that exists isn’t what it looks like?!” I roared from the couch in the hotel room, my entire body trembling with rage. “And then maybe you can explain why you never told me about him since, according to TMZ, you’re his ex-girlfriend!”

Belle sat on the end of the bed — the same damn bed we’d made love in just hours before — with endless tears streaming down her face as sobs wracked through her chest. But I didn’t give a flying fuck. I was pissed beyond belief.

“I-I-I didn’t think it mattered. He’s my past,” she cried, curling her knees up to her chest and shaking her head.

“Your
past
? Are you kidding me?” I shouted, jumping up and stalking toward her, anger fueling my every step. “I’m not sure what you consider the past, sweetheart, but I’m pretty fucking sure that picture was taken last night, not too fucking long after you told me you loved me! The past, my fucking ass!”

She recoiled as I drew near, causing me to stop before I reached her. No matter how infuriated I was, I would never hurt her physically, but I knew I must’ve looked pretty damn intimidating as I charged her, smoke spewing from my ears.

“It wasn’t like that. I’m telling you, it’s not how it looks in those pictures,” she insisted, her big brown eyes begging me to believe her. “He just grabbed me when I came out of the bathroom, and he was drunk and all disgusting, and I tried to get away from him but couldn’t, and then he just jerked me back and kissed me, so I kneed him in the balls and ran away, which was when I walked up to you. I didn’t want to ruin the amazing day and night we were having, because I knew if I told you that you would probably lose your shit and do something that could get you in trouble, so I thought I’d tell you about it today.”

I stared blankly at her as she rambled, not knowing what to believe. My heart desperately wanted her to be telling the truth, but I couldn’t stop seeing the image in my head of her in that fucking bastard’s arms with his mouth on hers.

“And you didn’t think it mattered to tell me that you used to date — oh, excuse me,
live with
— one of the biggest actors in Hollywood? Are you serious? It’s kind of a big fucking deal, Belle,” I snarled, crossing my arms over my chest and glowering at her.

A spark of something flashed in her eyes, and suddenly she was on the offensive, leaping up in the bed and screaming at me. “I’m sorry. Did I miss the fucking conversation where we talked about our pasts?! Because the last time I checked, we haven’t sat down and gone over the people we’ve been with. Is there a reason for that, Everett? Is there something you maybe didn’t tell me? Like maybe the fact you were a fucking virgin before me?! Don’t you think that kind of thing matters too? Or does this just go one way? I disclose everything, give you everything, while you get to pick and choose what you tell me?”

I had no idea how she found that out, but I was not about to let her turn this around on me. “Okay, you wanna go over lists?” I spouted off. “Number of people I’ve had sex with. One. Number of people I’ve spent the night with. One. Number of people I’ve loved. One. Number of people who have broken my trust. One.”