New York Crime Kings Box Set: Books 1-4 (6 page)

The Second Mistake

After our discussion, Jai left. I didn’t ask him where he was going, but I noted the smaller roll of money he slipped into his pocket from his backpack. He has a plan down here, one that requires him to pay money for certain services. Perhaps he’s paying off one of Skull’s goons for information...it’s not a ridiculous assumption.

He didn’t come back until late afternoon and when he did, he didn’t make eye contact. Not once. I watched him as he laid on his bed and threw a rubber ball at the opposite wall. Every second throw got harder and harder, but he caught it every time. I dozed off while I watched, which led to dreams of him, dreams that ended with him being stabbed in the throat and me tossed over a railing. Eventually, it was enough to force me to open my eyes.

Which brings us to now.

My eyes adjust to the darkness immediately. Jai has put his shirt over the light again, letting only the faintest glow filter through. It’s quiet down this end of the tunnels, but in the distance I hear singing and loud conversation—like something you’d hear outside a bar. I watch him as he lies on his back with his arm slung over his face. He’s topless and I don’t blame him. The air is thick and sticky. There is no breeze, no fresh air, and to make it harder, I’m giving off a good portion of body heat myself.

While he’s unaware, I let my stare drag down the side of his torso. He looks so deliciously handsome lying there, and my insides flutter. He has a man’s body, that’s for sure. He has muscles and lines in places I haven’t seen on anyone else outside of fitness magazines. He’s built his body, sculpted it, and I wonder just how many women have touched it. How many women have had the pleasure of raking their fingers through his hair or brushing their lips across his stomach? I can’t help but wonder, as he lies still in his shorts, what he looks like below the belt. Surely a man his size packs a decent-sized penis...or maybe that explains the size of the rest of him. Maybe he had to compensate? I smirk. If I voice my opinions, would he show me? I shake my head. What the hell am I doing?

I force myself to clear my head and I close my eyes, hoping to pull my brain out of my vagina. I last a second until I reopen them and my mind falls back into dirtier waters. It’s kind of sexy of Jai to pay so much money to save my life. I’ve never had someone do something so selfless for me...and the way it makes me feel is immeasurable in words. Besides paying him back, how can I ever show him how much his companionship means to me? I’ve never had a real friend before, and I know Jai and I are far from friends, but it feels awesome. No wonder people surround themselves with people all the time. It’s nice to hear your own voice and know someone else is listening.

Something scuffles in the corner and I shift dramatically on the bed, pulling my knees up to my chest. I curl my toes, noticing immediately that Jai has taken my shoes and socks off.  How convenient.

“Jai?” I whisper, clasping my chest.

I hear another scuffle, then a distinct squeak. My heart stops cold. Fucking RATS!

“Jai,” I try again, this time my voice sounding panicked and distressed.

Still, he doesn’t move. And I thought I was a heavy sleeper. I lean over the space between our beds and touch him. Under my fingertips, the muscles in his chest tighten and before I know it, his arm closes around mine and I squeak as he tugs me off my bed and onto his.

“Jai—”

Somehow, he gets me in a headlock and pulls me until my body is on top of his and I’m unable to move. Pinned. His legs wrap around mine and squeeze until my knee feels like it’s going to pop out of place.

“Will you stop—”

Freeing me from his arms but not his legs, he tugs ear buds I didn’t see from his ears.

“Fucking hell, Kitten, don’t sneak up on me,” he orders, his chest vibrating against mine.

I try to shift my legs free, but he flexes his thick thigh muscles and I wince as my knee complains. 

“I called your name twice, and, for the last time, stop with the Kitten. That’s not my name.”

“What are you doing?” he asks, ignoring my protest.

In the dull light, I notice the ghost of amusement on his lips and I feel the way his chest rises and falls a little quicker than it was a second ago. I wonder if it’s because I scared him or because my damp body pressed so tightly against his is affecting him.

“I think I heard rats.”

My fingers twitch against his smooth chest and the corner of his mouth does the same.

“Rats?”

I nod. “Big ones.”

I hear the muffled music he was listening to filter out through the ear buds. It sounds like rap music. I’ve rarely had the time to listen to music since taking up my nursing course. Down here, it’s nice to hear something other than cheers and the occasional drip of water. Jai notices me looking at the ear bud and picks it up.

“You want to listen?”

I nod, forgetting all about the rats and our strange position. He tucks a thick lock of my hair behind my ear before slipping the piece in.

I haven’t heard such a dramatic assemblage of lyrics before. It’s hypnotizing and real, and a million other things. Even the ‘F’ bomb that’s dropped so frequently sounds reasonable and beautiful. I don’t ask him who’s rapping or who wrote the piece, taking solace in the unknown.

Jai hunts for his music device tucked somewhere beside his body. When he finds it, the screen lights up as he scrolls for another song. I fight a pout, not wanting him to change it from the one I’m listening to.

“You can rest your head and lie here for a little while,” he says, lightly pushing my head down until my warm cheek rests against his chest. “You know, with the rats on your side of the room and all.”

I smile despite myself and snuggle against him. Soon after, the music skips from a deep rap to slow rock. The singer has a smooth baritone voice, one that both caresses and fucks my ear canal with its magic. It makes me think of my job and how I’ve probably lost it. It makes me think of my apartment and the eviction notice I’m going to see if I ever get out of here. Strangely, the song makes me not care. When it flows into the chorus, I think about my life so far...and about my parents. I haven’t been able to shake the possibility of Skull knowing their names. If I knew their names, I could track them down. I don’t want anything from them; I just want them to know that I’m alive and I’m okay—that I made it without them. Or maybe I want to spy a little, to see if they even stop for a second to spare a thought for me.

“Do you think Skull will give me the name of my parents if I ask?”

Underneath me, Jai’s entire body clenches. He doesn’t respond, at least not for a while anyway, and in the silence, I try to comprehend what that means. Yes? No?

“He’ll help you,” he admits eventually. “At a price.”

“A price?”

“With Skull, there’s always a price.”

I purse my lips together and nibble the inside of the bottom one. What’s Skull’s price? “I don’t have any money.”

Jai scoffs. “Skull has plenty of it. He won’t bat an eyelid at any price you offer him. He’ll want something else from you.”

I frown, trying to decipher his vagueness. What else could Skull possibly want from me? I have no skills, none that could benefit him anyway—oh. Oh! I lift my head to look Jai in the face.

“You think he’d want a sexual favor?” I ask, my eyebrows rising into my hairline.

He opens his eyes. “With you? Undoubtedly.”

What does that mean? Is it because I’m simply a female or because Jai thinks I’m pretty enough to draw Skull’s attention? If Skull is as big as Jai claims he is, women would flock to him, and not just normal women, beautiful women. Wealth and power always draw out the beautiful women.

Jai groans. “Please tell me you’re not contemplating fucking Skull for information?”

I flinch, taking offense. I’d never use sex to get what I want. Ever.

“Excuse me? I’d never do such a thing. Not that it’d be any of your business if I did, anyway. You may have saved my life and I might owe you a shitload of money, but that doesn’t mean you own me.”

With a mighty flick of his hips, Jai tosses me off of him. Somehow, before I fly off the cot, he manages to snag my waist and tuck me underneath the weight of his body. For a larger guy he moves swiftly, as if he weighs only a quarter of his weight. The ear bud pops from my ear and I grip his arms as his legs spread mine and his hips pin me to the mesh underneath us. His breath comes hot and fast. It clashes with mine, less than an inch from our lips. I’ve never dealt with anyone as demanding as Jai. One word is all it takes for him to switch from cool and calm to hot and annoyed. Strangely, it’s sexy. The grip he has on my wrists, the pressure he puts on my pelvis, and the sight of his half-naked body above mine whips my blood cells into a frenzy.

“I own you,” he says, his voice stoking the fire in my blood. “I owned you the second I had you pinned against the warehouse.”

I swallow hard, unable to stop my chest from rising and falling so rapidly. I shake my head. “No. We live in the twenty-first century. That’s not how it works.”

His intense gaze flicks to my lips, unleashing a torrent of butterflies into my stomach. “How does it work then? You tell me.”

His eyes flick back to mine. I don’t know how it works. I don’t think you can own somebody; not their choices anyway. You can own their heart, but everything else is off the table. I’m yet to meet anyone who I’d let own me in every sense of the word.

And boy, is it a powerful word.

Own is a word that equates to love. Owning somebody means you have the ability to tear them apart at your mercy, and the choice of putting them back together...or not. That doesn’t sound like something I’d give up easily, if at all.

“I don’t know,” I utter, finally. “But it doesn’t work that way.”

I hold my breath as he lowers his head, stopping only when his lips graze mine. I gasp as they first touch. It sends a bolt of lightning into me, awakening every nerve before frying them completely. His lips are dry, but incredibly soft. His breath smells of mint and fresh water, if that makes any sense. I’ve been to and seen the large tunnel, much like the one the cage hangs over, they use as a community toilet, but I didn’t see any basins there to brush your teeth.

“You wouldn’t jump through hoops for me?” he asks in a low, husky voice as he drops a little more pressure onto my pelvis.

I shake my head, but I so fucking would. Right now, I’d jump through anything for him if he promised to give me a long, hard treat afterwards. It feels good having him there, separated by only the fabric we wear. In deeper thought, how dirty and gritty would it be to have sex right here, knowing anyone walking by could see or hear? How magnificent would the memory be? I’m burning up just thinking about it.

“I could make you,” he says, moving a hand towards my collarbone.

I still as he tucks his index finger under the neckline of my tank top and traces it down to my cleavage. He smirks as he takes in my rapidly moving chest. It’s like he’s touching my lungs, forcing them to show him just how badly they want to inhale him, to be filled with him. He’s moving quickly, sliding into second base and he hasn’t even kissed me yet.

“I could show you just how easy it is to fall under someone’s thumb.”

“I don’t think you’re giving me enough credit. I can never be controlled by a man—”

He swallows the tiny distance between our mouths and the instant he takes my lips, rockets shoot off in my body. His kiss spins my organs into a tempestuous whirl. He doesn’t wait for permission to enter my mouth. Instead, he bites down on my lower lip and swallows my gasp as he forces his tongue inside. When our tongues touch, a rumble vibrates deep in his chest and quivers onto mine as he gathers me closer, forcing me to feel his erection between my legs. At the apex of my thighs, I clench in painful pulses. Even the zipper of my shorts becomes an arousing tool to get me off.

That’s what I want.

To get off.

I want to come, and I want Jai to be the one to do it. A rough hand is what I need. It’s what I crave and he reads my mind. The hand at my cleavage travels down the outline of my body and onto the button of my shorts. With a quick yank, they pop open. He continues to fuck my mouth with his, relentlessly, while he slips his fingers under the fabric of my underwear. He’s all I taste, all I think about. His being consumes me inch by inch, threatening to leave me broken if he doesn’t finish what he started.