Nic's Devotion: An Endless Series: Book One (17 page)

     Guiding Carrie into our recreation room I appropriated
the pool table from some random people I didn’t know but who knew me. It was
good that they were at least familiar with the people throwing the party. I
racked up a game for us to play. For the last forty minutes I had sat as
patiently as I could watching her interacted with my friends, now I wanted her
undivided attention. I was craving it. 

     Carrie wasn’t as proficient at pool as she’d been at
poker, in fact, she sucked. She completely missed what she aimed at and the
only ball she made in a pocket regularly was the white ball. This was great for
me because I got to help her and that required a lot of touching on my part. I
would lean over her back and assist her in aiming her stick…wishing it was my
‘stick’ she was handling…and the bent over position also had me picturing
another pose.

     The entire experience ended up being both parts ecstasy
and agony.

     Carrie sported a continuous blush, her body vibrating
whenever I got close, and I began to comprehend that she wasn’t doing as well
as she could because of my constant nearness. Maybe I should have stopped when
I noted this, but I didn’t. It pleased me immensely that she was affected by my
presence and touch.  

     “Here you guys are; we were wondering where you’d run
off to.”

     I pulled my face out of Carrie’s hair, but kept my hand
on her arm where I was assisting her in pocketing the eleven ball to see Amanda
walk into the room. She was carting Noah along with her and holding a bottled
margarita her face slightly flushed from the alcohol she’d already consumed.
Noah just smiled inanely allowing himself to be towed around.

     Amanda stumbled up to the pool table. “We’re going to
be taking off. I’ve reached my limit of alcohol and all I can do now is sober
up, and I don’t want to do that here. The party goes from fun to stupid and I
just get tired and want to go to sleep.” Amanda grinned drunkenly. “And Noah
doesn’t want that to happen.”

     “Shit no.” Noah agreed.

     Amanda released Noah’s arm and leaned against the pool
table with a shit-ass grin. “We heard about Carrie’s little poker game. Jax has
been going on and on about how she swindle them all while serving Landon a good
set-down at the same time. Everyone is ribbing him on it. Landon won’t be
living that down for a while.” 

     Carrie tensed slightly next to me and a frown creased
her brows. Amanda skipped around the table and pulled Carrie into an embrace
laughing. “You are my all time idol, girl.”

     Noah laughed from the other side of the table. “Yeah,
Landon’s still in a stupor trying to figure out how it all happened. When they
said she played clueless about the Kenny Roger’s lyrics only to utter the rest
of the line later I almost busted a gut.”

     I saw Amanda sway and Carrie steady her quickly before
she could stumble and fall. Amanda giggled. “I need to make a quick stop at the
restroom before we leave. Carrie, want to go with me?”

     Carrie’s expression turned fretful. “Are you okay?”

     Amanda waved off Carrie’s concern. “I’m fine, just need
to pee.”

     Carrie blushed and glanced toward Noah and me like she
was embarrassed at Amanda’s spoken need to urinate. It was cute.

     “Okay, you lead the way.” Carrie linked her arm with
Amanda and they tripped from the room.

     Noah walked over to me and slapped me on the back.
“After hearing that story I think I fell a little in love with that bit of a
girl myself.”

      Jealousy raged even though I knew the words were only
stated because he was impressed at Carrie’s actions. I started racking up a new
game composing my nerves. “She’s a firecracker,” I grunted.

     A laugh burst from Noah and gave me another slap. “That
really bothered you, didn’t it? You are so on your way to being whipped.”

     I shrugged off his hand in annoyance. I wasn’t on my
way to being whipped. Yeah, I really liked Carrie, but there was no way I’d let
myself become whipped.

     “Shut it.” I grumbled, tossing him a cue stick. He
laughed as he walked around and lined up his stick for the break.

      A few minutes later I was leaning over the table
lining up a shot when a hand stroked over my back. For a moment I thought it
was Carrie but the touch felt wrong, and I knew Carrie wasn’t yet comfortable
enough to touch me this freely…yet.

     Turning I saw that it was Nikki with her hand on my
back. Taking a step to the side out of her reach I analyzed the table. “Nikki.”
I acknowledged uninterestedly. Fissions of unease and irritation flowed through
me at the sight of her. I didn’t want Carrie seeing Nikki with her hands all
over me, and her presence also made me wonder if she was the bimbo Amanda had
been talking about at the game.

     She gave me a sultry smile…
she must practice it or
something because it always looked the same
…but for the first time I saw the
resemblance it had to a hyena…right before it attacked. “Nic, you’re looking
good.”

     Same smile, same opening line. I leaned over the table
lining up a shot. “Nikki, I’m here with someone.”

     There was a pause from her end but I didn’t bother to
look. I’d been giving this girl the brush off for weeks now but she didn’t seem
to be getting the hint. 

     “That doesn’t stop you from looking good.” Nicky
restated moving closer.

     Looks like I had to be less subtle. I gave her my full
attention. “What it
does
mean is that I’m with someone else.” I repeated
coolly.

     For a second her predatory sex gaze flickered
uncertainly, but then it returned full force. “Well, when you’re not…” She
lifted her hand to fondle her necklace trying to tease me with her exposed
cleavage. That package had already been fully viewed so it wasn’t that much of
a tease. 

     Disquiet ran through me at the thought of Carrie
meeting Nikki. Who knows what Nikki might say and how Carrie would react to it.
Carrie had heard the rumors about me, but to have it shoved in her face might
be too much.

     I wanted this girl gone, like right now, but before I
could hustle her out Amanda tripped back in the room…alone. Alarm swept through
me.

     “Amanda, where’s Carrie?”

     Amanda looked around confused. “She should be back
already. I had to shoot upstairs to grab my purse and she was headed back this
way.”

     Not waiting for further explanation I rushed from the
room. I don’t know why I was so panicked, she’d probably just stopped to talk
to someone, but the emotion couldn’t be reasoned with.

     The house was packed and I had to push through the masses.
Some people tried to stop me to talk, guys and girls, but I ignored them.

     Carrie wouldn’t have left, would she? A flash of black
hair and a light blue shirt caught my eye near the stairs and I stopped to look
but didn’t see her. I was about to turn away when she suddenly popped into
view. She was against the wall…surrounded by three guys. It was lucky I’d even
seen her with the way they encircled her. Tension and heat crawled up my spine
as I pushed my way closer finally recognizing the males. It was the three
stooges from the team; Matt, Trey, and Curt.

     Carrie’s expression was a mask of anger, but I could
see that’s all it was; a mask. Her eyes were flickering fear and panic. I had
almost reached them and I might have been able to control the fury that was
coursing through me if Curt hadn’t reached out and touched her hair, and then
her face.

     I literally saw red. Closing the distance I grabbed
Curt’s shoulder, spun him away from Carrie, and delivered a sucker punch to his
face. Stumbling back into the crowd he fell taking down a few screaming
bystanders. He lay there dazed with blood dripping out of his mouth and I
stepped forward to continue his pummeling when a hand gripped my arm from
behind. Thinking it was one of the other two dickheads I swung around leading
with my fist, but instead of making contact with a face my fist slammed into
Noah’s palm.

     His expression was concerned. “Nic, calm down; you’ve
taken care of him. Carrie needs you now.” Noah jerked his head sideways.

    I tracked his nod to find Carrie and Amanda embracing.
Actually, Amanda was doing all the hugging, Carrie just stood there clenching
her hands and I could hear her whispering ‘
no, no, no
’ over and over. My
anger didn’t abate, but my concern for Carrie overrode it.

     Stepping around Noah, and ignoring all the stares, I
leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Carrie, honey, everything’s okay? You’re
alright.” Giving Amanda an appreciative nod I exchanged Amanda’s arms with
mine. Seth and Landon pushed through the crowd taking in the scene. Seth’s
expression turned dark in anger as he seemed to read the scene correctly,
Landon just raised an inquisitive eyebrow. I gave each a nod in Curt’s and his
lackey’s direction.

     “Explain the situation to them.” I directed beyond
pissed. They nodded grimly. 

     “Come on, honey; we’re getting out of here.” I
murmured. Holding her close I steered her toward the stairs and guided her up
past the tape. Her arms remained at her sides, hands tightening rhythmically. I
continued with the soft reassuring words all the way to my room. Stepping
through the door I closed it behind me and sat at the end of the bed cradling
her in my lap.

     I’d seen her experience something like this before,
only this time seemed to be worse. She was still repeating the word ‘no’, but
it was tapering off. The hands resting in her lap continued their movements,
but her head had settled against my chest as she began to relax, or just tire
out. Rocking her I kept up my soothing words and eventually her hands stilled,
her breathing evened out, but her ‘no’ had turned to soft weeping.

     The sound of it was killing me. To watch her as she
went through one of her episodes was hard enough, but now to hear her cry.
“Please, Carrie, don’t cry. Everything’s okay. Those shit heads won’t ever
bother you again.” I rubbed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

     Her hands remained in her lap but she burrowed deeper
into my chest. “It’s not them, it’s me.” She sniffled into my shirt.

     I frowned. “What’s you?”

     She inhaled a shuddery breath. “Those guys were just
being jerks. I should have been able to handle them. I thought I was.” She took
another shaky breath. “They came up on me as I was walking back to the pool
room. There were so many people around and they suddenly come out of the crowd
surrounding me. I was startled at first, and then they asked me if I was the
girl from the poker game. The one you…the one in the middle said I must be one
hel…heck of a player to handle a table full of six guys. From the way they
laughed I didn’t think it meant the same thing to me as it did to them.”

     No, she didn’t have that kind of mind, but my blood
burned at the sexual inference they’d been referring to. If I heard even a hint
of that kind of talk making the rounds about Carrie those guys would be walking
balls free for the rest of their lives.

     I continued rubbing her shoulder as she talked. “He
then made a comment that I wouldn’t make as much off just the three of them,
but that they could offer more of a quality experience rather than quantity. It
was then I began to comprehend their suggestive remarks.”

     When I got my hands on those three, especially Curt, I
was going to beat them into a bloody, mangled mess. They were going to be both
balls and dick free.

     “I got really mad at what he was saying…but they
started closing in on me and it was hard to hold onto the anger.” Carrie’s
voice lowered. “He was getting kinds of handsy and I was about to push him away
when you came up from behind him.”

     Carrie raised her head to finally look at me. Her eyes
were red and awash with tears, and her beautiful hair fell messily around her
head. I smoothed it back off her face.

     “Relief filled me when I saw you. I knew you’d make
them go away, but when you hit him and he fell on the ground there was all that
blood…there was this moment…a memory.” She swallowed and closed her eyes as
though she didn’t want to think about it. Her head nestled back onto my chest.

     Her partial declaration had me wondering what memory
she was referring to. What was the underlying cause of her episodes? She’d said
blood and it reminded me of when she’d turned white at the Sports store when
I’d mentioned blood and gore.

     “Can you talk about this memory?” I asked.

     Carrie inhaled sharply and tensed. “I’m really tired
and I should probably go home.” Her body slumped. “But I don’t want to go back
downstairs and walk past everyone. I feel like such a fool. Everyone saw me
freak out.”

     I let her evade my question…for now. “You didn’t make a
fool of yourself. Everyone’s attention was on me beating the crap out of Curt.
But if you don’t want to face the crowd we can just stay up here for a little
bit longer and wait for the party to wined-down.”

     I was all for Carrie staying. Hell, I wanted her to
stay the whole damn night…and wasn’t that the kicker, because girls did not
spend the night. Holding her securely I scooted us up toward the head of my bed
and lowered us to our sides facing each other. She was stiff next to me, staring
hard at my shirt.

     “Did you at least have some fun tonight?” I asked,
lying completely still not touching her.

     A sigh puffed from her lips. “Yeah, I had lots of fun.”

     I idly rubbed her fingers that were resting between us.
“My friends really liked you.”

    She didn’t say anything to that at first, but her
fingers moved beneath mine. Relief trickled through me at her positive response
to my touch.