Red (Black #2) (22 page)

“They’re with my mother. I told you, go out, fuck some stranger, come back at four a.m. Dance till your feet are numb.”

“How about you go home, fuck your man, and leave me alone?”

“I’m up for that,” Sax pipes up. We both turn to look at him, his smile is wide.

“We just had sex, seriously Sax?” Her hand is on her hip, it makes me laugh. Her eyes swing to mine, she snaps her fingers and holds out her hand to Sax, he walks over with the bag, the one I know holds a dress. She pulls it out and inside is a red dress. It’s short, beautiful, the color of deep red roses.

“This is for you, now get dressed.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes… or I will sit here all night telling you about how Sax and I have sex in every different position, when and where. And I mean
all
the gory details.”

“Fuck.”

“Yep, you got it. He likes some kinky shit, and you know how I love to share.”

“Woman, do you have to tell everyone?” He shakes his head at her, his face going red. I can’t help but smile at them. I want what they have.

The music is so loud, I can feel it, the vibration running through me. It’s hard to see, there are flashes of light, but no real lights to see ahead of you. My workmates come here every Saturday night, they’re younger than me, have no kids, and have a life. Sometimes I’m jealous, though I don’t regret any of my kids. I just wish I lived that life, that life that you live when you’re young and experiencing life for the first time.

I spot some of them straight away, they have their own booth toward the bar. They wave me over, I feel old, too damn old. I feel like I have to pull my dress down further—it’s way too short and my heels are too high. It’s not me, I don’t dress like this.

“I can’t believe you came,” Mia says. She’s young, just turned twenty-one. My hands go to my dress again and I start to pull at it. She slaps my hands softly and leans in to hug me, I return the favor and when she stands I see my dress is modest to what she has on. Her top, if you call it that, is showing under-boob, her skirt is high-waisted and her heels make her taller than me.

“Have you had anything to drink?” she asks flagging down the bartender. He comes over and smiles at her. I take look around and see two other girls from work, not much older than Mia sitting down and chatting, they wave briefly to say hello. “This is called a Wet Pussy, we have three each.” I blanch at her. Holy shit. “It’s not bad, trust me.” She lifts the first bringing it to her lips and then picks up mine passing it to me. I watch her then do the same. She’s right, it’s not bad, actually it’s nice and sweet. We do the second and third, then she passes me a mixed vodka to rinse it down with.

“So tell me, where’s that gorgeous man who’s always with you?” Her eyes sparkle and she leans in close like I might tell her he’s gonna pop out a box. Then I think about Jake, and that I haven’t seen him for over two weeks—two weeks is a long time for me to not talk, or even see him.

“He’s left for work,” is all I can say. What do I say? He tortured and possibly killed someone who I thought was a friend, but ultimately betrayed me? That he could be outright killing someone else?
Fuck no.

“Well, that man…” she fans herself, “…has an edge of naughtiness to him. You and he, aren’t like a thing are you?” The bartender walks back over, drops two more shots each down in front of us. I take one while she watches me.

“No, just friends.”

She downs her shots. “You’ve never mentioned Liam’s father. I always assumed he was the dad.”

I squeeze my eyes tight, this is the reason I didn’t want to come out. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to be answering these types of questions.

“He’s around.”

She nods her head like she understands that I don’t want to talk about it because I don’t. “Let’s dance.”

“I need to use the ladies room first,” I say, as I walk away. He’s on my mind, why must he stick there, like glue? I feel the alcohol, it’s more than I’ve drunk in over five years.

I wish I didn’t drink, I wish I’d seen what was in front of me before I got to the position I now find myself in. Mia is looking at him like she’s never seen someone quite like him before. Maybe she hasn’t. He’s one of a kind after all. He doesn’t look at her as she speaks, his green and dangerous eyes are trained directly on me and they’re not leaving anytime soon.

“Black,” I say and he smirks at me. He knows I don’t use that name, I know I don’t use that name.

“Red,” he replies, and he smirks back. My insides do flips, my hand goes to my belly, hoping it’s from him and not the alcohol.

“You know, Rose?” Mia asks leaning in closer than I would like, to him. Liam doesn’t like it, he pulls back, gaining distance from her. And nods his head. “Great, you should join us for some drinks. We were about to dance.” I shake my head, he’s not joining us, and he does
not
dance. He sees me shake my head and stands and closes the distance between us.

“You don’t want to dance with me, Rose?” His voice is low, it’s making it hard to say no, making it hard not to want to jump him right here and right now.

I lean in close, my breath on his ear. “You don’t dance, Liam Black.”

I pull back just as he opens his eyes. “I will if it involves you.”

Mia smiles at us and grabs my hand and pulls me to the dance floor, I turn back around to see him following us and immediately my nerves kick in.

People move when he walks, he commands without even commanding. It’s a fascinating thing to watch. He doesn’t pay attention, he doesn’t notice the stares he brings upon himself, his eyes are fully trained on me.

She stops and starts moving, I stand there and feel him behind me. He doesn’t move, I didn’t expect him to. Liam Black is not a man with moves, not on the dance floor that is. Other things? Yeah, he has them down pat.

I don’t know why I do it. I could blame the alcohol, I could blame the lack of sleep I’ve had or the fact that I’m having a night of not having to worry, but I do it. I bring myself backward, my hips slowly moving to the rhythm, and my back comes into contact with a very hard Liam. His first instinct is to wrap his hands around me and hold me tight, making it hard for me to move at all.

She’s a seductress and she doesn’t even know it. Her body fits mine perfectly, the curves mix with mine divinely. She was made for me, mind, body, and soul. Her hips move slightly, she smiles at her friend who smiles at me. I don’t pay any attention, my hands are occupied, my mind is occupied solely on her. And the way she smells and looks in this dress, the way her long legs go on and on, it’s hard not to grab her and take her away. She’s all I want. I know this, I will try harder to have her. I can’t be broken anymore, she makes me unbroken. She’s the glue that holds my bones together, and I will keep her for as long as I can have her. Even if it’s only now, now is all that I need right at this moment.

Her body turns slightly, I loosen my grip on her and she moves her hands so they’re over my shoulder. Her heels make it possible, easier for us to be closer, face to face.

“Why are you here?” Her lips are soft and pink. I can’t help but look, she isn’t one for makeup, I’ve hardly ever seen her with heaps on and her lips definitely don’t need it.

“Because you’re here.”

She closes her eyes slightly before reopening and shaking her head. “I’ve always been here, Liam, for five years I’ve been here.”

“Are you mad, Rose?”

“No Liam, I’m hurt. There
is
a difference.”

“Tell me the difference, tell me so I understand.”

“How do you not know normal feelings? How do you not understand any of it?” Her body is swaying slightly.

“I didn’t feel anything until you, nothing was until you.”

She turns and leans into me. And I hope it’s her, I hope it’s her that chose to kiss me in this moment, and not the alcohol that she’s consumed. Because when I taste her, I can’t refuse. It’s impossible to.

My hands grip her tighter, they move from her hips to her ass. She bites my lip and slams into me, her mouth fast and angry. It’s hot, it’s delicious… is this an angry kiss? A fuck you kiss? Because she’s never kissed me like this, she removes her lips and leans up close.

“I had a Wet Pussy shot, it worked, I’m wet.” That’s it, I’m done. I was hard from watching her, I was hard from kissing her, now I’m about to explode if I don’t touch her. She grabs my hand pulling me as she walks and I watch as her ass sways with each step she takes. We step out the front doors and she pulls me to the side. It’s dark, only one car is parked out here.

Her hands come up to my chest, her back leans against the wall. She grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls me to her, grinding herself on me. Her mouth finds mine, it’s hot, hard and very unlike her.

“Let’s go.” I pull back from her lips, she shakes her head and pulls up her dress, exposing her G-string and pulls it down quickly so it falls to the floor. Her hands go for my pants, undoing my belt and working my zipper.

“No, fuck me here,” she says out of breath. I don’t want to fuck her on a wall outside of a club. I want to fuck her where I know she won’t escape, where I know that she won’t run straight after we’re done.

But I can’t say no, it’s impossible to.

Her leg goes up around me, she grabs my cock and slides in it. Rational thoughts leave me—sex consumes me, she consumes me. Her eyes close, I lift her and her other leg wraps tightly around my back. She starts moving, up and down, her eyes closed. I grab her hips and slam her harder, going as deep as possible. She doesn’t look at me when she glides up and down, her hands dig into my shoulders, her mouth comes down and bites my neck, but she won’t give me access to her lips, they stay away. I suck her neck like I’m claiming her, maybe I am. Maybe I’m marking her, telling her and everyone she sees that she’s taken, that she
is mine.

She comes, her head lays on my shoulder for a moment before she lifts it up and pushes me back with both hands. I let her down to the ground then she pulls her dress down and doesn’t look at me.

“I have to go,” she says.

“Rose…” I grab her arm, I haven’t fixed myself up yet. She’s all that’s on my mind.

“This doesn’t change anything, Liam. YouYou’re still the man who couldn’t put us first. This…” she moves her hands in the air, “…doesn’t change that.” She shakes my grip free, looks at me, and then leaves.