Kari
"Actually I'm waiting on some friends, so grab me in a bit and I'll definitely show you how it's done." She waggled her eyebrows, knowing he'd find someone else and she wouldn’t be tempted to have a one-night stand before the big day. No need in dragging guilt down the center aisle of the church.
"I'll hold you to it." He rubbed her back in a small circle and moved out to the floor by himself, the music shifting from fast and grind-line material to sensual and enticing.
"I'd like you to hold me to something else... namely that wall." Kari spoke softly to herself, her eyes following the sharp curves of his shoulders, his large arms, and his butt in his jeans. Was she really getting married the next day? Surely not.
"Oh my. Look at that hot piece of ass. I'm out, ladies. Don't leave without me." Lisa started for the floor before Sicily pulled her back.
"Hell no. This night is about taking care of Kari and making sure she bleeds out her last chance desires. You go out there now looking the way you do and someone will have you in the backseat of a car by the next song."
Kari laughed and took the beer her friend offered, the Corona cold and refreshing. Her eyes moved out to the floor, the handsome male who'd enticed her to dance snuggled up to a small Asian girl, his hips rolling against the small curve of her rear. His eyes stayed on Kari, a heat rising up her neck and covering her cheeks as he watched her and moved with fluidity.
"Is that guy eye-fucking you or me?" Lisa asked, turning to stand in front of Kari.
Kari nodded toward the black room. "He's definitely looking at you. Come on. Let's go to 'the hole' and see if the other girls I invited are in there."
"Who are these girls again? The hole is the only room where you can get super freaky." Sicily moved up beside them, a bit of concern slipping across her gaze.
"They're friends from high school, but the more adventurous ones." Kari smiled at the memory of some of the stupid things they'd all gotten into together, the atmosphere around her finally calming her senses.
She opened the door and walked in, stopping just inside to let her eyes adjust to the faint light that played above the dance floor. People were everywhere, the smell of lust heavy in the air. Her friends didn't seem to be in the sea of faces, but something rather odd caught her attention.
"Oh, my goodness. Look at that." She pointed as Lisa and Sicily moved up beside her. A thin girl sat on someone's lap, the male’s pants around his thighs and the girl’s skirt up over the curve of her butt. His hands held on tight to her, his movements jerky and uncoordinated. Several guys stood around him, egging them on and sporting visible excitement themselves.
"Holy shit. You can screw in here?" Lisa asked, her eyes wide. Kari laughed at seeing her friend shocked at the scene before them. Lisa was used to dishing out shock, not receiving it.
"Hey... I know that guy." Sicily pointed to the tall, good-looking guy to the seated male's left side. Kari squinted and felt her blood go cold.
"I know that guy, too. That's Frank's brother. What the hell is he doing here?" Kari asked, moving a little to see if she could make out any of the other faces. Would Frank really bring his guys to the same club and let one of them have sex with some girl out in the open? They could go to jail if the club wanted to press public indecency charges. Then she'd be standing at the altar alone the next day.
"What a jerk," she muttered and kept moving before Sicily slipped in front of her.
"Oh hell. We need to go," Sicily yelled above the crowd, her skin pasty and eyes filled with some tainted emotion.
"What? Why?" Kari asked.
Lisa grabbed Sicily's arm. "We're going over there. Kari, go get the car."
"What? Why?" Kari asked again, moving back a little as her friend walked aggressively to the other side, Lisa pulling the small woman off the male's lap and throwing her to the floor. Cold fear swept through her, her heart palpitating in her chest as her gaze touched the confused and angry face of her fiancé.
He looked up and locked eyes with her from across the room, his erection on display for all to see. She covered her mouth as her lunch rose up in her throat, as Frank stood and moved toward her before Sicily and Lisa blocked him. Kari didn't wait to see the rest, but walked quickly toward the front of the club, trying to pull it together before reaching the valet.
"Leaving so soon, beautiful?" he asked, taking her ticket and smiling.
"Yeah. Not feeling so well all of a sudden." Kari crossed her arms over her chest, numbness stretching out across her nerve endings. She got in the car and waited for the other two, her friends coming out minutes later, both yelling back and forth before getting into the car and letting silence have its hold.
"You okay, sweetie?" Lisa asked, leaning up and rubbing both sides of Kari's arms. She didn't know how to respond, wasn't sure what to say. Embarrassment and horror kept her lips shut tight. Driving away from her future seemed to be the only reasonable response.
Drake"You sure you don't mind stopping by my momma's house real quick? I just want to give everyone a hug before we head back to Maine." She leaned over and puckered up, looking too cute for her own damn good."I don't mind at all, plus, we're already here." He kissed her. "Tease.""You don't have to come in." She kissed him once more and got out of the truck, jogging toward the door. Her white coat fit her well, her jeans beautiful on her pert little butt.He smiled, letting his thoughts dive into the night they would have when they got back to his place.A knock right beside his head on the window had him stifling the need to jump. He turned to find Johnny standing out in the snow.Drake rolled down his window and nodded. "What's up, man?""I was thinking about what you said the other day about loving my sister." He glanced around, obviously uncomfortable. "I can't do anything about who she falls in love with, and I know I don't need to do the 'kick your ass if you hurt her' spiel,
Drake"You sure you don't mind stopping by my momma's house real quick? I just want to give everyone a hug before we head back to Maine." She leaned over and puckered up, looking too cute for her own damn good."I don't mind at all, plus, we're already here." He kissed her. "Tease.""You don't have to come in." She kissed him once more and got out of the truck, jogging toward the door. Her white coat fit her well, her jeans beautiful on her pert little butt.He smiled, letting his thoughts dive into the night they would have when they got back to his place.A knock right beside his head on the window had him stifling the need to jump. He turned to find Johnny standing out in the snow.Drake rolled down his window and nodded. "What's up, man?""I was thinking about what you said the other day about loving my sister." He glanced around, obviously uncomfortable. "I can't do anything about who she falls in love with, and I know I don't need to do the 'kick your ass if you hurt her' spiel,
DrakeDrake woke up the next morning before Sicily, realizing it was Christmas and he had everything he needed. He rolled onto his side and reached out, brushing his hand down her back as gratefulness washed over him in suffocating waves.D and Michael Carrington had gone to great lengths to help him restart his life. They'd helped fake his death in a warehouse explosion, put on the funeral and D had played the part beautifully through the event. It was horrifying to think he let his brother go through that shit, but D wouldn't have had it any other way.Drake rolled out of bed, his heart aching in his chest. He'd been wrong the night before. He and Sicily couldn't just look away from D and Izzy's bullshit situation. Where he wasn't sure he could get involved in the syndicate again, he could browbeat his brother into being a man and taking Izzy as his woman. There was no other girl for Demetri.After ordering a huge Christmas morning breakfast, Drake wrapped up in an extra blanket, sl
Sicily"That was fun tonight." Sicily squeezed Drake's hand as they walked toward Kadia in downtown New York. The sign lit up the night, taking attention from anyone who passed by. It was magnificent, the largest club she'd seen."Yeah. I had a good time," he glanced down at her, "and I was serious about what I said. We can go back and join your family after we spend a little bit of time with D and Izzy. I doubt they’re staying long. We just wanted to see each other, and it's safer if we do it in the middle of a large crowd."The line was wrapped around the building, people huddling together and singing Christmas songs with all sorts of odd costumes for the event that night. Sicily smiled and snuggled closer to Drake as they walked to the front of the line."The line is back there, man. Go get in it." A sexy bouncer with a great smile and beautiful aqua-colored eyes barked at them. She let her eyes move down to his name tag, wondering who he was for some reason. Had she seem him befor
DrakeDrake let his eyes run across Sicily as she stood in front of the mirror in the hotel bedroom and turned slowly, checking herself out."You look amazing."She walked toward him as he fiddled with his tie, taking over and working on it for him."My brothers never could get a tie on right. The last time I did this for someone, it was at Momma’s funeral." Her hands shook a little. "I did it multiple times that day."He reached up and ran his hands over her hips, enjoying the soft silky black material of her dress. "I'm really good at it. I just wanted you closer."She laughed as a tear ran down her nose. "I'm sorry.""Don't be sorry." He stood and pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head as he brushed her hair back. "You can be sensitive over your mom anytime you want, for as long as you want. I'm right here to hold you up."She nodded and pressed her face to his chest. "I just have so many memories of Christmas Eve with her. My chest hurts so bad it feels like acid is ea
Sicily"What did you do while I was shopping?" Sicily stood beside Drake later that afternoon as he loaded up the truck with her packages."I was taking a nap honestly." He put the last of them in the truck and gave her a look. "What in the world did you get?""Presents for all of our friends and something for you." She shrugged and walked around the truck, getting in on her side.He got in and buckled up as the scent of his cologne filled her nose. She breathed in deeper and let out an appreciative growl.Drake chuckled. "What was that for?""You smell good.""Stop diverting. You shouldn't have gotten all those gifts, baby.""Why not? We didn't fly. We'll just put them all in the back seat when we go back home, right?""It's not about where to put them on the ride home, Sis. It's about you spending your hard-earned money on gifts for us. We don't need anything, at least I don't. I have you, baby. That's more than enough." He pulled out his wallet. "Let me give you some money so you c