The limousine pulled up in front of a giant grey building. I was closest to the window, so I rolled it down to stare in awe. There was no way anything here was affordable.
Someone opened the door before I could recover. I grabbed my purse and stepped out. Becca exited through the other door. Her arm hung around my shoulders as she came to stand beside me. Her sequin dress stopped below her knee. The air was a bit chilly, but she was dressed summer style.
“Alright, girls,” Becca murmured when Fumi stopped beside her. She threw her other arm around our friend’s shoulders, nudging three of us forward. “Let’s get shopping.”
Her excitement was contagious. They were only tagging along, and I might end up with a dent in my account balance, but I couldn’t help giggling. A man pulled the door open for us. None of them appeared fazed by that. Younger Beth wouldn’t have batted an eye, but the older me, that had to take on more responsibilities than I bargained for, always did.
The place was warm, almost like we had stepped into another dimension. The dimension of the rich and shiny. I rubbed my palms against my work dress, my eyes bulging as I took in the wristwatches on display. I told Becca something durable and affordable, maybe with fancy leather. Leather wristwatches would cost less.
A lady walked over to us, but Becca shooed her. We continued further into the store. At the corner were stairs leading somewhere else, probably to more expensive jewelry pieces. Becca led the way to a display glass and pointed at one made of complete silver. Ian would shit his pants. Thirty was a significant age, and I wanted to go all out this time.
The lady behind the glass placed it on top. My fingertips moved over the stones on the inside of the wristwatch. I didn’t need to ask for the price. I just knew it cost a fortune.
“How much?” Becca asked.
Fumi had walked off to inspect the place, probably to select something for Dave. Fumi Davies, socialite, and trophy wife. She didn’t like to be called that to her face, but we all knew what it was. Her husband was away more time than he was at home. Hence, she was constantly spending all her time with us and living vicariously through Becca.
The attendant removed the wristwatch from its box and placed it on her palm. Who asked her to do that?
“Ten grand.”
I choked. Literally. Becca hit my back a few times. I forced air into my burning lungs. It was my fault for trusting Becca with this.
Fumi waddled back to us. Her V-cut dress revealed more cleavage than I felt was appropriate for a married woman. She was the shortest in the group but carried herself like the tallest, maybe because she was in terms of finances and boobs. I had great boobs, but Fumi had the greatest rack.
“See something you like?” she asked.
“No, I don’t like this one,” I murmured.
The attendant’s face fell. I cared more about my wallet than her feelings. Buying it would set me back. Becca and Fumi shared a glance.
“You could check upstairs. There are better designs there,” the attendant offered.
She had to mean more expensive brands. My friends didn’t seem to get that memo. They slid an arm around my elbow and nearly dragged me towards the staircase.
“I’m not looking for anything over the top,” I said, my eyes fleeting to the art décor on the wall above the staircase. “Something nice.”
“We think Ian’s going to propose. Even if he won’t, the gift might motivate him to do so,” Becca murmured. Ever since she attained the engaged status, the pressure for me to join the club had worsened. “We could even get married on the same day, Beth. Please.”
Her outdoor wedding was fixed for the second weekend of January; next year. The thought of sharing my big day with her scared me. She would draw all the attention to her, not like I would mind. I preferred being left alone, except it was Ian doing the talking or my kid sister, Lynn. Those two, I could tolerate.
Fumi placed a hand on the railing, and we stopped. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, okay? But he asked about your ring size. That’s huge.” My lips puckered, and my heart raced faster. He did? We discussed our future a lot, but I tried not to act too forward. “I—no, we think this could be it, Beth. Your engagement party. Spend the fucking money, girl. See it as a pre-engagement gift to him.”
“What did you get Dave after he proposed?” I asked, turning my head to Becca so she knew the question was also directed at her.
“A trip to the Bahamas,” Fumi replied.
“I gave him the best fucking night of his life,” Becca supplied with a wink. I believed her. “Mike still talks about it to this day.”
“Noted,” I said, relenting. “Maybe we can get something a bit higher. Maybe five grand?”
“I could chip in,” Fumi volunteered.
“Me too,” Becca added.
Arguing with both of them was pointless. If they were sure Ian would propose and they wanted to spend their money, I would be damned if I said no. Plus, Ian was obsessed with growing his wristwatch collection. What better way to celebrate his thirtieth birthday than with a proposal to his long-term girlfriend? I almost squealed at the thought.
“Okay.”
They clapped, too excited at the thought of spending money on things that didn’t benefit them. As we bundled upstairs, the tension left my joints. We were on the top floor when a phone vibrated against my hip.
Fumi’s.
She excused herself as we continued down the hallway. Becca got distracted soon. A door opened, and voices filled the empty hall. Fumi was by the window at the other end, her lips downturned in a frown. Becca typed on her phone, not once looking up.
“Go in,” Becca said, “we will join you.”
I walked through the open double doors and smacked right into a wall. The voices ceased, and I stumbled back, almost falling flat on my butt before a strong pair of arms wrapped around my wrist, righting me up. My front pressed to a firm chest, and an unusual load of current exploded through me. I jumped back, this time landing on my butt. The man didn’t try to help. My eyes trailed the shiny black shoes up to the face of the owner, and my breath caught in my throat.
He quirked a brow, his head cocking to the side. My mouth watered. I drank in the sight of his delicious body, the expensive suit fitted to his frame, and my eyes drifted back up to his lips. He had an earring in one ear. Was that a real diamond? Thick beards covered his jaw, and my fingers curled from the urge to reach up and touch them.
Wait, what the fuck? I had a boyfriend.
I shuffled to my feet, my unusual attraction for him turning into anger. What kind of man lets a lady sit on the floor? He could have helped instead of eyeing me like I was some strange creature he didn’t understand.
“Malik? Come check this.” someone called behind him, and those piercing gray eyes turned away from me. I breathed easily, backing away from him before I did something silly.
Footsteps pounded behind me, and a sharp whistle cut through my thoughts. I didn’t need to turn to know it was Becca. Looking ahead, I saw what caught her attention—the two handsome young men in front. Becca had dated all sorts in the past, but I doubt Malik, the tall ray of sunshine, was her type. She had only dated a handful of black men.
Malik was more my type. Wow, I had to slow down. Ian was the love of my life, my type.
“Is it me, or did the room suddenly grow hot?” Becca whispered into my ear. I cut her a glare, but she wasn’t the only one affected by their presence. Fumi had shaken her hair out of its loose bun. God help me survive this catastrophe with my best friends. “Those wristwatches won’t buy themselves, Beth.”
The men stepped out of the way before she reached them. Malik’s companion looked as disinterested as his friend in talking to us. He had the same skin tone as Malik and looked very much like the vice-president of the rich fuckboys association. Malik looked like the president with that bad-boy aura and stern frown that constantly drew my eyes to his lips. He wasn’t a snack. He was the whole buffet.
Once Becca got closer to them, they left for the door. I couldn’t tell what possessed me to look back, but I did. Malik hesitated momentarily at the door, and his eyes flashed a different color for a second. It turned green. I grabbed the wrist of the person closest to me.
“Did you guys see that?” I asked. Looking down, I saw I was holding onto Fumi’s wrist.
All three of us were staring at the door now.
“See those tall, handsome gentlemen?” Becca asked. Before anyone replied, she added, “I did. We should have asked for their numbers.”
My eyes landed on Fumi’s open chest. When did she pull it down? I tugged the top of the dress to cover the cleavage she was gladly showing off, and she slapped my hand.
“Stop acting like a prude,” she chided.
“A prude? You’re married, Fumi.”
“He’s not here,” she replied dryly.
“Doesn’t mean a thing.”
We returned to the main business at hand, noticing for the first time that we weren’t alone. The three attendants hardly looked affected by our interaction. They must have a lot of crazies coming in here all the time.
“Did you guys see his eyes?” I asked when we were at a glass. This place was bigger and had some watches on the wall shelves.
The female attendant watched us as we went from one display glass to another without picking out anything. I wasn’t really looking. I trusted Becca’s taste more than mine, and since they were contributing to his gift, I wanted to give them the liberty to go wild.
“Why look at his eyes when you could look at other places?” Becca said. Fumi snorted, and they shared a high-five. In our group of three, they were their own group of two. A group in a group. “But his body, damn. I need to sign up at whatever gym he frequents.”
“You’re engaged,” I muttered.
Did no one here care about protecting their relationship anymore? I was not a prude for worrying about these things. If I wasn’t with Ian, I wanted to believe he wasn’t out there lusting after a hot stranger because looking wasn’t considered cheating.
“I know that, Beth. You’ve reminded me every chance you got. Being engaged doesn’t stop you from admiring other men.” Maybe. But sometimes, attraction could lead to something else. It was better not to put yourself into certain situations. My fingers tingled at the reminder of that brief contact with Malik. That was so weird. “Anyway, we came here for something. Let’s get to it.”
“Yeah,” I agreed with a nod. “No more talks about boys. It’s all about wristwatches now.”
My best friends were behind me, but I didn’t need anyone to tell me they were rolling their eyes as they chorused, “It’s all about wristwatches now.”
WAYLENA shrill sound jarred me awake. My eyelids snapped open. I blinked at the ceiling a few times, trying to locate the source of the unfamiliar sound. Rolling onto my side, my body met with something firm. I reached for it without looking, and a smile touched my lips when my hand connected with something soft and firm. Boobs. I was touching boobs. I scooted over to the edge of the bed and plucked the phone from the stand.The unfamiliar tune cut through the air once more. I frowned at the redhead who hadn’t stirred. Whatever the human’s name was, she had to wake up. The call seemed urgent. I yanked the cover off her, expecting her to jump or protest, but she only moaned. Spanking her cute ass earned me another moan. I laughed, walking away to grab the shorts at the foot of the bed.Inside the bathroom, I splashed some water on my face. Light brown eyes stared back at me. I didn’t need to look closely to see the specks of gold in them. Show me someone who hadn’t slept well in days,
Ian wasn’t picking up my calls. I didn’t want to panic, but what the fuck was going on? I paced my room, the phone pressed to my ear as I listened to the ringing on the other end. Before his stupid voicemail came up, I ended the call. Becca’s name flashed on my screen as I was about to redial Ian’s number. She had talked about getting freaky with Ian tonight. Given his recent withdrawal, I was down for it as long as we didn’t go too far.I sent her a text and called my boyfriend. He picked on the first ring. For the first few seconds, I was too stunned to say a word. “Beth,” he started.“Baby.” I sat on the bed, my hand placed between my legs. Emotions swelled inside me, mostly fear, and my eyes found the ceiling as tears gathered in them. “You didn’t call or text me. I missed you, baby.” “I need to tell you something.” “Are you back?” “That’s not what this is about. I need to—” “Where are you? I could come over.”“You are not listening to me, Beth. I need to tell you something.”
Lights swirled in the club, hitting my face as I tried to find my way to the bar. The only good thing Ian did was break up with me on a Friday night. I could party my sorrows away. Too bad my best friends were busy with their men to join me in this adventure. I hadn’t told them. I couldn’t tell them. Not now, not yet, not when they were thinking Ian would propose to me on his birthday. Why would he ask my best friend for my ring size if he had no plans for us? That was plain cruelty. Wickedness at its peak. Good thing I broke his key in the keyhole before leaving. He could start his new life with her by changing his locks.Again, I pushed thoughts of him out of my mind and strolled to the bar. The bartender flashed me a smile, and I leaned over, so my boobs were more visible to him. Becca would scream if she saw me right now. Fumi would probably faint. But I was in slut mode. I wanted to bring out the bad girl in me. The bad girl Ian and responsibilities tamed. My nipples strained a
The ride to his place was a blur. I didn’t recall our conversation before settling for our current destination. The car stopped, and he picked me up. My legs circled his waist, and my teeth sank into his neck, wanting more of his taste. He tasted like rich whiskey. People’s voices rang out and faded around us. If I had paid any attention, I might have noticed the unusual setting of his house. We entered the elevator, and he still wouldn’t let me down, not that I wanted him to. Once the elevator slid open and we were alone in the hallway, he became feral. He dropped me to the floor, grabbed my wrists above my head, and pinned me to the wall. I couldn’t protest when he shoved a hand into my panties and cupped my pussy. Until now, I didn’t know what I was missing. My back arched as a finger slipped into my folds. I was so slippery wet that the sound of his finger pushing in and out echoed through the walls. His lips covered mine to steal my moans and cries. When he pulled back, it
A headache woke me up, followed by the sound of running water. I pressed a pillow to my face, begging the sound to stop.Who was in my bathroom?Becca and Fumi, as crazy as they were, knew better than to walk into my room when I was asleep. My hand reached for the phone that should be on the nightstand but connected with something else.I pulled the pillow down. There was a glass of water and some pills on the stool. A stool? I didn’t have a stool by my bed. I sat up.Where the hell was I?The ache between my legs brought back some memories. I hid my face in my palms and groaned. I slept with a stranger.A stranger fucked me, and I loved it. I… I wanted more. I craved him like a drug.God. I banged the side of my head as the other memories trickled in. That bastard, Ian. Waylen made so good on his promise, though. I was done with Ian. The objects in my vision danced. But I managed to get the
WAYLENI fucked up.The first mistake was tailing Beth to the club. The second was fucking her. But the worst of all was breaking all the goddamn rules.I fucked a human in Indiana.What was I thinking? I pushed that image of her out of my mind, putting the anger of that scenario into the current situation. If I had been home, I might have been able to prevent this from happening. But it was too late.“Where were you?” I yelled at the man standing a few feet away from me.The windows and door shook from the force of my voice. Len, my wolf, was close to the surface and wasn’t as logical or forgiving as I was. I gripped the top of the chair so hard my claws sank into it.Silence followed my question, and I cocked my head slightly, giving Jaxon, the bastard assigned to watch my father, a chance to explain before I separated his head from his neck.Fear reeked off him like a foul
It was a little past 4 pm when I woke up. There were already tons of messages from my mom to confirm that I would be in attendance, as if I had a choice. Putting on my best dress, I stood in front of the mirror and frowned. There was a mark on my neck. Granted, I had hickeys from where that bastard bit me. But this one looked different. It looked like a half-moon.What the hell?I retrieved a piece of wipe from the pack and rubbed hard at the spot, expecting the mark to go away. But it stayed. The skin around that area grew redder from scratching it. I chose to ignore it for today and move on with my life. After applying makeup and curling my hair, I was ready to go. My dress was nothing like that of yesterday. Maybe that was what drew Waylen to me. Was that his real name? Or something he used to attract girls to him?What kind of name was that, anyway? That was my first red flag, but I ignored it. My fault.My first stop was the store t
WAYLENBeth’s face paled as soon as she heard the click behind her. The click that signified I had locked the door, and she was alone with me. The one thing she had tried to avoid.Her heart drummed faster against her ribcage. As much as she tried to hide her fear behind that tough exterior, I could still smell it. It was almost as addictive as the smell of her arousal, and it drew me in. Len growled inside me. We wanted out, to be buried in her pussy, with our teeth deep in her neck. That was the only time he ever calmed down. The first time, actually. She had so much power over us, and she didn’t know it. I intended to keep it that way.Caging her between the sink and my stiff body, I placed my hands on each side of her hips. This position revealed the height difference and showed how easy it would be to bend her over the sink. Len liked that idea. This was his fucking fault. I was supposed to stay far away from her, but he was obsessed with her. Sta