Someone Like You (Someone To Love Series) (25 page)

Blair rises with a bionic strength and bolts over to the sink. She sticks her head under the running water, screaming at the top of her lungs for antibiotics.

Pfft.
Like that’s going to cure her of the bitch virus that’s been plaguing her since childhood.

“Go ahead and scald your face, Blair. You might melt that ugly scowl off and actually score some friends who would help you out in a bind,” I say, shooting Erica a look before I head back into the club.

Now—to find my cheating boyfriend.

Morgan

I
’m one hand away from taking good old Rutger and his highbrow pals to the cleaners when Ally stomps in with her hair a little wilder than I’m used to.

I blink a quick smile up at her and get back to my cards.

Damn, the girl is hot.

“I’m out.” Pennington tosses in his hand and shakes his head.

Nice. The fact I just financially spanked Cruise’s little brother is just an added bonus to the mayhem that’s about to ensue.

Ally gives a pressured tap on my shoulder. “I need to speak with you.”

“Just one second, babe.” I nod without taking my eyes off Rutger. His cable-knit sweater is knotted around his neck despite the fact we’re in the middle of a tropical heat wave. Everything about him spells douche.

“I’m sorry, but this can’t wait.” Her voice trembles, catching me off guard.

I glance up. Her eyes are filling with tears faster than I can swipe the change from the preppies’ pockets.

Crap.

“What happened?” I try to sound discreet, holding my hand close to my chest.

“You tell
me
what happened.” Her voice is so loud it cauterizes my eardrums.

“You mind?” Rutger barks up at her. “Step the fuck out, Ally. Save the girl drama for later.”

“Hey,
dude
, don’t talk to her like that.” I say it low, trying not to set him off since we’re moments from a monetary exchange that can have the same life-altering effects as a lotto win.

“You don’t talk to
me
like that.” He says it cool, plucking through his deck without bothering to look up. “I’ll talk to my girl any way I please.” He shifts the toothpick in his mouth from one end to the other.

“My girl, huh?” I huff because I know it’s not true. “Not in my club you won’t.” My blood starts to boil. As soon as I clear the table of all the green I’m going to strangle the shit out of good ol’ Rutger here and make it look like an accident.

He huffs a quiet laugh as if he heard and accepted the challenge.

“You don’t own this place, Jordan—my friends and I do.” His eyes rest heavy over mine. There’s a haughty air about him that affirms the fact this guy is a terminal asshole. “I can have you shut down in ten minutes. You’ve got no liquor license. You’re violating some serious gambling codes. And I’m pretty sure prostitution is still illegal in Carrington County.” He smears a shit-eating grin across his face. “You’re trash, Jordan, just like your girlfriend.” He glances up at Ally and winks.

I flip the table over, landing the four of them flat on their designer asses.

Ally screams as if the building were about to blow up.

Pen and his buddies instigate a money grab, but I skip the currency and go for the gold instead. I pick Rutger up by his pretty pink collar and drag him across the room in one quick pull.

“The only piece of trash I see is you.” I grind it through my teeth.

“Morgan,
no
!” Ally screams as if I’m about to commit a felony, and I just might.

With everything in me I want to smash his ugly mug in, kick him in the nuts for even
thinking
about Ally that way.

I thrash his ass against the wall and get into his slobbering face.

“Ally is a
person
,” I hiss, nose to nose. “She’s got feelings just like everybody else. She’s never hurt anybody or bullied them, and that’s exactly what you and your
friends
seem to get off on. Just because you have a couple of dollars to rub together doesn’t mean you get to treat people like shit. None of your friends are real and the only chicks you’ll ever score will be there for the bonus. Nobody will ever want you for who you are because nobody likes a lying sack of shit.” I push him out the door and watch as he stumbles into a wall.

The room drains, leaving Ally with a semi-pissed look on her face.

I shut the door and barricade it with a chair.

“You wanted to talk?” I pick up the table and spot a stack of cards pinned beneath it. I let out a little laugh. “Well. looky here.” I hold it up for her to see. “They were taking me for a ride all along. The rich-boys club wasn’t giving away a dime of their daddies’ money tonight.”

Ally doesn’t lose her hard edge, that unwavering cold look.

“Were you with Blair Lancaster tonight?” She cuts me the death stare and lets me know my balls are up for the skewer.

Shit. I think I know where this is headed so I opt for the truth.

“Yes.”

Her face smooths out; her features bleach, pale as plaster.

“Yes?” Her mouth contorts, disbelieving.

“Let me guess.” I step forward and wrap my arms around her waist, but she’s quick to push me away. I pull back and hold out my hands like a common street criminal. “Okay, it looks like I’m right. Whatever the hell she said to you I swear it was a lie. In fact, why don’t I give you my version first, and you can compare and contrast. I’ve got no problem with that since I have nothing to hide.”

“Let’s hear it, Jordan.” Ally takes a seat on the edge of the table and folds her arms tight across her chest. Her body language alone lets me know I can go screw myself. And if I want to get laid, I might just have to.

“Okay. I got here early, and noticed a light on, right here in this room.”

She makes a face like she might be sick.

“I assumed I left it on, but I came over to check it out just in case there was some idiot milling around.” I pause, trying to remember in detail what happened next. “I opened the door and Blair was standing here in her coat. She dropped trou and was naked as a jaybird. Believe me, Ally, I’ve seen skeletons at Halloween that were more attractive than what she was trying to offer.” She gives a little laugh. “Then,” I continue, “she said, ‘You’re welcome,’ and slammed into me. I immediately jumped back and told her to get the fuck out.”

“Then what?” Ally’s eyes brim with tears, but she’s determined not to let them fall.

“Then…” Shit, then what? “Oh, that’s right, she said, it could be our ‘dirty little secret.’ ” Why does it feel like I just stuck my head in a noose? “Look, Ally, I don’t how the hell she knew to say those buzzwords and to be honest, at that point I was making my way back to the truck to get the liquor. I wasn’t sticking around to have a conversation with her.”

“So that’s it?” Her brows notch together at the tips and she looks vulnerable as a schoolgirl.

“That’s it. I swear. Why—what else did she have to add?”

Ally’s mouth opens like she’s about to say something but she pauses. “She just said some stupid stuff. We got into it and that was about it.” She presses her lips together like a good cry is still an option. “She knew some stuff, Morgan.” She shrugs. “You wouldn’t tell her anything personal about me, would you?”

“What?” I take a step in and wrap my arms around her waist. “God, no. What did she say? Did she say something about Ruby?” I can’t imagine anything more personal than that.

“No.” She shakes her head. “It was nothing about Ruby.” Ally swallows hard. “She probably dug around and filled her head with a bunch of crap to use against me. Looks like tonight was her night to unload the ammo.” She glances at her shoes and gives a hard sniff.

“Ally,” I whisper just over her ear. “I swear I would never hurt you like that.” My heart breaks at how devastated she is. I have no idea what Blair told her, but the look on Ally’s face is enough to let me know it was pretty shitty. “I love you.” I kiss her cheek. “I only want to be with you, ever, Ally—and there is no greater truth.”

“Really?” It comes from her as a barely there whisper, as if she finds it hard to believe that anybody would ever want to be with her.

“Really.” I dot my lips over hers.

I suppose this isn’t the right time to fill her in on the facts that the dancers never showed tonight, that Steven wasn’t here to man the liquor, and I had to hire some frat boy to tend bar for the evening. Everything went to shit after Blair hexed the place with her ghost of a body, but I’ll be damned if Ally and I fall apart because of it.

My cell buzzes in my pocket, and I pluck it out. It’s a text from a blocked number.

You just fucked with the wrong person. See you in hell.

I slip it back in my pocket. It’s probably Rutger and his band of brokers, emphasis on the “broke”—then I remember they mopped up the money before they left the room and I’m the one who’s broke.

I push a tiny smile out at Ally. She’s all I need.

“I’m sorry.” She gives a slow breath. “I guess I just let her get to me.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” I trace her lips with my finger.

“Thank you for defending me just now with Rutger. You didn’t have to do that.” Ally leans in and I take in the scent from her sweet perfume. “He’s a total ass. I never did pay attention to half the crap that defecated from his mouth.”

My chest rumbles with a tiny laugh.

“I’m glad.” I touch my finger to her chin and gently lift it until she looks right at me. “You’re a smart, beautiful woman, Ally. And if someone tries to tell you otherwise, don’t believe them. You’re important and you have a good heart.” I lean in and land a tender kiss over her pillow-soft lips. Something pinches deep inside me. Ally has my stomach melting like that of a sixteen-year-old. “I don’t ever remember anyone making me feel this way,” I whisper. “I think for the first time in my life I truly know what love is. Thank you for giving me that.”

Her eyes widen, her lips press in. She runs her hip over my crotch, and I tick to life like an obedient puppy. I give a wicked half smile, hoping she’ll catch on to the implications.

“
Oh
”—she gives a little laugh while rubbing her thigh over me, and I happily bloom to life—“it looks like someone’s glad to see me.” She runs her hand inside my shirt, smoothing over my chest in one heated rush.

“I’m always glad to see you.” I sink a heated kiss over her neck, and she lets out a groan. I toss the cards down over the table and growl, holding back a smile.

“It looks like you’re still in the mood to play games.”

“Are you in the mood to play games?” My lips curve in a crooked grin as I run my tongue over her lips. I can hear the club pulsating in the background like a bongo drum, and I wish to God we were anywhere but here.

“Sometimes I think life is one long game.” She glances down a moment. Ally is just one step away from tears. Blair really got in her head. And God knows I’d love to help her forget Blair and all her bullshit. She looks up at me with those lime-green eyes and holds my gaze. “You ever wonder if you’ll win, Morgan?” It comes out far too serious. Ally is on the verge of an all-out sob, and I’d do anything to comfort her. Damn Blair and her stupid antics. She and Rutger should hook up and leave decent people like Ally the hell alone.

“I always win.” My hands race over her back. “I have you, don’t I?” Shit. That didn’t sound quite the way I meant it. “I mean.” I shake my head. “I probably shouldn’t say anything else. You turn my brain to Jell-O. You’re just too damn hot to focus on anything else.” I ride my eyes over her chest without meaning to—but with her dress cut down to her belly, who could blame me?

Her hands melt down the front of my chest. Her fingers fumble with the button on my jeans.

“Maybe neither one of us should talk.” She dips her cool fingers into the back of my boxers, and I let out a choking breath. “Maybe we should—”

I crush my lips over hers before she can finish the sentence. My body aches and my bones feel like they’ll shatter if I don’t have her right fucking now. Ally unzips my jeans and pulls my hard-on free from my boxers.

“You sure know how to get to the point.” I say it quietly as I bite over her earlobe. I dip into my pocket and pull out a condom.

“Armored response. I’m impressed.” A tiny dimple depresses into the side of her cheek. “I bet you’re just waiting to bend me over this table.” She pulls back and takes me in with her sleepy eyes. “Well, Jordan? Looks like you’ve got a boner to contend with. I think you’d better do something.” She morphs back into the Ally I know and love, incredibly sexy and bossy as hell. “You just going to stand there with that golf club hanging out of your Levi’s or are you going to try and swing it?”