Black and Blue (Black and Blue Series) (2 page)

Approaching the door, the bouncer in front asked for their hands and, as each
unsteadily offered their palms, he drew a large, black B on them before waving them in. Although they’d made it past the large man, Emily still shivered with fear and Jamie, spotting her friend, shook her head. As they stepped past the threshold and their bones began to vibrate from the intensity of the music, she let out a vicn>

They’d made it!

They walked past people as they made their way to the bar. Most were humping one another, and she realized she’d never understood why people really danced like that. It just made her think of naughty things that should be kept behind closed doors. Jamie glanced at her best friend, noticing she had wide eyes as she took in their surroundings. The music was loud, and the lights were flashing on the crowd.

“
You know you don’t have to look so terrified,” Jamie said and smiled at Emily. “We are going to have fun!”

“
I don’t know. I heard last week the Black Enforcers raided this club. Some of the club goers are still in the tower,” Emily fretted.

Jamie shrugged and forced her eyes away from her.
The tower was where people went to await the council. The council was made up of the founding Black families. Most of the Blues sent there were put to death, but only in extreme cases were Blacks given the same punishment. Blacks were still beaten and tortured, just to try to get them to think the worst of the Blues. Jamie’s father was the head of the council. He was one of the people who believed the
No B Club
should be burned to the ground.

A man with a pierced eyebrow and a lip ring caught Jamie’s eyes
. He had long, wavy, shoulder-length hair and she noticed he had on black eyeliner. Her heart sped up when he glanced at her. It surprised her, because she’d never felt like that before.

“
Jamie, are you listening to me?”

Jamie turned her attention back to Emily, and saw an arched blonde eyebrow
.

“
What were you looking at?” she turned around to see, and when she looked back at Jamie there was a wide grin on her face. “Or is should I say
who
?” Emily giggled.

Jamie rolled her eyes, but
peeked back at him. His eyes were still on her and he grinned. He was talking to another man, but his eyes stayed on her. “Let’s go over there, but I call the one with the piercings.”

Emily grabbed Jamie’s arm, and held her back
. “What if they are
Blues
?” Emily whispered with fear edging her voice.

Jamie shrugged. S
he really didn’t care what he was. She just wanted to get to know him. She felt something pulling her toward him and wanted to know why. “I don’t care,” she said as she pulled her arm free, and walked toward the strange man with dark hair. She smiled when she heard Emily swear at her.

The pierced man grinned at her
again as she moved toward him and she watched him say something to his friend, who turned around. He, too, was fairly attractive with his light, short, blonde hair slicked back away from his handsome face.

“
Can we buy you two a drink?” the pierced man asked, and Jamie noticed his eyes were blue.

“
Sure,” Jamie said, which made him smile. She felt her face heat up with a blush and silently thanked God it was dark in there and he couldn’t see what kind of affect he had on her.

The pierced man turned around
to get their drinks and the blonde guy grinned at her and Emily. “Let’s find a table,” he said.

The three of them moved to an open
table, and Jamie was grateful it was in the part of the club where the music wasn’t so loud. On the wall next to the table a single light lit up, so Jamie got her first good look at the other man. His hair was sandy blonde, but his eyes were a bright green. His gray shirt made his eyes seem greener.

“
So, I’m Michael Rich, and my friend getting the drinks is Henry Roarke.” Michael looked past Jamie to Emily and he winked. “What are your names?”

B
efore she or Emily could answer, Henry joined them holding four drinks. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I got you Cherry Bombs.” Henry smiled as he handed them their drinks, but when he handed Jamie hers, their fingers brushed and Jamie felt sparks ignite from her fingers then travel throughout her body. He must have felt it too, because his eyes were as wide as she knew hers were. Henry smiled as he sat next to Jamie, but kept a little distance from her.

“
Perfect timing, I was just about to find out these two beautiful girls’ names,” Michael said, moving closer to Emily.

Jamie glanced at
her best friend who was giggling at something Michael had whispered in her ear. “I’m Jamie Mo…just Jamie, and that’s Emily.” If they were Blues they’d recognize her last name as a Blacks founding family.

“
Well, Jamie Mo, it is a pleasure to meet you. I’m Henry,” he said, his voice sounded low, but it entranced her.

“
I know, your friend already told us.” She glanced up at him, wanting to steal a look, but she was met with blue eyes staring down at her, watching her. She turned her gaze to the tan line on his left wrist, the one caused by his bracelet. Jamie wondered if he was a Black or a Blue. She hoped for Black.

“
How old are you eighteen…nineteen?” he asked her, and she brought her eyes back up to his face. From what she could see, he was handsome with his well-defined cheekbones, and squared jaw. A little dark stubble covered his cheeks, and she desperately wanted to run her finger tips down them, but instead she entwined her fingers together in her lap.

“
Today is her eighteenth birthday,” Emily answered for her and Henry glanced at her for a second; then returned his eyes to Jamie.

“
Well, Jamie Mo, happy birthday.” He’d dropped his voice just low enough for her to hear and she was under his spell.

“
Thank you,” Jamie said and grinned. “Do you come here a lot?” she asked, but what she r>

A warm chuckle filled her ears
. “I come here often.” He paused and stared at her. “I take it you don’t know the rules, right?”

S
he shook her head.

“
Well you aren’t allowed to ask what bracelet anyone wears, or where they live. You can’t mention the colors here.”

Once again she
peeked down at the tan line on his wrist. “Is Henry Roarke your real name?” Jamie asked as she looked back up at him.

“
You will learn quickly, I don’t lie. Whatever I tell you is the truth, even if I know it will hurt you,” Henry said, looking past her. She wanted to turn around, but forced herself to keep her eyes on him. “Would you like to go somewhere quieter where we can talk?”

Jamie looked at her best friend. Emily was
deep in conversation with Michael and wore the
I would do anything for you smile
on her face. “Sure,” she said meeting Henry’s gaze.

H
e slowly stood up and held out his hand for her. She took it without even thinking about it. Their hands felt right together like they were made for each other. He led her through the crowed club, and to a blood red door that read
RED VIP
. He slipped a red key out of his back pocket, and she arched an eyebrow at him. It must be something he did regularly, pick up some poor woman and bring her back here to have his wicked way with her.

A part of her protested
the thought and wished for him to have anyway he wanted with her, but she wouldn’t be used, not again. “You know...I’m just going to go back to Emily,” Jamie said, feeling her anger at herself rise. She should have known he was too good to be true. She turned to walk away, but she felt a hand on her arm stop her.

“
Jamie, what’s going on?” he looked at her, and she ripped her arm free.

“
You come often enough to have a personal key to a private room?” She wondered how many girls had fallen victim to his charms, like she had.

A smile spread across his perfectly handsome face
. “It’s not what you think, please come in and let me explain.” His eyes pleaded with her and she glared at him. “Please Jamie?”

She sighed, but followed him back to the door. He opened it for her, and let her step through, closing
the door shut behind him. The music from outside sounded like a muffled song. Jamie glanced around the VIP room. It had a black velvet couch, and the walls were a bright red. “You have five minutes,” Jamie said, keeping her eyes away from him.

“
Okay first, I’m part owner of the club, so I have a key to every room, and secondly I don’t normally bring anyone back here, this is my personal room. The one I use when I don’t want to listen to the loud music.” Henry shrugged, and smiled at her.

“
Yeah, Mike and I run this place. We wanted a place where we could be ourselves without worrying who was from what class,” he said moving closer to her.

Jamie’s heart was beating too fast
. “Are you telling me you aren’t wondering what class I’m in?” because that was all
she
was thinking about. She wanted to know if they could be together, or if her father would kill the man standing in front of her for even looking at her.

Henry stroked her
cheek, a smile on his sinful lips. “I haven’t thought about it, because it doesn’t matter here or to me.”

With him that close,
she could see his eyes were a brilliant, light-blue with specks of navy blue. “Oh…but-”

“
We have the night. We don’t need the light.”

Jamie nodded. S
he was enjoying his touch too much. She was the one to move away from him and his warm hand. “So…” she said as she looked around the red room again. Soft light filled the room and her eyes landed on a black, plushy couch which sat in the middle of the room. A little light wooden bar stood in the right corner of the room with a black shiny top.

Henry
strode to the bar, stepped behind it and pulled out glasses. He held one up to her and she nodded as she sat down on the plush couch. Jamie moaned in pleasure. It was the softest couch she’d ever sat on. Henry walked back with two dark drinks. “Cherry coke?” he asked as he handed it to her and watched as she took a sip. “You can’t stop wondering if we are from the same class, can you?”

She smiled in
answer to his question.

“
I brought you in here so we could talk to each other, not yell over the music. So ask me anything, except what color I am.” His grin lit his whole face, and she was memorized.

“
How old are you?” she asked taking another sip from her drink.

“
Twenty-one. My turn. What’s your favorite color?” He winked at her, and his being flirty made her giggle.

“
Umm…I would say red,” she replied biting her bottom lip.

Henry
touched her hair, twirling a red lock in his fingers. “I think red’s now my favorite color,” he murmured and she felt her cheeks heat up. “Your turn,” he said, and she mentally shook herself.