Marked (Marked #3) (14 page)

Jaime, Janice’s ever-faithful lap dog, stood a few feet away from us. However, this time he looked different. Weighed down and tired. An exhaustion so deep that it marred his facial features. Face ashen and eyes sunken in just a bit—dark circles and thin lips completed his look.

It seemed everyone this woman met ended up carrying a part of her burden.

“I don’t trust him, Talan.” Lance’s protest didn’t surprise me as the two never got along. Jealousy clouded minds, and they were both after the same thing. Sadly, what they wanted never returned the affection. Sex was sex. Nothing more to her.

“Get off your high horse, Lance. You’re no different than me…fucked up just the same in the name of helping someone who didn’t want it.” Fists clenched at his sides, Jaime took the remaining steps and stood nose to nose with my friend. “It wasn’t our cocks—good intentions, that could fill that hole deep within her. We were the salve that held her, but we wore off too soon, and what was left couldn’t be fixed.  So do me a favor; don’t get overbearing on me. I’m not the enemy.”

“Jaime.” At the sound of his name, he turned his head and looked at me from the corner of his eye. “Step back before I move you myself.”

Lance smirked before pushing Jaime back two steps. “Thought I’d help the process along.”

I saw the intent; our uninvited guest raised his arm and cocked it back. Maybe I should’ve stopped it, but instead, I crossed my hands across my chest and enjoyed the show. Grown men sometimes needed to solve their issues with a few well-thrown blows. At the moment, they could beat the snot out of the other and I wouldn’t move.

They wouldn’t be deterred.

Before his fist could connect, the back door was slammed open and Simon popped his head out. “Fuck’s going on back here? Who’s this clown?”

“Simon, this is Janice’s booty call, Jaime. He’s here to swing at Lance and then share something with the class.” Turning to look over at the two, I signaled for Jaime to knock it off. “You hit him, don’t cry after.”

Surveying the damage done outside, Simon fully stepped out but kept his body in front of the doorway. Esther was inside manning the front, and she didn’t need to accidently end up between the two grown men. “Who punched the window?”

If there was ever a moronic question that roamed our existence, that would be it. The bloody hand proved it.

Letting out a tired sigh, I raised a hand to run it through my hair and stopped. Tiny cuts and shards prevented me from the act. It hurt. Looking at my hand, I noticed that one cut was deeper than the others were and needed to be cleaned. Might even need a stitch or two.

Fuck.
Without looking up, I spoke to the group. “You still own Crave on 23
rd
?”

“Yeah, why?” Jaime’s reply came out gruff and full of undisguised anger. Testosterone was sometimes worse than a female’s PMS.

“I’ll be there tonight at eleven. That work for you?” At my request, the two idiots I called family snapped their heads in my direction, shaking them from side to side.

“Talan—” Lance began to interject, but my glare cut him off. He’d done enough, and his opinion wasn’t needed.

“Works for me.” With the time agreed upon, he shoulder checked Lance on his way back down the alley. These two weren’t done. Animosity grew with each interaction and would eventually come to a head.

Worried me.

Was Lance not over Janice? What about Veronica?

“Boss is that a good idea?” Simon asked, his body blocking the entrance.

“Lance left me no choice…now move.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Doing as asked, he unblocked my doorway and walked over to our quiet friend. “What did you do?”

At half past ten, I pulled into the club’s parking area at the back of the building. For a weekday, it was packed. Only three spaces available—all side by side and at the far end of the first row, a cone placed at each. A clear sign that they were being reserved for the evening.

If they were or weren’t for me, I didn’t give a fuck and with the front tire of my bike, I pushed it out of my way. Neither did my boys as they followed my example. All six of us were here tonight to hear out what Jaime had to say. He’d dangled a preverbal carrot on a day where truths were being slung at us left and right.

Dr. Taylor, in all his pompous glory, had indeed mailed a packet out with the information we requested to my shop. Addressed to Maya, it arrived today, and it left more questions than what it answered.

The assclown was begging her to drop the charges and walk away.

I’d kill them both before that happened.

Bitty shook behind me, her head moving from side to side against the leather of my jacket. Amused by her man’s behavior, I heard her disappointed mumbling the moment I’d turned the ignition off and put the kickstand into place.

Once she got wind that I was coming to meet with an ex-plaything of Janice, she refused to stay home. Claimed she deserved to know what was going on and not hear the water-downed version she thought I’d spew. To say she was still a little salty after everything that went down in the hospital and during her statement would be putting it mildly.

And even though every fucking molecule of my DNA was warning me that this will hurt her, I had to agree. Being denied this information would damage her trust in me. In the
us
I’d been establishing inside our home.

We were a team and as such, needed to face everything together.

“Can’t you act civilized?” I’d take offense, if not for the small quirk of her lips as she took off her helmet. Motherfucking sex on legs. Her gorgeous black hair tumbled down past her shoulders. Long and wild, it curled at the end, sitting just atop the two dimples I adored above her ass. “It was saved for a reason. So rude, babe.”

I couldn’t talk. Instead, I licked my bottom lip and watched her shake out her hair and fluff out the wild mass. My fingers tingled; the urge to grab hold and bend her over my bike almost made me delirious.

Eyes traveling downward, I roamed her body with hungry eyes. It’s been weeks since I’ve had her warmth wrapped around my cock. Understanding the
why
we couldn’t wasn’t the issue, it was being patient that had me blue in the balls.

Especially when she dressed like she did tonight:

Something she called a Peter Pan collared cropped butterfly tank. To me, it looked like an innocent sin. Light pink and see-through. Just loose enough to be decent and for the fading bruises not to show.

A pair of tight, light blue denim jeans that sat low on her hips with a tear across each knee. On her feet, she wore a pair of light brown wedge sandals that brought her level with my chin, her nude-glossed lips accessible without having to lean down to her level.

Maya Owens was my fucking perfection.

Palming my cock, I squeezed down a bit, an action she followed with her grey eyes. “I want you.”

“Cut that shit out,” Simon called out as they walked by us. It was followed by the laughter of the group; giggles and obnoxious guffaws that rubbed me wrong. Each pair was having sex left and right, nothing cock-blocking their need for their other half.

“Bunch of assholes.” My grumbled reply caused them to laugh harder.

“Hurry up, Gramps. Sooner we go in, faster we can leave.” This time it was Esther who spoke, mirth dancing in her eyes while Simon hugged her close, her back to his chest, his hands underneath her shirt. “I have plans for this big boy.”

“First off…fuck off.” Maya grabbed my hand and tightened her hold while she addressed the group. “And second, get inside and order a round. Quit watching us, you bunch of perverts.”
Love this woman.

“Aye, aye, Bitts.” Lance saluted my girl. “But please, hurry up. I’d like to get it in tonight.”

Enough.

“Get the fuck inside!” As I said before, they’re all a bunch of assholes. Thank God they obeyed and left me alone to have a moment with my girl.

Then again, it wouldn’t matter since I wasn’t getting any. I refused. The most I’d been able to consciously allow was her juices on my tongue and the feel of her tightness surrounding my fingers. Not a damn fucking stroke to my dick until her doctors gave us the okay. 

“Forget them, baby. They don’t matter.” With the tip of her finger she turned my face toward hers. Our eyes met, and I almost fucking whimpered at the hunger I saw there. “The only thing that should be running through that dirty little mind of yours is how hard you’re going to take me. Fuck me.” Husky, her words ran through my body like an electric shock and settled on the tip of my dick.

Taking the remaining steps from me, Bitty walked up and pressed her chest against mine, our breathing synchronizing, inhaling the other’s exhales. Tilting her face up, her lips hovered over mine—brushed once, twice, before nipping the bottom and releasing a small groan. “Tonight, I want to ride your cock…feel you stretch me until it hurts in the most exquisite of ways. And then, tomorrow, I want to wake up still feeling the soreness you leave behind.”

I was fucking hard. Throbbing. Tip leaking against the dark denim of my jeans since my girl begged for me to go commando tonight. Claimed it would be sexy to know just a small zipper kept her hand or mouth off my length.

Was she doing this on purpose? Pushing my limit on sanity?

“Bitty, babe, you’re not ready yet.” Those fucking blasphemous words tasted like bile, but her health mattered more. Just three days ago she moved wrong in her sleep and woke up complaining of a sharp pain up her side. “Please, don’t fuck with me.” It wasn’t within me to hurt her.

“Talan.” My name, she crooned it low while nipping at my jaw. “Shut the fuck up.” I bristled at her brush-off, but before I could reply, she placed a tiny finger over my lips. “I love you just as much as you do me. I’d never put either one of us in a position to get hurt—give me more credit than that.”

Nipping the tip of her finger hard enough to sting, I waited until she pulled it away. “Woman, I trust you with my life, but—”

With a roll of her eyes, she used the same finger I bit to tap me on the nose as if I were a cute puppy. “Doctors gave me the all-clear two days ago. The pull I felt was the tightness in that area, but nothing has been damaged. Bruising has gone down and as long as I don’t plan to get in a fight anytime soon…I got the all green.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, tatt boy.”

“Best motherfucking news I’ve heard in a while.” Picking her up, I twirled us around once before kissing her sweet mouth harshly. Let her feel my desire for her body burning through my kiss—touch. Cock pressed between us, I rubbed against her lower abdomen before letting her down slowly. Hissing as the warmth from her pussy reached my dick through layers of clothing.

“Ready to go in?” she asked, eyes hooded and begging me to take her home instead. “Faster we—”

“Sorry, baby, but I need a minute here to go soft.” Her giggles rang throughout the parking garage as she walked away. Leaving me all alone to literally lose my hard on.

“Excuse me, sir.” A tall brunette stepped out in front of our group as we tried to walk inside. On her too-tight tank was the establishment’s name and a nametag, which explained that she was a hostess. A glorified hand stamp specialist with an attitude.

The sour look on her face made the could-have-been pretty girl—ugly.

Add that to the fact that she was in my way and she had already earned herself a double negative in my book.

“You can’t go in like that.” Her eyes surveyed us with distrust, but stayed on my persona longer than necessary. They widened for a split second before her mouth twisted into a slight sneer. I guess we were too tatted and rough around the edges for a place like this.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Leave it to Lance to release the first curse of our group.

“How dare you speak to me that way? I can have you thrown out…”

Veronica stiffened beside me. She tried to move forward, but Lance’s hand on her arm stopped her. The other two stayed silent, something I found very weird.

Esther and my little Bitty never shied away from any kind of battle. Especially when it came to stuck-up people. She looked the type. The kind that thought her shit didn’t stink, but if you flashed some cash and a hard cock her way, she’d become your whore.

Name-brand clothing and money didn’t buy you class. A mistake most people made. Politeness and empathy toward your fellow man did.

On the contrary, those who behaved as she did were nothing but fake. Trash.

“I suggest you lose the snootiness out of your tone. Management frowns upon that.” Veronica’s words were said with a calmness that rubbed our hostess the wrong way.

“Or what?” Those haughty eyes landed on her and narrowed. It caused Lance to take a step slightly in front of her—preemptive more than anything else. There was a solid reason his girlfriend fit in so well with Simon’s and mine.

They were fucking nuts in the best kind of ways.

Again, the chick opened her mouth to speak, and I braced myself for the idiocy that was sure to come. Maya wasn’t known for her patience.

“We have a dress code and—”

“Cool it, Bryn.” At that, we all turned to look over at Maya, who now wore a bored expression. “No need to be a bitch.”

She gasped, clearly offended by Bitty’s words. In truth, I found it sexy.

“Maya?” Taking a few steps back, she took her post behind a small podium. A quick flash of fear passed through her eye. “What are you doing here with these—”

“I’d watch how I finish that sentence, sweetie. Wouldn’t want you to ruin the nose job Daddy bought you.” Was it wrong of me to get hard? Seeing my girl putting this condescending little girl in her place had me almost panting. “Do me a favor? Go and get your boss. Tell him Mr. Cox is here for him and ready to meet. Can you handle that?”

“I don’t see a Mr. Cox.” Now, I think she’s just stupid.

“Dear God, girl,” I snapped, and the bodyguard right outside the entrance stuck his head inside. My eyes met his. Stared him down, let him feel my anger with the simple action. “I’m the Mr. Cox
your
boss is meeting tonight. Get him the fuck out here.”

He nodded and turned his attention toward a fumbling hostess. “Why aren’t they inside, Bryn? We were under strict orders to show them to the VIP section immediately after arrival. What’s going on?”

“Dress code?” she whispered her answer, always aware of where Maya stood. Couldn’t be clearer that she shared some sort of history with my girl, but why the fear? Before Maya addressed her, she was all fire. Rude.  ”We have a strict policy on—”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Bryn? Get Jaime now!” His voice thundered throughout the tiny entrance, and she jumped.

“I’d listen to him if I were you,” Esther piped in while coming to take a stand in front of her, almost pushing Lance on his ass. “Don’t think you want a repeat of last year’s Spring Break.”

Pulling my girl in close, I spoke into her ear. “Spring Break, babe?” Curiosity was a bitch, and I needed to know. Not that I wanted exact details of what she’d done before me. We all had a past; fuck, mine had come to bite her in the ass. But Bitty, a tiny bikini, and a trip down south….

Maya kept hard eyes on Bryn. “I threw her ass off a moving boat in Mexico.” She said it so casually, as if it was the most normal thing to do. God, I fucking loved her.

And something I’d come back and revisit.

“Good girl.” At my praise, she smiled; I kissed her cheek.

“Hurry up.” Esther’s hand slammed down on the counter. “You aren’t paid to watch them.”

The boys and I just looked at each other and moved closer to the girls. Just in case. A precaution Bryn should appreciate.

“Of course. Sorry for the delay.” With a small nod, Bryn finally did what she was paid to.

“So I see you brought the cavalry.” Dry, Jaime’s tone was like ice the moment we approached where he’d been waiting. His eyes were hard—set on me, something Maya didn’t miss.

Her body tensed. I could feel her change in demeanor. From a nonchalant attitude when she dealt with Bryn, to now, fucking white-hot ire.

“Why in the blue hell are we here again?” She didn’t whisper this. Jaime looked embarrassed by my Bitty’s words, couldn’t be clearer that it was meant for more than just my ears.

Lance chuckled while Simon bumped fists were her. Their women were silent. This shit was not going to end well.

The asshat on the other end couldn’t hide that he was surprised by my girl’s—all of their presence. His face lost all his hostility. Instead, what stood before me almost looked repentant.

“Answer the lady, Cruz. Why are we here?” My tone was acidic. I’d never done a fucking thing to this man. Hell, he’d become Janice’s go-to fuck buddy after I’d touched her.

Long…long after, and not for his lack of trying either.

Those once-cold eyes locked onto my hands, hands that now engulfed one of Maya’s and ran soothing circles across her knuckles.

“Maya Owens, I presume?” Low, Jaime spoke almost too low for any one of us to understand. “Talan’s Maya.”

Bitty pulled on my hand, gaining my attention. “What’s with everyone presuming to know shit about us?”

Leave it to her to crack the room up. Well, everyone but our host.

“Don’t know, babe. Annoying habit, though.” Leaning down a bit, I kissed her forehead and turned to look at a now red-in-the-face Jaime. “Want to explain how you know her full name? Why in the blue fuck do you have information on her?”

“Janice.” One word. That was all I needed to know to understand.

At the mere mention of her name, every muscle in my body tightened. Blood rushed through my veins; a volcanic surge that shook me to my core.

There was no denying how much I hated that bitch.

“What the fuck did she say to you?” Letting go of my girl’s hand, I stalked toward him and grabbed him by the throat. Squeezed down just enough to make him know I wasn’t here to play games. I’d beat the information out of him if pushed. “All of it. I need to know every fucking thing.”

“Baby,” Maya yelled out, her hand coming to grab my arm and pulling with all her might. I didn’t budge. “Please don’t. I’m begging you to let him talk…I can’t have this prick call the cops on you.” Her fear. Palpable and choking the breath out of me. Felt like that first night she woke up in the hospital after her attack. “I need you.”

With a hard push, I let him go and brought her against my chest. “Sorry, Bitty.”

She nodded against me. “If something happens and you…”

“Hey,” I spoke against the crown of her head, “look at me.” Refusing to budge, I held her tighter while rocking her from side to side. “Me and you, baby girl. Nothing…not a goddamned thing will stand between us. Trust me. Don’t panic, just trust me.”

“It’s them I don’t trust. Calling the cops to separate us would be the only bitch move they have left.” And the realization that she was right was like a punch to the gut. In this fucked-up chess game, their maneuvers were limited at best.

Maya was a bad-ass bitch when it came to facing her own demons, but any threat to my persona, and she crumbled. Her love for me wouldn’t let me put myself in danger.

“You love her.” Jaime’s voice held a mixture of both admiration and hate. As if he understood why I wanted to kill Janice, but couldn’t conceive letting me do it.

“That’s not up for discussion. Talk, asshole.” Lance took a step forward and laid two hands atop the table he still sat at. “Enough wasting our time.”

Clearing his throat, Jaime signaled with a hand for us to quiet down. His throat where my fingers had been looked red, the skin abused from my excessive force. His eyes darted past us, and with a nod of his head he signaled someone over.

I didn’t dare take my eyes off him.

Didn’t trust the little prick.

“Can you all please take a seat?” Hoarse, he spoke to us yet remained eyes locked with mine. The man wasn’t stupid. They’d sit and calm only if I did. “I’ve ordered drinks and some snacks. At the very least to make the girls more comfortable.”
Guess he had manners now.

How convenient of him to find them.

Simon looked over at me and nodded. “Let’s just get this over with.” Taking his girl by the hand, he pulled out a chair and sat down with her in his lap. That caused her to squeak, and the other two women snickered. Simple in gesture, it worked to ease some of the tension out of the room.

We followed his example.

A moment later two servers walked in with refreshments. On the table, a bucket of beers was placed for the men, and for the girls, something that looked entirely too saccharine.

Maya loved her sweets.

“Fuck, that’s good.” A low moan escaped her after the first sip. Torture. Cock hard, I pressed myself against her and was rewarded with another sexy-as-all-fuck sound.

“Freaks,” I heard Esther cough to my left. Any other day I would have flipped her off, but today she got a peanut from the table tossed at her head. “Watch it, ass.”

“Babe,” Simon grunted and took her attempt at retaliation—a wad of crushed napkins—from her hand. “Sit still. Serious now and I’ll reward you with some play later.”

Jesus. And they had the gall to talk about Maya and me.

Fuckers.

Pulling my attention from them, I faced our silent host and answered his earlier question. “If I did or didn’t love her, that isn’t any of your business. It’s no one’s but mine and hers, but if it helps you sleep at night…more than my own life.”

“How could she not see that? It’s clear as day.” Not one of us answered. Wasn’t necessary, in my honest opinion. “Janice swore that Maya had come between you two—that she’d turned the shop against her, and was being cast aside as if she were garbage. All a blatant fucking lie.”

“It is.” Maya spoke up; slightly disentangling the jaws-of-life hold I had on her. “Sometimes people create a lie so well weaved that they believe it. It morphs to fit their needs and at the end refuse to accept reality. Her reality was distorted already, the drowning of her sister—”

“How do you know about that?” he interrupted, pausing mid-drink to ask.

“Dr. Luke Taylor came to
our
home.” No one missed the emphasis on the word “our.” Maya was making a point. United motherfucking front. “Then the good ol’ doctor sent her file over with an attached plea to drop all charges.”