Stepbrother's Gift (15 page)

“Is that right?” he asked again, same tone as last time. He took another sip of his champagne. I could tell that he wasn't nearly as interested in Nicole as she thought he was. That was a relief. I could tell that all he wanted to do was talk to me, but with Nicole there, we wouldn't be able to talk about what we really wanted to talk about. I knew that I'd have to keep an eye on the situation.

Or just let him go completely,
I thought sadly. I was such a mess of contradictions, even in my own head. Did I want him, or did I just want him to stop torturing me with wanting him?

“Tell me, Nicole, what are you studying?” James asked. I smiled. I recognized the question for getting a girl to talk about herself. It was James' go-to question to get a girl talking. And if there was one thing Nicole liked to do, it was talk about herself. I was able to sit back as Nicole talked about her fashion marketing and how she was going to change New York fashion forever. James refilled her glass several times, but I kept mine clutched close to me or in the cup holder for the rest of the trip to the club. I did my best to just act uninterested in the both of them.

James did a good job of acting interested in what Nicole was saying, but I knew he was really paying attention to me...

***

W
hen we got to the club, the line was out the door and around the block. James helped the two of us out of the limo and immediately went up to the bouncer, bypassing the line. He whispered a couple of words to the huge man and he immediately stepped to the side, waving the three of us in. Nicole raised her eyebrows as if she were impressed, but smiling like she had expected nothing less. She locked her arm around mine as we squeezed in past the line, grinning back at the poor suckers still outside.

Inside, a man in a suit intercepted James. He began to bring us to where they were checking IDs, when James stopped him. He said something to him, slipped him a note, and the man nodded. We walked right past the ID checker, and the two bouncers nodded at each other. I hadn't even thought about whether this was a 21 and up club.

The music was loud even before we got into the main area, but it was practically deafening by the time we got in. The man led us past the dance floor. Right next to the DJ stand, there was a section with several leather couches with a velvet rope it. He led us in there, gesturing to one of the couches.

Nicole let go of my arm and we each sat on either side of James. As we sat down on the couch, I realized that the acoustics were set up so that it was actually a lot quieter on the couch than anywhere else in the club. We could actually hear each other talk here.

Nicole sidled up next to James. “This is amazing!” she said, looking around the club and pressing her leg against his.

James shrugged. “It's not really my scene, but it's fine. I prefer something a little more intimate.” I thought of his little coffee shop, and also the little concert room he had in his apartment. I knew that that was what he liked best.

She looked around. “Well, this is definitely my scene.”

Just then, a cocktail waitress came up and asked what we wanted. I was about to ask for a menu but James spoke up before I could. “A bottle of Grey Goose and a bottle of Dom Perignon, please.” The cocktail waitress nodded and quickly moved away.

Nicole looked intrigued. “So, are we doing shots, or what?”

James laughed. “No, they'll bring us orange juice and cranberry juice to mix with it.”

Nicole nodded her head. “So, I told you all about my major in the limo. What do you do, Mr. Millionaire?”

James looked back at me, realizing that I really hadn't told her anything about him during the semester that we had been in school together. “Millionaire, huh?”

She gestured to our private space. “I've seen you post about your company. I figure you've gotta be pretty rich if you're able to afford all of this.”

He smiled and shrugged. “Well, maybe if you count my 401(k).” I giggled to myself. I doubted he even had a retirement account at his age, but Forbes put his net worth at well over a billion dollars. “It sounds like you already know a lot about me.”

“So, tell me something I don't know about you,” Nicole persisted. Her eyes were going to get tired if she kept batting her eyelashes at him like that. James looked back at me. I could tell he wanted to say something to me, but that he couldn't.

Just then, the cocktail waitress and a friend returned with two trays. One had the vodka and juices with some small glasses, the other had the bottle of champagne and some champagne flutes. Without a word, the waitress poured us three screwdrivers- orange juice and vodka. She handed us each a glass.

“Allie, would you give us a toast this time?” James asked, lifting his drink up.

I looked at the drink, then looked at the two of them. I was on the spot, and I knew it. “To family,” I finally said, unable to come up with anything else. I wished I had something better.

“To family,” the two of them echoed. I lifted the glass to my lips and took the smallest sip I could. It was strong, too strong for me to drink and feel safe. I'd have to pour it out and pour myself just an orange juice as soon as I could.

Nicole downed the rest of her drink in one gulp, then hopped to her feet. “Come on, James, let's dance.”

I bit my lip, but as James looked at me, I put on a fake smile and nodded anyway. I couldn't let him think that I was pining so bad for him that I'd stop him from dancing with Nicole. He already knew I had been mopey. I didn't need to give him any more ammunition to tease me with later. He smiled and said, “We'll be back in a minute,” then stood up.

Nicole grabbed his hand and began to lead him out to the dance floor. Luckily (or unluckily), I had a view of the whole dance floor where I was. As soon as they made it to the dance floor, James had his hands on her hips. She began to sway to the music, putting her hands all over his shoulders and chest as she moved. Again, I found myself admiring her body and, at the same time, hating her for touching James.

I quickly set my drink down on the table and filled up a new one with just orange juice. It sucked sitting here watching them. Seeing her hands on his chest, rubbing against him was enough to drive me mad. I wanted those to be my hands. I tried to think of something I could do that would make her stop, or at least make me stop having to watch. I could go out there and dance myself, either with the two of them or with some other random guy. I could drink myself to oblivion. I could tell Nicole that James had an STD.

I sighed. I wasn't going to do any of these things.

Suddenly, Nicole turned around and started grinding her ass up on him. His hands were still on her hips, but she took one and brought it up her body. I knew that she was in very good shape and that it was probably fantastic to rub up her side like that. She lingered a little bit near her breasts before bringing his hand into her hair. Her fingers scrunched his hand into a ball, meaning that the slightest extra movement would pull her hair.

I knew how she worked. It was classic Nicole. That hair was the end of most men's inhibitions, and it was the last thing I wanted to see. Once she did that, most men where in her bed in an hour. I knew because we shared a room.

I grabbed my purse and started toward the door. I still had some of the money that James had given me in Boston and I'd find my own way home, even though I knew it would cost me a fortune. I just knew I couldn't stay here for even one more minute. I'd go crazy if I did.

I almost made it out of the main area before I felt James' strong hand grip my arm. “Where are you going?” he yelled over the music.

My face paled as I turned to face him. I thought about being evasive, but with how loud I had to yell to be heard over the music, I knew I had to be direct as possible. “It's fine that you don't want me. It's whatever. But don't expect me to sit here and watch your foreplay with Nicole.” I turned to leave again.

Just as he had in the hallway outside his dorm, he spun me back to face him. “I didn't fly hundreds of miles to fuck your roommate, Allie. I came to talk to you.”

I felt my eyes tear up, felt my knees shaking again. I just wanted to go home, back to my dorm room, so I could relax and try to get over him. Again. But the iron grip he had on my arm wouldn't let me go. And a part of me didn't want him to.

I didn't know what to say, but he spoke up for me. “Look, just have a seat on the couch. I'll let Nicole know that you feel sick and that we have to go, okay?”

I nodded, already feeling the tears running down my face. I felt like an idiot. He smiled at me, that charming smile that made everyone love him, then released my arm. I slowly walked back to the couch while he disappeared back to the dance floor. When I got to the couch, I slowly sipped at my orange juice and closed my eyes. I was glad he had stopped me, glad that we would finally get a chance to talk.

Just when I began to get curious as to what was taking James so long, I opened my eyes and found him walking up to the VIP area. Alone. He had a grimace on his face.

“Nicole says she's not ready to leave,” he said. I was glad that the music was so much quieter here, so I could hear him.

I nodded slowly. “So, are you and I going to leave?”

He sat down next to me and gave me a wry smile. “Next time I'll have to invite a friend, but I can't let her stay here by herself. Every guy here is lining up to ply her with drinks and take advantage of her.”

I laughed. “That doesn't surprise me, but she can take care of herself.”

He gave me a grim look. “Just like you could take care of yourself with Dennis?”

I scowled at him. It was a low blow.

“Sorry,” he continued. “I didn't really mean it, it's just...” He looked me in the eye, and for a moment I could see real frustration cross his face. “It's just that I haven't been able to get you out of my mind for the past three days, and then you weren't answering my emails, and now...” He ran his hand through his hair, mussing up its billionaire perfection, then looked back up at me. “Now that I'm here, I can't seem to say what I want to say.”

It was a moment of real honesty for him, and it made me want him more than ever. My fingers touched my belly, knowing that not only would James be able to provide for my baby, but also be a great father and role model for it. Even if he wasn't with me, he could still be those things. “Just tell me what it is you want from me,” I said.

James opened his mouth, then grimaced again as something caught his eye. I followed his gaze and saw Nicole coming up to the table.

“There you are! I was beginning to think that I had lost you!” she said to James. Then, as if suddenly remember that I was there, she put a finger on my knee, leaning over in the process and giving James a full view of her cleavage. “So sorry that you're not feeling well. I'll see you tomorrow, but don't wait up for us!” She grabbed the bottle of vodka and poured herself a shot in one of the glasses, throwing it back quickly, and then smiling. I wanted to hit her over the head with the bottle, but that would be rude.

James smiled at her and stood up. “I was just letting Allie know that we were staying. I'm just going to walk her out to the limo. You stay here and I'll be back in just a couple minutes.”

Nicole plopped down on the couch and started pouring herself some champagne in the same glass that she had just drank the shot out of, even though there was a bunch of champagne flutes on the table as well. “Sure, sure, I'll be waiting for you.”

I managed to wave goodbye without saying something that I'd regret later, and James and I were on our way out the door. He said something to the bouncer really quick on the way out, then when we were outside, he called the limo.

“Look, Allie, I'll have her out of here and back to your dorm as soon as I can. Can we meet tomorrow?” he asked.

I smiled. Just having these few seconds alone with him was good for me. It was the first time I had smiled since we had arrived at the club.  “I'd like that. I promise to answer your email this time. Just be careful, though. Nicole is going to pull out every trick in the book to try and seduce you.”

I hadn't seen the cocky grin all night up until now, but when he flashed it, it made me melt all over again. There was a very good reason he had the reputation he did with women. “Don't worry. I think I've seen just about every trick in the book, and I doubt this girl has anything new.”

I laughed. With any other guy I might have thought it was bluster, but with James... I bet he had to turn down his fair share of propositions. Just then, the limo pulled up. James helped me into it, squeezing my hand as he let go of it. He gave instructions to the driver and I was on my way home.

W
hen I arrived home, I stripped off the club clothes that I had worn and immediately jumped into the shower. I hadn't expected to ever do this again, between James fucking me and then letting me go, but I needed release probably more than I ever had in my life.

I detached the shower head and let my imagination take over. I began to slowly sway my hips as I imagined the club music playing. Imaginary James, in his suit, came up behind me pressing into me and dancing with me. The shower head found it's way downward, spraying me between my legs and immediately sending waves of pleasure through my body.

My other hand dug into my hip, imagining James gripping me tightly. I felt my fingers traveling up my side as James touched my skin as much as he could. When I got to my breast, I didn't just linger, I wrapped my hand around one, pressing into the other with my forearm and teasing both nipples with touch.

Finally, I moved my hand up to my hair. It wasn't quite the same to pull my own hair, but as I ran my fingers through my blonde hair, I imagined him doing so with that familiar lust in his eyes. My knees started to shake.

Finally, I imagined him taking me to that VIP couch, pulling up my skirt, and slamming into my body. My mouth opened in a soundless scream as I pulled the skin up from my clitoral hood and let the water directly stimulate me, like a firm tongue driving me to ecstasy. My mind was full of the sounds and scents of the club, as if I were right there, getting fucked while the music played around us.