1
Kase
Ieye my brother, Cruz, leaning casually against the wall on the opposite side of the room. He's smiling wistfully down at Holly, who's got an ass most women would kill for and legs for days. There was a time when I'd hoped to have them slung around my waist as I pile drived her into a mattress. Mostly to annoy my brother, though I can’t say I wouldn’t have enjoyed the experience for its own sake. But those days are gone. She's his now, though he sure as hell doesn't deserve her.
I'm considering laying him out flat with a punch. Not because I'm particularly annoyed with him at the moment, but because I'm so fucking bored.
I've only agreed to come because defying my sister Penny was the surest way to guarantee an ass-kicking. Penny doesn’t take shit, even from family. The idea of a mixer had even brightened my day. A chance to down a little booze and to get my rocks off in some bombshell blonde sounds damn good.
What Ihadn'tbeen told was this little shindig was for the junkies that Penny and Holly rehabilitated. So instead of assembling at Rapture or the Black Spade, we’re all stuffed into the South Hollens community center, shuffling around awkwardly while shitty music worthy of a high school prom plays. It's a dry party to provide less temptation to the guests. It's like one of those cheesy backyard picnics with fucking cheese balls and finger foods. This is South Hollens, which exits under perpetual rain, so the party is contained inside. So there's nothing for me here. No booze, no one to talk to or fuck. Like hell am I mingling with Cruz.
I have to admit that some women in the crowd are undeniably beautiful, and I can probably coax one of them into a hallway for a quick fuck if I wanted. But they're all just too sad, clinging to sobriety by their fingernails. I'm not interested in being some fucking white knight that sweeps in to solve their problems. Leave that to Cruz or Ryker, who can't seem to help themselves.
I long ago stopped being led around by the dick. The one time I put a woman above everything else, it cost me everything. My father. My relationship with my brother. My own self-respect.
Every girl I am with is a one and done. Don't fuck the same girl twice. Never get attached. That’s my motto.
So I skulk in a corner, watching everyone mingle on the joke of a dance floor, making conversation. I don't join in. I reckon I have at least ten more minutes before I can plausibly back out of the door and return to the clubhouse. Vicky is staying there while her apartment is being renovated. She's on the shorter side, and a brunette, which isn't usually my type. But she's got perky tits and she seems interested. It could be a satisfying conclusion to the evening if I play it right.
I weigh my plans for the evening against the pleasure I'd have at laying my brother out on the floor. It's been a while since I had a brawl with Cruz. I'm overdue. The idea of making his face a little less pretty makes me smile. I'll have to deal with Penny and Holly after, but it might be worth it. Anything to liven up this little get-together.
Someone new enters the party through the front entrance. I only spy a flash of creamy skin and white-blonde hair before the newcomer dives into the crowd, using the jostling mass to disguise herself. I finally lean away from the wall, tracking her with my eyes. She's hard to pin down and I catch flashes of her as people move on the dance floor. Bubble-gum pink lips, and a rosy flush on her cheeks. Denim blue eyes.
Nowthere'sa woman I'm interested in. I've always been a sucker for a beautiful blonde, especially in leather. This woman is clad in a loose-fitting sweater and a pair of blue jeans, but still, she's hot. She seems tall, unable to hide fully in the crowd, her white-blonde hair peeking out at odd intervals. She doesn't seem hunched forward or tense, like most junkies are. Maybe she's staff at the clinic.
I discard my hastily constructed plans for the night in favor of tracking down tall, blonde, and beautiful. Maybe I'll take her home with me. Cruz hasn't even glanced my way this whole time. He's not going to be shedding tears if I leave.
The song has shifted to something less upbeat, and couples gather for a slow dance. Cruz and Holly smile soppily at each other and join the swaying crowd and I choke back a wave of jealousy at the pair. Cruz doesn't deserve to be a happy family man. Not after all the hell he's put me through. Put us all through, by killing Damian McNeil last year. If it hadn't been for Cruz, we wouldn't be facing a turf war.
After Damian's death, and then his father's incarceration, the Spades have splintered, some of our members running off to start a new gang. The Hellions, they call themselves. The fucking punks are killing Spades every chance they get. They've started hurting the working girls and selling smack to kids. If my father were alive, he'd be furious with Cruz for it.
But he isn't alive and I had a hand in that. So Cruz and I remain stubbornly silent, neither of us forgiving each other for what had gone down when we were sixteen.
I'll wash the taste of fury out of my mouth by finding the blonde and making her scream when I eat her pussy. Pull her into a hallway and shimmy those tight blue jeans down her legs, making her beg for my cock when she's done. It's almost like she reads my mind because after glancing around the room, she ducks into a hallway.
I follow, a fierce little smile curling my lips.
The back hall of the community center is impenetrable blackness and she's disappeared into it. The light from the main room only penetrates about a foot in. I turn left, just on a hunch and find her waiting for me in the shadows. My hand finds her shoulder first and I use it to turn her into the wall, pressing her between me and it.
She lets out a soft yelp of surprise but doesn't stop me when I slide my hand up to cup the back of her neck. Her skin is silky smooth and smells like cotton candy. The sweet, drugging scent makes my mind flash instantly back to my youth. Carnivals on the rare sunny days South Hollens experienced. Family. Young love. My girlfriend's hand slid sweetly into mine.
I kiss her, ignoring the twinge of longing in my chest. There's no sense in reliving the past. It's a painful place to be, and I don't care to linger there.
I expect her to be soft and pliant against me. Dozens of girls before her had surrendered to the press of my lips, crumbling easily. But not blonde and beautiful. No, she kisses back hard, all tongue and teeth until I growl against her mouth. My cock presses hard and urgent against my fly. I haven't even learned her name yet, but I already ache to be inside her.
She pushes against my leather jacket, trying to strip it off me. I let her. The fewer clothes we're wearing, the better. I don't care if I'm caught bare-assed at Penny's party. This girl is worth a little embarrassment. Gorgeous and down to fuck. There's nothing better in my book.
I bury my face in her neck, nipping her skin lightly. She gives a soft gasp and then moans: "Kase."
The sound of that voice is enough to bring me up short, all my muscles locking into rigid lines. Because I know that voice, even though it's been nearly a decade since I've heard it.
I push a hand into my pocket, fishing for my lighter. I already know what I will see, but I have to be sure. I have to know if it's her.
When the flame sputters into being, it provides a circle of light about a foot wide. It's not much against the darkness, but it's all I need. Because the face that stares back at me is what I'm expecting.
She's barely changed since I saw her last. Her face is still a perfect oval. Her skin is ivory with just a dusting of pink around her cheekbones. The bubble-gum lips beg me to taste her. And those denim eyes shine with the same desire they had years ago.
I back away several steps, a curse rising to my lips without a thought. What the hell is she doing here? Why now?
