Never again with the high heels.
“Quit whining. We need to find the lucky guy who’s going to fuck you,” he retorted, casting a bored glance over the line before looking back down at his phone. Despite my heels, Neil was still taller than me, and it was easy for him to look down on me, just the way he wanted.
“I actually wore my favorite thong for that very reason. Can’t wait,” I said breezily, faking a smirk. Actually, I was just wearing my usual cotton panties, but I enjoyed provoking him. His gleaming eyes immediately shifted from the phone screen to my face. He looked earnestly at me for a moment before hiding behind his armor again, determined never to appear vulnerable or let me know what he was thinking.
“Why do we even have to bother with these door checks?” A familiar voice from over Neil’s shoulder drew my attention, and I spotted a girl with bright blue hair in a high ponytail. She was facing away from us, leaving us with a view of her black leather skirt and a jacket in the same color that was tight across her narrow shoulders.
Neil didn’t hesitate. He stretched out an arm and, with complete confidence, smacked her ass. She jumped and whirled around, ready to retaliate against whoever had made a move like that. When she met Neil’s eyes, however, her expression softened, and she gave him a bright smile.
“Asshole! Your smacks hurt like hell, did you know?” Alexia whined, massaging the area that had been hit. I breathed in deep, trying to conceal how much Neil’s behavior actually bothered me, especially with Krew girls.
“Oh, he knows perfectly well,” Luke—whom I hadn’t even noticed next to her—cut in. His blue eyes popped against the darkness of the cold night, and his blond hair perfectly framed his evenly featured face.
“Shut up, Parker. Where’s the other one?” Neil stuck out his hand, and they greeted each other with grips of iron.
“If that’s me you’re referring to, you giant asshole, I’m right here.” Xavier popped out from behind Luke’s back with a cigarette between his lips and a nasty look on his face. My eyes went wide as I spotted his black eye andslightly swollen nose. I examined his bruises—definitely more obvious than Neil’s—and surmised that the fight must have been between the two of them.
“Glad to see you’re alive,” Neil said drily, taking in his friend’s appearance as though nothing had happened between them. I frowned and kept watching—those two had a truly incomprehensible relationship.
“You, too, apparently,” Xavier replied, looking at the purplish splotches that dotted Neil’s eyebrow and the corner of his mouth.
“Okay, let’s not start this again,” Luke intervened, looking directly at me. His forehead wrinkled, like he didn’t quite recognize me, and he stared down at me, lingering over my face.
“Selene?” he said uncertainly. I wasn’t sure how to respond or how I should greet him. Luke and I had shared one fiery kiss and a brief conversation on a bench that tragic Halloween night, which meant…
“Oh, look who came back. It’s the doll with the golden ass. Welcome back, kitten.” Xavier looked me all over in his typically sleazy fashion. Next to him, Alexia stared at me like I was some kind of leper.
“Don’t start that horny shit, you jackass!” she elbowed him, trying to break him out of the daze he’d fallen into, staring insistently at my breasts. Xavier snorted.
“If the girl is looking fuckable, I’m gonna look. I always look at hot bitches, whether you like it or not. You’re not my woman, and you don’t control me,” he answered, sounding annoyed. Alexia sighed, and sadness swept over her face, making her look down. Was it possible that everyone—me included—had noticed that this girl had feelings for Xavier, and he was still oblivious?
That wasn’t any of my business, though.
When it came to the Krew, trouble was always just around the corner.
“Is it done yet?” Neil turned his attention to Luke, jerking his chin at Xavier, who now had his eye on a nearby brunette, all curves and piercings. I shook my head as I watched him. The dude was obsessed with any living female.
“Not yet,” Luke answered with a sigh, and he caught me watching him. My gaze had lingered distractedly on the dimple in his chin. It was a detail I’d never noticed before.
Indeed, Luke had charms of his own. I couldn’t deny that…
“So you came out from Detroit to go to New Lion?” He smiled at me, and I smiled back. I had never been afraid of him. Sure, he was a member of the Krew and surely not as angelic as he looked, but I had always thought he was different from the likes of Xavier.
“I’m only here for two days and…” I didn’t have time to say more because Neil put a hand on my back and pushed me forward.
“What are you doing?” I snapped in vexation. A wall of testosterone now stood between me and Luke. There was no way to escape him so I turned my face slightly to look at him. He was so beautiful, and my anger gave way to the familiar yearning sensation between my thighs. I gasped and stiffened up when I felt his pelvis against my backside. I was wearing my long coat but I was very confident that the thing poking into the base of my spine was the huge bulge he kept in his pants.
My throat suddenly felt dry, and I had to lick my lips.
“Walk,” he ordered, shoving me again. After the small group of men ahead of us got through, it would be our turn. But that didn’t mean he needed to push me or act like some surly barbarian. I looked to Logan for assistance, but he was talking with Alyssa and not paying attention to anything else.
“What is wrong with you? Stop forcing me forward,” I grumbled irritably. I turned to look at him and was about to say something else before Neil bent down to my ear.
“If I were really forcing you, Tinkerbell, you’d be screaming for me to stop,” he whispered provocatively, making me shiver. It had been a while since I’d heard that name fall from his lips. I gulped and tried not to break, not to show what he could have easily seen in my all-too-transparent eyes. They were too sincere when it came to him.
I mustered the strength to turn around and gasp for air before following Logan and Alyssa into the club after the bouncer let us pass.
We walked down a long, black-walled corridor faintly illuminated with red lights.
