How to Fall in Love (48 page)

“Yeah, you might wanna slow down,” I say, feeling my heart kick up a notch.

“Don’t be such a girl.” He laughs. “I won’t crash.”

“You’ve had a couple of drinks. I’d really rather you slow down.”

He ignores me, speeding up even more. He’s laughing, like he’s getting great satisfaction out of the fact that this is scaring the absolute shit out of me. He could crash, or we could hit someone. Speeding like this is not cool, not cool at all. My heart is pounding and fear quickly wipes out any lust I felt towards Xander.

“Slow down or let me out,” I yell.

He turns to me, taking his eyes off the road. My stomach lurches. Fuck sleeping with him; I just want to get out of this car alive.

“Let your hair down a bit. You might find you enjoy it.”

“I said, slow the fucking car down!” I scream.

He skids around a corner, causing me to end up plastered against the door. I feel ill as I hear his laughter. “Just chill out, it’s fun.”

It’s not fucking fun.

“Stop the fucking car!”

He slams to a stop outside a massive penthouse. My heart is pounding and my hands are shaking. I turn to him, my expression wild. “What the hell is wrong with you? You could have had an accident.”

He puts his hands up. “It was a bit of fun, Tia. Shit. Don’t get all emotional about it.”

“Fun?” I screech. “Are you serious?”

He leans over, putting his hand on my thigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would scare you.”

He rubs his hand up until it tucks under my dress. He can’t be fucking serious. His other hand slides up to my straps and he tugs one down. What the hell is wrong with him? He just scared the living hell out of me and now he’s trying to hit on me? No wonder Reign warned me about him, his sweet act is just that...an act.

“Get your hands off me.”

“For fuck’s sake,” he mutters. “What’s your problem? It was just some fun.”

I pull back so hard my dress tears. Shit. I loved this dress. I spin angrily, jumping out of the car. “Eat shit, you bastard.”

He glares at me. “You know what? You’re not even worth the effort. You’re just a fuckin’ cock tease.”

“You could have killed us!” I screech. “Then you tried to fuck me? Are you joking?”

“You’re the one who wanted to leave,” he barks. “You’re the one playing fuckin’ games. I wasn’t goin’ that fast, stop bein’ such a fuckin’ stiff.”

“Yes, you were!”

He growls. “You better be careful, one day you’ll piss off the wrong man.”

“What the hell is that supposed to me?”

“You’re all fuckin’ talk, that’s what it means. You’re a waste of time. All sass and no spirit. Get out of my driveway.”

He starts the car and pulls into the driveway, causing me to jump back. I realize my purse is still in the car. Frustrated, and still shaken up, I charge towards the vehicle.

“Give me my purse!”

He ignores me, reversing into the garage.

“You douchebag,” I scream. “Give me my fucking purse. I need to get home.”

He closes the garage just as I start charging for it. The door is down too low by the time I get to it. I slap my hands against it, hauling curses at his sorry ass. He doesn’t open it. I rush to his front door, pounding and pounding. He doesn’t answer it. Bastard. Fucking bastard.

I spin around and hurry towards the street, tears burning in my eyes. It’s not because I’m hurt; they’re more tears of frustration. My dress is torn and I have no money or phone.

Defeated, I walk until I find a main road and flag down a cab. There’s only one person I know will take the bill for me, and he’s the person I need to see most right now.

The entire ride in the cab is quiet; I fight to hold back my emotions. The man was crazy, speeding the way he did and then speaking to me like that. I don’t cry a lot, but when I’m treated like that it upsets me. We arrive at Reign’s house and I climb out, telling the cab driver I’ll get him some cash. I walk up, still shaking, to Reign’s door.

Then I knock.

I have to knock eight times before he answers. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of grey sweats, and he’s panting. His eyes scan over me and become immediately concerned.

“Tia?”

“I . . .” I begin, but am cut off when I see the gorgeous Slutena behind him, wearing one hell of a gorgeous dress. She’s leaning against his countertop, smirking at me. Her hair is all lose and sexy. Dammit.

“I . . . shit,” I say. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know . . . I just . . . I have no money and I can’t pay the cab, and . . .”

“Something happened,” he says, and it’s not a question.

“I’m sorry, you’re busy. I’ll go.”

I turn and rush down the drive, horrified that I interrupted him clearly about to have a good time. Tears finally break free from where they’ve been welling in my eyes and trickle down my cheeks as I run towards the cab. I’ll make the driver take me back to the club. Autumn will help.

“Wait!”

I turn to see Reign running down the drive with a fifty in cash. He stops beside me and leans in, handing it to the driver. “Keep the change.”

“Wait, take me home, please,” I say, opening the door and slipping in.

Reign’s hand lashes out and stops it closing. “Get out of the car, Tia. Something happened, and you’re going to tell me what it is.”

“I’m not going into your house while . . .
shit
. . . I just need to go home.”

His eyes harden. “No, you’re coming inside.”

I turn to him, and I know he can tell I’ve been crying. “Just let me go, Reign.”

He takes a step back, shocked to see me crying.

“Shit, Tia, what happened?”

I close the door and lock it, but I wind the window down as the cab driver readies to pull out. “Xander happened.”

Then we disappear off down the road.

~*~*~*~

I
t takes me more than two hours to get to sleep that night, mostly because I feel like a tool. I just threw myself at Xander without even considering that he might be an absolute asshole. It’s my own fault for acting like a bitch on heat. I didn’t even hesitate. There’s no one to blame but myself.

I finally drop off just after midnight, falling into a restless sleep. I’m woken when the bed dips beside me, and I feel a warm head against my cheek. I know it’s Reign. Part of me knew he’d come to me tonight. He’s good like that. He slides into the bed and I roll, facing him. I can smell her on him, and it makes me want to recoil and gag.

“He hurt you,” he says into the darkness.

“Get out of my bed, Reign. You smell like her and I don’t like it.”

“Never bothered you before,” he murmurs.

“Well it bothers me tonight,” I snap.

I close my eyes, struggling for calm.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

I roll my eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me.”

I scoff. “How would you know I rolled my eyes? It’s dark.”

He snorts. “I know you. Now, tell me what he did.”

“Nothing.”

“Fuck it, Tia. You were crying. I’ve known you more than six months and you’ve never cried. Not once. Not even when your beloved hamster died.”

“She was a good hamster.”

A grunt from Reign. “What did he do?”

“Nothing. We went out and I left with him . . .”

“You fucked him?” he grinds out.

“No,” I breathe. “It didn’t get that far.”

“Why?” His voice is clipped.

“Because he’s an asshole!”

“What happened?”

I take in a deep breath and exhale slowly and loudly. “He got . . . out of control.”

“How?” he grinds out.

“He just scared me. It was stupid, really. He was driving and he was going really fast, Reign. I mean, fucking dangerously fast. I asked him to stop and he wouldn’t; he laughed at me. We got to his house and he tried to . . .”

“What?” he hisses.

“Reign.”

“What did he try to do?” he barks.

“Well, he put his hand on my leg and up my thigh. He was trying to lower my dress when I pulled back to stop him. Then I got out of his car because I was angry. He called me a cock tease, and told me that I’d get what was coming one day, then he left me there. He took my phone and purse and just left me there.”

“Fucker! I knew he was a dodgy cunt.”

Whoa.

He launches himself out of my bed and I hear him storming out of the room.

“Reign!” I yell, scurrying out and hopping into a pair of pants as I rush after him.

I catch him at the front door. “Please, don’t. He didn’t do anything bad, he just scared me,” I plead.

He turns to me, his eyes wild. “You came to my house tonight with your dress ripped, your hair a mess and tears in your eyes. I’ve never seen you cry, not for anything. You were scared, and he did that to you. Don’t tell me not to go, because for a girl like you to cry then it means he fucked up. He won’t do it again.”

Then he steps out and I’m left standing there, speechless.

How can I argue with that?

CHAPTER EIGHT

Reign got my purse back for me, and then he proceeded to fire Xander and provide him with a killer black-eye. I can’t blame him for that. Xander acted like a tosser, and the more I think about it, the more I realize that anything could have happened when he left me on the street alone. I’m thankful to have someone like Reign in my life during these times.

Since then, sex is off my mind for a while and I’m back to concentrating on Slutena. I really hate helping Reign with that bitch, but it’s what he wants and it’s what he pays me for. He claims he didn’t sleep with her the night I went to his house, but I wonder if he’s withholding information from me. Not that I understand why. Probably because he’s moving too fast and he knows it. The woman cheated on him for Christ’s sake. I don’t know how he can just get over that.

Slutena has entranced him with her perfect damned pussy.

Apparently she’s out of town for a week, so I’m back to being the best wingwoman a man could ever ask for. Reign wants to get laid and he’s called on me to help. He’s clearly struggling with things, because I can sense an inner need to get her back, even if he won’t admit it. It makes no sense to me that he can still fuck when he’s apparently in love with Slutena
.

Tonight we’re at a quiet bar. There are a group of pretty, drunk women enjoying a hen’s night. We’ve been drinking for about an hour, and I’ve been keeping an eye on the girls, figuring the busty blonde in the corner will work.

“I’m going with the blonde,” I tell Reign.

He looks over, letting his eyes rake over her tight, black dress. “She’ll do.”

“Don’t be so picky, Fabio.”

He gives me a hard stare. “I’m not being picky, but I’m certainly not fucking just anything because it’s easier, either.”

I gape. “You’re awful. What if one day you turn into a three-hundred-pound gorilla? How would you feel if no one wanted to fuck you, asshole?”

He snorts. “Then I’ll cut my own balls off and strip myself of my manhood.”

“So dramatic,” I sing, turning my attention back to the girls.

“How are you going to play this one?” he asks, leaning in close. I can feel his chest pressing against my back.

“Easy. I’m using the old ‘I cheated on you’ trick.”

“Ahhh,” he says, his voice admiring.

“You ready to get your dick wet?” I say, turning back to him, only to find his eyes on my dress.

“You goin’ home after this?”

“Why? Scared I might pick up myself?”

His eyes slide back up to mine. “Perhaps.”

“Jealous, Reign?”

His eyebrows shoot up. “Jealous? Who is it that’s getting fucked tonight, babe?”

“Eat a dick.”

He chuckles. “I’m ready. Call me in the morning, I’m taking you to lunch.”

“Ugh, why?”

“Business lunch. It’s important.”

“Can’t you go alone? Business lunches bore me.”

“No, I can’t go alone. I need the press to believe I’ve got a girlfriend.”

“Correction,” I say. “You need Slutena to believe you have a girlfriend.”

“What’d you call her?”

Uh-oh.

I swallow and look away. “Ahhh . . .”

His voice comes out clipped and hard. “She’s not a slut, Tiani.”

“Listen here, buddy,” I say, giving him a hard stare. “Just because you’re all obsessed with her doesn’t mean I have to like her.”

“You don’t even know her,” he points out, giving me an angry, over protective look.

“She cheated on you, she’s using you, and you’re smitten like a silly schoolboy. I know enough.”

“People make mistakes,” he grunts. “I’m sure you’re not perfect.”

I huff. “That’s what desperate people say.”

“If you’ve got a fuckin’ problem with her, why are you still here?” he growls.

“Don’t growl at me,” I say, shoving a finger into his chest. “I’m here because it’s my job. Now, I’m going to pick up for you so you can fuck out your sorrows with some random pussy while I go home and spend the night with my B.O.B.”

He shakes his head, and gives a deep, exasperated sigh. “Sometimes I don’t know what to do with you, Tia. There will come a time your little act drops and I see the real emotion behind your funny persona.”

I spin around, putting my back to him. “Whatever you say.”

I swallow the rest of my drink and then turn back to Reign, my act ready. “It just happened,” I say loudly. “He was there and he just . . . it just . . .”

“He was my best friend!” he barks, slamming his glass down.

“I know that,” I cry. “It wasn’t meant to happen. I can’t help the feelings that grew . . .”

“I loved you,” he roars.

The girls have all stopped turning and are watching us closely.
Every time
. Nosy cows.

“I know,” I scream. “But I love him.”

I hear one of them gasp.
Sucker.

“What did I ever do to you?” he barks, his eyes meeting mine and I could swear there is real emotion there.

I shrug. “Nothing. You just weren’t good enough.”

I take my purse and turn, walking away. I look back over my shoulder at him sympathetically. “Sorry.”

As I get to the door, I hear the girls talking. “What a fucking bitch. Poor man. Go and see if he’s okay.”