September: Calendar Girl Book 9 (6 page)

“Blaine, you’ve taken something very precious to me, and you want to talk about sex?”

His eyebrows rose. “I don’t want to talk about it, no. I’d rather being doing it with you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

I clenched my jaw tight. “That’s never going to happen, so get that out of your head right now. You fucked your way right off that train…literally. There is no going back, ever.” My own voice was low and held a warning.

He shook his head and pursed his lips as he twirled the wine goblet around in a circle. “Those two meant nothing to me. I was just blowing off a little steam since you hadn’t said yes to my proposal.”

“By having sex with two women?”

“Of course, Mia. A man had needs and pride. You wounded mine.” He gave the excuse as if what he had done was his right as a hot-blooded male.

“So you fucked two whores to make yourself feel like a man?”

His eyes got hard then, and his voice turned to steel. “You of all people cannot possibly be implying that I’m not a man.”

I shook my head. “Why are we even having this conversation?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” He blinked slowly and stared.

“Not to me.” I was there for one reason and one reason alone. Ginelle.

Blaine placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his palm. He was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected, whereas I was unraveling from the inside out with worry and fear.

“I want you back. In my bed. In my life. As my wife.”

Those words dropped like a nuclear bomb damaging everything in its wake. I looked around the restaurant to see if anyone else had survived the blast. It was that monumental, alas, only in the tiny little speck of a thing I called my life.

Saying I hadn’t expected this would be an understatement. I would have expected the second coming of our Lord and Savior over
this
announcement.

“Blaine,” I whispered, barely able to speak. “You can’t be serious.”

“Deadly so. And I’m willing to negotiate the terms. Here. Now.”

“This has to be a nightmare. Blaine, are you hearing yourself? You just told me you want to pick up where we left off when we broke up.”

“I know exactly what I want, and it’s you. I think I’ve made that clear. Now shush and listen to what I’m offering.”

I did listen, not because he told me to, but because I was so shocked that the additional thoughts it took to form words were not forthcoming. The man was officially certifiable. Undeniably. Absolutely. There really was no other explanation.

Before he got down to telling me what the offer was, the waiter delivered two steaming hot pizzas, one margherita and one supreme. The smell alone had me salivating. It had been a couple days since I’d had a full meal. The Rains and Maxwell had been trying to get me to eat, but food just didn’t have the appeal it once had, since Weston was probably starving to death and Pops was getting his meals through a tube. Tonight, though, I was going to eat for no other reason than to get this over with as fast as possible.

“Now, since you’ve been away, I’ve had time to reflect on our relationship and our life together,” he said.

Since I’ve been away? We broke up. I moved out of state, had been an escort for the past eight months, and lived in Los Angeles for six before that. Altogether, that was over a year apart, and he made it sound as if I’d left him last week. I’d been with other men, fallen in love. None of this made any sense.

“Blaine, I’ve been gone over a year—” I started, but he cut me off with a flick of the wrist.

“No matter the time or distance. You’re here now, and I’ve figured out that you are the woman for me.”

“Did you come to that monster conclusion before or after you fucked the twin fun-bags for the hell of it?”

“I’m trying to connect with you here, Mia,” he growled. “You would do well to mind your manners. I’m only going to make this offer once.”

“No deal. I don’t want what you’re selling.”

He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I think you might find my offer one you won’t be able refuse, if you’d just listen. All of your problems would be solved, and everything would be back as it should. With us, together, running all of this.” He opened his arms wide, as if he were holding all of Las Vegas in the palm of his hand.

Such a smug piece of work.

“No, Blaine, I had what you offered, and I walked away from it.” I stood, my chair falling to the ground with a loud bang behind me. “And I’m walking away from it now. This was a mistake. I’m calling the cops.”

“Your friend will be dead by morning,” he grated just loud enough for me to hear.

I turned around, my entire body alight with anger. The hair on my arms and neck stood on end. That tone—I’d heard that tone before when he was barking orders into his phone, arranging plans to make people pay. Hurting anyone who dared to cross him in the most vile and violent ways possible. This was the kind of man I was dealing with. Not the ex who used to hug, kiss, and love me to oblivion. That was the man I’d fallen for.
This
was his alter ego. Everyone looked at this side with cold, hard fear. It was his world. The rest of us only lived in it.

“What do I have to do for you to let her go?” My voice shook, emotion controlling me. I lifted the chair and looked around the restaurant. Most of the patrons were openly staring, watching the fireworks evolve. They probably thought we were having a lover’s quarrel. In a way, we kind of were.

“Earlier, I was feeling nostalgic, being here, looking at you across from me, knowing that it’s the view I want to see for the rest of my life.” His eyes hardened, and he squinted. “Now that you’ve embarrassed yourself, and therefore me, with your antics, I’m not feeling so generous.”

“Name your price,” I stated plainly.

“The four hundred thousand you owe me, or you, for a single night in my bed.”

B
laine’s eyes were a glassy
, bright, yellowish green. Those were the eyes I’d looked into every time he kissed me, touched me, and made love to me. The conversation we’d just had that made every facet of my being want to curl up into a fetal position and die…turned him on. God, the man loved to have power over people and things. Got off on it, too.

“So what do you say?”

I licked my lips, took a massive gulp of my wine, and let it burn like acid down my throat. Looking out over the water, I thought about my predicament. I could end it easily by just letting him fuck me. I’d done it before. He was great in bed, always had been. Giving, loving, worried about my pleasure. I could down a couple bottles of wine and let him have his wicked way with me, and all of this would be over. Done. Finito.

“If I let you have me for the night, you’ll call our debt paid, let Ginelle go, and leave my family alone? Including my father?”

Blaine’s lips twisted into a smug grin. If I thought it would make a difference, I’d punch that look off his smarmy face so everyone in the near vicinity could see how much I despised him. He took a slow drink of his wine and hummed. A shiver ran down my spine, and my belly clenched. I used to adore that sound, worked for that hum, down on my knees while worshiping his cock. Now, the gentle hum was like the warning before an explosion. The little red light that lasered in on the criminal before the SWAT team blows his head off, like in the movies.

Finally, Blaine responded. “Yes. Your father’s debt will be cleared, your friend released unscathed, and you and your family will be off our radar.” Blaine glanced down at my chest, tilted his head, and licked his lips. “I cannot wait to taste your cunt, hear you cry out when I use my teeth and tongue on that sweet button. It will be music to my ears.” He sucked in a breath through his teeth. His eyes were blazing hot. I’d have bet all the money in the world that his dick was hard as a rock as he imagined all the things he’d do to me. Only problem was I didn’t have that same response. His filthy words used to turn me on. Used to, but not now. I’d always been a woman whose panties got wet when her man talked dirty to her, and Blaine knew that better than most. It was a trigger for me. Only he was the wrong man, the wrong voice.

I shook my head as visions of Wes and me rolling around his bed, laughing, enjoying one another in a way I’d never experienced with anyone else paraded past my subconscious. Hard, fast sex up against walls until both of us lost our minds. Spending hours using our mouths, kissing every inch of each other’s skin. Sucking him off, over and over, until my mouth hurt and Wes couldn’t get hard any more. In turn, he’d go to town on me. He’d give me so many orgasms with his mouth that my body ached, the space between my thighs felt strange without his mouth locked on it, and I’d pass out. The nights in Miami where we’d made love, whispered our commitment into one another’s mouths, promised forever—all of those things were at the forefront of my thoughts. Everything came back to him, back to the man I loved. There would be no way I could violate that trust.

Even with Ginelle’s life on the line, I couldn’t betray Wes like that. There had to be another way. Blaine waited patiently, swirling his wine glass between two long fingers as if he had all the time in the world. Overconfident, smug bastard. Why had I not noticed these traits before I got in deep with him?

“Blaine, I’m going to need a little time to think about it.” I fluttered my eyelashes, giving him a bit of my flirty nature, desperately trying to sway him.

His eyebrows narrowed. “No. You decide now, tonight.” The tone brooked no argument. Even his body visibly tightened. His hand gripped the wine stem so tight I hoped the glass would break, shatter in his palm, forcing him to need stitches.

Daydreaming of his destruction didn’t help me get any closer to figuring out how to get out of what he wanted yet still save my best friend.

“What if I added a little something to my request?” I played with my hair, twirling a lock around a finger. “An incentive for you, to give me a little time to think?”

He tilted his head and his gaze focused on mine. “And what would that incentive be, pretty Mia?”

“A kiss.” I decided on a whim.

One thing Blaine loved, told me a million times over when we together, was kissing me. Once, he went so far as to say he could survive on my kisses alone, bread and water be damned. That was the only ace I had to play. The rest of my cards were a fat bluff. And if I kissed him and made it believable enough, I think he’d enjoy the challenge. Blaine appreciated a good chase and liked to build up the anticipation of getting what he wanted.

“Hmmm, you play a hard bargain, my pretty Mia. What are your terms?”

“Two weeks, and you let Ginelle go, tonight, now, immediately.”

He scowled, and his hand turned into a fist. “And how do I know you wouldn’t just up and disappear, leave me hanging?”

I chuckled. “You’d find me.”

His eyes lit like the ball dropping in Times Square in New York City signaling a brand new year.

“Besides. It’s not like I could check Pops out of the hospital and hide Maddy and everyone else I loved. You forget, Blaine. I know exactly how you operate, and there is nowhere far enough away to escape your grasp. Am I wrong?”

He leaned back and rubbed at his chin before wiping his bottom lip with his thumb—a gesture that used to soak my panties instantly. Now I was dry as the Sahara desert. His charm, good looks, and sexy gestures did nothing for me anymore. A laid-back movie-making surfer who made horribly bad decisions to tread on unguarded land in a third world country did it for me these days and every day. The thought of Wes tore at my heart, but I breathed in and out slowly, cooling my jets so I didn’t break down. Having a meeting with the devil did not allow for cracks in my armor. I could cry when I got back, but I knew better than anyone never to let your enemy see you weak. They strike when your soft spots are exposed. I’d never give him that opportunity again.

“No, you’re not. And one week.”

Excitement and relief poured through my veins. He was caving. All for a single kiss. I wanted to jump in the air and do a touchdown dance, but I settled for a mental fist pump. “Fine.”

Blaine took his cell phone out of his pocket, and I held my breath. He pressed a few buttons and lifted it to his ear. “The girl. Take her home. Set her free.” After a few beats, he listened. “No, you cannot have her. Do not touch her in any way. I find out she’s been damaged, it will be your life on the line. Have her home within the hour.” He smashed a button on his phone and tucked it into his breast pocket. “It’s done. Your friend will be home soon.”

I nodded and sucked down the remainder of my wine. Thank God. Ginelle would be safe. For now.

“I shall enjoy my kiss tonight when I drop you off. Then you will have one week to come to me. In the meantime, your friend will be let go and we will enjoy the rest of our dinner. Eat up. You’re going to need your strength for decision making this week.”

W
hen we arrived
at the hotel, Blaine walked me up to the room. “Give me the key.” He put his hand out and palm up.

I shook my head. “Maddy’s in there with her fiancé.”

“Don’t you have your own room?” He stepped closer to me, and I took two steps back until I was plastered up against the wall. Not a good position to be in. I wanted to be in control. Otherwise, he could take it further than I could stomach.

“You’re not coming in. Remember our deal—a single kiss.”

He pressed close, his hands going to the wall beside my head, caging me in. His eyes had darkened, turning a golden shade of green and yellow. I used to love watching his eye color change, especially when he was turned on. Now, I felt dead inside.

“Oh, pretty, pretty Mia, I always remember the details of every negotiation.” His head got close, and I could feel his breath against my face.

I closed my eyes and thought about Wes, about how I was doing this for Ginelle, for my dad, my sister, and to give me time—the one thing that had not been in my favor since I started on this journey nine months ago.

Blaine’s lips were warm and moist as they touched mine briefly.

Wes. Forgive me.

With slow movements, I lifted my hands to Blaine’s waist and stroked up his hard chest. He groaned and nipped at my bottom lip. I returned the gesture by nipping his top and tugging it into the wet heat of my mouth. We always used to play first before getting to the good part. Blaine pushed into me, his cock long and thick against my hip, digging in. One of his hands moved down to my breast, and he squeezed. I opened my mouth to object when he delved in. His tongue wasn’t tentative. No, this was the kiss of a lover who knew when to give and when to take. A familiar dance partner. He moved his hand down to my waist, circled around my bum, and pulled my lower half into his, grinding against me. I couldn’t help it. I moaned. It had been over a month since I’d had any kind of sexual relief, and even though I hated every second, his movements and the way he touched me were powering through my brain into the pleasure center where Wes lived.

Suddenly, I wasn’t kissing Blaine. I was devouring Wes. I lifted my hands to cup his smooth cheeks, and I licked into my man’s mouth. Tasting, teasing, enjoying the lush, drugging swipes of his tongue against mine. My imagination supplied Weston’s scent, the ocean and man mingling together into a chaos of need and want. I thrust my hips and dipped my tongue, sliding along the surface of his body as if I were a snake coiling around its prey. Wes.

“God, I missed you, baby,” I said into his mouth.

He moaned, and ribbons of heat filled my body, setting me aflame. His hands were everywhere, sliding under my dress, gripping my ass. He moved his hips, that hardness pressing perfectly against my O-trigger. I gasped and hiked a leg higher, digging my stiletto into the meaty part of his thigh, forcing him closer.

My eyes were shut tight as I dry humped my man. Missing his touch, his body.

“Mia, you’re going to make me come. Let me inside so I can fuck you properly, or I’ll rip your panties off right here.”

That voice. That was not…“Wes?” I said, opening my eyes and blinking away the lusty haze.

Blaine moved his head from the trailing kisses he was leaving down my neck. Sweat hit my body in a full-blown panic, moisture beading at my hairline as I took gasping breaths.

“Who the fuck is Wes?”

Oh. My. God.
I had just rubbed my lady bits all over Blaine against the wall while imagining my boyfriend. My stomach churned while the insides rumbled, getting ready to blow.

The door next to where we stood opened. Max took in our delicate position, and his nostrils flared. Shock at seeing him there in that moment had to have shown on my face as one of panic.

“Get away from her!” Max roared and pressed one meaty palm to Blaine’s chest and pushed. Blaine went flying into the wall opposite me.

Shit. Shit. Shit.
I swallowed down the vile response my body had when I realized I was about to fuck Blaine again while daydreaming he was Wes. Jesus, I would have ruined everything. Wes would never have forgiven me. Once more, that soulless pit I called a stomach started to whirl like a cyclone in the ocean.

“Are you Wes?” Blaine sneered.

Max’s head snapped back. “Who’s this joker?” His hard gaze hit mine.

“Um, my ex, uh, Blaine Pintero.”

Blaine adjusted his suit jacket, flapping it and then buttoning one button at the center. “Mia and I have a history.”

“I’ll say. You’re about to be history.” Max rushed him, had a hand around his neck in a second flat. For a linebacker of a man, he sure could move fast. “You the cocksucker who’s been threatening her?”

“Threatening? Is that what we were doing, Mia? I seem to remember you enjoying our little tête-à-tête a moment ago. She was about to go off like a firecracker on the Fourth of July, had you waited another minute.”

Oh, sweet mother of all things holy. “Blaine, no!” I tried to get the words out but I missed the mark, by a lot.

Before I could stop Max or say anything to protect Blaine, Max’s tree-trunk-sized arm flung back and his fist connected with Blaine’s jaw. “Listen to me, you little piece of shit. That’s my sister you’re talking about.”

Max shook Blaine against the wall. His head and body lolled momentarily, but eventually, he blinked a few times before coming back to the present. This was going to be so bad for me. Fuck!

“You have a brother?” His eyes opened wide and he glanced at me.

“Uh, yeah. Max, let him go.”

Max ignored me completely. “If I ever see you touch my sister again, I will hunt you down and skin you alive with a blunt knife!” He raked him up against the wall. Blaine’s head smacked the surface a few times, making a dull thud noise.

“Fuck, man! Let me go, you side show freak!” Blaine roared, his teeth tinged pink with blood. I could already see the side of his face swelling. Honestly, I didn’t feel that bad about it, especially knowing what he’d done to Ginelle and Pops.

“Max, really, I’m okay. Blaine and I came to an understanding tonight. I’m fine.”

“He gonna leave you alone?”

Blaine huffed and straightened once more as I led Max away from my ex and positioned him in front of our hotel room door. “Uh, you could say that.”

“I did say that, sugar. What I want to hear is this yo-yo say it.” He growled and his jaw went tight. I held onto his bicep and pushed, trying to get him to go back into the room but I couldn’t move him physically. If he didn’t want to move, it would likely take a Mack truck to make it happen.

Blaine pulled out a handkerchief and wiped at the blood around his mouth. “No worries, big guy. Mia and I have come to an agreement, if you will. Mia, I’ll leave you with your, uh, brother.” He looked Max up and down with disgust. “Remember, one week.” Then he turned and pushed the elevator button. The doors opened instantly, and in two more seconds, he was gone.

I sighed and fell against the doorjamb.

Max ruffled a hand through his hair. “What the hell was that? You were all over the bozo. What about Weston?”