The Scars of Us (5 page)

Work on a Friday always dragged on and on, especially with a hangover. After Kaiya had left the bar last night, I had gotten wasted with the blonde before we’d gone back to her apartment. I was now paying for it at work.

I’d known better than to get hammered when I had to work the next day, but the whole encounter with Kaiya had fucked with my thoughts. My draw to her perplexed me, and I wanted to know why I thought of her so often.

Forget about her, already.

That would be difficult if I was going to be seeing her at the gym. Kamden frequently worked out, and I assumed that Kaiya would be coming with him, based on her physique. I could tell that she exercised regularly.

Her body is almost flawless. That ass, those tits… fuck, stop it!

I attempted to focus on work, but it was almost impossible with my pounding head. I only had a few personal training sessions scheduled, but I had several group classes for the day, which were going to be hell to get through since I felt like shit.

Later that day, I received a text from one of my friends, Drew:

Drew: Club tonight you in?

Fuck, I had to work tomorrow, but I wanted to get my mind off Kaiya. Maybe the club would be better than the bar had been—lots of women, loud music, and plenty of distractions.

Me: Yeah what time bro?

Drew: My place @ 11

As I knew it would, the day took forever to end. When I’d finally made it to Drew’s apartment, I had almost forgotten about Kaiya—almost. She had continued to linger in my mind, but after a few drinks and a woman beneath me, thoughts of her would be gone.

It was midnight when we entered the club. Drew, and two of our other friends, Dane and Logan, headed straight for the bar, and we ordered our first round of drinks.

“Are you stalking me?” a familiar voice giggled.

I turned towards the sound, unbelieving that I’d run into her two nights in a row.

Kaiya stood about five feet away from me. She had on a dark, denim skirt that barely grazed her thighs, and a black, one shoulder shirt that hugged her body like a second skin. Her flushed cheeks and flirtatious smile told me that she probably had a nice buzz going already.

Can I get a fucking break?

“Is this the guy you were talking about, Ky?” a pretty redhead slurred as she bumped into Kaiya, causing her to stumble into me.

Her hands gripped my biceps as mine instinctively grabbed her waist to steady her. Her tits grazed my chest as she struggled to maintain her balance, and I pulled her against me to keep her from falling. “Falling for me again? Do you do this often? Twice this has happened since I met you,” I teased.
Damn, she smells good.

Looking up at me with those entrancing eyes, she smiled shyly, her cheeks flushing more.

She pulled away as she replied, “We’re both a little drunk. This is my friend, Nori. Nori, this is Ryker.”

“He
is
the guy you were talking about,” Nori squealed loudly.

“Nori!” Kaiya responded with a combination of annoyance and embarrassment as she smacked her friend on the arm. Turning back to face me she apologized, “Don’t mind her—she’s drunker than I thought.”

I smirked as I crossed my arms over my chest, “So, I’m not the guy you were talking about?”

“No! Yes… I mean… no.” she stammered, her face reddening more.

I chuckled, pleased that I affected her like she had been affecting me. “Where’s your boyfriend?” I asked as I moved closer to her, uncrossing my arms.

“I told you he’s not my boyfriend,” she answered in a slightly exasperated tone as she rolled her eyes.

“He looked like your boyfriend last night.”

“Well, he’s not. But even if he was, it wouldn’t be any of your business.” She put one hand on her hip and jutted it out to the side.

“You’re right. I’m sorry for prying,” I apologized as I took another step toward her. “Can I buy you a drink to make it up to you?”

A smile fought its way onto her lips. “You bought me a drink last night.”

I laughed, “I can’t buy you another one?”

“I really shouldn’t. One of us has to drive home, and Nori’s pretty drunk already.” she replied as she bit her bottom lip, drawing my attention to it.
Damn, I want to suck that in my mouth, taste her at least once.

The guys chose that very moment to walk up. Drew interrupted, “Getting started without us?” He checked out Kaiya and Nori. “Who are your new friends?”

“Guys, this is Kaiya and Nori. Kaiya, Nori, these are my friends, Drew, Dane, and Logan.”

“Nori. That’s a unique name—I like it,” Drew commented.
Did I sound that lame when I said it to Kaiya yesterday?

Nori coyly smiled, giving Drew a flirtatious look.
Well, I guess it works.

Drew continued, “Can I buy you a drink, Nori?”

Nori giggled in response, “Sure.”

Drew sidled up next to Nori before waving down the bartender and ordering their drinks. Dane and Logan had ventured further down the bar, where they talked to two brunettes.

I turned my attention back to Kaiya. “So, can I buy you that drink?”

She looked conflicted, internally debating her options before smiling up at me. “Just one more—Cranberry Vodka, please.”

Turning around, I waited for the attention of the bartender. Nori giggled as Drew led her away toward a couch in a dimly lit corner of the club.

Kaiya shook her head and laughed as she watched them. “Maybe I don’t have to worry about giving her a ride home.”

The bartender came over, and I ordered our drinks, “Cranberry Vodka and a Jack and Coke.”

As we waited, I snuck a glance at Kaiya, unable to keep my eyes off her. She darted her gaze away when our eyes met before fidgeting nervously, twirling a strand of her long, brown hair around her finger. Her eyes found mine again, and I could practically feel the connection buzzing between us.

Once we got our drinks, I grabbed Kaiya’s hand before leading her through the crowd of people to where Nori and Drew were tangled on the couch making out.

“Oh my God, Nori!” Kaiya laughed.

Either they didn’t hear or didn’t care, because they continued to devour each other as we sat on the opposite end of the couch.

“I can’t believe her,” Kaiya remarked before taking a sip of her drink.

“Looks like fun—maybe we should try it,” I suggested as I cocked an eyebrow..

Kaiya playfully glared at me while still sipping her drink, which was already halfway empty. “I’m not that drunk.”

Teasing her, I called out, “Waitress! I need more drinks over here!”

Laughing, she smacked me on the bicep, “Stop it. I already told you only one more drink—I need to drive home.”

“You could come home with me,” I seductively suggested.

Desire filled her eyes, but she resisted, looking away as she shifted in her seat. “In your dreams.”

“They won’t be dreams for long. I’ll have you soon,” I promised.

“Oh, really? Good luck with that,” she replied sarcastically with a clipped laugh.

I placed my drink on the small table in front of us before leaning toward Kaiya and asking, “Is that a challenge?”

Flirtatiously smiling at me, she replied, “Maybe.”

Inching closer to her, my leg brushed against hers as I draped my arm on the back of the couch behind her head. She stiffened, but didn’t pull away.

I dipped my head next to hers as I gruffly whispered in her ear, “Challenge accepted.”

Pulling away slowly, I trailed my lips along her jawline as my hand lifted to brush a strand of hair out of her face. Ever so slightly, she turned her head when I neared closer to her mouth, barely grazing my lips with hers.

The slight touch broke her resistance—she crushed her lips against mine as she pressed her body closer to me, even though we were already almost on top of each other. My hands brushed her bare thighs as I moved her to straddle my lap, draping her legs over mine. Slipping past her lips, my tongue sought permission to thread with hers, which she eagerly gave.

Her taste was borderline addictive. I couldn’t get enough as I savored the hot sweetness of her mouth. Her hands roughly ran through my hair as we relentlessly consumed one another.

My hands gripped her ass, pulling her against my growing hard-on. She moaned before abruptly breaking the kiss, hopping off my lap like it had caught fire.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” she gasped, her lips swollen and face flushed.

Before I could even reply, she turned and ran into the crowd.

What the fuck are you thinking, Kaiya?
I mentally scolded myself as I left the club.
You can’t get involved with him!

Replaying the events in my head, I wondered what the hell just happened.

Did that really just happen? Did he really just kiss me? He tasted so good, and that tongue ring—oh my God.

When I got in my car, I immediately locked the doors.. I doubted that Ryker would follow me, but it was almost one in the morning in downtown Boston, and a girl could never be too safe. I sent a text to Nori:

Me: Sorry had to leave I’m in the car do you want me to wait for you?

Sighing, I leaned my forehead against the steering wheel, inhaling deeply and exhaling as I waited for her reply. About five minutes had passed before my phone dinged with her response:

Nori: No I’m good r u ok?

Me: Yeah

I knew I’d hear from her about it tomorrow, but I just wanted to go home and sleep. I wanted to forget about how foolish I had acted.
Damn alcohol.
I was definitely not looking forward to seeing Ryker at the gym tomorrow.

“Kaleb, please stop,” I begged as tears ran down the sides of my face.

He didn’t respond as he continued to run his hands all over my naked body, covering me with his own larger one. I knew he wouldn’t stop. No matter how much I begged, he never did.

He began to remove his clothes, still keeping me pinned with his legs, causing me to sob harder.

“Please, Kaleb, no!”

His eyes already looked detached, like he was no longer there, no longer in control.

I started to squirm and fight beneath him. My fear reached a desperate peak, strangling the air from my lungs and knotting my insides from what I knew was about to happen.

His hand reared back before he swiftly brought it across my face with a biting slap. My cheek stung, but I didn’t stop fighting. I couldn’t stop, couldn’t let things progress any further if I wanted to maintain some semblance of my sanity. I thrashed and kicked beneath him before he pulled out a knife.

I froze as he held it to my neck, daring me to keep fighting him. “Are you going to behave?” he snarled in anger.

I never understood what I’d done to make him so angry with me.

“Yes,” I whimpered, afraid to move too much and trigger him.

“That’s my girl,” he said lovingly, showing a sliver of his normal self before shifting to the hard, evil person I had encountered so often. His personalities changed like the flip of a switch.

His brows furrowed, his muscles tensed, and his eyes went cold again as he hungrily eyed my naked flesh.

He kept the knife pressed against my throat as his free hand traced the curves of my breasts. I trembled from a combination of disgust and pleasure, my body betraying me as it gave in to the sensations from his soft touch.

My cries became louder as he removed the knife, biting down on the handle as he put it between his teeth, His hands trailed over my stomach and chest again before he reached for the hem of his faded, black tee. “Please, Kaleb, don’t,” I begged, hoping he would stop, even though I knew he wouldn’t.

“You made me do this,” he mumbled around the knife in his mouth. “By giving away what’s mine.”

Gripping the bottom of his shirt, he began to pull it upwards. When it came up to cover his face, I used the distraction to get away, pushing him off me before kicking and scrambling out from under him.