Bound to the Fallen (Prophecy #2) (7 page)

Her hand
felt back down my neck, across my shoulder and around to my chest. Tracing along the center of my abdomen, she stopped at my waistline, dipping her finger along the edge of my pants and rubbing against my skin. The warmth of her cheek pressed to my back preceded the wetness of her lips gently kissing my skin.

G
rabbing her hand, I pushed it away from me as I spun around. I gripped her shoulders securely and felt anger from her disobedience searing inside me.

My pulse quickened while I glared down at her
. “I told you not to touch me with your mouth,
didn’t I
?”

She stood there, her eyes widened, her jaw hung open, and her lips trembl
ing. “I — I just —” She was still new to this and didn’t understand the seriousness of hard rules. Especially not the seriousness of this rule in particular.

I shoved her away from me. “You don’t break those rules. Ever!” I roared. “This isn’t going to work. You’re not a good fit for me.”
Narrowing my eyes into a menacing glare, I looked at her and my voice boomed from the ceilings, “Defiant!” I shook my head as I walked from my room to the hallway. “Grab your things,” I yelled, following the hall toward the front door, scratching my hands along the wall as I walked. My nails dug into the sheetrock and I had to relax my grip, forcing myself to contain the strength I’d been banished from unleashing.

Amy’s
steps were hard and quick as she tromped down the hallway. I opened the door and waited for her. She hurried past me, stopping once she’d crossed the threshold.

Amy
pushed herself up on her toes as much as she could to bring her face close to mine. She squinted her eyes as she glared at me. “I’ll make you want me, Gavin Hunter. I’ll have you dying to fuck me again.” I could hear the quiver in her voice as she spoke. I had shattered her ego with my disinterest and ability to end things so abruptly.

“I doubt that. I don’t
want
anyone.” I shut the door and went down the hallway into my living room.

Stretching out
on my couch, I stared up at the ceiling. My eyes traced along the dark wooden support beams that ran across the vaulted room. I lay there, listening to the music that was still playing loudly. I reached over to my coffee table and grabbed the small, white remote to my surround system. Holding my hand up, I pressed the volume button and brought the level down significantly. My eyes closed, allowing the music resonating from the walls to fill my mind.

Completely alone I laid, enjoying the solitude I had created for myself, completely satisfied with the control I had over my life.

Brooke

Constance
and I went out Saturday night to listen to her brother’s band, The Flying Squirrel Nuggets, play. They were actually pretty good but they didn’t have any of their own songs, they just covered any and every grunge rock band from the 1990s and of course layered on the black eyeliner.

After the band finished their first set the bar became quite enough for me and Constance to finally talk to one another.

Propping her arm against the bar, she looked over at me. “So, what’s going on with you? I haven’t seen you give the first guy the eye.”

I glared at her. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Uh, you,” a sly grin crept across her lips, “are a slut puppy!” She threw her blonde hair behind her shoulders and reached for her beer.

“Thanks, friend.”

Constance had worked doubles the last two days, and I hadn’t had a chance to mention Gavin to her yet. I swallowed my imported Belgian lager and cleared my throat, “Well, there’s this guy at work — well, he’s better described as a man.”

“Really? Hmmm.” Constance arched one eyebrow and puckered her lips out. “So do tell. What’s his name and how’s his ass?”

“Gavin Hunter.” I grinned just hearing his name roll off my lips.

Constance sipped her beer and sat the bottle back down on the bar. She peel
ed at the label with her acrylic nails. “Sexy name,” she said.

“Yep,” I nodded. “Dr. Gavin Hunter
… neurosurgeon.”

Her eyes widened and her lips stretched across her face. “A doctor, huh? I thought they were your arch nemesis, Brooke? Is he like the Kryptonite to your Superman, or have you finally come around to the fact that you should go for the big ballers?” She paused briefly to take a breath
. “He’s not a creepy old man is he? If he’s a balding man, Brooke, I just can’t condone it.” She shook her head and her lips snarled up with repulsion. “Money bags or not, there’s an age limit.”

R
olling my eyes, I said, “No, he’s not old and balding. He’s fucking gorgeous.” I shut my eyes to better picture how incredibly delectable he was. “He literally glows. Oh God, he has this amazing wavy brown hair,” I waved my hands along my hair, “His face is — just — beautiful. Oh,
and
he’s British.” I knew that last little tidbit of information would send her over the edge.

“Oh hell! I’m gonna need to meet this one.” She squinted her eyes and lowered her shoulders slightly
. “So, how long do you think it’ll take for you to screw him?”

I giggled, “The girl at work said he doesn’t date people from work. Evidently every girl has tried to get in his pants and he’s not interested.”

“But none of those girls are you,” she smiled and enveloped the lip of her beer with her mouth, tipping the bottle back.

I took a deep breath. My thoughts wander
ed to how sexy he must be stripped down to nothing but his boxers, how a man that looked that good had no choice but to know how to please a woman. I snapped myself out of it quickly because I refused to stoop to the level of Trisha, or Nicole. As I’d told myself a million times, I was looking,
just
looking.

After
I finished my beer, I headed toward the restrooms in the back of the dark, smoke-filled bar. I reached for the brass handle and pulled the door open, revealing a group of girls standing at the sink freshening up their makeup.

“The lead singer definitely made eye contact with me.” I heard one of them say.

I just laughed to myself because the lead singer, Colton, was Constance’s brother, and a complete idiot. I was hoping the girl didn’t get her hopes up too high because she would be disappointed as soon as he opened his mouth and washed the eyeliner off.

“Brooke?” I heard a familiar voice say.

Looking over, I found Ashley, wobbling back and forth trying to keep her balance as she reached for the paper towels.

I smiled.
“Hey.”

“
Hey gurrl!” She leaned over and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m swasted. “Shhhhh… don’t tewl on me.” She drunkenly placed her index finger on my mouth and we both swayed backwards, banging against the wall.

“Okay,
” I laughed, and we exited the restroom.

Colton and the other band members
were standing by the bar with Constance and the three girls from the restroom.

“Come meet my friends
,” I said, pulling Ashley behind me.

Colton’s eyes lock
ed onto Ashley. A primal, cave man look overcame him as I trotted up with my drunken friend.

“This is Ashley
. She works with me,” I pulled her closer in. I pointed to each individual as I named off everyone in the group, “This is Constance, Adam, Colton, and Corey.”

Colton stepped
away from the bar and grabbed Ashley’s hand, leaning down to kiss it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ashley.”

“Ohhh, a little Casanova?
” Ashley giggled and staggered back. I pushed her shoulders gently to help her regain her balance.

The three girls from the restroom lingered for a few minutes, realizing that no one was paying any attention to them they finally left.
Adam handed me a glass and just as I was savoring the first sip from my watered-down drink Ashley whacked me on the back. I covered my mouth to keep from spitting my drink all over Constance.

“What?” I spun around and found Ashley wide eyed. “What?” I demanded she answer me.

Her finger trembled as she pointed across the bar. “Look!” Ashley gasped.

I followed her finger, but all I saw was a crowd of people. Ashley tugged on my shirt and then I saw what she was pointing at. It was Dan.

“Shit,” I belted out. I ducked under the bar, yanking Ashley down with me.

We crouched at the base of the bar, staring at each other in shock. The floor was wet and sticky from drinks spilling from the bar top. Constance looked down at us. She sipped on her drink and moved her eyes from side to side before directing them back down at us.

“Uhhh… what the hell are you two doing?” Constance asked.

“He’s here,” I whispered. Constance looked confused so I whispered it again. “He’s
here
!” I felt a few drops from someone’s drink fall onto my back.

“Who? Who’s here? Captain Jack Sparrow? Is there a mutiny, Cap’n?” She laughed, snorting before taking another sip of her drink. “What’d you guys take? I want some of whatever it was.” She laughed and stared at us like we’d lost our damn minds.

Grabbing the edge of the bar, I pulled myself up. I darted through the crowd to the back of the bar. Ashley and Constance followed as I flew around the stage and walked into the bathroom.

“Okay, what the hell is going on?” Constance placed her hands on her hips and stared at us both, waiting on an answer.

Ashley leaned against the stall and started giggling.

I screamed
out, “The nasty, creepy guy from my office is here. Dan, you know, the pervert?” I was internally freaking out. I felt like I was being stalked.

“What? Why?” Constance looked concerned.

“I don’t know.”

Constance thought for a moment. “I mean, people go out all the time. Maybe he’s here with friends.”

Ashley frowned. “Yeah, right. He doesn’t have any friends. I’m pretty sure his wife even refuses to be seen in public with him.”

“Shit,” I groaned. “What do we do? He’s seriously messed up. Well, we can’t go back out there, we just can’t,” I continued to freak out as I paced back and forth, frantically sucking my drink down in an effort to calm the uncomfortable tightening feeling in my chest. “I’m going to HR Monday. This is sick!”

Ashley snorted, “Yeah. And how long have you been there? A week? You’re still on that ‘let’s see if she works out’ period. I think you should wait until your probation’s up. That way they can’t just let you go without a reason.”

My jaw gapped open. I couldn’t believe this. “Seriously, Ashley? Wait for five more months?”

She pursed her lips to the side, took a swig of her drink, and shrugged.

I was really disgusted with the fact that my Dan-free weekend had just been ruined. It wasn’t long before I was taken, against my will, back up to the bar to order another drink. As I was putting my wallet back into my purse I felt my phone vibrate. Pulling my phone out, there were two new text messages. When I pressed the button to open the messages up, I
almost chunked my phone across the bar. The texts were from Dan.

“Holy shit. He’s texting me,” I said as I stood almost frozen, my eyes glued to my phone.

“Who? Dan?” Ashley snatched my phone out of my hands and read the messages.

Dan:
Hey, what you doing?

Dan:
I think I see you, are you at Madhaters? You look smoking hawt!

Ashley passed the phone to Constance.

Constance wrinkled her forehead and handed my phone back to me. “Okay, that’s weird and creepy. Do you see him?”

I looked around, but didn’t see him. “No,” I said with a sigh of relief.

Ashley glared at me. “Are you gonna respond?”

“Hell, no! I don’t want to have to talk to him!”

Constance’s eyes were frantically scanning the crowd. “Well, I’ve got to see this guy. So when you see him, you let me know where he is,” she said.

She just
didn’t
understand.

We got our drinks and made our way through the crowd to the stage to watch the next band play. I was constantly glancing over my shoulder to see if I could spot Dan, but much to my relief I didn’t see him. When the first song ended I felt someone pinch my arm.

“I see him!” Ashley yelled over the loud guitars. “Look up at the catwalk.”

Glancing up, I saw him leaned over the edge of the railing. He saw me looking at him and waved. I halfway waved back and out of pure desperation I grabbed Adam and started making out with him. When I finally pulled away Constance was staring at me, her lip curling up to her nose and her eyebrows sharply pointing down.

Adam was one of those guys we’d sworn neither of us would ever touch, no matter how drunk or desperate. We’d vowed that we’d never let the other one commit such a heinous act…
well,
that vow was made long before I knew anything of Dan Stanley.

“Well, all right…” Adam said, bringing his lips in for another kiss. I looked up hoping that Dan wasn’t watching, but he was, so I had no choice but to kiss Adam again. I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin as Adam’s slimy tongue forced its way through my tightened lips.

Constance punched me in the arm, then pinched my skin with her long, sharp nails.

“What the hell, Brooke? That is disgusting…look at him… that’s Adam!
Adam!
You just swapped saliva with Adam! You should be
ashamed
of yourself!” Constance crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at me with a look of complete disgust.

“Hey,” Adam protest
ed.

I tried
explaining myself to Constance, “Look, that creepy guy is watching me and I just want him to think I have a boyfriend, okay? Adam was the closest thing to me besides you and Ashley. I don’t think me making out with one of you would exactly turn Dan off, so…” I looked over at Adam. “Sorry.”

Adam shrugged. “Hey, if sticking your tongue down my throat can get you away from a creepy guy, well, I’m willing to make that sacrifice for you.” He leaned down to kiss my neck. I immediately grabbed his chest and twisted as hard as I could on what I thought was most likely his nipple. “Okay, okay… but you know… I’m also willing to consummate this fake relationship for a small fee.” Adam smiled. “We can just refer to it as ‘fake fucking.’ ”

“Shut up,” I said, peeking back up to the catwalk. Dan was gone.

We finished watching the band and made our way to the bar for last call.

“Brooke? Hey, Brooke.” I glanced out the corner of my eye and saw Dan pushing his way through the crowd, alone.

“Hey, I thought that was you I saw,” he said as he walked over and tried to give me a hug. Thankfully
, Adam reached over and put his arm around me.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I replied with a complete lack of enthusiasm. “Ashley’s here too,” I said, pointing at the bar where she was ordering a drink.

Adam stuck his hand out, “Hey man, I’m Adam… Brooke’s boyfriend.”

Dan didn’t shake his hand. “I’m Dan,” he said dryly. His eyes shot over to me. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend, Brooke. You’ve never mentioned
him
to me.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really discuss my personal life at work.”

Ashley sucked her red cocktail through her straw and glared at Dan as she and Colton came back over to us.

“Hey, Dan. What brings you out this time o
f night?” Ashley sneered and swirled the straw around in the plastic cup.