Bound to the Fallen (Prophecy #2) (8 page)

“Well, this is how I unwind after a long stressful week. You know, I play the guitar… I appreciate music and like to come see some live gigs every now and then.” Dan ran his hand through his thinning hair and glanced over at Constance. “This is the girl from the picture in your office, right?”

“Yeah, that’s Constance. Constance, this is Dan.”

Constance held onto her drink with both hands. “Nice to meet you. I’d offer to shake your hand, but I have a disorder that makes my hands really sweaty…so I don’t shake people’s hands…”

We all stood in silence, staring at Dan. Adam tried to look as badass as possible and rubbed my shoulder with his hand.

Dan glanced over at Ashley and then back to me. “I didn’t realize the two of you were friends. Or did you just happen to run into Ashley here?”

“We’re friends,” Ashley said through a clenched jaw. “We’ve got to go, so I guess we’ll see you on Monday. Dan — always a pleasure.”

“Oh, okay. Well, it was nice to meet you, Constance. I’ve got to be getting to the hizzy anyways.” Dan turned and walked off.

Adam loosened his grip on me and groaned, “What a dipshit! I seriously wanted to punch him in the face when he said ‘hizzy.’”

“Uh, yeah, that’s what we put up with Monday through Friday,” Ashley said as she lit a cigarette and perched herself on Colton’s lap.

     About an hour after my horrid encounter with Dan the bar was closing down. Our group meandered through the drunken stragglers still hanging around the bar and walked out to hail a cab. When I saw a cab slowing down at the curb, I looked around for Ashley. She and Colton were lip locked up against the brick facing of the building. Punching Constance in the shoulder, I pointed back at the two of them.

She immediately covered her eyes with her hand and gagged. “Fuck! I don’t need to see that! I should twist your tittie for that!”

Rolling my eyes at Constance, I opened the door to the cab and yelled out, “Ashley, you want to ride with us?”

Colton motioned at us to leave, so I shut the door
, trapping myself in the musty cab. The smell turned my vodka-filled stomach and I cracked the window in an effort to keep from throwing up.

Thirty minutes later we
pulled up to my apartment complex. I looked over and Constance was passed out on Adam. Reaching over, I shook her. “Hey, wake up. Constance, get up.”

She didn’t budge.

Adam picked Constance’s arm up and released it; it fell down like a lead weight. “Man, she’s out. Y’all were slammin’ those shots back like there was no tomorrow — I bet she pukes tonight.”

I
narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Do you think you could help me get her in my apartment or somethin’? Damn.”

He groaned and
slid across the seat. “I guess, but I’m stayin’ here.”

“Fine,” I
huffed and rolled my eyes.

Adam got out, flung her small frame over his shoulder
, and carried her up the three flights of stairs while her drool oozed down the back of his t-shirt.

I unlocked the door and
leaned into it. The door swung open and I teetered in the entrance way. “Well, I guess take her back to my bed,” I said and pointed to my bedroom.

Adam hurled her onto my bed
, the springs squeaking as her body hit it. Constance moaned and threw her hand over her face.

G
rabbing a blanket from the foot of my bed, I tossed it onto my couch. “I don’t have an extra pillow, just use one of the throw pillows.” I looked at him and added, “Wash the eyeliner off first though.”

Adam flopped down on my couch and
yanked the blanket over himself. He hung his head off the arm of my couch and looked at me. “Don’t worry, it’s waterproof. Shouldn’t smudge all over your precious pillow.”

“Whatever,” I mumbled a
nd staggered back to my bedroom to climb into the bed next to Constance. She reeked of alcohol and the smell exuding from her made me feel like I might throw up.

When I woke
the next morning I went into the restroom and found Constance asleep by the toilet, and from the looks of it she’d had a pretty rough night. My head pounded severely as I leaned down to try and wake her up.

“C
onstance, get up!” I shook her, “Constance — get up… I’ve got to pee.” Still no movement other than a few lip smacks. “Whore? Move!” I yelled as I pushed at her with my foot.

Her eyes popped open momentarily
before lazily falling shut again. I figured I wouldn’t be able to get her up, and the way she was curled around the toilet I couldn’t really sit on it, so I climbed in the shower to pee. Turning on the hot water, I slumped down into the floor of my tub, trying to will the hangover away while I thought about Gavin. I was daydreaming about how he would come into the office Monday and rescue me from Dan again. I kept replaying him saying, “It wasn’t a request. It was an order.” That dominant, alpha male thing really got me.

Five minutes into my shower
, and right at the part of my daydream when Gavin was slamming me up against the copier in a passionate embrace, I heard retching. Constance had woken up and was throwing up again.

What a great Sunday
. I had a horrible hangover, most likely eyeliner all over the throw pillow Adam had slept on, and now my beautiful daydream about the sexy Gavin Hunter had been ruined by the sound of my friend dry heaving in my toilet.

Gavin

Turning, I smiled at her before leaving the conference room.

I found the nervous hitch in her voice enticing; the slight blush that rushed across her face as she watched me was quite sexy. Although I knew I shouldn’t, I wanted to do such dirty things to that woman. Her full lips closed to form the sultriest pout, and her bright blue eyes struck something deep inside that reminded me of the first time I’d ever seen a woman. As I thought about Brooke my mind wandered back to the Garden. Brooke’s eyes were the same piercing blue of the first woman I’d ever touched.

Closing my eyes, I remembered the wanton inflection in that woman’s voice as she said, “Safe from you?”

It’s as though she knew my intentions with her that day I watched her bathing. I opened my eyes and glanced out of my office window, staring at the concrete buildings and blue sky. The feelings Brooke stirred within me were unnerving. She was strikingly gorgeous to say the least, and I wanted to own her pleasure. She was unmarked and absolutely irresistible.

I sat down at my computer and typed out an email as I tried to push the image of her out of my mind, but it had been a long time since the mere presence of a woman made me physically want for her the way Brooke did. Had I only known how quickly I would lose complete control, I would have damned this woman for infesting my mind. I knew there was no one to keep Brooke safe from me, I’d seen something I wanted – and I had a habit of claiming things that appealed to me.

I’d made it painfully obvious that I was attracted to her the first day I’d met her, and I couldn’t have her thinking that I was taken with her. Women know all too well the power they have over a man who’s deeply attracted to them. I had to make sure I kept my attraction to her under control for several reasons, most importantly of which was that she was not marked. The day I’d run into her in the lobby had haunted me for weeks. At that moment, as I watched her reflection, I couldn’t help but think of how she’d feel. Better yet, I couldn’t stop the thoughts of how she’d taste. I knew better because Brooke was not trained and playing with her would be nothing short of a nasty game of Russian roulette. The only way it could end would be in someone’s death.

“Gavin?” Zach waved his hand in front of my face. “Dude, you here?”

I glanced up and shook my head, “Yeah, sorry — I just — I was thinking about work.”

Zach lifted the frosted mug to his mouth and took a swig. He used the back of his hand to wipe the beer foam off his mouth and asked, “So, you gonna pick up one of those girls or what?” I followed his gaze over to a table of blondes across the bar. “I call dibs on the one in the green shirt.”

I shot an uninterested look in Zach’s direction before glancing back over at the table he was eyeing. “You know I don’t ‘pick’ women up in bars,” I said.

Zach ran his hand over his shaven head and winked slyly at the table of girls. He cut his eyes back to me promptly. “Dude, they’re hot! What’s wrong with you, man?” He stood up, taking his glass and inhaling the frothy lager. “You’re my wingman. I can’t go over there without my wingman.”

“You do know how much I despise coming out to places like this, don’t you? Hell, I don’t even drink,” I said, lifting my scotch to my lips. I clinked the ice against the glass before setting it back down onto the wooden tabletop, my arms folding across the table as I stared at Zach.

“Come on, man. Chicks dig your ridiculous accent. It automatically makes me look better.”

I placed my hand around the wet glass and twisted it. “Yes, they also find the fact that you’re a doctor rather appealing as well.”

“Stop being such a puss. Get your ass up,” Zach said and pushed his seat under the table.

Begrudgingly, I rose, pushing my hair behind my ear as I grabbed my half-empty glass. I followed Zach across the bar and stopped in front of the table of girls. Each one pulled their chins down coyly and batted their eyes at us both. They all looked similar, platinum blonde hair, dull blue eyes, tanned skin and skin-tight clothes. The one in the middle plucked the cherry from her drink and seductively placed it in her mouth, firmly pulling the stem loose.

“Good evening, ladies,” Zach said. I shook my head because I knew if I kept my mouth shut it was only a matter of moments before he spouted off some ridiculous pick-up lines. “We —”

I cut him off abruptly. “We were wondering if you ladies would be interested in some drinks?” I said in the hopes that my accent would make it hard for them to pick up on the disinterest that lie behind my voice.

A large grin formed across the face of the girl in the green shirt. “Oh! I love your accent. Are you British?” she asked.

I absolutely despise when people refer to me as British, I prefer the term English. Petty, I know, but it’s a peeve of mine.

Forcing the corners of my lips up into a charming smile, I said, “Yes, I’m from England.”

“Oh, that’s so hot. Do you live here?” the blonde against the wall asked.

I forced another fake smile. “Yes, I moved here several years ago for medical school.”

“You’re a doctor, what kind?” the other one asked.

“Neurosurgeon.”

All three lit up at the mention of my profession. I could almost hear the dollar signs blowing through their heads.

“And my friend Zach here, he’s also a neurosurgeon, although he’s not English,” I said as I patted him on the back.

Zach shook his head. “So what are your names?”

“Mine’s Bridgett,” the one in the green replied. “This is Kelsey and that’s Mallory,” she said, pointing to the other two girls.

Zach rested against the edge of their table. “Nice to meet you. As he said, I’m Zach and he’s Gavin.”

The three girls giggled and stared at us.

I was forced to endure an entire hour trying to hold a conversation with the belligerent group of girls so Zach could work his way into getting laid. Sometimes I was certain I took this entire blending in with mortals thing a little too far. I pretended to get a call and excused myself from the table.

“Don’t leave us, beautiful British doctor,” one of the girls called out. I stopped and turned back in her direction. My gaze narrowed onto her as I stretched my hand up toward her neck. Brushing her hair back, I traced my hand over her skin, softly rubbing my finger across her earlobe.

The entire group of girls had fallen silent and my sudden interest had caused a look of complete shock to form on the face of this particular girl. I inhaled slowly and shut my eyes. “You only think you know what you want,” my voice trailed off and I opened my eyes to find the girl’s gaze was unfaltering. A slight smirk formed on my face as I tapped my fingers back down her neck toward her collarbone. “Have you not ever heard the saying ‘be careful what you wish for’?” I blew the stray pieces of her hair back over her shoulder. “You
really
should be careful,” I said, laughing softly as I turned to walk toward the door.

Pushing the tinted glass door open, I stepped out into the humid night air. A group of intoxicated college students stumbled past me as I leaned against the rugged brick of the building. I drug the toe of my boot across the concrete, willing myself to stop wondering how soft Brooke’s skin would feel, how her hair would feel all twisted up in my fingers.

When I decided to go back into the bar I didn’t wander back over to the table. Instead, I stood by the window and watched the people staggering by outside. I must have stood there for ten minutes or so when I saw Brooke climb into a cab with another girl and a guy. The wind caught her hair as she bent down to crawl into the cab; my teeth clamped down onto my lower lip as I watched her. The short skirt she had on hitched up to the bottom of her ass and drove me mad. The door to the cab shut and I watched as it drove off.

Damn, I wanted that woman.

I couldn’t recall ever being so attracted to a woman in my life and was completely baffled as to why I found her so alluring. It was as though something inside me had been set off the moment I laid eyes on her.

Glancing back over in Zach’s direction, I yawned. I shoved one hand in my pocket and approached the table.

“I’m going to head home,” I said, peering down at my watch. “I start call tomorrow night.”

“OMG! Is that a Rolex?” one of the blondes asked. At this point I couldn’t recall any of their names.

“No,” I twisted my wrist, “it’s a Hublot.”

“A hu — what?”

“A Hublot…it’s a Swiss watch,” I responded with a hint of disinterest.

Zach quickly interjected, “Waaaaay more expensive than a Rolex.”

“Ohhhhh,” the girl giggled as she looked at me again, trying to calculate my net worth.

Zach continued to try to impress the girls with my personal information. “He’s loaded. Gavin didn’t even have to —”

I placed my hand firmly on Zach’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’ve got to go, mate. Do you need a ride?”

Zach shot a suggestive look over at one of the blonde girls.

“He can ride with me,” she said, her lips forming a closed-mouth smile.

“All right, then. It was lovely to make your acquaintance, ladies.” I pulled my keys from my pocket and waved.