How to Fall in Love (50 page)

I hold onto his arms, curling my fingers into his suit as I kiss him back. Fireworks explode as he kisses me harder, deeper, until we’re both fondling each other without a care in the world. His hands are massaging my ass, and I can feel his cock stiffening through his pants. Wow. Oh. Yes. By the time we pull apart, we’re both panting and giving each other looks that scream “Let’s go fuck.”

“Wow,” I say. “Who knew you could kiss like that?”

He licks his bottom lip. Shit, my panties just got wet.

“Back at ya.”

“I think it worked.”

He glances at Slutena, who has stormed off the dance floor.

“Now is your chance, Fabio.”

I let him go and step back, turning and pushing through the crowd. A hand grips my wrist before I get far, then I’m swung around and back into Reign’s arms. He leans down and he kisses me again, hard and fast, a scorching kiss that has my knees going weak.

“Thank you,” he murmurs when he pulls back.

I shrug, fighting back my feelings for this man. “Anytime.”

Then I leave the club, knowing that tonight will be the night he takes her home.

And I hate it.

CHAPTER TEN

I don’t go home right away; I’m too buzzed. Instead, I go to a bar down the road, figuring I need something to take my mind off the fact that Reign is probably balls-deep in that woman by now. I don’t get three steps towards the entrance when my phone rings. Reign. I guess he’s not balls-deep. Good to know.

“I only left half an hour ago,” I say, answering.

“Where are you?”

Oh, Reign is angry. His voice is like acid.

“What happened?”

“Where. Are. You.”

“Shit, Reign, I’m at a bar down the road. Are you okay?”

“Which one?”

I look up and tell him the name, to which he snaps, “Be there in a minute.” Then he hangs up.

Well, that was fun.

I lean against a pole and wait for him to arrive. Ten minutes later he does. He looks wild, furious actually.

“What happened to you?” I ask, pushing off the pole and walking closer.

“Do you want to fuck?” he bites out.

My eyes widen. “Ahh . . .”

“Answer me, Tiani. Do you want my cock deep inside you tonight?”

Oh, Jesus. Talk about sudden.

“Are you high, Reign?”

He growls. “I’m not fuckin’ high.”

“Then why the hell are you propositioning me with sex? If you want to get laid, we can go in and . . .”

“I’m sick of mindless, meaningless fucks. I’m sick of sluts who play me. I’m sick of women who can’t take hints. I’m sick of bein’ this man. Sick of it all.”

I sigh. “What’d she do?”

“None of your business,” he barks.

“Fuck me,” I yell. “Calm down already. I didn’t do anything to you. Sheesh.”

I turn and walk towards an alley that connects two clubs. Reign follows me. I’m only halfway down when he takes my hand and stops me.

“I asked you a question, Tiani.”

I turn to him. I can only just see him in the dark alley. “You’re drunk, Reign. I can smell you.”

“That’s beside the point. Do you want to fuck?”

“Why the hell would you offer to fuck me? I thought my job was to get you laid, not to be the one you lay . . . so to speak.”

He backs me up against a brick wall, his palm flattening out against it.

“I want to fuck you because you rubbed your ass along my dick in that club, because I’m pissed off, and because I don’t want some meaningless pussy tonight.”

“It will ruin everything we’ve created. This friendship . . .”

“Don’t pretend it’s not on your mind,” he growls, leaning in closer. “I won’t ask again. Do you want to fuck or not?”

Every fiber inside me is screaming to say yes and let him slam his cock inside my desperate heat. But that won’t be good for me, or him. Reign isn’t in the right place at the moment, and the last thing I want to be is a desperate fuck because he can’t get the woman he wants.

“No,” I manage, my voice strained.

His eyes widen and he looks shocked. Yes, that’s right Reign Braxton. You got rejected.

He shoves off the wall and turns, striding away quickly.

“Reign!” I yell, chasing after him, my body still thrumming.

“Don’t fuckin’ bother,” he barks, charging towards a taxi.

Sheesh. Someone really is angry tonight.

“Stop.”

I take his arm and he swings around, his eyes blazing with anger. “Let me go.”

“You can’t be angry at me for saying no,” I squeak. “There is a reason for it, and if you stopped storming off, I might be able to tell you what that reason is.”

He leans in close just as a cab pulls up. “Fuck you.”

Then he turns and jumps in, leaving me there.

“Yeah,” I yell at the back of the taxi. “Well fuck you too, buddy.”

~*~*~*~

A
sshole.

Mega asshole.

I repeat this mantra the entire way home.

Goddamned moody men—and they say women are hard to live with. At least we don’t say we love a woman, and then hire another woman to make her jealous as well as getting us laid while we wait. So fucking complicated. I pull out my phone when I’m safely in a cab, and I text Reign.

T: When you’re finished having a tantrum, call me. I want to know you’re home.

He doesn’t answer, and I can’t help the worry that swells in my chest. Don’t go to him, Tiani. Let him go. He’s being a prick, and he needs to by himself and wallow in his own self-pity.

Fuck it.

“Can you take me to a different address?” I ask the driver.

I rattle off Reign’s address and he turns, heading in that direction. The entire way there I curse inwardly. Bad decision, Tiani. Bad, bad decision. Turn around, take your ass home and leave him to sulk.

I don’t.

When we arrive I pay the driver and jump out, walking quickly up to Reign’s front door. I dig through my purse and find my key before unlocking the door. I half expect to find Reign with some bimbo bent over his kitchen counter. Instead, I see him sitting on the floor, bottle of whiskey in his hand, head hanging.

Well, shit.

“What the fuck do you want, Tiani?”

“How did you know it was me?” I ask, walking over and stopping in front of him.

“You’re the only one stupid enough to keep coming back when I tell you to fuck off.”

“That’s because I’m your friend and not an asshole like you,” I say, kneeling in front of him. I tug at his whiskey. “Give me some.”

He looks up at me, and he looks tired. He shoves the bottle my way and I drop down beside him, taking a deep swig. God, it burns in the best kind of way.

“Are you done abusing me?” I ask.

He huffs. “I wasn’t abusing you.”

“No?” I ask, taking another drink. “Could have fooled me.”

“I had a bad night.”

“Not my problem, Reign. You’re the one chasing the un-chasable.”

“You know nothing about Selena and I,” he grinds out.

“No, you’re right. I don’t. You refuse to tell me, so how am I supposed to understand?”

“I don’t expect you to understand,” he mutters. “It’s not what I hired you for.”

“Jesus, Reign.” I sigh. “Drop the fucking bullshit and just speak to me like a human being.”

We’re silent a moment.

“Seven years of my life, Tia. Seven fucking years I gave to her. I loved her; I
love
her. I gave a piece of myself to her that I can’t get back. Part of me wants to let go, to hurt her, but the other part is still so fucking in love with her it hurts.”

I stare at the bottle in my hands.

“Sometimes letting go is the only way to heal.”

“And what if she’s the one and I let her go, only to spend forever alone?”

“Do you truly believe that?”

He looks at me, and I can see in his eyes he does.

“I do.”

What can I say to that? It won’t matter how I put it; in his mind it’s right. I take another sip of the whiskey.

“Well then,” I mutter. “You’re royally fucked.”

He snorts a laugh and turns to me. “I’m sorry about tonight, babe.”

Babe. My heart warms a little.

I wave my hand. “No problemo.”

“I tried to fuck you.”

I smile. “It wasn’t so bad. You could be far worse. I only gagged a little.”

I can feel his eyes burning into the side of my head. “If Selena wasn’t in the picture, would you have done it?”

Ah the old
would you?

It doesn’t matter what I would have done. Selena
is
in the picture. There is no other option, so imaging is a waste of time and headspace. I shove to my feet and reach my hand out. Reign takes it and I help him up.

“Get some sleep, Reign.”

He drops down onto the couch and stares at me as I head to the front door.

“You didn’t answer my question?”

I peer over at him just as my fingers curl around the door handle. “What ifs don’t really matter right now. Selena is in the picture, and that isn’t going to change. But for your benefit . . . yes, Reign . . . I would have done it if she wasn’t in the picture. Do you want to know why?”

He nods, his eyes intense.

“Because you’re an amazing person who just can’t see his worth,” I whisper. “But I can see it, and that’s why I wouldn’t hesitate.”

Then I step out the door and leave him there.

I don’t know if it was the right thing to say, but it was the truth.

Sometimes that’s all that’s needed.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Shoes shoes shoes.

I’m not a fan—okay, that’s a damned lie. I am a fan, and when Reign is taking me to a charity function and gives me money for new shoes, who am I to say no?

“These ones are hot?” Autumn says, holding up a pair of strappy red pumps.

“I’m kind of done with red, but they are hot. Maybe they have another color?”

She flips them over and gasps. “They’re like, five hundred dollars.”

I frown and take them from her hands. “I don’t think I can possibly grasp spending that much on shoes. Maybe if it was my own money . . .”

My phone beeps in my purse, and I quickly pull it out while still mulling over the shoes.

R: Just buy them
.

Okay that’s freaky. I lift my head a look around.

T – I didn’t sign up for a stalker.

R: You’ve been gone three hours, and I’ve not had one picture of shoes. You ALWAYS send me pictures of your shoes. Which means you’re standing there, staring at a pair you really want, but the price freaks you out. Get them.

T: I’m going to admit it. This little mental connection of ours freaks me out.

R: Just get them, babe.

T: Fine, you twisted my arm.

R: Then come and get ready with me.

Lusty sigh.

T: Okay. Laters.

I pick up the shoes and turn to Autumn. “Looks like it’s my lucky day!”

Autumn smiles. “He said you could have them?”

I grin and nod.

We finish shopping and then find a café close by for lunch.

“I’m starving,” Autumn grumbles, staring down at the menu. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m just going for the fried chicken. It’s amazing here.”

She groans with delight. “Oh my God, yes.”

“Are you pregnant or something?” I laugh at her.

She rolls her eyes. “I don’t think so. I haven’t had enough sex to get knocked up.”

“So, are you going to tell me who you got lucky with the other night?”

Her cheeks flush. “It’s . . .”

“Autumn,” I plead. “We’re best friends. We should be able to tell each other things.”

“The thing is . . . he’s not my usual type.”

I wave my hands. “Do explain.”

She hesitates, as if searching for the right words. “He . . . ah . . . is a biker.”

My eyes widen. “You fucked a biker?”

“Yes,” she says, dropping her head into her hands. “In my defense, I was drunk.”

“Was he at least a hot biker?”

She looks up, nodding with wide eyes.

“Did he hurt you?”

She groans. “Tia, not again. I told you, no one hurt me.”

I frown, but sigh. “Fine. So tell me how sex with an amazing biker is?”

She flushes. “It’s . . . ah-mazing, Tia. I can’t explain how good it was. He was wild, and so . . . big.”

“You mean his cock?” I gasp, leaning in closer.

“Not just his cock.” She giggles. “It was all of him. He has these massive tattoo-covered muscles and these abs . . .”

I sigh. “Oh, you’re such a devil. Are you going to see him again?”

She shakes her head. “No. I don’t even know his name.”

“Oh? Maybe Cade or Spike know him.”

“No,” she says quickly. “I’m not asking. It was too good to be true. Besides, I’m not sure I’m cut out to be an old lady.”

I laugh. “You never know until you go.”

She rolls her eyes. “Such an optimist.”

We both laugh as the waiter places our meals down.

So, Autumn and a biker?

Interesting.

~*~*~*~

I
head over to Reign’s house after lunch to get ready with him. I find him in his bathroom, shaving.
Damn
. I like the two-day growth he usually walks around in.

He’s got a black, ultra-soft looking towel wrapped around his hips. His back, oh my . . . hard, defined muscles that move as he glides the razor over his jaw. He meets my eyes in the mirror and gives me one of his rare, glorious half-smiles.

“Get your shoes?” he asks, rinsing the razor before pressing it to his jaw again.

“Yeah,” I say. Oh God, was my voice just . . .
breathy?

He leans down, dropping the razor and cupping his hands to fill them with water, and then he splashes his face. He turns to me and I see a tiny patch of hair he’s missed. Without thinking, I walk over, take the razor and go up on my tiptoes in front of him. “You missed a bit,” I say, running the razor gently over his cheek.

It’s only when I stop I realize the look he’s giving me.

He’s never given me a look like that before. It’s so warm and . . . almost . . . I mean, if I wasn’t sure that he cared too much for Slutena, I’d say it was a caring look. Like an
I like you a lot
look.

No, not Reign Braxton.

I quickly step back. “Ah, I’m just going to get dressed and then we’ll go.”