Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

SEBASTIAN

R eaper and Kendra's engagement party is being held at a beautiful house on the lake an hour from the coast. It used to be a plantation in the 1800s but now is a venue that is rented out for events. Kendra just so happens to not have a single clue. She thinks they're going to someone else's event for a co-worker of Reaper's. I can't wait to see her face. They deserve this.

The drive is filled with sexual tension and innuendos from Bristol. She even goes as far as to slip her finger inside her pussy and then put in her mouth, sucking the combination of us from earlier from the tip of her finger, drawing a groan from my chest. She's going to fucking love teasing me and I'm going to love getting my hands on her at the end of the night.

The way that green dress dips low, showing off her cleavage makes my dick jump in my slacks. I'm going to have to stay away from her, far away, if not it's going to be tent fucking city in these slacks.

The venue is packed when we arrive. It's six o'clock and the sun is falling behind the horizon. The front of the plantation is decorated in string lights that illuminate the area filled with chairs and tables. There are servers everywhere, some with champagne, wine, and beer, and others with appetizers being offered to guests. Bristol's hand finds mine and I give it a squeeze.

She looks around us, mesmerized. Her eyes glimmer with joy as she takes in the sight.

"This place is gorgeous," she says distractedly, her eyes bouncing around from one end of the yard to the other.

"Reaper's got taste," I shrug.

"I'd say."

"Come on, let's go say hello," I say, spotting Reaper and Kendra.

"And remember, she doesn't know anything."

Bristol nods. "Got it. Don't ruin surprise. Don't ruin surprise," she repeats, making me laugh.

"Sebastian!" Reaper shouts, waving me over.

I approach slowly, extending my hand to him.

"Hey, brother," I say as he grabs my hand and yanks me into a hug.

"This is Bristol," I introduce her and Reaper's smile widens.

"Hey! I've heard a lot about you. It's good to finally meet the girl who put Princess in her place."

Bristol's cheeks redden at his comment, but she smiles proudly. "She deserved it."

Kendra walks to Reaper's side, linking her arm in his.

"Love, this is Bristol. Sebastian's…" he pauses, looking at me for help.

"Girlfriend," I say quickly. We haven't really talked about it but, I think that's okay. Fuck. I search Bristol's face for some kind of sign.

She smiles and offers Kendra her hand. "Nice to meet you. "

Kendra smiles a warm smile at her. "You too! I've heard so many good things about you. Here, come with me! The other ol'ladies will be so happy you're here and to finally meet you!"

Kendra drags her by the hand and Bristol shrugs at me with a smile over her shoulder as they walk off into the sea of people. I know she's in good hands with Kendra.

"You can't be bringing her around with her tits hanging out like that. You're gonna get me cut by Kendra. It's hard to look away."

I chuckle. "Kendra will be the least of your worries, brother."

He rolls his eyes at me and beckons me to follow him. We walk inside of the plantation home that opens into a foyer with a dual staircase, one on each side. The ceiling is full of intricately designed, hand-carved wooden crown molding.

There's an archway in the center beneath the stairs and the light-grey marbled tile floors are so shiny I can see mine and Reaper's reflection looking back at me in them.

"How much did you pay to rent this damn place?" I ask, looking around at the detail in every inch of the building.

"I didn't."

"You got it for free?" I ask incredulously, trying to control the volume of my voice, though I'm sure it went up an octave or two because holy shit.

Reaper laughs and shakes his head. "No, you dumbass. I bought it."

"You bought it?" I whisper-yell, garnering me a glare from one of the servers. I restrain myself from telling her to fuck-off.

"Yep. It's Kendra's engagement gift."

"I thought the engagement gift was the fucking ring? "

Reaper alternates his hand back and forth like he's holding a balancing scale and weighing the two side by side. " Eh , maybe for normal people," he smiles.

"Come see, I want to show you something."

He walks up one of the staircases and leads us down a long hallway that dead ends at a door. He enters, leaving the door open for me to follow behind him. It's like stepping back in time by a hundred years. The floor is a deep red, velvety carpet with dark wood-panel walls. In the center of the room is dark wooden desk that matches the paneling, with a large black leather office chair tucked neatly beneath it.

There are two chairs opposite the desk, facing it. The room feels like it could have been Dracula's office, aside from all the sunlight draping through the white-lace curtains that hang floor to ceiling, the length of the two pair of windows sitting directly behind the desk.

"What do you think? I can run all of my companies from in here at the computer and I can plan out all of my travels too."

"I think this is the coolest fucking office I've ever seen. Brother, this is badass."

He walks around the back of the desk and pulls out a small ring box. "Wait ‘til you see this."

I approach the desk and he flips the box around, revealing the black, teardrop diamond in the center with small white diamonds encasing it. The damn band alone looks like it costs more than my salary.

"I've never seen anything more Kendra. Wow. That's a fine piece of jewelry."

Reaper beams at my comment. "I hope she loves it. I love it. I think it's going to be perfect on her dainty little tattooed finger."

I peer out of the window, looking over the sea of people below. I spot Bristol in her green dress, standing around a circle with Kendra, Loretta, and Lacey. She's laughing at something someone said and has a glass of wine in her hand.

Her burgundy lipstick compliments her complexion and I force back thoughts of her wrapping her lips around my dick. I adjust myself and move away from the window.

"Let's go grab a drink. The main event is about to begin," Reaper says, opening the door of the office.

I follow him out into the house and walk back down the staircase and out into the brisk night air. The sun is fully set now and the string lights illuminate the terrace. There's a small stage on the edge of the concrete with a band setup. They're just about to get started, each member dressed in a black suit with multi-colored lights beaming down onto them.

A server walks by and offers me a glass of wine. I snag a glass and walk toward the crowd of people socializing. I spot Mikey and Mo standing together, both donning black slacks and a button-down, collared club shirt.

"Almost didn't recognize you in that preppy attire," Mikey says, taking a pull from his beer. Its inside of a koozie, but I know already that it's a Budweiser.

"I clean up nice when I have to."

"Sure are a lot cleaner today than you were when I left you last night," Mo points out.

"That's what they make showers for. Besides, Reaper was much more unclean and you'd never be able to tell it."

Mo nods. "You're right about that. If I didn't know that he leads a double life, I'd never suspect it, that's for damn sure. His spectrum is very broad."

I chuckle. "That's the understatement of the damn century."

My eyes scan the crowd, searching for Bristol. She's so easy to spot in that green dress. She's in the same crowd of ol'ladies that she was in earlier when I was upstairs. She must feel my eyes on her because she begins looking around until her eyes lock with mine.

She lifts her hand and offers me a subtle wave with a smile. I offer her the same and excuse myself, walking toward her. Unable to stand being this far away from her for another minute.

I walk up behind her and drape an arm around her waist, pulling her body against mine. I feel her tense in my grip as my lips brush the spot on her neck just beneath her ear. I let her go quickly and take a step to her side before I linger there and lift her dress in the middle of all these people.

"Hey, Sebastian," Loretta pulls me into a big hug.

"Hey, Mama."

"You haven't been around lately. You been getting into trouble?" she questions with a smile.

"You know it."

Bristol smiles as she watches our exchange.

The band stops playing and the singer comes over the speakers with an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt your evening to welcome Mr. Kent Harlem to the stage. Please turn your attention to the dance floor."

The singer hands Reaper the microphone and he takes it and begins speaking while he walks through the crowd. He talks about the party and the turn out and how wonderful it is as he makes his way to Kendra.

She smiles at him as we all clear a path, leaving her standing alone at the end of the walkway we've created.

"I have a secret that I just have to get off of my chest, though, love," he says, stepping mere feet away from her. She tilts her head at him, her brows scrunching .

"I told you that this was a party for someone else," he begins, stepping closer to her.

He reaches into his pocket and gets down on one knee, flipping the box open.

"But it's really a party for us. Will you marry me, Kendra Elise? Be my wife."

Tears stream down her face as she covers her mouth with both hands. She nods enthusiastically leaning down to kiss him. He stands up and puts the microphone to his mouth.

"SHE SAID YES!" he shouts, and the band begins playing again.

He shoves the microphone into his pocket and pulls Kendra into his arms. He places the ring on her finger and she cries even more staring at it. It matches the elegant black floor-length dress she's wearing tonight perfectly.

Bristol leans into my side as we watch and let them have their moment.

Reaper triumphantly raises her hand, showing it off like he's just won a gold medal and he wants the whole world to see it.

The crowd settles from their applauding and everyone mingles back into whatever they were doing before Reaper stopped the party.

I approach with Bristol by my side to congratulate Kendra.

"Congratulations, babe!" I say, pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you! I should have known he'd do something so extravagant," she fusses, but the beaming smile on her face says she loves every minute of it.

"Let me see that thing!" Loretta says, reaching for Kendra's hand. Bristol, Lacey, and Loretta admire the lavish black diamond on her ring finger .

"Oh my god," Lacey gasps, lifting Kendra's hand and turning it sideways, investigating it from every angle.

"This is the prettiest ring I've ever seen," Bristol hums in approval.

Kendra soaks up the attention while Reaper and I sneak away to let the women gush over the ring and proposal.

"So, about last night…" Reaper starts.

"Yeah?"

"You hear anything else after we got done?"

" Nah , nothing yet. There were leads about Tennessee last month but that was a dead end, likely sent from Clyde to try and throw us off the trail."

"He won't be sending out any more information anytime soon, good or bad."

"It's kind of difficult to type without fingers, Reap."

He shrugs. "Fucker had it coming. I don't even know Bristol yet, but she could've been any one of our ol'ladies going through some shit like that. There's more to this shit than just a kidnapping. This is a whole underground ring of illegal and fucked up porn trading. Who knows what else these fuckers are trading on there?"

"I don't want to know. I'm going to get it to Slider and see what he can find out. Maybe he can get a trace on other people that have been sharing their videos and we can try and locate that sick fuck through them."

"He's going to fuck up, Bash. And when he does, it's going to be too late for him. He won't know what hit him."

A hand claps onto Reaper's shoulder and he quickly plasters a welcoming smile on his face before he turns around to greet them, someone from his other life I presume. The man leads with congratulations and I exit quietly from the conversation to locate an empty table on the edge of the pavilion to sit at .

Bristol is sipping on another glass of wine and I think back to the night Joey got her hammered. She was so free and happy that night. So much has happened and I hope that she remains that free and happy girl. I want to do anything I possibly can to keep her that way.

She sees me watching her and turns slightly, angling herself where I have the perfect side view of her cleavage. Brat. She's doing what she promised.

I take a sip of the wine in my glass then set it on the table in front of me. I'm so zoned in on Bristol that I don't notice a woman approaching until she takes a seat next to me.

"I would ask why you haven't been texting me back, but by the way you've been ogling Green Dress over there, I think I've got my answer," Lilah purrs, unamused. Her olive skin compliments the satin red dress she's wearing perfectly, and her long black hair is pulled back into two braids. She's a pretty girl, beautiful even, by society's standards.

"I figured you'd get the hint," I shrug, crossing my arms and leaning back into the metal chair.

"Thought you didn't do relationships?" she asks, mimicking my stance and crossing her own arms.

"I told you from jump street that we were not ever going to be anything."

"No, you said that you don't do commitment and relationships," she says, leaning her hands on the table.

I level her with a glare.

"Watch. Your. Fucking. Tone."

She huffs and sits back into the chair.

"Whatever, Sebastian. She isn't even anything special." Lilah rolls her eyes exaggeratedly.

"Oh, there you are baby. I've been looking for you," Bristol muses, her hand wrapping around my chest as she leans in and kisses me. This kiss isn't a normal kiss. It's urgent. Possessive. She's marking her territory and I fucking love it. Her hand is tangled in my hair as her tongue tangles with mine. When she pulls back, she's breathless and there's a fire burning in her eyes that makes me want to bend her over right here in front of all of these people, giving Lilah a front row fucking seat.

"Hi, I'm Bristol. And in case you were confused, I am something special," she says, sitting down on my lap and extending her hand out for Lilah to shake, but not before she crosses her ankles like the proper fucking lady that she is.

Bristol's advances are met with a wide-eyed stare from Lilah. I rest my hand on her thigh as she leans back into me when Lilah doesn't take her hand. Her cheeks flush the same red as her dress as she rises and storms off without a word.

The smug smile on Bristol's face has my semi turning into a full-blown hard-on pressing into the side of her ass cheek in my lap. She wriggles her hips on my leg in a slow grinding circle, eliciting a groan from my chest.

"So that's the infamous Lilah?" she asks, giving me a side-eye.

I sigh. "Yep."

" Meh . She's mediocre, at best. I definitely expected her to have a little more… fight in her," she says, smiling down at me.

I lean up and nip her earlobe. "Nah, she was just a warm hole with no fire. Unlike someone else, who has the flames of hell burning in her eyes at nearly all times."

Her lips quirk up at my compliment, looking both happy and smug at the same time.

"I learned a long time ago, you have to fight for yourself and what you want. If not, who will? "

I place my thumb on her chin just beneath her lips, pulling her lips to mine.

"I will," I whisper, kissing her softly.

Her smeared burgundy lipstick makes me wonder how much more smeared it could get if she were sucking my cock in the cover of the shadows behind one of the trees in the yard.

"Well aren't you two love birds just too damn cute," Loretta bellows as she pulls up the chair Lilah had been sitting in.

I chuckle. "Yeah, something like that. Where's that asshole husband of yours?"

"Hell if I know. Ain't seen him since we got here. He's probably with Mikey taking damn shots for me to have to take care of his drunk ass later."

Her fiery red hair is styled neatly atop her head, her bangs curled under, and her makeup light with a deep red lip to match her hair. She's dressed conservatively in a black dress with long lace sleeves and black flats.

"There she is!" Joey beams, placing a kiss on Loretta's forehead.

"Ah, hell. He's being sweet. Now we're really in trouble," she grins, looking at Joey with adoration in her eyes. For as much as they bicker, they love each other.

"You about ready to get out of here?" Joey lifts his right arm to look at his watch.

Loretta nods and is already standing up. "You don't have to tell me twice. I've been ready to take this fucking bra off."

Joey snickers and waves a quick goodbye in our direction before he does a quick look over his shoulder and then sneaks off through the grass.

"He didn't say goodbye to anybody," Bristol notes .

"It's called an Irish goodbye. You just leave. Joey and Loretta do it all the time."

"But. Why?" she asks, her brows drawn together in confusion.

"So he doesn't get stuck in twenty more conversations before he can leave. If he begins saying goodbye, everybody and their mom have something they just have to talk to him about before he gets out of here. Trust me, it's not as rude as it seems. Sometimes it's just time to roll out and you don't have the time to associate with every single person to tell them goodbye."

" Hmm ," she puzzles, but doesn't ask any more questions.

"Want to try it out?" I ask, wriggling my eyebrows at her.

" Mmm . Maybe! Let me pee first."

She stands and walks toward the house, her hips swaying seductively as she sashays away from me. This woman is going to be the death of me and my cock.