CHAPTER 16

KITANA

Iwas going to kill him.

Carter had just finished pleasuring me with that magical mouth of his and yet that was the first thought that came to mind after experiencing an out-of-body orgasm—I kept the boy around for a reason, he was good for something.

Alright, fine. He was good for a lot of things. But he didn't need to know that.

Disregarding the flushed blonde who looked up at me from his spot between my legs with bedroom eyes and a self-satisfied smile, I lay my head against the window of his car. I was seated against the door in Carter's backseat and somehow the guy was crouched in the footwell and still managed to make it look sexy as he leaned over me. His chains brushed my inner thigh from where they dangled, the cold metal pebbling my skin in the best way.

But I couldn't wholly concentrate on the pleasure. Which really annoyed me.

I stared blankly at nothing. My mind on Griffin.

And not in a sexual way.

I'd rather die—

No, scratch that.I'd rather have no sex for the rest of my life.

Not only was my lifelong friend like a brother to me, but he was my bestie's boy toy. At least he was.

Or is?

Honestly, it was hard to keep up with them.

Point being, he was off-limits. Not that I had ever wanted to test those limits after one horrible kiss as awkward pre-teens.

I was thinking about Griff solely because the ass had tailed it out to the sticks to see said mutual bestie without even telling me. And I was still fuming. Even a week later.

To make matters worse, when he did eventually tell me —while he was driving, mind you—I couldn't even message Vee about it because Griff was making a super cute, super romantic and super un-Griffin like grand gesture.

So I had to settle for bugging Billie about it and asking her every fifteen minutes during training if she thought he'd be there yet and if I could check in to see what happened.

From what I'd briefly heard from a very-surprised, very-confused and undeniably-excited-but-playing-mad Vee, it didn't make her automatically jump right back into his arms. Of course, that was just via text because the girl was too busy to talk. But I was dying for a full update. Not the brief messages and harmless scolding I got in its place.

The whole thing would have been a much-needed hit to the boy's ego. Something I would have paid good money to see.

The girl sure did ground him. They were kind of perfect for each other.

Which was why I had shipped them from the very start.

Part of me was proud of her for standing up for herself and not taking shit from no man. But the other part was disappointed for Griff, who was finally showing that softer side of himself that he usually hid.

I was rooting for him. For them.

I mean, I knew the guy freaked out and walked away from her, but she did also tell him she was going back to see her ex-boyfriend—who had been the love of her life or whatever and was no longer an evil murderous beast like we had thought. Meaning getting back together upon her return was likely still on the table.

That's got to hurt a guy. Not to mention a guy like Griff, who had never fallen for a girl in his life and had finally opened up to someone.

But I was also there the night she found out about the rogues and everything, and I knew just how much the news affected her. Just like I knew how torn up she would be about everything right now. She had every right to take her time and think things through.

He also needed to figure out how to voice his emotions and deal with his issues like a big boy.

On another note, I was still reeling from the fact that he offered to go with her. It was totally cute of him.

While I might usually suggest space, she'd had her time on her own to make her apologies.

Regardless of the fact that I was rudely not asked to give council on his early departure, not to mention was clearly salty about not going with him, I wouldn't have deterred him or suggested otherwise.

I thought it was a great idea: show her that you care and remind her that you're still in the game.

That's what I would do.

After all, one couldn"t forget about someone when they were right up in their face—a tactic that I often used on Carter in the past. Although, with us there had been a lot of games played to keep things fresh and avoid monogamy before we eventually gave in. So, I guess they weren't totally comparable situations.

Either way, Griff was literally staying at her house!

Forced proximity did wonders. I would know.

And if he'd told me he was going there early, I would have helped with a game plan. Given him all the pointers he'd need to win our girl back.

I'd messaged him about it, and he'd replied saying he was managing and something about winning her over with his charms and obvious superiority. Meaning I was forced to settle with letting him do this on his own … for now. Even though I was itching to be involved. Which was why it was still on my mind and distracting me to no end.

I didn"t do well at keeping my nose in my own business. It was far too cute not to shove in everyone else's.

Plus, these were my besties we were talking about. I had every right to be involved.

Those two were really fucking adorable together. And I meant romantic-novel, fated-soulmates cute. So, I hoped they worked it out.

Some super-duper, teensy-weensy part of me actually felt sorry for the wolf. Not that I was forgiving the dickhead that easily. He had still hurt my bestie and I'd make my thoughts known. But I was sure Griff was giving him hell and not making it easy for anyone. The two of them were probably driving my girl mad. Luckily for her, we were heading down tomorrow and I was ready to step in and mediate.

Okay, well not entirely. I was excited to watch the show and I'd be sure to bring my fair share of popcorn for all the juicy parts. It would be like reality TV on smoke seeing the two boys going head-to-head for Vee's love. But Billie would mediate and make things better for everyone. And I'd be the emotional support. Or at least but-loads of unsolicited, inexperienced advice and a good distraction. We really did make the perfect team.

If it was up to me, I'd probably suggest the why-choose route. But I didn't think Griff was up for sharing.

"What's on that delicious mind of yours?" Carter purred. I'd clearly been unusually quiet for too long. Boy probably thought I was having a stroke or something.

The footwell was large enough that he was sitting back now, leaning against the opposite door with his arms on his knees, giving me space to sulk as needed as I lounged across the backseats. Was Vee rubbing off on me?

Damn I missed that girl. I couldn't wait for us all to be reunited again and I desperately wanted to be there for her.

He pulled out a cigarette, putting it in his mouth and fishing for a lighter in his back pocket.

I let out a huff, deciding not to dwell on it all and stress myself out. I truly did not have time for wrinkles.

Perking up, eyes surely dancing with mischief, I took in my guy. "It's nothing important. We can talk about it later." I shrugged it off.

Reaching over, I grabbed the unlit cigarette, placing it in my mouth. Then I tugged the strands of his hair, directing him back towards me.

"Just do that again." The words were muffled around the object in my mouth, but by the way his eyes were glued to my lips, I knew it had the desired effect. He for sure found it undeniably sexy and would do what I wanted with no qualms. Not that he ever had any objections. Neither of us did.

"This will be your reward," I smirked, two fingers gripping the cigarette while my tongue traced the tip.

"Yes, ma'am."

I relished in the sweet, sweet pleasure.