Chapter 1

Chapter One

Landon

Listen to American Girl

by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

“ O h, God, don’t stop.”

I arched back and opened my legs wider to the delicious stroke of his tongue between my legs. He knew exactly how to get me right to the edge and keep me there, and I dug my heels into the mattress, frantic to get to my orgasm.

He didn’t stop, just kept lightly licking my clit while his fingers worked me, and my body tensed in that delicious way right before I’m about to explode.

“Max!”

He increased the pressure of his tongue and sucked hard. I came, screaming loud and twisting wildly, my hands clenching in his hair and holding him tight to my pussy as the waves of pleasure rocketed through me. He didn’t pull away until the tremors had passed, and then he lifted his head, a cocky grin curving those talented lips as he slid back up my body.

“That was quite a scream,” he teased, pressing his lips to mine. “I must’ve done something right.”

I kissed him back but when he tried to unzip his jeans, I rolled away. “Can’t. Got to get ready for work.”

His jaw dropped. “Babe, you kidding me? How am I supposed to do my shift like this?”

I laughed and spun away as he reached for me. “I’ll make it up to you later. Besides, it’ll give you incentive not to get too drunk tonight and leave me hanging.”

Max winced, then propped his hands on the back of his head while he watched me get dressed. “Not my fault. Cooper kept ordering shots and it got out of control.”

I rolled my eyes and checked my tight, short skirt in the mirror. “You’ve been using him as an excuse forever. I like to party, too, but not blacking out. We’re getting older, Max. You need some control.”

His blue eyes cooled, and I knew he hadn’t liked my last remark. Max was the oldest in our group and at twenty-five, everyone figured he should have either made something with his career or at least settled down. We’d been dating since after I graduated, and passed our year anniversary. Things were good between us, and I could see myself marrying him.

I admired his long, lean body stretched out on my full-size bed. Our friends called us Barbie and Ken since we both had golden blonde hair and blue eyes. I had to admit we made a good-looking couple. People always stared when we entered the room and I loved it. Any type of attention helped as I was trying to build my social media following and book more modeling jobs. I felt like I was hovering on the edge of something big, but I couldn’t nail the right jobs. It was frustrating as hell, especially since my main salary was made by waiting tables, but at least it was one of the hottest restaurants in Manhattan, so that helped my platform.

I smoothed back my hair, twisting it into a high ponytail. The streaks of white blonde looked perfect catching the light. I finished buttoning my crisp white shirt and adjusted my breasts in the lacy white bra that peeked out from the fabric. Red wanted sexy not trashy. The uniforms were basic but looked good on all bodies, and we had full control of how we could accessorize to make ourselves stand out. I kept my look classic. I had no need to pimp out my already good looks when most of the customers—both women and men—always stared with envy.

I was lucky I was born beautiful. I learned young that rules were different and life was cushioned when you looked like me. School was easy. It was as if all the hallways parted to welcome me as I walked. I got to choose my friends and became instantly popular. I picked the boys I wanted carefully, staying away from the bad ones who could get me into real trouble, and the too serious ones who’d fall hard and make my life rigid. College kept blessing me with sororities, good grades, and plenty of modeling work. But after doing a ton of standard catalogue shoots, and the same small sponsors on my social media, I was getting restless.

I wanted more. I wanted more camera time and followers and adoration. More bookings with glamour and money. Even though Red was a job I loved because of the exclusive crowd, I was beginning to worry. I needed to break through with some bigger opportunities. I’d tried out for a reality show last week and had my fingers crossed. I’d be perfect for tv. If I got it, I’d quit Red and maybe Max and I could move in together. Get more serious.

“You are so fucking hot.”

I shook off my thoughts and blew him a kiss, my gaze hovering on his erection. “Don’t be late for your shift. You’re already in trouble.”

He waved his hand in the air. “I’m fine, Rock’s not going to mess with me. My cocktails are legendary.”

I snorted at his arrogance but let the remark go. Max was right. They took so much shit from him because he flashed that magic smile, and the bar bill was pumped up from the crowds clustered around him. He even created his own specialty cocktail—the Maxtini Spritz--that everyone clamored for. He was a natural salesman and con man and I loved it.

I just needed to keep Max’s ego in check so he didn’t forget I was the priority.

We’d met shortly after my graduation at The Tippler, a cocktail bar in Chelsea with a vintage library feel, lots of wood, and intimate dark corners to hook up. He was out with his friends, Adam and Cooper, and the moment we locked eyes, I knew I had to have him. He was too beautiful to look at and I loved the idea of taming him to be mine. Of course, I had a plan to keep his interest. I knew his type. Girls swarmed him, gave him anything he wanted, and wound up being disrespected. Max ended up being bored.

I ignored him that night until he chased me down. I hooked him early by playing it cool and giving him shit, while Adam smirked and looked on with a judgy scorn I immediately hated. Thank God, Adam ended up leaving with two girls—ICK—and left me and Max behind. After a decent amount of time, I let Max catch me on my terms and I’ve been happy ever since. He recommended me for the job at Red, which I scored easy, and then Coop began dating my bestie, Elle. All of us grew close and became the heart of our main group.

My family was fucked up so my friends were the ones I counted on.

I paused at the door. “Is everyone coming out tonight?”

He rolled off the bed, his tight ass on display as he headed to the bathroom. “Definitely Adam and Cooper. Noah, too. He has a gig so he’ll meet us later.”

“What about Daisy?”

Noah was a DJ who played at local clubs and always seemed to have a new girlfriend trailing him. I called them groupies, but he’d been dating Daisy for a few months now, so I hoped she was sticking. I really liked her and was always super careful of who I got attached to or trusted. She was sweet, fit in perfectly with our group, and was obviously crazy about Noah. She was in nursing school and it was nice to have someone around who didn’t want to make it big in acting, social media, or modeling. God knows, we all needed a nurturer around us. Too many of us were like hungry vampires, feeding off attention and likes.

“She’ll be there,” Max said.

“Cool. Don’t invite anyone else, okay? The last time everything fell apart and I’m not in the mood tonight.”

Max cranked his head around. His thick hair was mussed where I’d dug my fingers through the strands. “I was being nice, Landon. Gabby’s new and asked to come. How’d I know you’d lose your shit?”

My famous temper flared. “Maybe if you used your real brain instead of the little one, you’d know I didn’t want to party with someone who was trying to flirt with my boyfriend. That’s a trash move.”

Irritation flickered in his eyes, but instead of snapping back at me, he gave me one of his famous grins. “Jealous, baby? You know I’m not into anyone else.”

I hated when he got all flirty and tried to gloss over an issue. “I’m not jealous, I’m annoyed. Just respect my wishes for once. I don’t want strangers in our group.”

“Fine. But I think you are jealous. Sure you don’t want some of this before you head out?”

He shifted his hips, full nakedness and erection on display. I rolled my eyes at his arrogance, then made sure to drop my gaze to take him all in. I slowly licked my lips, then smiled slow.

“No, thanks. See you later.”

I slammed the door behind me with satisfaction.

I wasn’t jealous because I knew I had more to offer than the new waitress who was probably out for a quick bang. Max would be an idiot to give up what we had to scratch an itch that regularly got scratched from me.

No, it was other things that bothered me. Things I didn’t want to think about.

Dark thoughts that twisted deep inside and threatened all the good things I was building with Max. Forbidden, dirty secrets wriggling up to escape and explode.

I couldn’t let them win.

Ever.