Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Landon

Listen to Oh No

by the Commodores

I woke up half drugged with a headache. Moaning, I rolled over in the comfy sheets and blinked myself awake.

What a night. It had been the perfect birthday. From the fine dining, to the energy of the club, to the sinful slide into oblivion, we’d partied like never before. Flashes of memory came to me in bits; of Max cupping my ass as he held me tight, grinding against his hard cock while we danced next to Adam and Gabby; of Adam’s forceful gaze pinning mine as he kissed Gabby, making me watch, making me remember what it felt like to have those lips on mine just hours ago. It had given me shame. It had gotten me hot, until my panties were wet and dos and don’t’s blurred.

When Max carried me upstairs, we had sex on the floor, unable to get to the bed, and my orgasm had been so intense I’d practically screamed the roof off. I’d wanted to do it again, but he laughed and rolled over, teasing that I’d made him deaf. With the pills still running warm and heavy in my blood, I asked Max to tell me what he wanted; to order me to do what he craved.

I loved the glint of interest in his blue eyes. “Touch your breasts,” he’d commanded, and when I did, he told me how beautiful I was, how happy he was we were together. I asked for more, but he treated it like a game, playfully slapping my ass, taking me from behind while I reared back and fantasized about him pulling my hair, grinding my cheek into the mattress while he forced me to take his cock; of all the dirty ways he’d make me serve and remind him I belonged to him.

Instead, he caressed my ass and whispered love words in my ear until he finished with a shudder and a satisfied grin.

I didn’t come. I’m glad I didn’t. It was a good punishment for thinking about bad things when Max only wanted to please and love me, and not treat me like a plaything.

Shaking off the memory, I brushed my teeth, put my hair up, and threw my sweats on. I needed coffee, and the way Max was snoring, it would be a while before he got up. I took the elevator to the lobby and weaved my way through the morning crowd to wait on line.

Adam was ahead of me.

He turned half around, pulling back slightly as our gazes locked. The memories of our kiss and last night reared up like a wave, crashing and drowning us both. His pupils dilated, and his lush lips opened as if to say something intimate, and my heart beat crazily in my chest and hoped to God he’d say something to help us both.

“Hey.”

I nodded. “Hey.” We moved up and didn’t speak.

He cleared his throat. “Did you have a good time last night?”

“Yeah. It was pretty wild. You?”

“It was intense.”

My heart ached as I stared at him. My fingers itched to push the hair off his brow. I wish I had the right.

I wondered if he’d slept with Gabriella last night, even though she’d told me their relationship was friend zoned. Was she naked, sprawled on his sheets, her body smelling of sex and Adam? Wearing the imprint of his hands all over? Had he thought of me as he came, like I had of him? We’d all been fucked up—anything could have happened.

“Where’s Max?” he asked.

The question hit like a gunshot. “Sleeping.” I paused. “Where’s Gabby?”

He shrugged. “Probably the same.”

I wondered what he’d do if I stepped forward and pulled his mouth to mine. A part of me wondered if we slept together just once, would it soothe the constant craving? Would it cool the crackling sexual tension that threatened every time we got close? Would we finally be free? Or would it be like shutting the jail cell and locking us in forever?

“I’m heading home, Landon. Was the weekend everything you wanted?”

My throat ached. We had to stop this. I had to stop this. The kiss had made things worse, opening a portal between us that had been safely closed. Now, there was nothing stopping my yearning for him.

But I’d chosen Max.

“Yes.” He moved up another step, getting closer to the counter and further away from me. Fuck it. Things had to be said. “What are we going to do about the kiss?”

I heard the catch of his breath. He pinned me with those seething dark eyes, devouring me whole like he had last night in the club. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.”

It was the most honest thing I’d admitted. I was about to move in with Max next week so we could start the next chapter in our lives together. I’d made a terrible mistake, but I didn’t know how to fix it or move on.

“He’s moving in soon, right?”

I nodded.

“Then there’s really nothing to do, Landon.”

“We’ll pretend it never happened?”

His jaw tightened. I watched the fury move over his features, sink into his eyes, then eventually disappear. “No. I’m not a liar. It happened, but I’m going to move on. Just like you, princess.”

The words stung. His face hardened, and those soft lips curled in a sneer. I knew then we’d returned to our original status: enemies. The kiss had destroyed any possibility of being friends, or having a cordial, drama free relationship. And I hated him for forcing us back there, even as a shred of me acknowledged there may not be a better way.

He stepped up to the counter and slid to the left to wait for his coffee. I ordered and did the same. The space between us was taken up by crushed possibilities, regrets, and the same throbbing sexual chemistry. “Well, good luck with Unison and the recording. I’m excited that Elle will be singing on the track.”

He ignored me.

Hot anger rushed through my veins. He was the one who’d kissed me! He was just as guilty but now I felt like the one who’d led him on. “So, you’re going back to being an asshole to me?”

He shot me a look. “Yep.”

The server handed us our coffee and Adam turned to leave. I burned my fingers on the cup but managed to stomp after him.

“If we’re going to be in this group together, you owe me some fucking respect. I didn’t go chasing after you, Adam. I didn’t kiss you or give you promises, so don’t take your shit out on me.”

He gave a vicious curse and kept walking. My voice rose and raw emotion pushed me to the edge.

“Fine, go ahead and get your panties in a tangle because I didn’t blow up my life for a quick fuck.”

He spun around and grabbed my arm. In seconds, he’d dragged me down a short corridor where the restroom and janitor closets were. “You spoiled, entitled brat. Didn’t kiss me back, huh? I could smell your wet cunt the moment my tongue got into your mouth. I could see your hungry eyes when I kissed Gabby, and your greedy little body begging to get fucked. By me. The only way you want it. Am I right, Landon? Or are you going to keep pretending I’m just being sensitive ?”

I went mute, my breath strangled in my lungs. Already, my nipples were hard and I couldn’t move, staring up at his furious, gorgeous face, desperate to touch him, to weep in his arms and ask for what I really wanted and couldn’t seem to outrun. Instead, I gave him my own anger and frustration, the only thing I could safely give. “I want to keep things the way they are, okay? This group is important to all of us and you being a constant dickhead only makes things harder.”

“You want polite? Neat and tidy? Fine. Just make sure you don’t keep looking at me with those fuck me eyes in front of your boyfriend.”

I practically spat out my words. “Forget it! I want nothing more to do with you. Go do your music and screw your groupies and pretend it was all my fault. Because I’m done. This sick, twisted thing between us is done!”

His face was inches away, gaze locked on mine. His pupils dilated and turned pure black. The scent of soap and spice assaulted my nostrils. He spoke softly, each word clearly accentuated in a grit and gravel voice. “Maybe this time you’ll say it and mean it. Because you’re right.” His breath softly hit my trembling lips. “I’m done with you.”

With another cold sneer, he gave me my distance. Swept his gaze over my body, then turned in dismissal.

“Hope your birthday was everything you wanted it to be, princess. See ya around.”