I wanted to say something. Anything to break the fucking ice. But the thought of my dad dying just brought it all home. I shook my head as we got into the elevator. Not only because I felt like I was on the way to the funeral home, but because I couldn’t bear the silence any longer.
That was when my phone started to buzz. As the doors closed, it stopped. I didn’t need to look at it to know that there could only be one person calling: Kathleen.
“Have you lived here long?” I turned to ask Claire. I was moving in with her whether we both liked it or not. We would have to get along. Small talk seemed to be the only way to break the ice.
That was when it dawned on me that I would be staying in this block. I remembered thinking as we drove through downtown that Claire’s apartment would be most likely on Hoover Avenue.
Not sure why I thought that?
After all, we were practically strangers. Since she graduated from law school, we had never seen each other. Well, part of that was because I had been in a cell and the other part was because I’d been too busy trying to score big time on the roulette wheel.
Our parents got married and then I got a job working at a coffee shop. It didn’t take long for me to get bored of that. Dad kept going on about me finding myself. Basketball was no longer my life and I had so much potential. He said that working in a job that wasn’t stressful for a year would be a good break, and it might encourage me to go to college. Even if it was just community college.
He was wrong.
I wanted more. So much fucking more. I just didn’t want to work for it. Poker used to be my thing. I used to win big time, but then I used to lose big time too. The stakes got too high, and once you hang around a certain circuit, unless you have the dough to keep it up, you pretty much get kicked to the side.
Unlike the wheel.
That one was just pure luck.
There was no mechanism or thought process on how to win roulette. It’s either red or black. Pick a lucky number and your game’s set for the night.
“Four years.”
Wow, she must be making some top dollars to be living here. As we went through the hallway and I followed her, unsure if she was turning left or right, I had to ask the question as she opened her door.
“So, do you rent or did you buy?”
She laughed as she stepped in and dropped her bag on a chair that was by the doorway.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Wow, Claire could actually smile. Until now, I’d thought that it was going to be difficult and she would continue to give me the cold shoulder. But that smile. It actually made me feel at ease.
As soon as she stepped in she took off her heels and let out a sigh of relief as she dumped her shoes right next to the refrigerator. The uptight Claire seemed to turn into a relaxed one in her own home. I wished I felt the same. I waited for her to tell me where my room was, or the rules on our staying together.
She surprised me when she said, “Want a beer?”
I nodded.
I was speechless.
Claire drank beer.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as I’d thought it would be. Claire inside her apartment was completely different from the uptight one that I’d met a few years ago. After all, she had beer and even though I shouldn’t be drinking anymore. I found that I didn’t need to divulge like I did when I was gambling. I didn’t need it to make me feel brave, I just wanted it once in a while to cool me down and take the edge off like right now.
“What?” I snarled at Rogue as he stood still as if he was frozen in time. He stared at me as if I was a ghost.I drink beer.I take my shoes off when I get home.Get over it.It didn’t take a genius to guess what was going through his mind. It was written all over his face. Then again, in my profession we were trained to study body language. That way we knew what type of client we were dealing with and knew whether it was a high risk to take them on from the start.“Sure,” he sighed as he awoke from his trance. “Pass it over.” He was the only guy that I had ever had in my apartment. Not that I was a virgin. Just that this was a haven that I had never crossed the line on and let a guy enter. I had always felt if I did go down that road and let them in then they would know the real me.The me I kept hidden.Even from myself.I walked slowly toward him and thought about this big bad boy. He had emerald eyes and dark hair, and when he took off his jacket, I saw he had a body full of tatt
I dropped her hand and took my surroundings in for a brief moment. Her room was cold—I’d expected to see red walls and maybe an enlarged photo of her above her bed. I’d imagined a four-poster bed with nets. Her room was nothing like that.There were no photos, nothing personal. It was as if it wasn’t her place, but a showroom. Even that would have had a picture on the wall. Something to make it more inviting. The bedcovers were the same color as the walls and floor, cream. I had been in a few women’s bedrooms, and none of them had been as cold as Claire’s. For a minute it took me by surprise, especially because of the way she was hungry for me. Did this sex-craved woman really live here?Did she rent it because she didn’t want me to know where she really lived?I shook my head and thought about her stripping down like a hooker ready to take her favorite client. There was no misunderstanding about what we were about to do.A whole lot of fucking!I just needed to take my time. I want
I turned my head slowly, wondering if I was having one of those secret fantasizes again. The ones that seem so real. I shook my head as I realized that it was real. Rogue was lying on my bed with his arm wrapped around me like a blanket. Butt naked.In my bedroom.This wasn't supposed to happen. He would be in his room, I would be in mine, and we would live like strangers.This whole thing had been a mistake. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t help even have a steady relationship with a guy. No guy had even been to my damn apartment, let alone my bed, in FOUR years. How pathetic was that? But, this wasn’t any ordinary guy. This was Rogue. My stepbrother.I gasped as I felt his length brush against my thigh. He moved slightly, and I wondered if he was awake. His breathing picked up as he turned me around, and my erect nipples became aligned with his even though he was six feet tall and would tower over me if we were standing up. I held my breath as he gently pressed kisses up and down my
I woke up in the morning and got the shock of my life. Rogue, my stepbrother, butt naked with me in my bed, and I was in the same state. Not to mention the various aches in my body and the suspicious liquid leaking out of me between my thighs.Fuck.That was what we’d done yesterday. Even asleep, how was that something I could forget? It had to be one of the dumbest things I’d ever done, and I had done a few crappy things in my time, a few in high school and mostly in college. Mom wasn’t going to be happy.Fuck!Then again, she didn’t need to know.Except, we were supposed to meet her yesterday, and she was bound to have questions about what we’ve been up to and even worse, if we’re getting along. We shared bodily fluids so we’re getting along a bit too well.In my bed with Rogue fucking me in many different positions.I couldn’t say that. Neither did I want to deal with Rogue once he woke up because I didn’t doubt things would be awkward after this. I was supposed to live with him,
I woke up in the morning in a fucking good mood. For my first night out of prison, it wasn’t half bad. I didn’t think that Claire could be so fucking amazing and I was looking forward to us living together from now on.My good mood lasted up until I stretched my arm out, and felt nothing where there should have been a warm, soft body.With a frown, I blinked my eyes open and squinted. The room wasn’t all that bright with the curtains still drawn, but my eyes still stung. It was pretty clear, though, with a single glance that I was alone on the bed.“Claire?” I called out, frowning as I pushed myself up.I listened out, but I couldn’t hear her anywhere else in the apartment. I got out of bed and went to check. After going around the whole place, I was sure there was no one else in the apartment.“What the fuck?” I muttered, heading back to the bedroom.Where the hell did she go? I was exhausted after last night. I’d been pretty pent up, and I’d used her to my heart’s content, not that
I was exhausted by the time I got home. After putting up with my boss for so long, he’d finally let me check out of work. I didn’t even know if I was going to get paid a bonus for winning the case, seeing as I'd be working with one of the partner’s.I’d done it once and it didn’t work out well with the senior partner. Because, he ended up taking all the credit, while I did the scraps in their eyes, but really I did the bulk of the work, but going against one of the senior partner’s was like fucking law suicide. No one would hire you after your current firm fired you, because you wouldn’t be deemed as a team player.Once, I got home, the lights were on, but the apartment was silent, was the first thing I noticed upon entering. I looked around the living room, a bit scared to move past the door. It was ridiculous, because I was worried about how he would react, but this was still my place.If he had something to complain about…well, it wasn’t like I could kick him out, either. I wasn’t
“Ugh,” I groaned, trying to roll over, only to flinch when I almost rolled right off the couch. “Shit.”I’d been out all night and didn’t get back till morning, and Claire had already gone to work when I got back. Which was just as well, because I didn’t want to hear her nagging at me. It was stupid for me to get drunk, even I knew that, but it was either that, or I would have screamed at her. Or held her down in her bed and made her beg.That last thought made me sigh, and I squinted my eyes open.I’d been drinking for too fucking long, and the joint I went to, didn’t close till around eight this morning, and I was drinking up to that time, so I was technically still drunk and not hung over just yet. I didn’t know how long I’d been home for, but I’d dropped to the couch to shut my eyes for a moment because I was feeling tired and fucking exhausted.I dragged my body off the couch and headed for the kitchen to get some water to drink. Then I’d sleep and wake up whenever I started to f
“These are the sections we’re going to be focusing on, so read the whole thing, but you need to memorize this part, do you understand?”I nodded along to what Simon was saying, looking at the documents in my hands. I wondered if I’d received the full document or if he was keeping parts of it away from me. I’d skimmed several pages before stopping where he’d highlighted, and a lot of the info seemed strange. Or maybe he just didn’t want to reveal all his cards to me, yet. I was a little surprised that he was treating me as an actual partner and not just a lowly assistant. If he were just treating me as an assistant, he’d get me to do all the research and do the more important parts himself, but he was including me in everything.It didn’t stop me from being suspicious, but it did lower my guard a little bit.“We have a while until the next meeting, so read up. There’s some research material at the end of the document that you should also look into. I’ll be doing my homework, and when w