Page 26

“ S o will I be seeing you tonight?” Beatrix asks once she’s finished taking the check from table twelve.

“Tonight?” I ask, having no idea what she’s talking about.

“Come on, I thought you’d have known all about it. The club is having a huge beach party. Sinner invited Fiona and said to bring some friends. Didn’t your big, scary friend tell you about it?” She teases me with a pout.

“Dev’s not my friend,” I tell her for the hundredth time, hating that just hearing his name makes me go all weepy.

I decided to listen to the warning he gave me when I last saw him.

I’ve stayed away, hoping that it would make all the feelings I have for him go away.

But if anything, it’s made them worse. I keep reliving that kiss we had on the beach over and over in my head.

I’ve never been kissed that way before, and I crave more of it every time I think about it.

Staying away hasn’t been easy, especially now that school is over. I have a whole summer to occupy myself before I start college, and hearing that there's a party at the club tonight is making me desperate to go.

Surely, there’ll be enough people there for him not to notice me. I could turn up for an hour, blend into the crowd, and if I got caught, I could blame Sinner. He was the one who told Fiona to bring some friends.

“What time are you getting there?” I ask, my stomach starting to fizzle with nerves and excitement.

“Around nine. I want to make a fashionably late entrance so Mr. Sinner notices me.”

“Sinner? Really?” I check. Sure, the guy’s handsome, but there’s something about him that scares me, and don’t even get me started on his manners.

“Girl, if you’ve heard the stories that I’ve heard, you’d understand.” She shrugs as she makes her way over to clear her table.

It’s nine thirty, so Beatrix and Fiona are bound to be here, and as I move through the club gates, I take full advantage of the fact that Rocco’s distracted by a group of girls.

Heading through the smaller gate that leads from the parking lot down to the beach, I have a scout around for any sign of the girls from work.

The fire pit is burning, the music is loud, and it’s way busier than any of the parties Corey brought me to before.

“Ya wanna a beer?” Some guy I don’t know presses himself up against my back and passes a bottle over my shoulder.

“Thanks.” I take it from him and spin around, holding it up to cheers as I take a sip, and try my best to blend in.

I listen to him tell me his name and talk about himself, all the while glancing around and wondering where Dev might be.

The smoke is thick, making it difficult to see anything on the other side of the beach, so I decide to head closer to the balcony, hoping to get a better view of the whole beach.

“Hey, you never told me your name.” The guy chases after me.

“Millie.” I smile politely, climbing backward a few steps to gain some height so I can see over the top of everyone.

“That's a cute name, are you a cute girl?” he asks, climbing after me so his face is level with my chest.

“I can be, until someone crosses the line,” I warn, having a feeling that he might be about to overstep it.

“I like that.” He glances down my body, making me evaluate my outfit choice. It’s been a month since I last saw Dev, and the bikini I was wearing seemed to get a reaction out of him. Maybe tonight I was subconsciously hoping for the same effect.

All the other girls here are wearing skimpy bikini tops and shorts, I’ve just opted for a skirt instead of the shorts.

“Have you seen Beatrix or Fiona?” I ask him, hoping he can be of some use.

“Who?” He uses the opportunity to lean in closer, and when I turn my head, he quickly catches my lips with his, grabbing hold of my face and forcing his tongue into my mouth.

I press both my palms against his chest to try and throw him off, but he doesn’t give up; instead, he kisses me harder. I start to panic when his hands move from my face, snatching both my arms and squeezing tight at my biceps to stop me from getting away from him.

Suddenly, I feel him get dragged away from me, and I see a giant fist knock him back and make him tumble down the stairs into a heap on the sand at the bottom.

“Dev.” I don’t need to follow the arm back to see who it belongs to, and the wooden step shakes beneath my feet as he trudges past me to the bottom and picks up the guy by the back of his t-shirt.

“Dev, what are you doing?” I quickly scurry after him when I realize that he’s dragging him straight toward the ocean.

“Dev! I call out again, but he acts like he can’t hear me, as he wades in with his heavy boots into the swell and starts walking the guy, who’s still on his knees, out to sea. Dev stops when the water reaches his thighs, taking a fist full of the guy's hair and plunging him under.

“Dev, stop!” I shake my head and watch the anger on his face as he holds the struggling body under the surface.

“Did you ask him to kiss you?” he yells back at me.

“Well, no, but you can’t drown him for it.” I feel the water lapping at my toes and start debating if I should go in myself. Sure, the guy was way too forward and rude, but he doesn’t deserve to die.

Dev says nothing, just shrugs as if he disagrees with my opinion, and I breathe a sigh of relief when he eventually drags his head back out of the water.

The guy gasps desperately for air, spluttering and choking while Dev keeps his eyes fixed on mine, then submerges him back under.

“Dev, please, he’s just wasted. Cut him some slack.”

“Wasted don’t mean he gets to put his mouth on you, princess.” Dev continues to hold him under, and despite the fact he’s committing murder right in front of me, I feel my pussy tingle.

“Come on, it’s a party; you don’t want to kill anyone.” I snap myself out of it and try to convince him that this is a bad idea.

“Ain’t much of a party if no one dies.” He shrugs again.

“Dev, please. I’m begging you, don’t kill him.” I look around me for some support, and despite the fact that quite a crowd has gathered around us, no one seems to be stepping in.

The guy makes another desperate gulp for air when Dev eventually lets him back up, and the desperation on his face is horrible to see.

“Please…” he chokes. “...I’m sorry.”

“Do you think he means that? I don’t.” Dev shakes his head before plunging him back under.

“Jesus, Dev, will you please just stop?” I start to cry when I realize that he really might kill this kid right in front of me.

“ Please. ” I grip my hair and shake my head, and when I see all that tension in his face soften just a little, I’m relieved when he throws the guy away and lets the tide bring him back in.

“Get the fuck outta here.” He presses his boot into the side of the guy's head while he lies on the wet sand and gulps to get his breath back. When Dev releases his foot, despite not being fully recovered, the guy manages to scramble onto his feet.

“I’m…I’m sorry.” His trembling lips mutter as he passes me, then disappears into the crowd, and my attention turns straight back to Dev.

“That was an overreaction.” I strain my neck looking up at him when he stands directly in front of me. “All the guy did was kiss me. This is a party, Dev, that’s the kind of thing that happens.”

“I know it’s a party. What I’m wondering is what the fuck you’re doing at it.” He looks down his nose at me bitterly.

“Look around you, Dev, half of Long Beach is here. Corey used to bring me to these kinds of things, and I enjoyed them. I’m just trying to have some fun.”

“Plenty of other ways to have fun.” He shrugs that shoulder again.

“You know what? I think the reason you don’t want me here is because I’m too much of a temptation.” I let my mouth run away with me and scowl when he makes a cocky laugh at my suggestion.

“Please...” He pushes his soaked, wet hand back through his hair. “You’re a fuckin’ kid.”

“Were you thinking that when you kissed me back?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest and refusing to let him humiliate me.

“That was a mistake.” He points his finger at me, tensing all the muscles in his face.

“Yeah, well, I dare you not to make that mistake again.” I step right up to him, so this finger presses deep into my chest.

“You got nothing to worry about, kiddo, I never make the same mistake twice,” he leans in to whisper before taking my hand and dragging me off the beach, up the stairs, and kicking the door to the barroom open.

“Alicia, I need you to drive her home. Take Rocco with you.” He presents me in front of the girls’ table.

“Hey, Millie, we didn’t know you were here.” Eden ignores him, looking pleased to see me.

“Not for much longer, she’s leaving.” Dev smiles at her sarcastically.

“I don’t want to go home, I’m meeting my friends here,” I argue back, noticing the way the girls all look at each other and smirk.

“Alicia?” Dev stares at her as if he’s waiting for her to do something.

“I’ll give Millie a ride home, but only if she wants one.” She smiles back at him sarcastically, and knowing that she’s standing in my corner puts a warm feeling in my stomach.

“Jesus Christ.” Dev scrubs his hand over his face, and suddenly, I see how much my being here is stressing him out.

Given all that he’s been through this past month, I hate being the cause of it.

Dev’s clearly on edge, his behavior just proved that, and I don’t want to be the cause of someone else getting hurt.

“Dev’s right, I should leave.”

Dev goes to argue, stopping himself when he realizes what I just said, and looking almost as stunned as the girls do.

“If you’re sure.” Alicia picks up her purse and throws Dev a filthy look as she takes my hand.

“Hey, I told ya to take Rocco with you,” he calls after us as we make our way to the door.

“Rocco ain’t a prospect anymore; everyone here is having a good time. You’ve ruined enough people's fun for one night.” She bites back at him sarcastically.

“But–-”

“I got a handgun in my glove compartment, that's the only chaperone I need,” she calls back at him, and without looking back, she leads me out the door.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt your night. I can just call a cab,” I tell her as we start making our way toward her car.

“It’s fine, I’d much rather take you home myself; you can’t be too sure around here,” she assures me, unlocking her car.

“Okay, but we should have Rocco come with us.” I look over to the gate where he’s still talking to the same group of girls.

“Nah, it’s not fair on him; just because the club hasn’t got anyone to fill the prospect position shouldn’t mean he still gets all the lousy jobs. Look at him, he’s having fun.” She smiles over to him while I get into the passenger seat.

“Besides, I’ve got my own backup. Vike hooked me up just after my brother died.” She opens her glove compartment to show me her weapon as we pull out the gates.

“Would you really use that?” I question her, tempted to take it out and get a better look at it, but she snaps the compartment shut and focuses on the road.

“For sure…If I had to,” she assures me, looking up in her rearview mirror when we hear the rumble of a bike engine close behind.

“I fucking knew it,” She shakes her head and laughs. “Those boys just can’t trust us to look after ourselves.”

“Is that Vike?” I look back over my shoulder and see the guy with the long plait on our tail.

“Yep,” she sighs.

“Okay, so as far as I can figure, Freya is with Ruckus. Eden is with Freya’s brother, Wrath, and Peyton is with Raze, right?” I check I’m on point so far.

“Correct, also remember that Raze is Eden’s brother,” she informs me.

“Okay.” I try to log it all in my head. “But Quinn’s not an old lady, she’s just got it bad for the big hairy one, right?”

“Sasquatch.” Alicia laughs.

“So are you and Vi–”

“No,” she quickly interrupts, twisting up her lips and taking another glance up at the mirror.

“You like him, though, right?” I check.

“It wouldn’t matter either way. Vike doesn't see me like that. We’re friends, and I’m grateful for it.”

“How do you manage, being at the club and seeing him all the time? It must be hard.” I don’t need her to admit to me how she feels; I can sense it, and I’m wondering if I could learn something from her, because staying away sure hasn’t worked.

“I’ve had plenty of time to get used to it. Sometimes we just have to accept that there are things in this world we can’t have.” She smiles at me sadly.

“I can’t seem to do that. I’ve tried, and I know you probably think I’m just young and stupid, but I know what I feel for Dev is real.

I spent years trying to feel the same way about Corey, and it just wouldn’t happen,” I confess.

“Do you really think I should just give up on something I feel that strongly about?” I ask her, begging for some answers.

“First of all, I don’t think you're young and stupid. You're eighteen, and anyone can see that you got your head screwed on. You’ve been through a lot, so has Dev, and sometimes love isn’t found in the right places.

Dev’s hurting, he feels like a failure, and despite how it may feel, this is his way of taking care of you,” she explains, looking as if she feels sorry for me.

“It’s a right turn here.” I direct her onto my street, and she looks across to me in shock when I point her to my gates.

“Girl, is this your place?” She looks shocked.

“This is me,” I sigh. “Thanks for the ride and the advice. I guess I’ll just have to do better at staying away.”

“Here.” She takes out her cell and hands it to me, “Put your number in there.” She waits until I’ve typed it in before she takes it back from me and hits call.

“Now you got my number. You ever need to talk, you just call. Maybe we could all meet up for coffee sometime.” She smiles warmly.

“I don’t want to burden you with my problems.” I look down at her round little tummy and smile.

“Trust me, I’m grateful for the distraction from my own,” she assures me. “Call anytime.” I can tell from her voice that she means it

“Thanks for the ride.” I lean across to hug her before I get out, then hold my hand up to Vike, who's parked up behind her. Taking a deep breath, I press the buzzer on the gates, hoping Gregg won’t question where I’ve been or rat me out to my parents.

I’ve been working really hard to get in their good books to make life that little bit easier for Dad.

But as the gates open and I head back into a world where men like Dev are strictly forbidden, I can’t help feeling that I don’t belong here.