Page 39 of Such A Bad Girl

As if life in that cold, rambling house could ever be normal.

I raised myself. When I met West and Everleigh in middle school, I was so grateful to have real friends that I wasn’t about to fuck it up in any way.

My obsession with Everleigh began early. At twelve, she’d been a skinny kid in pigtails and overalls when she wasn’t getting all glammed up for a pageant. She’d been underfoot, tagging along with me and West whether we wanted her to or not. She was smart as a whip, a little shy but very funny, though, and after a few months, I didn’t mind having her around so much.

Even with the way her mother treated her, and then what she’d gone through with her father, I saw nothing but strength under her shyness. As she got older, that shyness turned to false bravado that made her look like a spoiled brat, but I knew what was really going on with her. She had to overcompensate when she stated her needs because she was used to not getting them met. She was used to being ignored by the people who were supposed to care for her when she was a child.

I got it. Trauma made up the foundation of who she was, and that was understandable.

It did make her behavior at times insanely annoying, but I understood.

Maybe that was why I was still so attracted to her, even after all these years. She’d come from complete horror and made an entirely different life for herself. West had, too. I admired both immensely.

Our friendship was something that I refused to fuck up. At least not until I could figure out a way to prove to West that I would be good for Everleigh. But, hell, I wasn’t even sure of that myself these days.

All I did was work and blow off steam in the temple. Everleigh deserved someone who was able to focus solely on her.

Besides, West never approved of anyone Everleigh dated. He thought every guy that came around wasn’t good enough. Somehow, he was always right. They never lasted long.

I knew I wouldn’t be an exception. And I couldn’t take that risk. It would mean putting our entire friendship on the line.

So, when I shoved that phone back in my pocket, I desperately wanted to talk to both Rian and West about everything. But I knew I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

I’d have to handle this myself.

We finished up the meeting by agreeing not to open the club to new members for at least a few more weeks, but I could hear the clock ticking in my head as I hurried back to my office to reply to Everleigh’s text.

Well, that’s progress. Let’s meet up again. Are you at the studio?

It took her a few minutes to reply. And when she did, it was as if her words had injected jealousy straight into my veins.

I just arrived at the temple. Needed to blow off some steam. Let’s meet up later.

“Fuck!” I shouted. I took a deep breath, resisting the urge to rush down there. My eyes darted over to the security monitors behind my desk. I bit the inside of my cheek, inhaling deeply. “Don’t do it, dude,” I muttered to myself.

I pushed my chair back, pacing around the office like an angry bull, fuming.

Why did she feel the need to go to the temple? She could have anyone she wanted. All she was doing by being here was torturing me.

I was furious with Rian for accepting her membership in the first place. I would have revoked it myself if I didn’t think it would show my hand to West. I couldn’t believe West had allowed it at all. But she’d stomped her foot and demanded he let her in, just like the little diva she was. He’d caved, and only required that she not come when he was there.

Such bullshit.

I grabbed a bottle of bourbon from my desk drawer and took a big gulp from it. The heat of the liquor burned like shattered glass in my throat. Images of Everleigh played in my head — her body splayed out before me, the smile on her face as I spread her thighs open, the moans echoing through the room when my tongue darted inside of her….

“Fuck!” I shouted again. I stormed over to the monitors and flipped the switch.

The temple came into view instantly. The flickering torch flames illuminated the scene in the main room. Five hooded figures surrounded the caged bed, and a gorgeous red-headed woman, with the most voluptuous curves, was writhing under their touch.

My eyes scanned the room, searching for the only body I wanted to see.

Everleigh wasn’t there.

I looked at all the other views, searching for her in the private rooms. Only West, Rian, and I had access to these cameras, and we’d paid an exorbitant amount of money to a security company to ensure they’d never be accessible to anyone else. I rarely looked at the footage myself. I had no need to know what was going on in the temple if I wasn’t down there myself. Not unless there was a problem.

I felt like an asshole intruding on the intimate and private scenes of our members, but I told myself that as soon as I saw that Everleigh was safe, I’d turn the cameras off.

When I finally spotted her, my jaw dropped open.

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