Page 12 of No Longer Safe

Chapter Ten

Audrey

Damn Brian,and his jealously. He couldn’t stand anyone having fun without him. He couldn’t stand for me to be so far away when he hadn’t cared what I was doing when I was home. Apparently there weren’t enough people in our small town for him to be worried about. But now that he knew Ace had four brothers and we were in this massive city, he was not happy. He hadn’t yelled, he hadn’t acted mad, but I could hear it in his voice. He wasn’t happy with this new lot of information. I shouldn’t have been honest to begin with, which sounded horrible but he would have done better with part truths.

He asked if I met the family and I started with how annoying Ace’s brother was and everything went downhill from there. All he could do was silently seethe.

I washed my face and took a deep breath before turning my phone face down. It wasn’t like Brian was going to have anything to say now. He wasdonewith this conversation, as he said. He didn’t want to know anything else about Alexei or his other brothers. He didn’t want to know if I was having fun or what I was wearing. Everything revolved around the fact that he couldn’t spy on me through his mother. That was why he didn’t like me out here. He didn’t have his play-by-play to help himfeel secure in himself. Whatever. Fuck him. He would get over it, we would make up, and hopefully this distance would make the heart grow fonder as my mother always said.

When we were young my mom always encouraged my dad to leave for extended periods of time for work. She said it made things so much better when he returned. I was curious to see if that was true, curious to see stars and orgasms like never before. I splashed more cold water on my face and finished buttoning up my favorite PJs. They had peaches with handprints all over them and felt like heaven against my skin.

Even though it was all I could think about, I skipped the bath and the massive shower and opted to enjoy them in the morning. Tomorrow was the big engagement party Emeline was throwing for their family and I knew I would be spending most of the day getting ready or helping calm Carina’s nerves. My mind flashed to Alexei and my cheeks went warm. He was a pig and horribly annoying but he was hot as hell. He probably belonged in hell if we were being honest.

I shook my head in hopes it would keep thoughts of him away. What good would it do to think of him now? The bed was turned down and didn’t smell like cheap perfume. Relief coursed through me as I clicked the lights off and cannonballed into the massive cloud of blankets and pillows. I pulled the thick comforter around my shoulders and sighed. A girl could get used to this.

All nightI tossed and turned with dreams of black eyes and tattooed bodies. I woke up with a start, my heart was beating erratically in my chest, and my skin was damp with sweat. There was an ache like no other between my thighs. I let out an exhausted, exasperated breath of air before I threw myself back onto the pile of pillows beneath me.

Damn Alexei. He just had to infiltrate my dreams now too. I shoved my hair out of my face and followed the scent of coffee out of my bedroom and down the stairs. Ace was nowhere to be seen and Carina was leaning against the counter eating a bagel slathered in strawberry cream cheese spread. She waved her fingers at the coffee pot in the corner of the massive island. It looked so out of place in this masterpiece of a kitchen.

“How’d you sleep?” Carina asked around a mouthful of food which made it sound more like Chewbacca was speaking to me. Good thing we spoke fluent best friend garble.

I shrugged. I wouldn’t admit to dreaming about Alexei.

She put her bagel down and frowned. “Was the bed too comfortable?”

A laugh burst from me and I shook my head. Maybe I needed to get it off of my chest so he would stay out of my head. I wouldn’t have to speak or see him again for a few more weeks after this. We didn’t have to have any kind of relationship, we didn’t even have to be friends. This was all innocent and my body just couldn’t help that it liked hot men, that was it. “I just had extremely weird dreams.”

Instead of bursting that can of beans wide open she took a sip out of her coffee and eyed me carefully. “What happened with Brian?”

There wasn’t enough time for us to discuss the phone call after dinner. Ace immediately swept her off of her feet and up the stairs when we made it back and I was too exhausted to really dive into my feelings. I thought a good night’s rest was all I needed to be able to talk about these things, boy was I wrong. I certainly didn’t feel like talking about Brian at all. He’d sent agood morningtext that went completely ignored.

“That bad?” She must have read my facial expression. Instead of pressing, she grabbed a mug out of the cabinet and poured me a generous cup of coffee before she dumped half thecreamer and two scoops of sugar into it. She knew me too well, but then again, I knew her preferred coffee too. Many nights studying at the only coffee shop in town would do that.

“What do you think about Ace’s family?” She avoided eye contact with that question and I knew immediately she was worried about my answer.

“They’re definitely interesting,” Alexei’s black eyes flashed into my head and I pinched my lips together. Damn it.

She grinned against her mug. “Why is your face so red?”

I closed my eyes and leaned against the counter. All the coffee in the world couldn’t fix this problem. “A certain brother invaded my dreams last night.”

When I opened my eyes, Carina’s brows were so high on her forehead that they were lost in her messy hair. “He wouldn’t happen to have the name of Alexei?”

I closed my eyes again and groaned. “He’s just sexy, I guess.”

“I think he likes you,” Her brows settled back into their assigned placement on her forehead. She made a funny face and shook her head. “Not like that matters anyway, you’re with Brian.”

I buried my face in my hands and tried to get my heartbeat under control. She was right, I was with Brian, even if things were strained. Not to mention, Alexei was rich and trashy. “He likes strippers and cheap pussy, Carina.”

“I didn’t say anything,” She motioned to zipping her lips and throwing away the key. I didn’t know what to say about the brother. He obviously got under my skin. “But if I were to say something, I would start off with I hope things are better with you and Brian. I know how badly you want him to put a ring on it and I know how badly you’re ready to settle down.”

There was nothing I wanted more than to agree with her but I couldn’t. Had I actually wanted those things or were those things I told myself I needed in order to fit in back home? Nowthat I was a couple hundred miles away from home, things were starting to get clearer. Now that I was able to see everything that Brian said and I did, I wondered how much of it I actually wanted to deal with for the rest of my life. Brian was all I’d known since I went home from college. He was the play-it-safe option but now I could see that I didn’t want to be controlled by him or his mother. Maybe if we could move away from the small town we were stuck in, I could be happy. Truly happy. I squared my shoulders. I would broach the conversation when I got home, after a good orgasm, I hoped.

“You’re going to move here permanently?” My question sounded so sad. I especially didn’t want to be stuck in that small town if my best friend wasn’t there.

She shrugged but her eyes softened. “In a few years maybe.”

I knew better. Ace had business to handle here for his father, that much was very clear.

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