Arranged love

GRAVE

THE MASON BROTHERS don’t rape women, but that doesn’t mean their thugs wouldn’t. I have no doubt that if one of them wanted her, they would have done it. The only thing that kept her from being sexually assaulted was that they wanted money from her. If they would have forced themselves onto her, they would have killed her afterward. Then the Mason brothers would have killed them.

She looks away from me, dismissing the direction this conversation was going just as the punk returns with our drinks. “Here you go.” He hands her hers and slams mine down on the table. Then he turns and walks back toward the bar.

I pick mine up and joke, trying to lighten the mood. “They don’t keep rat poison in the back, do they?”

She snorts and places hers down and yanks mine from my hands. She tosses it back, hissing in a breath.

_______________

Two hours have gone by and I’m craving a hit. April is drunk. She can barely keep her eyes open. She hasn’t said much. But Derek hasn’t taken his eyes off us from his post behind the bar.

They have a past. I’m just not sure how far back it goes. The guy obviously has a thing for her, and it’s not hard to tell they’ve fucked. He sees me as his competition, but I have news for him, there is nothing he could do to beat me. If I want it, I win.

April gets my attention when she slams her empty glass down on the table. “I’m ready … to go.” She hiccups.

“Okay.” I pull a few hundred dollars from my wallet and throw them in the center of the table. Then I get out of the booth and reach out my hand to her. She’s going to need help walking out of this place.

“April?” The douche comes up to the table. “You need to stay. Have some water …”

“She’ll be fine,” I tell him, pushing him out of the way.

She takes my hand and scoots across the leather. Once she hits her feet, she stumbles into me. I wrap an arm around her small waist and throw hers over my shoulder.

“April.” He steps into me. His chest pressed to mine. I have six inches on him, but I’m also holding a very drunk woman. Both of my hands are full.

“Step back,” I warn.

“Or what?” He smirks. “Going to hit me?”

The fucker knows I can’t hit him. If so, she’ll fall. So I use the other option I have. My leg. I knee the motherfucker in the balls.

He falls to his knees, forcing him to the nasty ass bar floor when he doubles over. I readjust April, and we make our way out to my car.

APRIL

I know getting drunk was irresponsible. I’m drowning my problems for the time being, which I never really do. They’re still going to be here tomorrow, but I’ll deal with them then.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

I fall into his passenger seat, and he shuts my door. My face falls into my hands, and I try my best to keep from crying. Yelling. If my brother were here, I’d punch him again just to get my point across.

“Hey.” He rubs my back while we sit in the parking lot. I turn into him, letting him hug me.

“That was all she had.” I sniff, inhaling his cologne as I bury my face into his shirt.

“Look at me.” He places his fingers under my chin and lifts it, so I have to look up at him. “I’m going to take care of it. I promise. It’s just a speed bump.”

“I won’t be able to repay you.” That’s the hardest pill to swallow. Our mother raised us to live within our means, but this is going too far. Maybe I should just sell the building as is and walk away.

“You won’t owe me anything.” He leans forward and kisses my forehead, and I sit back in his passenger seat as he fastens my seat belt, then starts the car before pulling out of the parking lot to take me home.

I lie my forehead against his cool window and my eyelids close on their own.

“April?” I hear his voice.

“Hmm?” I open my heavy eyes.

“We’re here.” He turns his car off.

I open the door and manage to climb out of his passenger seat. He’s there the next moment to help me up the stairs and into the house. “Ethan?” I call out once we enter. “Ethan?” I get no response. “He better be here.” I yawn.

“I’ll check,” he assures me.

He helps me up the stairs and into my room. I don’t even care about showering right now. I grab my shirt and lift it up over my head before tossing it to the floor. Then I kick off my shoes and undo my jeans. I turn to see I’m alone in my room. “Grave?” I shove my jeans down my legs and fall into my bed. My sheets feel nice and cold. I close my heavy eyes but open them a second later.

“Here. Take this.” He’s standing next to my bed with a glass of water and two aspirin.

I toss them back and then take a sip of the water before handing it back to him. He places it on my nightstand and pulls the covers up to my neck. Then he runs his warm hand over my forehead.

“Thank you,” I whisper. My eyes growing heavy again. It could be the loss of adrenaline or the drinks that I had. Possibly a combination of the two.

He smiles down at me, his perfectly straight teeth glowing in the soft light from my window. “I’m always here for you, April.”

“I like you,” I admit without shame. The sober me would have a red face but drunk April doesn’t give a shit. It’s why I don’t drink very often; the truth will always bite you in the ass the next day. That’s how I ended things with Derek. I was drunk and told him that although the sex was good, I didn’t see us having a future. Thankfully, he was able to still be my friend.

He chuckles. “I’m glad to hear that because I like you too.”

I sit up, placing my face right up against his. His panty-dropping smile disappears instantly. I reach out and run my hand down his shirt. I can feel his muscles tense underneath it. “April …”

“Shh,” I say against his lips. “I want you.” And lean into him. My lips pressing against his as my heavy eyes close.

His hand cups my face, and he kisses me softly, delicately. I open my mouth for him to deepen the kiss, but he pulls away. I take a deep breath. “We shouldn’t. Not tonight.” He breathes, placing his forehead to mine.

“Grave …”

My cell ringing in my purse on the floor interrupts me. He gets up from the bed, walking over to it, and I lie back down. My heart pounds, my mind foggy and pussy wet. This is not how I pictured my night going.

“Hello?” I hear him answer it. I don’t even bother to ask who it is. “Yeah.” He lowers his voice and turns his back to me, but I can still hear him. “Can you come over to April’s and stay with her tonight?” He pauses. “We went out, and she had a few drinks …” I snort at that lie. “Thank you.” He hangs up and walks over to the side of the bed again, placing my cell on my nightstand. The screen is busted, but it still works. I’ll have to go buy a new one in the morning. “That was Jasmine. She’s on her way to stay with you.”

“Why can’t you stay with me?” I ask through a yawn.

“I have somewhere to be.”