Say It's Forever (Redemption Hills #2)(64)

Real.

Emotion crested on my lips.

“You look freaking hot.” Tessa clapped her hands wildly. “I can’t wait for Jud to see you.”

“Jud and I are just friends.”

She rolled her eyes. “Um, I think there’s a chance Jud might have shit himself when you walked into the restaurant last weekend. Tell me he didn’t take you home after the party and ravage you?”

Fire hit my cheeks, and I pressed my lips together as the memories assaulted me.

“Oh my god, he did.” She pressed her hands to her face. “I was just messing with you, and he did. Tell me. This girl needs details.” She frantically gestured at herself.

“This is true. Only because her lame boyfriend doesn’t have a clue how to do her right.” Eden said it from behind her glass, taking a sip like she wasn’t the one responsible for the words.

“Hey.” Tessa pouted and smacked Eden’s arm. “It’s Karl’s birthday, no dogging him tonight.” She looked at me and overexaggerated that pout. “Even if it’s horribly, terribly, devastatingly true. But I love him,” she peeped.

Eden widened her eyes at me in clear disagreement, mouthed, He’s a total douche.

I choked on my surprise.

Well then, I guess I had become a part of their trio.

Tessa pointed at Eden’s face. “I heard that.”

“Heard what?” Eden giggled.

And there I was, caught up in that whirlwind again. Unsure of where it would take me or where I was going to land. Because Tessa took my arm and jerked me all over like the goof she was. “Well, tell me! I haven’t had an orgasm in like…five years. I need to know. Did he do it right? Treat you right? Is he your wild card?”

Confusion dented my brow. “My what?”

She sighed in exasperation. “Your ace? The one you didn’t expect?”

Nerves rattled through my being, and my stomach clenched in a bid of want while my mind spun with warnings.

You have to be careful.

Trust no one.

And whatever you do, no matter what, do not fall in love.

I looked at my new friends, that trust no one thing kaput, and whispered, “He’s definitely the last one I expected.”

Tessa squealed. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go get your man.”

I stumbled out behind her. Wishing it could be that easy. That I could love a man and he could love me in return.

That I could exist in his life.

But the sad, devastating truth was I was afraid that one day, I would disappear.





TWENTY





JUD





I sat at the booth tucked in the farthest corner of Absolution nursing a beer. Dim lights were strung across the cavernous space, the club two stories of luxury spiked with a dose of dive.

Gave it a dark vibe, like there might be evil lurking in the shadows. Temptation at every corner. Wouldn’t be all that far from the truth.

As usual, the place was packed. Line at the door and people vying for the perfect spot to watch the band that was prepping to take to the stage. The DJ was currently blasting a dance beat through the speakers, amping the mood for the main event.

Trent had insisted I come since there was some big band playing tonight. Since Logan and I were part owners, it looked good for us to show our faces. Not that it usually took a whole ton of coercion to get me here, but truth be told, I’d been craving a whole different sort of revelry tonight.

Namely the kind where I got lost in a black-haired beauty with curves for days and thunderbolt eyes that speared me to the spot.

But considering I’d been permanently friend-zoned, and not the good kind with benefits, right here was probably exactly where I should be.

Searching for a distraction. For a way to scratch this itch that was slowly and steadily driving me insane. The way the girl waltzed around my shop like a perfect fantasy, spellbinding me with each step.

More concerning, though? It was the way the demon writhed.

The way it clawed and jerked and howled to go on the hunt when she would constantly look over her shoulder.

My gut told me she was in fear of being watched, and I knew, without a doubt, I’d gladly chase down whatever bastard had written terror on her spirit.

Fuck. She’d gotten under my skin, and in a bad, bad way.

Because there wasn’t one face in this entire place that I found more interesting than hers.

Hell, mesmerizing was what it was.

I was taking another gulp of my beer when my brothers came busting through the throng of people who were gathering close to the stage.

They both slipped into the booth opposite me.

“About time,” I said, smirking at Trent who grunted at me as he roughed a tatted hand through his hair. “Rough night?”

“If something could go wrong, it went wrong tonight. New barback somehow toppled an entire fuckin’ wall of vodka, at least 10k worth, and he denied it and tried to blame it on Leann, so Sage had to fire his ass. Dude threw himself a pissy fit and said he was going to sue. Caused a giant-ass scene. Leann’s in tears. Two of the men’s toilets clogged. Oh, and the drummer for tonight’s band is smashed. Like, straight-up, stumbling into the walls, smashed.”

I lifted my beer his direction. “So, you’re saying you’ve been in there lapping that vodka up to ease your pain?”