Play Fair (The Devil's Share Book 3)(18)
After a while Landry leaned her head against Jacks’s arm. So he lifted it and pulled her against his side. She bit her lips together to hide her smile. I felt so lucky to be here, to be able to watch the bond forming between those two. I looked up to see Jacks watching me watch them. He kissed the top of my head and then put his arm around me. And that’s how we stayed, the three of us, snuggled together watching The Little Mermaid.
When it ended, Luke jumped up. “This was fun, I’m going out. Jacks, you’re coming, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you out front.”
I stood and put my hand on top of Landry’s head, playing with her now disheveled topknot, trying to hide the sudden pang of jealousy that coursed through me. “Come on, sweet girl, I’ll get you tucked in. Jacks has some stuff he needs to do with Luke.” I wasn’t stupid, I knew when he asked me last night to watch Landry what kind of “errands” he needed to run. I mean what else would someone need at ten thirty at night? I’d put it out of my mind all day, not particularly comfortable with the way it made me feel. I didn’t want to say I was jealous. Because why would I be? We were just friends. Sure we spooned all night, sure I’d woken up with a huge smile on my face, sure he smelled amazing all the time. But we were just friends.
When Landry and I stepped past Jacks, he reached out and grabbed my free hand. “You okay with that?”
I smiled, giving his palm a squeeze. “For sure. No worries, have fun.” I waited by the stairs while he told Landry good night and that he’d be home soon. And then I watched, silently, as he left the house in search of something our friendship would never give him.
Chapter Nine
Jacks
I didn’t want to go out with Luke. I didn’t want to go to a bar and drink and flirt and f*ck some chick in a bathroom stall. I wanted to go upstairs and tuck Landry into bed; I wanted to spend some time alone with B. I wanted to wake up in the morning and have breakfast with them. Landry and Bryan had been here for two days. Two days and already everything I wanted out of life had shifted. When Bryan had come into the studio this morning…the look on her face when she was watching me play…I knew that look. I saw it a thousand times a night. I was turning her on. And f*ck if that hadn’t made me ecstatic. I knew I was walking a fine and dangerous line. I knew we couldn’t be together, I knew that we were just friends. But that didn’t mean I wanted to be with someone else while she was here. Which was precisely why I needed to.
“Hey, man, you’re killin’ my buzz.” Luke clapped a hand on my back and handed me another shot glass full of brown alcohol. I’d seen Luke drink, but damn, we’d only been here for about an hour and he was downing shots like a man dying of thirst.
“I’m sorry. I just feel guilty about being out instead of at home with Landry.” I took the shot he was offering. “This is only her second night here.” And I was already leaving her at home to try to prove a motherf*cking point?
Luke chuckled. “It’s Bryan too, isn’t it? You don’t want to be out with me. You want to be at home with Bryan.”
“We’re just frie—”
“Shut the hell up, Jacks. You don’t have to prove anything to me, you don’t have to convince me of anything.” He signaled the bartender for another beer.
I kept quiet. I knew Luke had his own shit going on, his own issues and demons. And I knew a lot of them stemmed from his friendship with Lexi, their past together.
He took a pull from his bottle, eyes scanning the crowd at the overpriced club we were in. “If you want to be at home, go home. If you want to try to f*ck her out of your system? Pick a girl.”
I leaned against the glass top of our little VIP bar, finally letting myself take notice of all the chicks hovering around our table. Every single one of them just waiting for us to crook a finger. Maybe I didn’t need to prove anything to Luke, but apparently I needed to prove it to myself. The first girl that caught my eye was thinner than a rail with mounds of dark wavy hair. She was gorgeous, but she not only looked too much like Bryan, she looked too damaged. I tried my best to stay away from those chicks. I made eye contact with a leggy blonde, letting my gaze rake over her porcelain complexion. The dress she was wearing was small enough to be called a shirt, and I’d be willing to bet that she was naked underneath. I gestured with my head, giving a slight nod in the direction of the private bathroom behind me.
Luke shook his head, letting out a humorless laugh, but not stopping me. I didn’t call him on his vices tonight, and apparently he was returning the favor. Old habits die hard.
I held the door open, waiting for her to strut through before shutting and locking it behind me.
She smiled coyly, letting her finger trail down my chest. “Jackson Cole.”
“Always dreamed of f*cking a rock star? Bachelorette party? Girls’ night out? Someone’s birthday?” These girls were a dime a dozen and there was always a reason they used to justify their behavior.
Her cheeks tinted red. “I’ve had a crush on you since I was sixteen.”
“How old are you now?” Usually Chase our security guy checked the IDs of the girls backstage.
“Old enough, I promise.” She put her hands on my hips, bringing her body against mine.
I dipped my mouth to her throat, sucking on her neck, leaving marks and not giving one shit about it. I ran my hands down her body to her thighs, grabbing the hem of her dress and lifting it above her waist. And wouldn’t you know? I was right about the no panties thing. I ground against her, my dick finally starting to stir to life. “Turn around, bend over, and grab the edge of the sink.”