0597092001436358459 eveline vine Read online

  “What?” I asked, horrified, “No!”

  Candy raised a brow. “Why not? He’s going to see it later anyway.”

  “But…but…”

  Candy grinned. “Evie,” she said patiently, “Do you know how crazy it will drive Stone if I send him this picture...and then he has to wait patiently all night to get you back to the room…knowing the whole time what you’re wearing under your clothes?”

  I blushed, suddenly imagining Stone trying to stare through my clothing all night with that hot, sexy look in his eyes. I didn’t know if I’d be able to bear it.

  “Pleeeaaase?” she begged me.

  “Okay,” I whispered, watching her key Stone’s number in nervously and then we both sat absolutely still in anticipation as we waited for his reply…

  We waited for so long that when the phone finally beeped, we jumped.

  Candy hit a button and we huddled together to read the message.

  Tease! – was all it said…but that said enough.

  We grinned at each other and I jumped off the bed with a small, excited squeal, pulling my closet open and looking for something to wear.

  ***

  I didn’t need Stone to get me into the local bar anymore. Well, sort of. The bouncers all recognised me as being part of Stone’s entourage, so they always just let me in. No one really cared that much here anyway. Alice Springs wasn’t a huge city and things were pretty relaxed in this state…well, besides for all the alcohol bans in dry communities (due to alcohol problems with some of the indigenous population), but we weren’t in one of them.

  I’d opted for a more casual look tonight, wearing a knee-length denim skirt, brown Roman sandals and a simple black, fitted singlet. I’d blow dried my long, layered, auburn and copper hair, giving the wavy lengths some volume and shine. I’d also kept the makeup light around my amber-coloured eyes and worn a subtle, pink lip gloss. As I walked into the bar, I began to feel nervous, anxiously anticipating the moment I found Stone. I’d dressed down on purpose, hoping to look less of a try-hard after sending him that picture.

  “Hey!” Jamie greeted me happily when I bumped into him, “There you are. Stone’s gone through a whole box of Smarties and four cigarettes already. He’s just gone to the bar for a stiff drink.”

  I blanched, hoping that Stone hadn’t shown the rest of the band that picture.

  Jamie looked at my pale face and made a face. “Jeez, what is with everyone tonight?” he muttered as he walked off and I breathed a sigh or relief that he hadn’t known. Now that I thought about it, I didn’t think Stone would show anyone that photo.

  I made my way to the bar, worried that I was the reason Stone needed a stiff drink.

  “Evie! Thank God!” Briar cried with relief as she intercepted me and dragged me in a new direction.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, confused.

  “Chloe decided to crash our group tonight with her new toy and it’s been hell!” Briar spat.

  “New toy?”

  “This big asshole boxer she’s started dating. A local.”

  “Oh,” I said, still not getting it, “Is that bad?”

  Briar groaned. “She’s been bragging for the past hour, flirting with Stone, hinting to this Jack guy that they used to date and stirring up Fredi and Donny.”

  “You’ve got to save us Evie,” she finished breathlessly.

  “Me?” I asked incredulously.

  “Yes,” Briar said sternly, “You need to distract Donny and cool Stone’s temper. I’ll handle Fredi.”

  “I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do!” I whispered frantically.

  “Don’t worry,” Briar said quickly, pulling me the last few metres fast, “Just be you.”

  “Uh…Hello everyone,” I said softly as I came to a stop in front of them. I saw Alec breathe a sigh of relief and Donny stopped glaring at Fredi to smile at me.

  “Evie-baby!” he greeted me enthusiastically, pulling me into the booth to sit next to him. I saw an empty packet of Smarties on the table in front of me and assumed that I’d just stolen Stone’s seat.

  “You’re late,” Donny scolded me playfully and I smiled apologetically.

  “Eva,” Chloe said with a sneer.

  “Evie,” Fredi and Briar corrected harshly.

  “Whatever,” Chloe said airily, “This is my boyfriend Jack.”

  “Hi,” I whispered. Jack was huge. He wasn’t as tall as Stone (practically no one was), but he was definitely in the heavy weight category of boxing. He had dark brown hair, a flat nose and beady black eyes. Despite his somewhat flattened features and over-stated brawn, he was actually quite attractive…if you liked mean-looking men, which, judging by prior and current selections, Chloe did.

  He looked me up and down, taking in my tame outfit with a sneer of his own.

  “Evie is Stone’s girlfriend,” Briar volunteered with a smug smile. Jack raised a brow and snorted, obviously wondering how Stone went from someone like Chloe to someone like me.

  For once, I didn’t even bother to correct Briar…there was no way I was getting in on the animosity at the table. I was staying well out of it thank you.

  The table fell silent and I turned to find Stone hovering next to me, looking down at me with an undefinable expression. So many different emotions and messages flashed in his silver eyes. I couldn’t get a read on any of them. He pulled me out of the booth and sat down, pulling me down to sit in his lap sideways, my back to Donny. He wrapped one arm around me, the other reaching for his drink. Chloe glared at me, but I barely noticed, too distracted by the raw energy vibrating off Stone’s body. He ran his eyes over my clothes and I blushed, squirming a little in his lap and accidentally rubbing my bottom against his slight erection. He instantly grew harder and I bit my lip and froze, not wanting to tease him more. His hand tightened on my thigh, but he said nothing, sipping at his drink and not paying anyone any attention. I suddenly understood why Briar had been so relieved to see me, because everyone’s attention was now on Stone and me.

  Everyone sat in silence for several minutes, drinking their drinks and listening to the band that was playing. Briar dragged Fredi off to dance and Donny and Alec took the opportunity to escape as well, finding a pool table at the rear of the bar. Traitors, I thought with a small frown. Stone and I could have played doubles against them. Instead, we were left at the table with Chloe and Jack.

  Chloe made a big show of kissing Jack goodbye as she left the table to dance and then wiggled her body provocatively on the edge of the dance floor, making sure we could see her clearly. Jack watched her appreciatively for a few minutes, before getting up to get himself a drink (he didn’t offer to buy us a round). Stone’s body relaxed as soon as we were alone.

  “I need another smoke,” he growled in my ear, running a hand over his head in frustration.

  “I’ll come with you,” I said quickly, not wanting to be left alone with Jack… especially when I saw Chloe start to dance with another guy and Jack’s face hardened from his view at the bar.

  I slipped off Stone’s lap and offered him my hand as we walked out into the beer garden (the designated smoking area as you aren’t allowed to smoke anywhere food or drink is served). He pulled me into a darkened corner and leant back against the wall, sliding one arm around me as he fished out his smokes.

  Are you okay? - I asked with my eyes as I stared up at him. He slowly took his first draw and turned his head to breathe away from me. He looked back at my face for a moment, before running his eyes down my body and sliding his hand down my back and into my skirt, his eyes closing as his hand slid over my bare cheek. His eyes opened slowly and he held my gaze with his own.

  The intensity in his eyes conveyed several messages to me, but I’d be hard pressed to repeat them in sentences for anyone. The gist of it suggested that no, he wasn’t okay and he wouldn’t be okay until he had me on my back in bed, in nothing but my sexy, black lingerie.

  If I’d had any delusions that we might no
t be having sex tonight, they vanished when he kissed me.

  Without high heels, our heights worked against us and I could taste the recent puff of smoke he’d taken…but that didn’t matter. I barely noticed. Stone’s mouth was hungry and demanding above mine and I loved it. His hand had tightened on my ass and he growled as he nibbled at my bottom lip. The fierce, rough sound sent erotic thrills throughout my body and I bit him back playfully. He broke away abruptly and took a long inhale from his smouldering cigarette.

  Enough, his eyes blazed, but I could tell he wanted more. I wanted to give him more. I wanted to drag him home now before I lost my nerve. He chuckled at my expression, letting me know that my thoughts were written all over my face. His phone beeped and he fished it out of his pocket with a small frown. His frown deepened when he read the message.

  “What’s wrong?” I whispered.

  He didn’t answer me. He strode back toward the main bar, throwing his smoke in a bin on his way in. I hurried after him, a knot of worry forming in my stomach. Stone came to a halt and I immediately saw what was wrong. Jack had pulled a very drunk Chloe off another man and was angrily threatening both her and the unlucky bugger, his voice not rising above the music though. A small crowd was starting to form and Donny was hovering nearby, watching them cautiously.

  It struck me then that Stone and Donny did consider Chloe a friend. They liked her, despite her bitchy ways and slutty manipulation. Guys are weird.

  Jack seemed to be getting increasingly more agitated, starting to threaten the other man. Chloe tried to step in, soothingly placing a hand on his arm and cooing some nonsense with a flirty smile. It didn’t seem like Jack was going to put up with her shit though. He pushed her away with some more harsh words and drew his fist back to punch the other man. Chloe grabbed his elbow and pleaded with him dramatically and Jack lost his patience with her, rearing back his arm and backhanding her across the face.

  Stone was moving before Chloe even realised she’d been hit. She blinked in shock, seconds before Stone slammed his fist into Jack’s face.

  My mouth dropped open in shock. How had he moved across the room that fast?

  Jack roared with fury and lashed back at Stone, the two obviously experienced fighters were now ripping into each other with a fierceness I’d never before witnessed. Sure, my brothers fought a lot…and not just with each other…but I’d never seen such a vicious display of male power and anger. Zane was the best fighter I knew and could probably take Stone out quite easily, but he fought with precision and masculine grace. Stone was all brute strength and animal ferocity.

  Donny and Alec lunged for Stone, trying to pull him off with no success. Briar swore beside me, her eyes wide with worry and distress. Fredi wrapped her in a hug and swore as well.

  “Stone’s impossible to stop once he gets angry enough to fight,” Fredi told me quietly.

  Chloe was putting on hysterics, trying to get to Stone, telling him she was fine, that he could stop now, milking the attention for all it was worth. I scowled at her. Who the fuck got off on making guys fight over them? Yeah, okay, some muscle flexing and maybe a punch or a threat to stay away from their woman…but not this dangerous…battle. One or both of them were going to end up in jail and the bouncers were moving in to throw them out of the club.

  “Shit,” Briar whimpered, seeing the bouncers as well, “If they grab Stone he’s going to lash out at them as well.”

  Jamie had appeared and was holding Chloe at bay, but Alec and Donny were still risking punches to try and separate Stone and Jack.

  Enough of this.

  I walked forward quickly and stood right beside the tussle, just as the first bouncer tried to grab Stone. Stone shook him off easily and punched Jack again. He was currently pinning Jack to the floor, but Jack wasn’t beat yet.

  “GG, stop!” I heard Briar cry out frantically, but Stone didn’t look her way.

  Knowing that hysterics and yelling weren’t going to have any effect, I calmly called his name.

  “Grant,” I said softly. He froze, his fist in the air and Jack temporarily dazed from the last hit. His head whipped round to look at me and we locked gazes for a long, tense moment. His eyes were wild, but I saw him recognise me.

  Let’s go home, I told him with my eyes, standing very still beside him and breathing evenly. The whole club had gone silent, even the bouncers had frozen, not using the opportunity to grab Stone in their shock.

  Stone’s eyes clouded over with his decision and he turned back to Jack to leave him with one last punch to the gut, before standing up and walking past me, leaving me to follow him out of the bar.

  ***

  I caught up to Stone at his car, but he didn’t get in. He rifled through his glove box angrily, his whole body drawn tight. He growled when he found only empty boxes of Smarties and settled for a bag of Skittles instead. I shook my head in disbelief, still amazed that super fit Stone had large stashes of sweets everywhere. He locked up his car and started walking the four blocks back to the university without reaching for my hand. Again, I hurried after him, thankful that I’d worn flats tonight as I tried to keep pace with Stone’s angry stride.

  I still couldn’t believe Jack had hit Chloe in front of the whole bar. I was certain that, had Stone not jumped on him, several other blokes would have. I glanced up at Stone’s battered face and winced, imagining how badly hurt someone other than Stone would have been. We walked home in silence and, once in our building, Stone tried to leave me at my room with only a brief kiss to the forehead.

  I frowned and caught his hand, stopping him from leaving. Are you mad at me?

  Stone scowled and shook his head. “I need to cool down,” he gritted out quietly between clenched teeth.

  I slowly entwined my fingers through his and gently tugged him inside my room. “I know you won’t hurt me,” I whispered, guiding him towards my bed. He looked at it, then back at me, shaking his head firmly.

  Sit, I ordered with my eyes and he carefully sat on the edge of the bed. I moved to my mini-fridge and retrieved some ice from the freezer section, wrapping it in a kitchen towel and handing it to him. I didn’t look at his expression. I moved into the bathroom to grab a wash cloth and quickly returned to the room. Stone had the ice pressed to his jaw, his breaths still short and angry.

  I crawled onto his lap carefully and gently ran a finger over his nose, making sure it wasn’t bleeding or broken. Stone shook his head stiffly and I breathed a sigh of relief. He would know - it looked like he had already had it broken a few times. I raised the cloth to his face and gently cleaned his cuts, trying to ignore the way he was watching me.

  His face looked considerably better when I was done, but I knew he’d have bruises in the morning and not just on his face. I closed my eyes and hoped that none of his ribs were hurt. Eyes still closed, I leant forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, a little disappointed that our night hadn’t gone as I’d planned.

  Stone’s lips twitched in a very small wince, but I noticed it. His bottom lip had been split, but thankfully, all of his teeth were fine.

  I kissed his cheek instead and his skin twitched again, but he didn’t try to stop me.

  “Where doesn’t it hurt?” I whispered, snuggling a little closer.

  Stone licked his lips with another small wince and thought for a moment, before pointing high on the left side of his forehead. I smiled wryly, wishing that his poor face didn’t hurt everywhere. I pressed a soft kiss where he’d indicated and pulled back, asking him where else with my eyes. He tugged on his right earlobe and I giggled, leaning forward again to kiss it.

  I didn’t stop with a chaste kiss this time though. I gently sucked the soft flesh into my mouth and flicked my tongue over it. Stone groaned, his hand abandoning the ice so that he could wrap his arms around me. I ran my parted lips over the shell of his ear, up, then down again to lightly bite the lobe. Stone’s hands flexed against my back.

  I let my lips rest beneath his ear, swiping the fl
esh with my tongue and tickling him with my breath. “What about here?” I whispered, delighting in his shiver. He made an encouraging sound, so I moved my way down his neck, taking my time and absorbing as much of his smell and taste as I could along the way.

  When I reached his collarbone, I swept my hands beneath his shirt and gently helped him out of it. I sat back to admire him, cursing myself for getting hot from his battered and bruised appearance. I couldn’t help it, even as I thought it was sick to be getting a thrill from how manly he looked, bare-chested, his face cut up from his fight and aggression still clear in his eyes, mingling now with lust.

  I gently brushed my fingertips over his shoulders and down the front of his body, taking notice of any red, swollen areas. I gave him a gentle push, silently telling him to lie back on the bed. He obeyed, carefully lowering his upper body, his eyes fixed on me.