Bad Boy Romance: Nick (Romantic Suspense Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Contemporary Short Stories) (Hard Rock Star Series Book 2) (58 page)

****

There was only one good
watering hole in the town—a rickety pub named Arty’s that was well known to
harbor the town’s unfavorable idiots and village drunkards. She was pretty sure
whoever was there would be too drunk to notice her and so she made her way
there. Of course, it took her some time to reach the damn place. Without a
car--and the streets bare of taxis--Natalia was forced to follow the sidewalk
with downcast eyes and an easy gait.

It only took about fifteen
minutes until she found herself staring up at that silly red neon sign over the
pub. Natalia had spent a few evenings in this place’s parking lot, attempting
to study in the back of her brother’s pick-up while they passed around beers,
jeering at incoming pub-goers. She had better luck studying with Nathan nearby
and had grown tired of staying around their house whenever their parents had an
argument.

She was such an apathetic
person back then, and following this town’s doomed capacity to never change,
Natalia seemed to be caught in the same loop. With a grunt, she headed inside
the pub, grimacing at the stench of alcohol and foul body odor. Yep. Hasn’t
changed a bit.

As she approached the bar, she
casually shrugged off the curious stares before taking a seat in one of the
tall stools, tapping a finger against the top of the counter to wait for the
bartender to show up. Sure enough, he appeared.

“Great mother of God. If it
isn’t Natalia Hyde, herself!” Natalia turned toward the voice and felt a small
smile peek at the corner of her lips.

“You’re still alive, old man?”
she asked and the bartender let out a loud guffaw. Arty’s very own Arty
Tibbleton; he had been the owner of the pub since Natalia had learned to walk
and had been around more than her own father had. In a sense, Arty had taken a
sort of paternal figure in Natalia’s life, offering more than enough advice to
help her when she had been young. He was probably the only thing in her life
that had remained a faithful constant, and it filled her with some contentment
that he was still around and well. Arty was a large and buff man, with a large
red beard he liked to keep bushy around his face. Having worked years carrying
immense boxes of liquor, his body was strong and broad and his connection to
her family had spared her a lot of unwanted advances by some of Nathan’s less
honorable acquaintances.

“Alive and kicking,” Arty chuckled,
swiping a rag along the counter before bracing himself on the wood. “How’s your
family, you seen them already?”

“No, I’m keeping my distance
for as long as possible,” Natalia admitted, picking at a ridge in the old
counter. “I’m staying at the Hilton.”

“Ah, so you’re here for the
reunion, then.” Arty said, grabbing a glass and filling it with liquor. “Would
you like to try a cocktail? I’ve created a new drink; it should put some hair
on that flat chest of yours.”

“As much as I’d love that, I’ll
stay clean.” Natalia said, chuckling along. “Just whiskey for now.”

Arty gave her a warm wink
before heading toward the requested bottle of whiskey. In no time at all,
Natalia was downing the liquor with a sigh, relishing the burn in her throat
and belly. She settled on musing on the counter, chatting here and there with
Arty, and after her third glass, Natalia felt something—or rather someone—brush
against her arm.

“Well, well,” she heard, and
when she turned, she was being stared at by a pair of deep green eyes and a
strong jaw line. “Haven’t seen you around here before.”

“And you might not ever again,”
Natalia replied swiftly, motioning to Arty to top her off. The bartender filled
her glass, sending a frown to the man now occupying the space next to the
woman.

“I’ll have what she’s having,”
Green Eyes said, and when Arty sent her a glance, Natalia gave him a wave.
I’m
good.
With a nod, the broad man slid a glass of whiskey to the man next to
her before returning to his patrons.

“You know, you look weirdly
familiar to me,” Green Eyes said after a moment of silence. Natalia rolled her
eyes.

“If this is your best shot at a
pick up line, you might want to try the redhead giving head to muscles over
there.” Natalia stated, flicking her finger in the direction of said patrons.
Green Eyes shook his head, chuckling to himself.

“Nah, you don’t seem like the
kind to be into pick-up lines.”

“Oh, what tipped you off?” she
asked, but couldn’t help but feel a tingle of recognition in the back of her
mind. She was certain the alcohol now running in her system was the main cause
for her inability to remember.

“Whiskey,” he said, taking a
swig of his own drink. She had to admit, he wasn’t bad-looking. “Not exactly a
fruity drink meant to entice strangers to get into your pants.”

“Joke’s on you because I’m not
exactly new around here,” Natalia shrugged, and that’s when a flash of
realization dawned over this man’s eyes.

“
That’s
how I know you,”
he said, snapping his fingers. “You’re Natalia Hyde. My God, look at you. You
really grew up.” Natalia frowned at him, not exactly thrilled he knew her when
she couldn’t fish a memory of his face from her mind.

“A symptom that comes with the
passage of time,” she replied flippantly. “But, I have no idea who you are.”

He raised a brow, and the
expression was almost charming. The tickle in the back of her mind began to
burn more insistently. “You wound me, and here I thought my reputation preceded
me.”

“Apparently not,” Natalia said
and he gave her a sudden grin before inching closer; there was a strange thrill
that began in her skin when she felt his hand land over her thigh. She was
tempted to punch him in the face, but it had been far too long since she had
felt anything close to this.

“Would you like to find out?”
The memory came all too swiftly the deeper Natalia stared into this man’s eyes.

“Dillinger…?” The name passed
through her lips and she saw him flash her a brighter grin.

“Jace Dillinger,” he said, his
thumb leisurely tracing a circle against her knee. The shiver in her body
increased and she knew that her lowered inhibitions were only tricking her to
fall into his touch. “Pleasure to meet you. I take it you’re here for the big
alumni reunion?”

“I’m beyond excited,” Natalia
hummed back with an apathetic curl of her lips. Jace chuckled into his glass,
settling the crystal down as he turned right toward her.

“You still following that
brother of yours like a shadow?”

The words filled Natalia with a
dip of bitterness, making her wish she hadn’t entertained him for a
conversation. It had been a bad idea talking to someone who was familiar with
her brother. “Nathan’s gone,” she muttered. “As in, he’s sort of disappeared.”

“Well, I hope nothing bad’s
happened to him,” said Jace. She wasn’t sure if that was genuine concern or a
mocking tone in his voice, but she was suddenly very interested in the shape of
his lips.

“You and I both,” Natalia said,
taking another sip of the bitter drink. His lips gave a simple quirk.

“Feel free to say no, but would
you like to get out of here?” The thrill returned with a sultry vengeance,
filling her up with familiar tingles of desire and black amusement. When she
realized that what remained in her hotel room was the hovering figure of Brad,
Natalia couldn’t help but want to follow this guy somewhere dangerous.

“Yeah,” she said, half-sighing
with a shrug. Yet despite the disinterested tone in her voice, there was a fire
in her blood that flared into fierce sparks when Jace took her hand in his and
led her out of the pub. She couldn’t help but feel something like excitement in
her chest, nerves writhing with giddiness and anticipation. But that was
probably just the booze in her system.

****

Colliding with someone had
never felt as good as it did now. Sure, there had been times when she had
allowed herself a night where she would take a guy, lead him to her bed and
then watch him leave moments later. Her skin would always feel dirty despite
how satiated she felt. When she watched those men walk out of her room just as
easily as they had entered it, she tried to shake off the drag of loneliness
that followed. Natalia hadn’t always been like this--she had been stronger.
Once upon a time, she had even been unbelievably naïve, expecting to meet
someone special and form a powerful connection with them shortly afterward. She
had even gotten close…

But life, as it would have it,
had different plans for her and she found herself picking up the pieces of her
heart when one of them, a man with soft blue eyes named Drake, had walked out
saying he “just couldn’t keep pretending anymore.”

Ten years since the last day
she had walked out the double doors of that damn high school, and Natalia was
suddenly back in the same little town she had sworn to never return to. Now,
here she was, intoxication running sweet inhibitions through her bloodstream as
she let this newer notch on her metaphorical bedpost kiss her with wild
abandon.

“Jace,” the name escaped past
her lips in a wanton moan. A flash of humorous irony passed over her mind in a
moment of short-lived sobriety. Ten years ago, she had turned her nose up at
this man because he was nothing short of a juvenile delinquent. She had primed
herself for success while he had been busy punching people out. Sure, Nathan
probably wasn’t any better, but her brother never bothered staining his hands
like Jace did. He was notorious, with his black hair mussed around and leather
jackets far too big for him then. Girls swooned when he walked down the
hallways with his devil-may-care attitude and his penchant for easy pleasures.
Not Natalia.

No, she had seen him. Heard of
him. Sure, he was good-looking, but he was an idiot, and she had a future to
prepare for and a brother to watch out for. Ironically, now he was the only one
who could make her feel anything.

“Listen to you,” he spoke
against the crook of her neck, tongue flicking over a sweet spot near her
throat, making her shiver as he pressed her against the wall of his apartment.
“It’s like you’ve never had a guy between your legs or something.”

The alcohol in her system did
nothing to hold her back from letting go in this moment where his fingers
trailed fire down her skin, rubbing against the slickness between her legs. She
wanted him inside her—
now
. With a surge of violence—inhibition also made
it easy for her to react so brashly—Natalia met his lips with a vicious bite of
teeth against teeth.

“You wanna talk, or do you want
to fuck me--which is it going to be?” She snarled against his mouth and she
felt him smirk widely, felt him buck his hips a little harder against hers.

“Ice Queen’s got a bite,” Jace
chuckled, digging his fingers hard into the curve of her rear. They both let
out a hiss at the friction; he began to pull her away from the wall and deeper
into his apartment. Each step left them both more naked than the last, and when
she felt Jace’s fingers reach up her shirt to grab her breasts, a sharp noise
of pleasure escaped her, making him meet her whiskey-stained mouth with his
own.

Suddenly, the world was
spinning and Natalia felt something rough but soft meet her back, her pants
sliding off her legs and making her shiver. When she looked back up, she saw
Jace kneeling behind her legs, his hands caressing the skin of her hips as he
pumped a fist rapidly over himself. “Do…you have a condom?”

“Already on, doll,” he replied,
and in the dark it was hard to see, but Natalia wasn’t exactly too mindful of
the details. She just wanted him in, right now.

“Then hurry it up,” she
snapped, pushing herself up to reach over to his neck and yank him forward. He
met her kisses eagerly, tongues lashing together and making bitter tasting bows
with every connection and tremble of flesh. She felt his fingers trace away
from her hip to plunge into the depths of her entrance, making her gasp at the
intrusion, but moan when he began to shift.

“Holy shit,” she heard him
gasp, “You’re so
tight
.”

She could only whimper in
response, bucking her hips to match the thrust of his fingers, but it wasn’t
enough. It was never enough. She had been wanting for much more since she was a
student in a sad little high school. With a growl, Natalia pushed him off of
her before nearly tackling him to the bed. Jace gave her a look of surprise,
watching her with wide green eyes as she settled on his lap. She had never been
on top before, but she hardly cared. Alcohol was something else.

“Never would’ve pegged you for
a dom,” Jace said, his voice coming out half-groaning half-chuckling as she
rubbed herself against his hardness. He felt large, he felt thick, and she just
wanted him to make the drag of loneliness fade away. Natalia reached down and
grasped him in her hands just as she felt him reach up to fiddle electric
touches over her hardened nipples.

“Shut up,” she muttered before
lifting herself up and sinking back down. The head of his cock met her entrance
and with a swift drop, Natalia let Jace’s erection pierce her hard. The hasty
connection made him arch his back and let out a slew of profanity that sounded
like music to her ears.

“Shit—you feel—
you’re so
tight
—” Jace said, but Natalia was already grinding, forcing moans of pleasure
out of their lips before she felt his hands reach around her hips. His hips
rose to meet her undulations with powerful thrusts, making Natalia feel her
body respond with heightened whimpers and harder grinds. Her kiss-stung lips
parted, dropping to expose a pink tongue and white teeth that clattered gently
with every shove
. It was amazing.

“So good,” she moaned,
repeating the words over and over again in a mantra as she shifted her hips
harder and harder against his pubic bone. “Just like that...oh—
oh,
so
good!
”

Before she knew it, the tables
turned and she was flipped over on her back as Jace worked his hips against
hers in ways that made her moans rise to high pitched keens and wails. She
could feel it, the beginnings of a climax that threatened to shoot her off an
edge and leave her screaming. Then he hooked one of her legs over his shoulder;
the new angle precipitating an orgasm that slammed into her with the force of a
freight train. He moved harder, faster, and deeper, making her writhe and
twitch viciously against the bed. Her lips could hardly wrap around the words
“So good” and “faster,” so she clung to a single syllable that made him buck
against her like an animal.

“Yes—YES! YES!!”

And then he was groaning;
twitching before she felt the heat between their legs erupt, sending them into
a bliss she had been aching for—a bliss she never believed in her entire life
that she could attain with Jace
fucking
Dillinger.