Room 103 02 - Thrilling Heaven (2 page)

He
whipped the washcloth in my face angrily, its slap on my skin made me jump, and
then exited the shower, snatching up a towel and pulling it around his hips
before he slammed the bathroom door so hard the contents of the cabinet
rattled.

Well,
that got rid of him Jen.

I
peered at myself in the steamed mirror, wiping at it to clear a section and
frowned when my cheek had gone from the purple it had been this morning to a
black shade now.

My
nose was still trickling blood over my top lip and the sight suddenly brought
on the
‘what if…’
the
‘I should have…’
and the
‘why didn’t I…’

“Come
on Jen, pull it together girl” I scolded myself as I straightened my shoulders
and took a deep breath before going in search of my wonderful husband.

“You gonna tell me what the hell is up with ya’?” Zoe
grumbled as I peered at her over the froth of my coffee.

“Nothing’s wrong with me.”

She lifted one of her perfectly plucked brows at me and I
scowled back in return. “Jen, listen to me now.”

I gulped at her tone, knowing what was coming and I
braced myself for it. She knew a lot more than she let on but so far she had
kept her own council, yet today, sat in the little coffee shop we always
frequented, I knew it was finally coming.

Her hand slid across the table and settled gently over
mine, giving it a small squeeze before she lifted her finger and stroked it
across the black bruise on my cheek. “You need a place, babe, then my spare
room is all yours.”

I frowned at her and swallowed in defiance. “Why would I
need your spare room Zo, everything’s fine?”

She stared silently at me, both of us in a silent
face-off until she finally relented. “Why Jen, you’re stronger than this? And
what the hell was all that in the shop with the rocker dude?”

I pursed my lips at her angrily, “Zo, leave it. There is
nothing wrong and, well, Ethan and Kyle don’t get on, that’s all.”

She scoffed angrily and we both diverted our attention to
the happenings in the café to wind in our necks and dampen our anger at each
other.

“So,” she yielded eventually taking a large gulp of the
frozen lumpy shit she was drinking. “Room 103 in Slink’s.”

I grinned and nodded at her “You do the guitarist’s tat?”

She rolled her eyes dramatically and sighed heavily, “Did
I, and on one of his glorious man cheeks no less.”

I smirked at her but she smiled nervously, “He, uhh,
Romeo, that is, he uhh…”

“Spit it out, treacle.” I urged, amazed at her sudden
nervousness.

This wasn’t Zoe, she was always proud and bold, always
the life of the party, bubbly and manic but now she appeared like a timid
little girl, caught stealing the last lollipop from the cupboard.

“He wants to see me, uhh, wants to take me out…” she
stuttered as she gulped.

“And?” I lifted my own brow at her now but her pain was
evident and I took her hand in mine this time.

“Zo, you think Shane would want you to wait until you
die?”

Her pale blue eyes lifted to mine, rimmed with tears and
an ache so fierce it fisted my heart. “No” she whispered and I smiled at her
and nodded.

She took a deep breath and nodded back; both of us
silently communicating that she finally needed to move on and start dating
again.

“I was thinking of asking him to the birthday party you
have been secretly organising for me” she grinned knowingly.

My jaw dropped open and I stared at her in shock. “How
the hell, Zo?”

She laughed at me loudly, “Jen, babe, you are many wonderful
things but covert is not one of your talents.”

I shrugged at her.

I had kept the biggest secret of my life undisclosed for
two years; so I had thought a thirtieth birthday party would’ve been easy.

She laughed again but grabbed my hand and pulled me off
my chair. “Come on, we need to find you a killer outfit for my
secret
party.”

I groaned in frustration. Zoe’s idea of a killer outfit
and my idea were totally different, and I cringed at what I would be forced to
buy.

I just hoped it would be appropriate for Kyle’s ideas as
well.

***

     Kyle entered the bedroom and
smiled sweetly at Zoe before placing a soft kiss on her cheek, “Happy birthday,
Zo.”

She grinned happily at him, “Doesn’t Jen look gorgeous?”

Kyle’s eyes shifted to me, seated on the vanity stool. He
lifted a finger, gesturing for me to stand and I did, standing still for him to
inspect me.

“Stunning” he said without any expression and I knew he
didn’t approve of the short red dress Zoe had insisted I wear, but he wouldn’t
voice that opinion in front of Zoe.

I gave him a hesitant smile. “Zoe said I should wear
this” I told him, hoping to defend my actions for showing so much leg.

He just nodded and gave me a stiff smile before turning
back to Zoe, giving her his killer smile, the one he used on every other woman
except me. His smug demeanour made my skin crawl but I kept that judgment to
myself.

“You ready for the off?” he asked as he preened himself
in the mirror and straightened his tie.

Kyle had always been good looking and he knew it and used
it to his advantage - usually to seduce every woman residing in London, but he
didn’t know I knew that snippet of information.

For one, I didn’t give a damn and for two, I secretly
hoped he would find one that he would fall in love with and leave me for, but I
had never had much luck in life.

     His light brown hair
highlighted his deep hazel eyes whilst his chiselled cheekbones and jaw gave
him that hot bad boy look.

He was a bad boy alright, just not in the way people
thought.

Zoe returned his grin with one of her own and nodded
excitedly. “Yes, let’s get to this surprise party I’m not supposed to know
about.” She giggled and Kyle looked at me with high brows.

I shook my head at him and huffed, “I always said she
should work for the MI5!”

He barked out a laugh, an actual real one and I smiled
when the sound of his laugh brought back memories from when we were happy,
which also brought memories of Ethan, so I pushed that back immediately.

Zoe held out her elbow to me and I hooked my arm through
hers. “After you birthday girl” I gestured with my free hand and she nodded
respectfully as we descended the stairs and made our way to a night that would
change my life.

***

     The room was buzzing when we
arrived, everybody having arrived before Zoe to surprise her. She did a good
job and acted amazed at the attention. Kyle chuckled beside me as he snaked his
arm around my waist and pulled me close.

“Why the fuck are you wearing that fucking dress? You
look like a whore!” he hissed in my ear and dug his fingers into my hipbone.

I flinched and swallowed back the pain. “I didn’t have a
choice, Zoe bought it for me especially. What was I supposed to say?”

He plastered a false smile on his lips and nodded to a
passer-by before his smile dropped again and his teeth clamped my earlobe.
“Say, fucking no thank you. It’s fucking simple, Jen.”

I winced at the pain but he removed his bite before he
drew blood, becoming an expert at knowing when to pull back before it left a
mark.

I turned my head to see Zoe approaching, her dark eyes
narrow on Kyle and I knew she had witnessed his small discipline but she smiled
as she got to me. “Dance, babe” she ordered as she pulled me onto the dance
floor.

Manoeuvring her lithe long body behind me, she draped her
arms down the front of me and we rocked together as she rested her chin on my
shoulder.

“He does that again, I don’t give a fuck where we are, I
will rip his bloody knackers off and feed them to that doorman over there” she
whispered in my ear as she tilted her chin towards a huge guy stood watching us
both dance.

I presumed he thought we were gay the way Zoe was
grinding her hips into my arse and I stiffened slightly with her words but I
didn’t give her a response.

She lifted her hands and cupped my tits as she gave him a
wink. “That’ll give him something to look at” she snorted in my ear before she
spun me round and cupped my arse.

“Will you stop” I chastised but struggled to hold back
the laugh, “you are so bad!”

She winked at me and narrowed her eyes, “Don’t tell me
you’ve never thought about it, Jen.”

“You’ve had too much to drink, treacle.” I giggled but
she suddenly pressed her lips over mine.

The shock of it had me stood solid, not moving a single
muscle as her lips moved over mine.

She reared back a little and gazed at me before she
cupped my chin and came down again.

What the hell.

You only live once.

So I gave it her back.

We were both laughing as we pulled apart and the room
exploded in cheers.

I shook my head at her in humour when she winked at me.
“That’s what I call a birthday kiss” she smirked as she raised her arms in the
air and started swaying to the next track as she bumped her hip into mine.

A body appeared behind me and I was suddenly sandwiched
between Zoe and a tall dude covered in piercings and I mean covered, they were
everywhere; his brows, his nose, his ears, his lips. He even had some dermal
piercings down the side of his neck.

His chin rested on my shoulder and I turned my head
slightly to look at him. He grinned at me and I could tell he was plastered,
“Hey.”

“Hi” I smiled back as Zoe nudged further against me and
the wicked smile she displayed would see me slapping that arse of hers when we
got out of here.

“Bulk” he introduced himself and I grinned and gave mine
and Zoe’s names.

“Now this is a better sandwich than the shit ham over
there” he smirked and I raised a brow at him.

“Think you can handle us both do ya’?”

The roguish tilt of his lips had Zoe laughing even harder.
“Did you seriously just ask a bloke whether he can handle two women, Jen?”

“Oh Shit” I breathed and Bulk stiffened when Kyle barged
through the dancers and glared at me from behind Zoe.

“Hey, babe” I smiled nervously and my dance partner had
the perceptiveness to shift back.

“Jen” Kyle practically snarled at me and I swallowed
harshly as his wild eyes settled on Bulk moving slowly back off me.

Suddenly we were surrounded by about five rockers and I
flashed Kyle a warning with my eyes and a faint shake of my head to back off
before he started something at Zoe’s party.

Zoe swung round and grabbed Kyle’s hands, “Dance with me,
Kyle.” She smiled brightly as she started moving her hips against his and he
looked down at her, before his killer smile erupted and he grabbed her hips,
pulled her into him and gave her his best moves.

God, I loved this girl.

“I’m gonna grab a drink” I told Kyle who still continued
to glare at me but gave Zoe his ‘come fuck me’ eyes.

Seriously, my best friend?

I trusted Zoe impeccably, knowing she would never do that
to me, but my husband, who thought it was fun to flirt with her in front of
everybody just to humiliate me for what had just happened, would.

What the hell. Go for it jerk!

“Bud, please” I told the barman who smiled and reached
for the bottle, popping the cap expertly as a hand slapped a tenner on the bar
and I turned to see Bulk stood beside me.

“An apology for stirring things with your boyfriend there,
little lady” He smiled and I realised how good looking he actually was, his
teeth white and near perfect as a dimple appeared in his chin, giving him a
cheeky look.

I shook my head at him, “Don’t be silly, you were just
having fun. It’s not like you touched me up or anything.”

He grinned at me as if telling me that would have been
his next step and I shook my head and laughed.

“Does he do that a lot?” he asked and I frowned in
confusion.

He cocked his head towards Zoe and Kyle “Give you shit
for dancing with someone, and then feels your friend up in front of you?”

“Kyle’s… Kyle” I tried to explain.

Bulk took a pull on his own bottle before his eyes caught
mine and I shivered as his gaze seemed to bore through me and read everything
inside me; my thoughts, my mind, my soul and my heart.

“How long you been together?”

“Thirteen years” I told him as I took a hefty drink, my
nerves at this man’s canny ability to scrutinize every part of me knocking up
my need for a diversion.

He nodded slowly and sucked on his lips, “And how long
have you been unhappy?”

I stared widely at him but he just held his own, no show
of remorse or apology at his question.

“Excuse me, but I really….”

He lifted a brow at me, a silent dare to deny his
perception but I just swallowed and sucked on my own lips.

He nodded as if I had given him an answer before he
leaned forward towards me. His eyes swept the area around us as his mouth
settled against my ear, “You need to get out sweetheart, before he destroys
that tiny flicker of a flame you have left.”

I coughed and stepped away, lowering my gaze on the
floor, not wanting him to see the truth in his words behind my eyes.

“I should go” I whispered before I swung round and banged
straight into a hard muscled chest.

“I think it’s about time we went” Kyle growled as his
eyes rested on Bulk.

I nodded, knowing any argument would make my night worse.

Bulk slid off the bar stool he was situated on, “You
gonna be okay, sweetheart?”

I nodded but didn’t turn to him and Kyle tilted his head
malevolently, “You got a problem, mate?”

“I don’t have a problem –
mate
, but the little
lady here might.”

Oh bloody crap and bollocks!

Kyle stepped forward and the evil grin he donned had my
blood pounding in my ears and my hands sweating. “Kyle, don’t” I warned as I
placed my hand on his chest.

He looked down at me and narrowed his eyes before he
grabbed my hand from his chest and lowered it between us.

I tried to stand as still as possible as his death grip
actually cracked my fingers but one of my legs instinctively flinched as I
clenched against the pain.