Society Girls: Neveah (6 page)

“No. He’s really nice. We just want to see
how it’s going to play out before saying anything to our families
and friends.”

“As long as he’s not sending these to
apologize for treating you badly,” Harlow adds.

“He’s not. I promise. I wouldn’t let a guy
mistreat me.”

“And Matt would kill anyone who did,” Camari
reminds me, not that I need to be reminded.

“He would.”

He won’t have to, though. Dylan has been
nothing but perfect. I haven’t been down to the range yet, and I
can’t go over to his place every night, but when I’m there, he
helps me have the strength to hold the gun. Whether it’s more
kisses on my neck, his hands cupping my breasts while I grip the
gun, or just his words of encouragement, he’s always doing
something. And it’s working. After a week, I’m getting more
comfortable. I’m thinking of even asking him to take me down to the
range when I go over there tonight. I’m not sure how I’ll handle
it, but I want to try.

Before I can do that, I have to go to a
private fashion class with Stella. This is one of areas I’m not
excelling at. I like pretty things, but putting outfits together so
they look effortless, figuring out what the perfect outfit is for
any given situation, and knowing one designer from another is not
as easy as it sounds. I tend to just grab things that look like
they match, causing Stella to roll her eyes before requesting that
I try again.

Today is no
exception.
I
think
the coral gown with the gold jewelry and heels looks fine, but
apparently “fine” isn’t what we’re going for here. “Where are you
going tonight?” Stella asks me.

“What?” I ask her back, freaking out a
little. Does she know?

“I’ve seen the flowers, and it’s a Friday
night. I’m guessing and assuming and all that shit, but I think you
have a date.”

“Oh, um, yeah. We’re just hanging out at his
place.”

“Flowers for fucking are some guys’ style.
Is it that, or are you going to be talking, too?”

“We talk.”

“Help me out here. Just a little.”

“We’re going to eat, watch a movie or talk,
and then make-out,” I tell her, purposely leaving out what else
we’ll be doing.

“Just making out? No hot sex?”

“We haven’t yet, but maybe soon.” This is
getting more embarrassing by the second.

“Don’t you dare get embarrassed about sex.
You are a single woman, and getting your freak on is only natural.
You wouldn’t be blushing if you’d seen Tegan and me back in the
day. Or actually, yeah, you’d probably still be blushing. Anyway, I
think I’ve got it now.”

She walks into the giant closet that takes
up literally a quarter of the floor we’re on, and I can hear her
moving hangers around. A minute or so later, she comes back out
with an outfit and shoes. No jewelry is in her hands, and I can’t
really see the clothes clearly yet.

“Here we go. This white top is sleeveless
and crosses over in both the front and the back. Easy access for
wandering hands while he’s rounding second base. This skirt only
has a slight flare, enough for his hands to reach under, but
there’s not enough stretch for you to climb on for a ride. Don’t
rip the skirt!” she instructs me, holding up the red, pink and
white striped skirt with stripes that look more like paint than
lines. “And then we have the strappy heels. I don’t know how tall
your guy is, but these should put you at the right height for most
flat surfaces that aren’t a couch or a bed. What do you think?”

Whoa. “It’s perfect.”

It really is, even for shooting, if I make
it that far. The top is loose enough, but won’t get in the way. The
skirt will allow me to stand correctly, and while I may have to
take the shoes off in the range, I can definitely think of other
places I’d like to wear them around Dylan’s house.

“This is what I do, Nev. It’s what I’m
trying to teach you how to do. See a situation, and find the
perfect way for us to fit in. Or stand out if that’s what we need
to do. I know some of you think what I do is frivolous, but I
promise you it’s not.”

“I don’t think what you do is
frivolous.”

“You just don’t think it’s as important as
what everyone else in the Society does.”

“I didn’t,” I admit. “I’ll put more effort
into my lessons. I’m sorry. Things are just…hard.”

“You’ll be comfortable enough to shoot a
gun, Nev. I don’t doubt that. None of us doubt it.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because you want to be one of us. Guns are
a part of our life, even though some of us don’t use them often.
You can choose other weapons most of the time, or just hand to hand
fighting, but you have to know how to shoot a gun and be willing to
use it if it comes to that.”

“I’m starting to believe that I can.”

“Then you will. Now go on and change into
this awesome outfit I put together for you. We can do your hair and
makeup after that. You can practice and I’ll give you tips.”

“Thanks for your help, Stella.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” she reminds me
with a smile.

* * *

Dylan

“Why has Neveah not been here for the past
two nights?”

“She has a lot of work to do for her
training. She needed some study time.”

“She told you this? She’s told you about the
Society?”

“Calm down. She hasn’t told me anything
other than that she’s an intern for the Corrigan & Co.
Foundation, and that training to become a full-time employee is
intense and competitive.”

“Oh. I thought maybe she felt comfortable
enough to confide in you.”

“You can’t expect her to tell me something
like that after only knowing me for a couple of weeks. This is her
life we’re talking about, or what she wants in her life, at
least.”

“She doesn’t belong in
that
organization
.”

“I’m starting to think you’re wrong about
that. She’s working hard to overcome her fears.”

“Then stop her. You know the plan.”

“What if I don’t want to stop her?” I ask,
feeling bolder than I have in a long time.

“You’re developing genuine
feelings for Neveah? You
cannot
do that!”

“You want me to marry her!
Won’t being in love with her make things easier?” I know it will
make things
harder
, but I can’t stop my feelings.

“Love?”

“Maybe.”

“To answer your question, no, your love will
only confuse things for her once she’s with us. And it’s already
making you ignore your vow.”

“I’m ignoring nothing,” I say, letting some
of my anger out. “You’re still here, aren’t you? I would expose you
and your plans if I wasn’t seeing this through.”

“Yet, your loyalty is splitting.” It’s a
statement, not a question, because we both know it’s true.

“The thought of hurting her is tearing me
apart. What we have planned is going to hurt her. And others. Have
you given no thought to how the others will react when she
disappears? Her mother and brother? Matt Corrigan? Her
friends?”

“I have spent more hours than you can
imagine thinking about it. I’ve tried to think of other plans, or
ways to make this work. There are none.”

“Why does it have to be her? Why not one of
the…others?”

“She is the best choice. I’ve explained that
to you. You need to take your heart out of the equation, and do
what you’ve promised.”

The intercom buzzes before I can once again
assert that I’m going to honor my vow. “That’s Nev. I have to
go.”

I don’t wait for any response, pushing the
button on the wall by the door so the gates will open on my way
out. I jog to the main house, and then slow my pace so she doesn’t
question why I’m out of breath. It wouldn’t be a lie to say that I
was running to see her, but it wouldn’t be the whole truth,
either.

“Knock, knock,” she says as
she walks in, and I’m no longer worrying about my breathing,
because I’ve
stopped
breathing.

I’ve seen Nev in all different situations,
wearing various kinds of outfits. She always looks amazing, but
seeing her all dolled up right now is doing crazy things to me.
She’s not overdone—I don’t think she would ever go to an
extreme—but her hair and makeup are more polished than usual, and
her outfit is so fucking sexy. It’s loose, but revealing, and
highlights her tan skin and long legs. She’s here for me like this,
not some event or work. I know this is for me, and I nearly drop to
my knees in thanks.

“Speechless good or speechless bad?” she
asks, breaking me out of my trance.

“Good. Great. Excellent.”

“Three adjectives, huh? I’d say that’s a
win.”

“I definitely feel like I won something
right now,” I tell her as I reach out to wrap my fingers around a
few of her curls. I tighten my grip and pull her to me, causing her
to yelp.

Her hands wrap around my forearms as I lean
forward and lick her lips. She opens for me, and I don’t hesitate
before sliding my tongue inside her mouth to play. She’s matching
my intensity and passion, and I just want to bury myself inside of
her and forget everything else.

That’s not an option for either of us, so I
pull back to look her in the eye. “What’s wrong?” she asks.

“Absolutely nothing,” I tell her as I move
my hand so my thumb can smooth out the line between her brows.

“But you stopped.”

“For now. Only for now.”

She closes her eyes. “I want to shoot my gun
tonight.”

“I know. We’re going to go down to the
range, and you’re going to do it.”

“And after?”

“You’re mine.”

“I am,” she says softly.

“I’m yours too, Nev,” I tell her
honestly.

She searches my eyes, and then smiles at me.
“You mean it.”

I do. “I know it’s soon, and I know this
sounds like a line, but I’ve never felt like this for anyone
else.”

“You’ve been with a lot of women.”

“I have. I can’t erase my past, and
honestly, I don’t know if I would if I could. I’m not ashamed of
sleeping with the women I’ve been with. They were willing, and I
told them up front that I wanted nothing more than a few hours with
them, maybe a night. Some of them wanted more, but I can’t help
that. I didn’t deceive anyone, and I made sure they found their
pleasure while they helped me find mine.”

“I haven’t…we haven’t.”

I move my hands to cup her face. “We will
when you want us to.”

“You’re really okay with that?”

I shrug. “It’s not basketball season, so
it’s okay if my hand gets an extra workout.”

“You could have any woman,
Dylan. You’ve
had
pretty much every woman. Why me? What’s so special about
me?”

“Let’s just be clear for a
moment. I’ve slept with a bunch of women, but not nearly
every
woman, and none of
my sister’s friends before.”

“No one from Corrigan?”

“Nope. Second, how can you not see how
special you are? You’re smart, brave, compassionate, gorgeous, sexy
as hell, and yeah, I could go on all night,” I admit, running a
hand through my hair.

“I think you’re pretty great, too.”

She shouldn’t. I may have been telling the
truth about how I see her, but that isn’t going to stop me from
turning her life upside down. Although, maybe, just maybe, I can
get us both out of this somehow. I don’t know how, but I’m going to
try.

“Let’s go shoot some guns, and then we’ll
continue this conversation after.”

“I don’t know that I’ll want to talk
after.”

“Then we’ll find better uses for our
mouths.”

“Thank you again, Dylan. For
everything.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

Neveah

Dylan holds my hand as we walk downstairs to
his gun range. I still think it’s weird that an NBA star has a gun
range in his basement, especially when he’s not from a Southern
state, but he says shooting calms him. Calm is the opposite of how
I feel right now; how I’ve always felt around guns. I’m not
terrified, though, so that’s a mark in the “plus” column. I blow
out a deep breath, because I’m still nervous, even though I asked
for this.

“We can go back upstairs if you’re not
ready.”

I shake my head. “If I don’t face my fear,
I’ll never overcome it.”

“You’re comfortable holding a gun. I would
say that’s facing your fear.”

“Holding one was hard, but shooting one is
the real problem.”

He turns, and pulls me so that I’m looking
at him. “I want to help you Nev, but you have to be sure you want
to be down here. I may shoot just for fun, but that doesn’t mean I
take gun safety lightly. I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, but if you
don’t think you can handle this, we need to go back upstairs. I
won’t risk either of us by you dropping a loaded gun, or freaking
out.”

It
is
harsh, but it’s honest as well. I
don’t want to accidentally hurt either of us because I can’t handle
this. “I really think I’m ready, but if I all of a sudden don’t, I
promise to lay the gun down calmly before having a meltdown.” He
still doesn’t look sure, but I am. “I mean it. Dylan. I can control
myself long enough to keep us safe.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

He walks me to one of the two shooting
stalls, and hands me headphones and goggles before walking over to
his gun safe. I watch him take out my pretty gun, and then a couple
of other ones as well. They’re bigger guns, and my eyes widen when
he walks over and places them and some ammo on the counter to my
left.

“Wh-what are those for?”