Chapter 135

I’m still smiling as I’m led hand in hand across the hall of the nightclub towards the inner entranceway, Arrick has his phone to his ear and is trying to locate his friends, now we are here, almost two hours later than intended.

Arrick made good on peeling my panties off, after teasing me mercilessly after dinner. He made love to me when we were supposed to be getting ready that turned into another marathon of assorted positions, and now we are seriously late. I am starting to think he might be right about matched stamina, I even made him sweat this time, and he gave up before I did. Calling a time out and having to lay on the bed with me on top to finish what he started. Was my first time being in control and I think I like it the most.

I’m eyeing up that tight, firm ass in black jeans, his upper body encased in his leather jacket, over a dark grey shirt and from here he looks like a swoon some cover model for about any sexy male product currently trending.

I am a super lucky girl.

He’s scanning around at milling people, my fingers entangled with his, while Nathan tries to direct us to another VIP room in a club we have never tried, on his cell. There are three flights of stairs down here and he pulls me towards the middle ones.

“Sure, we’re in the foyer… Yeah up to the left. See you in a second.” He hangs up and turns to me with a smile, another kiss hitting my lips softly. He hasn’t been able to stop kissing or touching me in hours, evidently happy that I am finally moving in with him. I can’t wipe the smile from my face either, it all feels so right.

The club is noisy, smoky, and loud; crowded to the max with people in the party mood and he has to forge a path, pulling me close and putting his arm around me as he squeezes us through to find our own party. He leads me up some stairs and we soon find our way in a slightly quieter, cordoned off, area with a roped off entrance. The bouncer nods his way and pulls the rope off for us to pass with a smile. Arrick nods back and guides me protectively.

“Mr Carrero.” He closes the rope behind us and lets us walk towards the crowded small bar surrounded by Arrick’s friends. I grin at the fact he is getting more known in recent months and his face seems to be gracing more billboards than ever before; although I am glad he isn’t being pestered by paparazzi yet, I know it will come though. Arrick squeezes my hand, pulling me to the group of rowdy people as we are enveloped into hello’s, back slaps and handshakes from all the familiars.

Arrick lets go of me for a moment as Nathan gives him a typical male hug and back pat, and Arrick turns, pulling me forward into the crook of his arm, hanging it around my shoulders casually. I lean in against him and rest my head into the place where his shoulder meets his chest.

“Late for your own celebration? You fucking suck, man.” Nathan chides him with a grin, giving him a naughty, knowing nod.

“I was busy.” Arrick smiles and takes the beer handed to him with a grin and shrug; Nathan hands me a glass of red wine and I smile thankfully, watching Arrick’s profile with complete adoration tonight. He always looks so much sexier in jeans and buttons downs with his jacket; that face seems more tanned and his eyes lighter when in contrast to dark colors. I love him in sweats and tee shirts too, but tonight he is giving me serious butterflies and panty twisting urges, dressed like that. I wonder if it’s because he literally worked me up to fever pitch heights before we came out, and I’m still relaxing in the afterglow.

“Yeah sure you were. You know Sophs, this guy was never late for anything, ever, before you! You are the worst influence on him.” Nathan leans in and catches Arrick’s collar, pulling it forward to peer down, and catches sight of fresh love bites across his collar bone on the non-tattooed side. Arrick shoves him off with a laugh.

“Shut up.” I smile, knowing fine well it’s Arry who wouldn’t let me get off the bed while his face was between my thighs. He started the whole thing.

“You are the worst girlfriend ever.” Nathan laughs at me, tilts his beer with a little nod to my abilities.

“Or the best.” Arrick smirks dirtily and winks at me, making me giggle, despite the creeping blush up my face. Pretty sure they are aiming blame at me when king libido was the one making all the moves. He also taught me how to even make a love bite, and then I had to practice on him to master the art.

“Keep it up, you might convince me that I can hack the one girl, guy thing.” Nathan laughs but it comes across as far more serious and I eye him up warily.

“She said she was coming after eleven, when she gets off her shift at work. If you like her, Nate, then stop being an asshole.” I point out and Arrick breaks into a smile, nudging at his best friend with a small shrug and a ‘my girlfriends direct’ kind of look.

“I need to be a lot drunker than this if I’m going to have to grovel tonight. Just tell me she didn’t take him back, Sophs?” Nathan looks completely panicked, face paling as he seriously ponders his plan for her arrival. I shake my head at him, a small part of me glad that he is even contemplating this, but still a huge part of me feels the need to lecture him for all the shit he’s put her through the past two weeks. She has been a mess. Christian and I have tried everything to cheer her up, shocked that she fell to pieces over Nate and never Mark.

“No, she didn’t. Not really going to jump back to a guy when she’s been sobbing over you, is she? Why are you waiting for her to arrive? Man-up and text her, Nate; she’s suffered enough. I swear if you keep fucking this up, I will personally maim you.” I softly punch him in the shoulder with a little more grit than I intended to. Still pissed that he’s the reason Jenny has been a moping hell and her work at school has been horrendous all week. She would have been better off taking sick days.

“Now I see why you always look like a cat has eaten you for breakfast. Sophie is terrifying; I can only imagine what she does to you during sex.” Nate smirks, dodges another slap aimed at his head this time and keeps grinning.

“Keeps me smiling. Pretty fucking awesome sex.” Arrick shoves his shoulder playfully and I slap both in the abdomens, for keeping on talking about my sex life like this. It’s embarrassing, especially acting like I beat him or harm him crazily; it’s just a few little marks and the occasional nibble.

He needs to man up.

Nathan turns around to answer something someone else has said. Arry brushes back my hair, leaning in low so that his breath tickles my neck as he moves in to kiss me, grazes his nose across my cheek bone, giving me instant tingles.

“You look amazing in this dress; crazy sexy. Yet all I can think about is taking it off again.” He swoops further around my face and this time kisses me seductively, sucks my bottom lip lightly and grazes his teeth across it. I relax into him, always so ready to surrender to him in any way. Insides stirring with heat, always letting him devour me.

He pulls me against him and slides his arm all the way around my back, so we are front to front, as Claire appears behind us and starts asking him about something, he has been helping her and Jason with. I lean my head against his throat as he leans back, face turned towards her, and cradle my drink. Leaving them to talk while being held tight in his arms, facing off to the opposite side.

More of his friends are sitting off to tables at the side, which overlook the nightclub in a sort of hanging balcony, much like the club I last saw Camilla in. I let my gaze wander around the semi dark space, cluttered with people and seats. I pause when I catch the eyes trained on us from a shadowy corner. Two women standing side by side and looking our way steadily. At first, I bypass them as strangers, but then as my eyes adjust to the dark room, and flashing disco lights, realize with a sudden thud in my chest that one is Natasha and hardly concealing her hatred in that moment.

I stand up quickly, pulling myself free of him, lifting my glass to take a drink as he loops my hand in his with my change of position. Casting a quick glance at me while still talking, to see why I’m moving. I smile at him and wave my glass as if to say ‘taking a drink’ and he goes back to Claire. He’s completely oblivious that we are being watched.

I frown and turn back to Arrick, eyes still across the room as I try to act nonchalant and turn to him slowly. My mouth is met with a kiss, so suddenly it almost knocks me over. Claire has moved on and he kisses me a little too passionately, while I know she’s watching us. I try to push him away, but his hand slides around behind my neck and he starts teasing my mouth open to turn the kiss into something hotter. Arrick is very hands on when he drinks, and even though he’s only started, the club seem to have him in the mood to make-out and sex me up a little.

“Arrick?” I try and talk into his mouth, trying like crazy to capture his face and pull him away. He tastes like beer, like him, only half hearing me under the music around us and finally pulls back to frown at the fact I am not kissing him back, like I normally would.

“What’s wrong?” He leans in, touching his nose to mine and frowns harder when I shrug his hands off me that are sliding around my body. Looking concerned at my behavior.

“Natasha’s over there, staring at us.” I say into his face as he tries to catch my chin and throw another kiss, overly frustrated that I’m rejecting his attentions and slow on the uptake. He gazes at me for a second, eyes registering and then over me and scans the room. I guess he sees her too as he comes back to my face and kisses me on the cheek, before letting me go and sliding my hand in his instead. That tiny frown that he saw her too and now feels equally uncomfortable.

“Sophie ... Wow, check you, baby, you look freaking amazing.” Gary, an old friend of Arrick’s, appears beside us and kisses me on the cheek before Arry can say anything else. I turn and smile at him. We haven’t seen him in over a year, he is not one of the regulars to this crowd. He was in Australia working for the past few months and I guess he caught wind of Arrick’s party tonight. Apparent that he’s home visiting again.

“Thanks Gary, you’re looking well. Australia must agree with you.” I lean in and receive my kiss on the cheek, something all his friends do. And pull back when he aims a little close to the corner of my mouth with a hand on my hip with a little too firm a grip. It gives me the sudden recoiling urge, and I glance at him warily, tensing my hand in Arry’s.

“You look about ten years older than last time I saw you; fuck me, you’re hot as hell.” He moves back with Arrick’s hand on his chest, a little smile of warning as Arry pulls me back in against him. Clearly getting my signal and dealing with him; he may not be prone to jealousy, but he knows when I need him to protect me.

“Back off Briny, this one’s taken, and if you so much as kiss at her like that again, I’ll break your face.” Arrick smiles, but it’s clear he doesn’t like the drunken way Gary is clinging onto me and swaying into me in an inappropriate way. His eyes have done a full body sweep of me more than once. Arrick removes him from my hip and pulls me back another inch to widen the gap.

“Calm your pants Arry; it’s pretty clear she’s off limits, seeing as you have been man handling her since you walked in. When the hell did that happen? I thought you were shacked up with ….” He nods off towards the corner of the room and Arrick throws him a murderous look.

“Nothing like coming out with the most obvious statements, ehh Briny? This is what happens when you fuck off for months on end and don’t keep in touch.” Arrick sounds mildly pissed, but swigs his beer and shoves the other guy in the shoulder with his bottle in a friendly manner. Weird vibes suddenly and I stand stiff and unrelaxed between them.

“Does that mean Tash is back on the market?” Gary winks, making me tense, and I want to shove his bottle down his throat, but Arrick just shrugs.

“Guess so. Not that she ever actually liked you, but sure that won’t stop you.” Arrick throws him another smile, slides his arm down low on my back and tugs me closer so I am encircled in his protective space with a very clear show of ‘hands off’.

I immediately stare at his profile for a reaction, to see if it bothers him that his so-called mate wants to make a play for his ex, but he gives nothing away. I’m uncomfortable being scrutinized from afar while he has hands on me and I hate the way Gary is now leering at me like he can’t get over the change.

“How about we go dance?” Arry says softly, smiling at me and being my savior in one smooth move. Ignoring his friend and offering me a respite.

“Yes. Definitely.” I smile and sigh in relief, glad for any excuse to get out of here so I can relax again. I don’t see me enjoying this night if it continues like this.

“Watch these, we’re going down to dance.” He orders Gary, handing off our drinks to the table nearby, before catching his fingers in mine again and leading us back to the rear of the room and the direct stair down to the club. This really does feel a lot like that club I was in the night Camilla tried to drug me, and I look around uneasily, trying to push that memory away.

Arrick glances back as we get to the stair and catches Natasha watching us; looking to me with a frown and then a smile and he leads me onwards. He’s trying to act like it doesn’t matter but the odd waves of uneasiness that come off him only put my nerves on edge.

He helps me navigate the stair slowly, sliding a hand over my ass and pulling me against him when we get to the bottom and he leads me across the floor to find a place to dance. He’s always been a great dancer and buddied me over the years, so I look forward to getting in among the bodies already bouncing to the beat. I squeal when he tugs me by the hand into the crowd with a yank, and pulls me in to get moving, clearly back to his normal playful self now that he isn’t monitoring his behavior from prying eyes.