Case shakes his head. “You are correct. You are my supplier, but it never hurts to test the competition.”
Rox smiles widely, and it makes him look like the Grinch. “Test the competition,” he repeats with amusement. “Did they pass?”
Case reaches down into his pocket and pulls out the baggie of cocaine. I suck in a deep breath. “You tell me.”
Rox’s black eyes light up. “A gift? I love gifts.” The smile on his face reminds me of a child on Christmas morning. Case hands him the baggie and takes the few steps that separate him from a couch. Case plops down and I find myself sitting down as well. “Oh, please join me,” he says looking over at me as he sits down in a chair across from us. My body stiffens, and I pray they can’t see it. But I gotta do what Case told me to do in order not to give ourselves away.
I swallow nervously and hold my breath as I nod quickly. Fuck! I let out a long breath as my hands shake while resting on my thighs. I give him a shaky smile as I look him in the eyes. They’re so dark they’re black. I don’t know why, but the devil comes to mind—soulless. I lick my dry lips and speak. “I would love some …”
“You know how I feel about that.” Case interrupts me, and my head whips to the right to stare at him. Is he gonna save me from having to do it? Thank you, God! “I don’t allow my men to do something at that caliber when he has a job to do for me later tonight.” Case slides his eyes over to me, and then back at Rox. “That’s how shit gets fucked up.”
Rox nods his head quickly. “Yes. Yes.” He looks up at the ceiling as if in thought. “I have had to get rid of many guys who fucked up some very important exchanges for me,” he muses. And I have feeling get rid of means kill.
He stands and digs into his pocket. Case smiles when Rox pulls out a pipe of marijuana. “Well, how about this?” He raises a dark brow to Case. “This way the man can get a little something and still be able to do his job later.” He then looks at me and nods his head. “Yes?”
I return his smile, but it’s a little shaky at best. When he looks away from me, I let out a long sigh. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I sure as hell don’t wanna get high, but I guess it’s better than snorting a line of cocaine.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TAYLOR
Two hours later, I’m sitting on the floor in my room in front of my floor-length mirror drying my hair thinking about what happened earlier with Case. He looked at me as if he wanted me. His hands felt so hot on my skin that I wonder what the rest of him would feel like on top of me. I almost begged him to kiss me. I’m pretty sure I voiced that out loud. I almost threw my arms around his neck and begged him. This is bad. So bad! I can’t be around him anymore. I can’t do this to myself. My stomach has been in knots since he left. Not because he almost kissed me, but because he didn’t. I would have rather he kissed me than made me look like an idiot. Then he had the nerve to laugh.
I turn off the hair dryer and lay it on the floor next to me.
I jump when I hear my cell phone ringing. I reach over to see it’s my brother calling.
“Yes?” I ask with a sigh. He left with Case right after I gave him the free show. I’m hoping Case didn’t tell him what really happened.
“Hey, sis,” he says, and I can hear music blaring in the background. He must be up at Seven Deadly Sins with Case.
“You need to get ready and get up to Seven Deadly Sins,” he informs me.
I allow my head to fall forward and let out a heavy sigh. No doubt this was Case’s doing. He’s trying to screw with me. “Pass. I don’t want any part of your drug deals,” I half growl.
He chuckles, and I frown. How was that funny? “I promise this has nothing to do with drugs. Just fun. Drugs don’t control my life,” he adds seriously.
“That’s nice,” I reply dryly, not believing him, but then add, “I’m staying here.” I’ve had enough humiliation today.
He sighs heavily. “Case reserved us our own private room. And I have other friends coming. Dillon and Lance will be here in a matter of minutes. So finish getting ready.”
“How could you invite Dillon?” I demand. “You know he gives me the creeps.”
“He swears it was a misunderstanding.”
“How is kissing me a misunderstanding?”
I hear a door open and close on his side of the line and then he speaks. “He’s been my friend for years, Taylor,” he says softly. “He knows not to touch you. Can’t you for once relax and have some fun?” he snaps.
Whoa. What’s up with the mood change so quickly? What is wrong with him tonight? I wonder if Case told him the truth once they left the house. That I have the hots for his drug dealer. I should be ashamed, but that’s what makes him hot, right? The fact he’s what Savannah calls a bad boy.
Savannah chooses this time to walk into my bedroom wearing a black mini dress and red high heels. “Get dressed. I’m not gonna be the only girl with all the guys tonight.”
I guess my brother had called her before he called me. “We’ll be right there,” I inform him then I hang up. If Case wants to play a game, then a game we shall play.
Thankfully, Dillon and Lance were meeting us at the club, which was a silver lining of my day considering how bad it has been so far.
I quickly finish getting ready and then Savannah drives us over to Seven Deadly Sins. As soon as we walk into the club, she goes in search of the private room Case reserved for us. I find myself going straight to the bar. I have just ordered a Peach Bellini when a hand lands on my shoulder.
I jump as I turn my head to look over my shoulder. Case is standing behind me looking down at me. “Have you thought about my offer?” he asks with a smirk on his face. My first thought is I hate that he’s seen me naked. I hate how he can act as if it didn’t affect him like it did me.
“It’s not gonna happen,” I reply flatly. Don’t let him see that it bothers you. He’s like a bully. If he knows it bothers you, then he will continue to use it against you.
“I beg you to reconsider.” This time, when he speaks, his mouth is right by my ear, and my body breaks out in goosebumps.
I spin around and place a finger on his hard chest. I feel his muscles flex underneath it, and I bite the inside of my lip. “Let’s talk about what this is really about, shall we?”
He arches his right eyebrow, the one that has the scar above it, and I find myself fascinated by it. I wonder how he got it. It adds to his mystery and makes him seem much more interesting. He then crosses his arms over his chest. I can’t help but look at his dark blue tattoos that cover his forearms. The skull looks even brighter against the sleeves of his rolled up button-down white shirt. It’s hot, and he looks mouthwatering good. The muscles pull against the fabric as if it’s screaming to the point it will explode under the tension. I know how it feels. “Okay.” His smirk grows to a full-on grin as he catches me staring. “What do we need to discuss?”
“The fact you saw me naked,” I say loud enough so he can hear me over the screaming music.
The older man standing beside me at the bar turns to look at us with wide eyes but allows himself to look me up and down before returning his attention back to the bar. Of course, I would say that loud enough for someone to hear in here.
“I did,” he says as his blue eyes darken. “And you’re not fooling anyone.” He uncrosses his arms from his chest and reaches out to tug on my overly large shirt. I slap his hand away as I push my back into the bar. “Trying to hide that amazing body under those baggy clothes.”
Did he say amazing body? My face heats up. No, stay on topic. I only dressed this way half because of him. The other fifty percent was for Dillon’s benefit. I don’t want any man to approach me tonight. I only came to prove a point to my brother. I’ll show him that I’m not a stuck-up bitch and I know how to have fun. “If you think inviting us here tonight will get you somewhere with me, it won’t happen …” I pause when his dark brows raise to his forehead. What did you just say, Taylor? And why does he look so amused about it? Maybe I am overthinking this. So what if he saw me naked? I’m sure he has seen tons of women naked. He’ll forget it by tomorrow. “Why did you invite us out here tonight?” I decide to settle on.