Page 9 of Property Of Nicky

He smiles at my words and leans in. “That’s good, baby. That’s real good.” His lips barely brush against mine before he’s pulling back. “Let me get Shiv inside and then I’m all yours.”

I nod. “Okay, I’m going to go in and change. How about I meet you at the pool table? You up for a game?”

He arches a brow, looking amused by my request. “Only if there’s a wager on the line.”

I can’t help but smile. “Always,” I purr.

“Good. Well, I already know what I want if I win. So, you better decide what you want.”

Lots of things come to mind. Lots of things that bring all kinds of tingles between my legs and once again have my panties needing to be changed.

“Damn, I think I may just throw the game. It looks like I’d rather be the loser from what I can tell is going through that gorgeous head of yours.”

“You never know.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him. “We may both want the same thing.”

“I want you in my bed tonight. What is it that you want, babe?”

Oh my God! If I wasn’t so good at pool, I’d be freaking out. How will I ever resist giving him my v-card if I’m in his bed? Judging by my pussy’s reaction, she thinks we should forget our billiard skills and become experts in some new skills.

“I want a kiss.” I tell him, and the moment the words leave my mouth, he leans forward, grips my neck, and pulls me toward him.

“You don’t have to win the game, babe; I’ll give you whatever the fuck you want. All you have to do is ask.”

I’m about to ask for a hell of a lot more than a kiss when Shiv groans in the back. “I don’t feel so good. Need a bathroom.”

Both of us pull away from each other and jump into action. Trigger rushes around and gets Shiv out of the back and braced around his shoulder, and I shut the door behind him. He tells me he’ll meet me at the pool table once he’s gotten his friend taken care of. And knowing I have a little bit of time on my hands, I head to my room.

Once I’m locked inside, I decide to quickly rinse off, hoping to cool my nerves. I can tell that something is going to happen tonight, and as much as I’m excited about what’s to come, I’m also totally freaking out. I have no experience when it comes to men. None. Other than what Trigger did to me at the table earlier tonight. So, I have no idea what I’m doing.

I feel like I’m so out of my league here. The guy has definitely been with women before, including my sister, which if it weren’t for the way he stared at me the entire night and didn’t even glance in Joe’s direction other than when she spoke to him, I’d have a problem with their past. But my issue with their intimate knowledge of one another faded away tonight. For both of them, it was purely physical and nothing more. No one knew what the future held for me and Trigger, and I still don’t know what it holds. But I know I’m not going to hold a grudge against either of them.

After I’m dried and dressed, I finally make my way out to the common area. My palms are sweating and my stomach is filled with butterflies but there’s no turning back now. I want Trigger and I know he won’t force me to do anything I’m not comfortable with, so I keep walking down the hall. But as soon as I walk in the room, I wish I’d stayed locked in my bedroom. Trigger is by the pool table but he’s not alone. He’s with a girl. A very pretty girl who’s practically naked and dancing in front of him.

She’s swaying her hips right against his front and he’s not pushing her away or putting a stop to it. In fact, he’s smiling at her. When she swivels herself down his front to where she’s inline with his crotch before grinding her way back up, I know I’ve seen enough. I turn and head straight back to my room, locking the door and shutting myself in the darkness. I can’t believe how wrong I was. I can’t believe how close I was to giving into a man and breaking the vow I made to myself. The pain I feel right now hurts, and we’ve barely just begun. I can’t imagine what it would feel like had I traveled down that path and let him all the way in.

I’m just so damn thankful I learned the truth now instead of later. I’m glad I saw how easy it was for him to flirt and give his attention to another. Because that’s how it starts. First, it’s a friendly smile or a look. Then there’s a casual conversation or a dance in this case. Then comes an accidental physical encounter which, of course, no one intended for it to happen. And the next thing you know, there are feelings. Feelings that lead to broken hearts. Feelings that lead to mass destruction.

When the knock comes at my door, I freeze. My heart pounds in my chest and my breath freezes in my lungs. I’m afraid to even breathe because I want him to think I’m asleep. Another light tap comes, and finally, after a long pause, the shadow of his feet moves away from under my door, and his footsteps retreat down the hall. I hear his door, which is only two away from mine, open and close. And finally, I take a breath and unfreeze my lungs, but the pounding in my chest doesn’t stop and the feeling in my stomach doesn’t go away.

I feel sick. But not like the kind of sick where I need to go throw up. I feel lovesick. Sick over losing the idea of finding love.

CHAPTER 5

Trigger

Ifigured my girl crashed last night when she got back to her room. It took me a moment to deal with Shiv and make sure my buddy was okay and not going to choke on vomit in his sleep, so by the time I got down to the common area, at least half an hour had passed. I waited for Nick, thinking maybe she’d gotten wrapped up in some business issues, but when she never came out, I went to go find her. And when I saw the lights off in her room, and she didn’t answer when I knocked, I figured she’d gone to bed. That girl had been up till the wee hours of the morning, so I couldn’t blame her body for finally giving out on her.

But from the way she’s been giving me the brush-off tonight, it has me thinking she got spooked for some reason and changed her mind about me. It was obvious she’d gone down a rabbit hole in her mind on our ride back to the clubhouse, and though I thought she’d climbed back out of it and was ready to give me a chance, I’m thinking she had second thoughts once she got to her room and had put some distance between us.

I watched her throughout the entire wedding ceremony and noticed how she didn’t once look in my direction. As the vows were being read, I sought her out because in my mind I was standing on the altar with her and promising her my future devotion, but she—she was staring at the flowers in her hand, watering the things with her tears. I almost stepped across the altar to wipe her tears away and hold her, but I could tell she would pull even further away from me if I had. And now, given the fact that she’s avoided me at every pass during this entire reception, I know she’s got her walls back up and I’m back at ground zero.

Fuck!

What the hell happened to her to make her hate men so much? I’d ask her sister, but the happy bride is enjoying her moment and I’m not going to rain on her wedding parade. I’ll have to be patient and wait to find out, but that being said, I’m not waiting to get close to my girl. When the DJ calls for the last dance, I finally make my move. I see Nick at the bar, talking to Riff, so I give them a moment before I step up to the plate and interrupt.

“You gonna give me the last dance, Nick?”

She turns in my direction when she hears my request and the smile on her face has me thinking that maybe I was misreading the situation entirely and should have approached sooner.

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