Kisses and Warfare

“I should go,” she says, not moving, her eyes looking everywhere, checking out the scene in front of her.

“No. You are free tonight, and now you’re mine.” I pull her so she has to move. She doesn’t care that her jacket is open, and the curves of her perfect breasts are showing as we walk through the crowd.

Snow stops me, his hand coming to tap on my shoulder. When he sees Katarina, he looks down at our hands and smiles in surprise. “Good to see you again,” he says to her.

“Good to see you again too.” She’s clearly not in the mood to make conversation. “I should go. I’m tired, Blaze.” Her eyes don’t look at me as she speaks.

Snow raises an eyebrow at her words, then turns and walks off.

“I’m tired,” she says again.

I continue walking until we reach my bedroom. Unlocking the door, I open it for her to go in first.

She looks up at me. “You don’t really listen, do you?”

“No.” I smile.

“That could be an issue,” she says, taking her jacket off, then falling onto the bed with her heels still on.

My eyes roam her entire body. She’s fully dressed, her purse, which she was wearing over her shoulder, has now dropped on the side of the bed. Katarina doesn’t move from her spot. Her eyes close, and I think she’s about to fall asleep.

Stepping out, I go to grab her a drink, and when I close the door, she doesn’t make a sound.

“You think that’s smart?” Snow asks, nodding to my room where Katarina is more than likely sleeping.

“Possibly not.”

“Good. I’m glad you see it for what it is.” He nods.

“Do I, though?” I ask, looking back to my door.

“Why is she in your room?” he asks. “You never bring them back to your room.”

Snow’s right, but there’s something about Katarina. I knew it from the first time I saw her out front of a nightclub one night with her sister.

Katarina is different.

“You didn’t have Tanika in your room,” Snow says, using her name.

I didn’t love Tanika, but I saw the pain she was hiding from everyone else, and we bonded over that. I could have loved Tanika given time. Possibly. Maybe. Who fucking knows!

“She’s asleep,” I say, referring to Katarina.

“Then why not take her home?” he asks.

She asked me the same thing. But for some reason, I don’t want the average Friday night. I want it with her. Even if it means her sleeping in my bed.Chapter Twenty-TwoKatMy head is sore, and my body is warm. Opening my eyes, the room is still dark, almost pitch black as I blink a few times, trying to make my eyes adjust. It takes me a moment to remember where I am. I can still hear music going on outside the room. Looking around, I reach for my purse and grab my phone out.

Fuck! I’ve only slept for a few hours.

The sun should be coming up now if it’s not already. Annabelle usually wakes around this time, and I feed her, then we go back to sleep.

Lying down, my hands go to either side of my body, and I realize I’m alone in the bed—a bed that isn’t even mine.

Sitting up, I look for my heels and see they’re placed on the floor at the bottom of the bed neatly with my jacket lying over one of the chairs. Reaching for it and sliding on my heels, I walk out with my phone in hand and my purse over my shoulder.

Voices are yelling, girls are screaming in delight, and I look around for Blaze. The sun is almost completely up, so I don’t have to squint to see everyone.

“Oh, it’s you,” someone next to me seethes.

I turn to see Rebecca. She has a drink in her hand and a look of hate written all over her face. She looks back to see where I came from, and her lips form a thin straight line. “He likes to fuck the new ones, and you’re just that. New for him to taste,” she spits, then walks off.

I raise an eyebrow and huff. Damn, I don’t have a car. And I feel a sense of déjà vu being back here this time, though I’m not drunk, I am the sober one.

Messaging my sister, I ask her to come and get me, not even knowing if she’s awake but hoping she is. Rochelle messages back straight away, telling me she’s on her way.

I spot him sitting at their bar with Snow next to him on one side and Silver on the other, her hand on his back as he talks animatedly to Snow. She notices me first and smiles. It’s not a ‘nice to see you’ smile either, it’s more like a ‘fuck you’ smile.

“Blaze,” I say.

He turns to face me, shrugging off Silver’s hand and looking me over. “You going somewhere?”