Destroy You (Destroy #3) Read online

  I took my time getting ready, not because I wanted to get attention, but in the hopes that Jeremy would get annoyed and leave without me. With my curling iron, I styled my long, brown hair into beachy waves. Next, I applied tinted moisturizer to my skin that gave it a bit of a glow, and added gold eye shadow that made my brown eyes pop. I found a red tank top with gold-beaded detailing along the neckline in the top in my dresser, then pulled on a pair of black pencil pants and strapped on some wedge sandals.

  Jeremy snuck up behind me and caused me to jump in surprise. “Dammit, Jer! You scared the shit out of me.”

  He grabbed my hand and started pulling me out the door. “Good. Don’t think I haven’t realized you’re trying to get out of this. You look great; now let’s go.”

  ***

  I settled down a bit once I found out we weren’t going to Trent’s bar. We’d only talked a little, and I wasn’t sure when he even worked, but I wasn’t in the mood to run into him, either. Rowdy’s was an alternative dance club with live music on Wednesday and Saturday nights. The music was less pop-y and more rock than the other dance clubs in town. Not that I’d experienced them, because after my disaster of a twenty-first birthday, I’d pretty much hidden in my house or Jeremy’s, except for my trips to the store to buy more ice cream.

  There was a line down the block to get into the club, but as usual Jeremy seemed to know someone that let the two of us bypass it and go straight inside without even having to pay the cover fee. The bouncer checked our IDs and stamped our hands, and we were in, but not before we heard the envious complaints from others that had been waiting in the line.

  The front room held four pool tables and a long bar. Jeremy made his way through the crowd to the bar to order some drinks while I sat on a stool by the wall waiting for him. After a few minutes, he was back and placed a drink in my hands.

  He gestured with his head. “Let’s go to the other side of the bar where the band is playing.”

  I followed him into the crowded room filled wall to wall with bodies. Finally, I understood why the line was so long outside. There wasn’t room for more people inside this part of the club.

  Blue, red, green, and white lights pulsed over the dance floor, making me feel a little drunk before I’d even taken a sip of the vodka tonic Jeremy had shoved into my hands. We pushed our way to the front of the room near the band, and I looked up onto the stage for the first time. Unfortunately, I’d just taken a rather large gulp of my drink and instantly started to choke when I saw the lead singer.

  She looked exactly like Jeremy. I mean the same silvery-blue eyes and same dark hair, except hers had some streaks of either purple or blue in it. With the flashing lights it was hard to see the color precisely.

  As soon as I stopped coughing, I whispered, “Oh my God.”

  Jeremy glanced at me sideways. “I know. Weird, huh?”

  I shook my head and gave her another look. “More than weird. Are you guys like long-lost cousins or something?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t think so, but it even freaks me out. I mean, we could be twins.”

  The drums started pounding a steady rhythm before I could say more. She swayed her hips and caressed the mic like she was going to tell everyone a secret, then closed her baby blues as she started to sing. Her voice sounded like a chorus of pissed-off angels, a pure, sweet sound with an edge of anger just under the surface. My heart started beating with the cadence of the drums, and I was hanging on every syllable that left her lips.

  “She’s good, don’t you think?” a masculine voice whispered in my ear.

  I glanced over my shoulder, and my breath caught in my throat the moment my eyes locked with Trent’s stormy-gray ones. My mouth opened and closed several times without releasing a sound before I settled on nodding.

  “Can we go outside and talk for a minute?” he shouted over the music.

  I started to shake my head, but Jeremy reappeared by my side and swatted me on the ass. “Quit being a brat and hear what the man has to say,” he yelled over the music.

  Trent extended his hand to me, but I ignored it and sauntered out of the club, putting a little extra swing in my hips. Jeremy would pester me if I didn’t at least pretend to listen to Trent, but I didn’t have to like it.

  Outside, Trent placed his hand on my lower back and directed me through the crowd still waiting to get inside. We went around the corner of the club into the alley. Once we were alone, he leaned against the wall and stared at me.

  I took a moment to appreciate his long, lean body. He was wearing another pair of distressed jeans that showcased his firm thighs and lean waist, a fitted, black Henley shirt on top, and a pair of black Chucks on his feet. His shirtsleeves were pushed up his forearms, and his tattoos peeked out beneath the one on the right; swirling, bold black lines that made me desire to peel the shirt off his body and trace the shapes until I could learn what they were.

  Miguel always wore fussy Italian leather shoes, trim slacks, and dress shirts, like he was an important businessman. It only made sense that I was drawn to his opposite after the way Miguel had treated me, but after seeing Trent with that girl, I wasn’t sure their differences went deeper than their appearances.

  “If you’re done checking me out, I’d like to talk to you about the night we met,” he said.

  I took a deep breath and tried to hide my reaction to him. “You don’t owe me anything. You didn’t actually cheat on her, at least not with me. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to her if I ever see her again.”

  Trent groaned and leaned his head back on the wall, turning his face up to the night sky. He scrubbed his hand across the top of his head and then turned his face back toward me. “Trinity isn’t my girlfriend. She was my foster sister until she turned eighteen, and I still feel responsible for her. Trin has problems, and she needs someone to look out for her, but that was all that was going on.”

  He couldn’t really be that naive, could he? “She wants you, and not as a brother.”

  Trent shrugged. “I know she’s confused. Trinity doesn’t understand that someone could care about her without wanting something from her. She’s only familiar with being used.”

  His expression turned serious, and he bit his lip ring. “What I’d like to know is, did her showing up ruin my chance to get to know you?”

  I cocked my head to the side and considered his question. “Would you still want to know me if I said we could only be friends?”

  “I think that’s a good place to start. I’m not going to lie; you fascinate me, Toni. I’m not sure what it is about you, but I can’t seem to stop thinking about you. We can start out as friends but—” he gestured back and forth between us, “—whatever is going on here, it isn’t over.”

  “Do you dance?” I asked, changing the subject. It was a stupid direction to take if I was serious about us being friends, but I was dying to see if his body could move the way I had fantasized about. Of course, I’d pictured him with a lot less clothes on, but that was only when I was asleep.

  He reached his hand out to me, and this time I took it. “Only one way to find out,” he said.

  Inside the club, the band was taking a break between sets. A DJ had started playing a dance mix, and the dance floor was full of writhing bodies. Trent pulled me tight to his chest and draped my hand he was still holding around the back of his neck. He gripped my waist with his free hand and guided me to straddle his thigh.

  The opening notes to Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty to Me” played over the speakers. My body was completely under his control as he rocked me back and forward. I told him I wanted to be friends, but the movement of his hard muscles against me made the most sensitive parts of my body hum with excitement.

  His close-cropped hair beckoned me to discover if it was prickly or soft. I couldn’t stop myself from rubbing my hand across the top of his head the way he’d done earlier. I learned it was both and ran my hand across it a bit longer than was appropriate; hell, one second was too
long.

  Trent bent down, and his lips brushed lightly against my cheek when he spoke. “I think I like your version of friendship.”

  I yanked my hand away from his head quickly. “I…I’m not…I mean, I didn’t…” My cheeks felt hot, and I had a sudden urge to hide.

  “Relax, Wildcat, I’m just teasing you,” he whispered.

  I dropped my arm from the back of his neck and took a step back. “I think it would be easier to be friends if we didn’t touch.”

  “But a lot less fun,” he said with a smirk.

  Jeremy came up behind me and put his arm possessively around my shoulders. He obviously wanted me to talk to Trent, but he wasn’t going to abandon me, either. “Melody wants to go get something to eat after they play their next set. Are you guys in?”

  Shrugging his arm off my shoulder, I spun around and glared at him. “You planned this!”

  Jeremy smiled, unrepentant. “You can thank me later.”

  “What do you say, friend? Want to go grab a bite?” Trent asked me.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, okay. I’m in.”

  ***

  A couple hours later, Jeremy, Trent, Melody, and I were sliding into a booth at an all-night diner. We were having a great time, as if we’d all known each other forever. The only issue was Trent and I obviously had different definitions of friendship.

  He took the seat next to me in the booth while Jeremy and Melody sat next to each other across from us. Trent started out innocently brushing my arm, then his leg “accidentally” rubbed against mine. Not getting a reaction out of me, he started to stroke my thigh with his finger. Still I pretended nothing was happening.

  I stole a quick look at him, and he winked at me. Lifting my chin higher, I dove into a conversation with Melody about her music. At least I think I did, because I couldn’t pay attention to what we were saying the moment Trent dropped his hand on my leg and squeezed. I gasped, which only encouraged him more. He caressed the inside of my thigh with his fingers, moving up toward the seam of my pants.

  A few more seconds and I was going to beg him to move his hand higher. I had to put a stop to his roaming digits before I crawled into his lap and helped myself to what he was offering. I grabbed his hand, and he laced our fingers together.

  He leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Watch a movie with me tomorrow night.”

  I knew I should say no. There was a palpable attraction between us, and the odds we’d remain “just friends” were nil. The last thing I needed in my life right now was more complications, but I craved more time with him.

  “I really want to spend time with you alone,” he continued.

  I licked my bottom lip. “I don’t think we can behave ourselves.”

  He traced the edge of my jaw with his finger. “Take a chance, Toni.”

  Unable to speak, I nodded.

  “Can I pick you up, or would you rather meet me at my place?” he asked.

  “I’d rather meet you. Where do you live?”

  “Above my bar.”

  My eyebrow rose. “Your bar?”

  “Tomorrow night we’ll talk and get to know each other better.”

  “How much better?” I asked.

  “That depends on you.”

  “I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

  He flicked his lip ring with his tongue, and his eyes darkened. “Good, because this isn’t over.”

  Chapter 4

  Trent

  Aside from Trinity occasionally crashing on my futon/couch and Melody stopping in once in a while before work, I rarely ever had anyone over to my apartment. I hadn’t even thought about which day of the week it was when I’d asked Toni to come over for a movie. Luckily, the bar was closed on Sunday, so I didn’t have to worry about getting someone to cover for me.

  After being out late the night before with Toni, Jeremy, and Melody, I woke up after noon and had to face the miserable state of my apartment. For weeks I’d been working almost constantly and sleeping when I wasn’t attending to business in the bar. As a result, I had takeout containers piled on the counter, dirty clothes scattered around the floor, and probably an inch worth of dust on the surfaces.

  I ran around picking up trash and gathering my laundry to put in the washer downstairs in the storage room. I typically only washed clothes on Sundays when my staff wasn’t around and the machines weren’t needed to wash bar rags and towels. For the next few hours, I scrubbed my entire apartment, did some grocery shopping, and went through my entire closet, but I ended up wearing jeans and a T-shirt like I always did. I checked my watch to see if it was time for her to arrive and then realized I’d never told her when to show up.

  I picked my phone up off the table in front of me to call her. Once it was ringing, my mind started to race with incessant thoughts. I didn’t want her to know how nervous I was or how big a deal I was making out of her coming over.

  There was no way she could know I’d never invited a woman to my place before. And she certainly didn’t need to know I never spent time with a woman I wasn’t fucking, and then the effort I put into the interaction was only a few words across the bar at the end of the night before going back to her place. I’d hated her insistence that we just be friends, but until I knew where my head was at, she was probably right.

  Toni finally answered after several rings. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Wildcat. Last night I forgot to discuss what time we were getting together.”

  “Well, I’m ready now, so anytime works for me. I’ll admit I was starting to wonder if you were serious about having me over when I realized you never mentioned a time.”

  “Yeah, I guess I was a bit excited you agreed, so the details escaped me.”

  “Why does it sound like you’re embarrassed to admit that?”

  My nickname for her fit perfectly. I could already tell she wasn’t going to let me slide by with my usual bullshit. “I haven’t actually dated very much. I’m twenty-four and clueless when it comes to keeping a female’s attention for longer than a few hours.” I bit my tongue and reminded myself I wasn’t going to tell her all the dirty details about my past.

  “Lucky for you this isn’t a date,” she quipped.

  “Whatever this is, I’m pretty sure I’ve never done it.”

  “That makes two of us. So did you decide what time you wanted me to come?”

  I chuckled. “There are a couple of ways I can answer that, but I’m trying to behave myself. Now…I want you now. I mean…I’d like you to come now. Shit, just head over here as soon as you can.”

  She laughed; at least my awkwardness amused her. “This is going to be a very strange friendship. I’ll be there shortly,” she said and hung up.

  I paced the length of my living room in front of the window that overlooked the street. Fifteen minutes later, I watched her parallel park in front of the bar and walk around the building. When I heard her climbing the metal staircase to my outside entrance, I rushed to the door, opened it, and stood in the entrance before she reached the top.

  When she was right next to me, she slowly looked up at me and smiled. In that second I knew she owned me. I was no longer confused about where my head was when it came to Toni. I wanted to be with her in whatever way I could. If all she would offer me was her friendship, I’d take it, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to blur the lines a little.

  “Come in. Let me give you the tour,” I said and placed my hand on her lower back before guiding her inside. Her body brushed lightly against mine, and her breath caught. Our eyes met, and I noticed her pupils were dilated. Toni claimed to be interested only in having a friendship with me, but her body was saying something else.

  “It’s a short tour. This is my living room.” I gestured to the room we entered and shrugged. “I’ve got typical bachelor-pad furniture.” The room consisted of a futon, a wall-mounted flat-screen television, and a thrift-store coffee table and entertainment center.

  Toni placed her hand on my bic
ep and turned me to look at her. “It’s nice, Trent, and really clean. I kinda expected empty takeout containers and laundry piled in the corner.”

  I bit my lip to hold back a laugh. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next. Usually, after I’d spent this much time alone with a woman, one or both of us would already be naked. We stood awkwardly in the living room, each of us waiting for the other to break the silence.

  “Ready to go to the store?” I asked.

  She sighed and twirled a lock of her hair. “Is this strange for you, too?”

  I rubbed my hand across the top of my head for a second. “Only because I really want to touch you, and I know that’s against the rules. I’m fighting against all of my instincts with you, and it’s killing my game.”

  Toni took a couple of steps until our chests were pressed together. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and I put my arms around her and held her tight against me. She tilted her head back so she could look at my face. “Let’s not put any rules on us, and as far as your game...just don’t try to play me.”

  “I like the sound of that. Let’s go get a movie.”

  ***

  The trip to the store only took around an hour. I wanted to make us dinner, but I also wanted to take advantage of our no-rules movie night and ended up suggesting Chinese takeout so my hands could be free if she seemed receptive to more than a friendly movie night. Choosing a movie was more difficult since Toni kept suggesting action movies that would not entice her to hide her face in my chest, and I countered with horror movies that would. Eventually, we settled on a drama. It was kind of cheating on my part, because I’d overheard Melody telling one of the waitresses how hot the movie got her after she saw it.