“Nothing’sGonnaHurtYouBaby”—CigarettesAfterSex
When I woke up alone, I panicked. The thought of being left was nearly too much in my half-awake state. Heart still racing, I climbed out of bed, noting the tenderness between my legs. Aros hadn’t been gentle, but I couldn’t lie, I’d loved ever second.
It seemed strange that I had just called him Aros in my head. Then again, we knew each other carnally, and I’d screamed it enough last night. Except, around the others, I should probably remember to call him Sabre. I needed to ask him about that.
“You’re fine, everything is okay. He probably had things to do,” I told my trembling reflection in the bathroom mirror, and I laughed at my foolishness. After all, I’d slept in.
Doing the walk of shame in Sabre’s discarded T-shirt from last night that hung to my knees, I peeked out into the hall. When I was satisfied the coast was clear, I darted next door to clean up and get dressed.
Before I left the room, I held the shirt to my face and breathed deeply. I’d planned to drop it off in his room, but I hugged it to my chest in indecision. Biting my lip, I contemplated for about two seconds before I rolled it up and shoved it into one of my drawers.
A secretive smile kicked up the corners of my lips before I headed down to the kitchen to see what I could scrounge up. My stomach growled when I walked in, and the lingering scent of bacon hit me.
There was a woman rinsing off plates in the sink. Unsure if I should go in, I stopped in the doorway. She saw me as she turned back to the dishwasher she was loading.
“Hey, Soleil. I’m Willow. Hope you’re hungry, I have a plate saved for you.” She pulled it out of the fridge and popped it into the microwave. As she moved with a lithe grace, I admired her ability to boldly wear the black leggings with donuts all over them and a matching tank she had on. She was ethereally beautiful. Almost like a fairy brought to life, complete with flip-flops with jewels and bells on them that softly jingled with her every step.
“Starving, thank you.” When I sat down to eat, she joined me at the table. She propped her chin on the heel of her hand as she studied me. Her hair was a more vibrant red than mine, and she had a sprinkle of freckles across her nose and onto her cheeks.
I wasn’t expecting the pretty woman to be so nice, but she was making me nervous. “Do I, um, have something on my face?” I used a napkin to wipe at my mouth and chin.
“No, just admiring the view.” She winked. “Is it true? Are you with Sabre?”
My cheeks heated and I locked my gaze on my plate.
Oh, sweet Jesus.
Her tinkling laughter made me pull my shoulders up in an attempt to become invisible. Because thinking about it, I was quite vocal and loud the two times Sabre and I had fucked. I was beginning to realize that there probably weren’t a lot of secrets in this place.
“There’s no shame in it. Believe me, when I first got here, I was a lot like you. I had no idea what to expect. But you’ll get the hang of everything, and in no time, you’ll fit right in. Sabre’s broody sometimes, but he’s a teddy bear. He’ll be good to you. If there’s anything you need, my room is upstairs. Take a left, and it’s the last one on the right. Oh, and don’t be surprised if you catch me making breakfast in my ice cream sleeping pants—they’re my favorite. I gotta run though, I still need to get ready for work.” With one last warm smile, she got up.
I went back to my food and tried to ignore the people who came and went out of the kitchen. Except it was hard to ignore the blonde who took the chair across from me.
“I’m Buffy,” she announced.
“Hi. Soleil,” I replied with a wave and a little finger wiggle.
“Shelly said you were new and you’re filling in at RB, Ink.once Faith has her baby,” she continued.
With a mouthful of bacon, I nodded. Not that I knew who the hell Shelly was.
I swallowed and damn near choked myself. After washing it down with water, I answered, “Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s awesome. Did Willow fill you in on how everything works around here?”
“Um, not really?” I didn’t intend it to be a question, but thanks to the squeak at the end of my sentence, it came out as one.
“First of all, you’re so lucky you’re pretty. The guys will love you, which means you’ll always be spoiled rotten.” She gave me a bright smile.
“What are you talking about?”
“Sabre didn’t tell you?” she gasped as she acted horrified. “No one lives here for free—they had to have told you that.”
“Yes, that’s why I’m working at the tattoo studio,” I clarified.
“Right. But I heard you aren’t working there at the moment because of whatever happened. I just didn’t want you being blindsided. Us girls need to stick together, because you might be with Sabre, but you aren’t his ol’ lady. Shelly is his favorite, so you need to make sure if she goes to his room, you make yourself scarce. Okay? Your job will be to take care of the brothers’ needs. But don’t worry, I can help you out. They each have their little idiosyncrasies—you know… kinks. Like, some of them prefer blowjobs, some like hand jobs, some prefer anal. And oh my God, depending on the brother, you’ll need to make sure you keep a lot of lube with you.”
She winked conspiratorially at me, and I wanted to puke on my plate, I was so pissed. No one had told me anything about that shit. Did Mia know about this? Surely not. When she’d called me last week to check on me, she’d been pleased to hear they had found me a job and a safe place to stay.