Tainted Kiss (Tainted Knights Book 1) by Terri Anne Browning
“We’re going to do a girls’ night next Friday. Do you want to join us? It’s just going to be us, minus Kassa, and my other stepsister Carolina.”
I was blown away that she wanted to include me. I glanced from her to Kale, saw that he was waiting for me to answer, then turned back to Kin. Was he glad that I was going to hang out with his friend’s girlfriend? It was kind of sweet, and I wondered if he had asked her to include me.
“I’d love to,” I told her, then felt him relax at my answer. “Text me the details?”
“Great.” She grinned. “I’ll just snatch your digits out of Kale’s phone.”
ELEVEN
Kale
The night was turning out to be a success. It felt good to just hang out with my friends, and even better to have Santana there with me. I hadn’t gotten to do this much over the last year. There had been little time for friends outside of our weekly gig at First Bass.
I hadn’t been the only one who’d had to a get job when we first got to L.A. Cash and Sin had also gotten a second job to pay their ways. From the time Sin and I were fifteen, we’d worked, so it hadn’t been a hardship for either of us. Cash, on the other hand, had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth. His dad was some hotshot congressman, but when Cash had told him what he wanted to do with his life, the old man had given him an ultimatum—go to college, get a real job, follow him into politics or join the family business. Or, he was going to cut Cash off.
Cash hadn’t made it seem like it had been such a huge decision. He had left without a backward glance as far as I knew. Finding a job, however, had been a little more difficult for him. In the end, he’d started waiting tables and made some decent money doing it, but now he was living comfortably from the record deal we had signed with Petrova.
Jace might not have been born into money, but he and his sister had been adopted into it. Their adopted mother was the district attorney back in Bristol, Virginia. She was also Gray’s aunt and had raised him from the moment his mother had died. Alicia St. Charles had paid their rent upfront for them when we’d moved out to California, so they hadn’t needed to get an extra job to put food on the table while we had worked our one-year contract with Harris at First Bass. Of the five of us, Gray and Jace had the easiest life. Now. Their childhood had more than made up for it, though, in my opinion, and I wasn’t even a little jealous of either of them.
As the night went on and Santana had a few beers, she became more comfortable with everyone. She laughed easily with them and wasn’t as shy about joining in their conversations. I loved that she was enjoying herself.
Fuck, she was so beautiful. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Or my hands that were still on her body. Without even realizing it, my fingers were constantly rubbing over her skin, making her shiver in a way that told me she enjoyed the way I touched her.
When I wasn’t torturing myself with how soft her skin was, I watched how she was with my friends. She was laughing and joking around like she had known them as long as I had. However, whenever her phone went off, she would lose some of the brightness in her eyes. After about the sixth time she glanced down at it, she rolled her eyes and turned the phone off.
“Problem?” I asked in her ear, not wanting to bring attention to her in case whatever it was embarrassed her.
She stuffed her phone in her clutch and zipped it closed. “Sage is mad at me.”
I tensed, somehow knowing it was because of her roommate’s boyfriend. “Was he there when I picked you up?”
She shrugged, but I could see the answer in her dark eyes. Thank fuck she couldn’t hide anything from me, even if she wanted to.
“Did he say something inappropriate to you?”
“We argued,” she said. I could already read her well enough to know she was downplaying it. “We can’t be in the same room for longer than two minutes without throwing abuse at each other.”
“What did he say?” I bit out through clenched teeth, trying to hold on to my anger.
I could tell by the way her shoulders had tensed up at the first text she had gotten that whatever had gone down hadn’t been pretty. The fact that she hadn’t really answered my question about the fucker saying something inappropriate hadn’t slipped past my attention, either, as I was sure she had hoped. I hadn’t even met the sonofabitch, and I already wanted to beat the shit out of him.
“Santana,” I gritted out when she didn’t seem to be in a hurry to answer me. “What did he say to you?”
She blew out a huff in exasperation. “He might have commented on my pussy.”
A red haze fell over my eyes. I almost didn’t hear the rest of it as she told me what had happened before I had arrived.
That piece of shit had said those things to my doll? Fuck no. I wasn’t going to just sit back and let that shit continue, especially since I was going to be gone for nine damn weeks. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the music if I was worried about her being in the same apartment where that cunt monkey could show up any time he wanted.
“He came at you? Would he have hit you?” I was about to explode. The thought of Santana in danger twisted something inside of me in a way that had a voice in my head screaming, Kill that motherfucker!
“It’s not the first time he’s tried to get in my face,” she admitted after a small hesitation. “It’s nothing, though. Wade doesn’t have the balls to actually touch me. He’s just a little pussy.”
She said it with confidence, but she couldn’t hide the small flash of doubt in her brown eyes. She wasn’t nearly as sure as her words proclaimed, and that shit had my fists clenching as I imagined my hands wrapping around his throat.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Kassa had squeezed herself onto the couch between me and Gray. Her back was pressed against his side and his arm was slung over her shoulder casually. She had been unapologetically listening to our conversation, but now she was jumping right into the middle of it. “This guy talked to you like that? Got in your face? No fucking way. You can’t let that prick treat you like that. And this is your roommate’s boyfriend?”
Pink filled Santana’s cheeks again. “Yes.”
“And she let him treat you like that?” Her blue eyes were wide as saucers. She lowered her voice. “Does he treat her like that, too?”
My doll grimaced. “All the time. When I step in, she gets mad because he leaves, and she thinks he will break up with her. I’ve been trying for two years to get her away from him, but she just won’t open her eyes.”
Kassa reached out and took Santana’s hand. “Babe, you shouldn’t be around that kind of guy. Like, seriously, he could hurt you. And her. If she can’t see that, that’s on her. You need to get away from them both. Maybe if you moved out, she would finally see what she’s losing by keeping him around.”
Santana seemed to chew that over for a few moments while she nibbled on her bottom lip. “I’ve been thinking of moving out for a few months now, but Sage needs me. She’s always battled depression, and I’m afraid that, if I move out, she will fall into a black hole or something worse. Wade wouldn’t even think about helping her, and there’s no telling what could happen.”
“Look, I barely know you,” Kassa said in a gentle tone, “but I like what I do know so far. You’re a good person. I can see that clear as day. But this guy is bad news, and you have to get away from him.”
“I …”
Kassa and I could both see she was going to argue, so Kas pulled the other chicks into the conversation. Within seconds of getting the major details, they were all trying to convince her to move out, with Jace and Harris backing them up.
“We have a spare room,” Angie spoke up, looking over at Kin who nodded her head in agreement. “You could move in with us.”
“That’s so nice of you,” Santana started, “but—”
“I have an extra room, too,” Jenna offered. “I own the damn place now that Harris has his own apartment. You could take the room rent free on a trial basis. And as good as Angie’s offe
“Really, I couldn’t,” Santana began again, but Jenna interrupted her.
“Just think about it. Trust me when I say that toxic people can turn you toxic, too, without you even realizing it until it’s too late.” She brushed her hair from her face, her blue-gray eyes lost in the memories of her past. “Just … think about it, okay? The offer will always be on the table.”
While the others continued to try to convince her to move out of her apartment, I just sat there, only half-listening. My thoughts where on the slimy prick who had put my girl in this situation. Everything she had told me played out in my head as if I’d actually been there to witness it all. The way she had said he’d looked at her, his beady eyes running over her, mentally touching her. The way he had talked about her pussy. My girl’s fucking pussy. Getting in her face …
He could touch her next time.
Hit her.
Hurt her.
And I would have to kill him, because no one touched Santana like that while I was still breathing.
“Where does this guy work?” Harris asked out of the blue, pulling me out of the dark thoughts swirling around in my head. “If he’s like that outside of work, he probably can’t hide it at work.”
“Don’t be so sure. He’s a bartender at some upscale place on Sunset,” Santana informed him with a lift of her shoulders. “He makes pretty good money, I guess, but he mooches off Sage like she’s his personal little piggy bank.”
“Which one?” Caleb asked her before I could open my mouth to do the same.
I was going to pay the fucker a little visit at work.
“The Way.”
“I know that place. I had lunch there last week with my dad,” Lucy commented. “Way over-priced if you ask me, but Daddy enjoyed the steak.”
I glanced over at Gray, who was watching me with Santana. He had been quietly following the conversation, keeping his arm around Kassa to make sure she didn’t get too far away. I saw the look that was simmering in his sand-colored eyes.
I lifted one brow at him in silent question and got a single chin lift in return.
That easily, we had made a decision.
This was why Gray was one of my closest friends. If either of us had a problem, we knew the other would be right behind us, ready to jump in if we needed it. It was the same for Sin. The three of us have been friends since we were little kids. We would always have each other’s backs.
“Is that really the time?” Lucy groaned, climbing off Harris’s lap with reluctance. “I hate to be the party pooper, but I have to get up early. My sister asked me to babysit, and I’ll be there all day.”
Santana stood, and I instantly missed her heat.
Lucy hugged her, whispering something in her ear that had my doll nodding. Then she waved at everyone else.
Harris stood, too, leaving with her since his manager was on duty tonight. Even before they had gotten engaged, he had been turning more and more responsibilities over to his two managers.
“Night, everyone,” Lucy called.
Harris took her hand and led her toward the elevator that would take them straight to his office.
Kin fought back a yawn. “I think we’re going to go, too,” she told us as she unwrapped herself from around Jace. “Ang, are you coming home tonight?”
The little blonde sitting beside Jenna shook her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jace stood and stretched. “I’ll be at Kin’s, Kas. If you need anything—”
“Yeah, yeah.” Kassa grinned up at him. “I know. But I won’t need you. Gray will be around.”
Kin hugged Santana, told her to call her, and then the couple were gone.
Deciding that I’d had enough of my friends for one day, I jumped to my feet and put my hand on Santana’s hip. “That’s our cue, doll. You ready?”
She lifted her head, those brown eyes turning into melted chocolate right before my eyes. My body responded to that look as if I had touched a live wire. Everything inside of me came alive, and it took a will I didn’t know I possessed not to toss her over my shoulder like some cave man and run out of there with her then and there.
“I’m ready,” she murmured in a voice so soft only I could hear her.
My hand contracted on her hip, and I had to force myself to look down at Gray and tell him and Kassa goodnight.
“See you tomorrow.” I nodded at Caleb, smiled at Jenna and Angie, and then we headed for the exit, leaving the club in silence.
Out on the street, I saw the line to get in hadn’t gotten any shorter.
I turned over my slip to the valet who went to fetch my car then pulled Santana around to face me.
“Did you have fun?”
“I had a great time.” She lifted her hands to my chest, her fingers playing with one of the buttons on my shirt. “Your friends are nice.”
I laughed at that. Nice? Gray had been on his best behavior because Kassa had been right there to make sure he stayed in line, and Sin hadn’t shown up, so yeah, I guess she would think they were nice.
“Some of them, at least. But they were nice to you, so that’s all that matters.” I pressed my lips to her forehead, hugging her against me. “Do you have a shoot in the morning?”
She nodded. “But it’s not until eleven, and I should be done by two.”
I tipped my head back to look down at her. “I really want you to come home with me tonight.” Her eyes seemed to sharpen, but I continued before she could speak. “Nothing has to happen. I just want you to stay with me; sleep in my arms again. And I want to know that you’re safe. I don’t like the thought of you at that apartment when that douchebag could be there. I know it’s your place, but … if you went home tonight, I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”
“Kale …”
She was going to say no. I couldn’t let her say no.
“Please, doll?” I touched my lips to the tip of her nose, trying to use my most charming tone.
“I want to go home with you,” she whispered. “But … I really, really want something to happen.”
Everything inside of me went completely still. The air froze in my lungs, my heart stopped beating, and I was pretty sure my brain had just short-circuited. Then, when what she’d said hit me, the air left me in a whoosh, and my heart took off like it was a horse about to win the Kentucky Derby.
My brain still couldn’t process anything, but it was another head altogether that took over. My dick thickened and pulsed hard against her stomach, making her gasp.
I lowered my head, capturing her lips in a hungry kiss that didn’t even begin to show her how much I wanted her. How desperate I was for my little doll.
Her hands tightened in my shirt, her nails biting through the fabric and into my skin as she opened her mouth and kissed me back. I tried—really, really tried—to keep my hands from roaming all over her sweet, little body, but it was impossible. She felt so good, tasted so damn good, and my hands wanted to explore every inch I could reach.
Behind me, I heard a few cat calls, and then a car honked, right beside us.
I lifted my head slowly, savoring her taste on my tongue as I met her dark gaze. With the street lights glowing around us, I saw that her eyes were a rich chocolate, the heat in them making them melt right before my eyes.
“Kale!”
My head shot up at hearing my name and, too late, I remembered the paps that always seemed to be camped out across the street from the club.
Those vultures were there from the minute First Bass opened each night until the doors were locked. In the beginning, when me and the guys had first caught their attention, we had all gotten a little bit of a big head, but seeing their shit in the trash mags about us had gotten old quick. I didn’t want to pull Santana into that, but if I was going to be with her, I knew it would be impossible.
Biting back my irritation, I did the one thing Emmie had told me to always do. I smiled and waved.
The valet was standing beside my car, the passenger door already opened for Santana. I helped her inside, tipped the valet, and then climbed behind the wheel. Once I was seated, I reached for her hand, kissed the back of it, and set it on my thigh before shifting gears and pulling away.
Santana stayed quiet on the other side of the car. I shot her a glance from time to time during the drive to my place. She was nibbling on her lip, but the look on her beautiful face was hungry. The hand on my thigh rubbed little circles on my jeans, yet I felt it as if I was wearing nothing. My dick flexed, and even though I was wearing boxers, I felt every ridge of the metal from my zipper cutting into it.
By the time we got to my apartment, I was so worked up I didn’t think I could take things slow with her. And as I unlocked my door, slow didn’t seem to be something she wanted.
She grabbed my arm, pulling me into the apartment and slamming the door behind us. I was a quaking mass of hungry need for my doll as she pushed me back against the door and reached for my shirt, unbuttoning it in a rush.
Her lips touched my neck, then moved down to the ink across my chest as she pulled my shirt apart and over my shoulders. I caught her hips, holding her prisoner against my lower body as she ground herself against me. Santana might have been shy in the beginning, but right then, she knew exactly what she wanted, and she wasn’t the least bit shy about taking it.
And I fucking loved it.
TWELVE
Santana
His skin tasted of a mixture of fresh citrus and sweat, his heart was pounding like a jackhammer in my ear, and his body was hard as a rock as I pressed my hips closer, wanting more. I could feel him shaking, could see the hunger shining down at me from those hazel eyes that were more green than brown. He was holding himself back, letting me take everything I could possibly want from him.
And it only made me want him more.
I had never taken the initiative before. I’d never been the one in control in bed with my past lovers. But not one of them had made me feel what I was feeling right then. This consuming need to touch and taste and mark his body as mine.