“Easy, Kitty…”
He dived for me, his arm wrapping around my waist to pull me into him. He snapped at my lip, his teeth sinking into my flesh and pulled back. His eyes fell to my mouth and then came back to my eyes. “You don’t wanna be the next missing person case over the Bermuda Triangle, do you?” He said it with such seriousness that my laughter quickly died out as I turned and watched him carry our bags to his Maserati.
“Not funny!” I hollered out.
His head tipped back in laughter.
Asshole.
I smiled. He was an asshole, and I loved it. I wouldn’t ever want Bishop any other way. Even though we’re an item now, and even though he’s mine and I’m his officially, he was still the same Bishop. He wasn’t some watered down version of himself just because of me. A loud slap sounded out just as my ass cheek stung in pain. I yelped and grabbed onto my cheek, turning to see who the fuck wanted a knuckle sandwich.
“Come on, bitch. I’m ready!”
“Tate!” I scolded her as she brushed past me and made her way to the Maserati instead of Nate’s Audi. “Um, why don’t you ride with Nate so you can both have a chat about how you’re not going to argue on the plane ride!” I yelled out, just as she dropped her bag into the trunk of Bishop’s car.
“How about no! Because you might be down a brother if I do.”
Jesus. Nate came up next to me, shoving an apple into his mouth. “What did you do?” I didn’t look at him, my eyes stayed on Tate.
“What did I do?” he asked, turning to me. I finally looked at him as he crunched down on his apple. “What I did was be honest with her. It’s not my fault she can’t handle it.”
“But were you nice, though?” I quirked an eyebrow at him.
His eyes darted over my shoulder absently. “I’m always nice.”
“Nate!” I punched his shoulder.
“Ouch!” He rubbed his wound. “That wasn’t very nice, sis.”
“Pot meet kettle.”
He rolled his eyes and walked down the steps. “I’ve always told her from day one that I ain’t with relationships. It’s her that couldn’t handle it.” Somehow, I feel like there’s something he isn’t telling me, and if that’s the case, I’ll be disappointed. I thought we were all beyond that stage. I headed down and climbed into the front seat, shutting the door behind myself. Bishop was still talking with Saint and Chase, so I turned in my seat to face Tate who was looking absently out the window.
“What is going on? And don’t lie to me, T.”
She sighed. “He pulls me in, makes me feel things, gives me incredible sex and tells me everything I want to hear, and then after all the excitement is done, he goes back to telling me that I’m just a bit of fun and that we can’t go anywhere.”
“Congratulations, you’re sleeping with a male.”
She laughed a little at that, which made my heart a little happier, then her eyes came to mine. “I’m serious, Mads. It’s seriously fucking with my head, and I’m such an idiot because I keep going back to him like a fucking twat. I’ve turned into one of those girls I make fun of.”
“Well, yes, you were a dick for making fun of those girls, but Tate, give yourself a break. Not only is Nate, well, —”
“—Hot, dangerous, sexy wrapped in tattoo’s, piercings, and muscles?” she ended for me.
“Well, yes, that, but what I was going to say is that you’re a girl, Tate. We do this. You’re not alone. My advice, if you want it, is to stay away from him until you can grasp your feelings, or else you’re making this too easy for him and also, every time this happens you sink deeper and deeper into feelings. It’s a pointless dive.”
“Because he loves Tillie.” Her face fell and she went back to looking out the window. “You know,” her tone turned angry. Hopefully Bishop waited until I had cooled her down before jumping into the car. “I don’t fucking get it! She is not even here. She ran away and left all of us! He had been with her once! Like they haven’t even shared the same memories as he and I have.” I wanted to bite my tongue, but she was beginning to get silly over it.
“Tate, all that shit doesn’t matter when it comes to that one person, and I know that will be hard for you to hear, but when you get that person, you’ll understand. You could have a million memories and good times with someone, but if that someone is in love with someone else, that single memory doesn’t mean anything up against even one memory of the person they truly love.” I turned back to face the front of the car because my neck felt as though it was cramping up. “I love you, you know this, and I do think Nate has feelings for you, but I had seen him with Tillie too, babe, and I’m not saying this to hurt you. I’m saying this so you can prepare yourself for that day she may turn back up, okay?” I looked in the side mirror and she swept a tear from her cheek, not knowing I could see her.
She cleared her throat. “Yeah, you’re right. I won’t go there again. But I hope she comes back in one piece too. I’m starting to get worried.” Something about her tone told me that this time, she was serious about not sleeping with him.
“Me too.”
“Did we bring snacks?” Tate asked, buckling into her seat belt in front of Bishop and I. She was beside Cash now, with Nate at the very back of the jet—alone. Where he should be. I couldn’t be angry at him. He had been nothing but honest with Tate, but if he had been stringing her along too, I’d be having words with him when we get home. Fucker.
“You don’t need snacks. We just had breakfast. It’s not like we’re flying to Europe.”
“There’s a thought,” she muttered, so quiet I almost missed it. “Oh!” She bent around her seat to look at me. “We should do Europe for your birthday, Mads! Oh my God!”
I shook my head at her, giving her the universal glare that silently screamed ‘shut the fuck up.’
She returned my unspoken words with her own dirty stare. “Oh please. He already knows your fucking birthday is in a couple of weeks. Twat.”
“Is twat your new favorite word?” I asked politely once she had turned back in her seat.
“Apparently. But seriously, we should hit Greece.”
“I just want to get through all this bullshit first.” I looked up at Bishop, who was already watching me.
“It’s cute that you thought I wouldn’t know about your birthday.”
“I guess, but I don’t know. I’ve never made a big deal about my birthday before, so I didn’t see the point in telling you.”
“What? You’ve never had a party?”
I shook my head and squirmed. “Oh, no. Contrary to what you may think, I don’t really like the attention on me.”
His arm came around my shoulders as the seat belt light flickered on. The pilot yapped off about preparing for take-off, just as Bishop’s lips came to my ear. “Actually, Kitty, I know exactly what you’re like.” Then he bit on my earlobe and I had to squeeze the armrest to stop from straddling his lap. My eyes darted down to his destroyed denim jeans and how they hung casually off his slim waist. His other hand came to his crotch. He squeezed his junk. My eyes shut and I sucked in a breath of air.
“Like what you see, Kitty?” His voice vibrated over my flesh.
“Bishop…” I warned through a shaky breath.
He chuckled and pulled away from me, leaning back in his chair. “Because I need you focused, I won’t fuck you up against the wall in the back cabin, but on the way home…”