Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Thrice Tricked

Kendra’s P.O.V:

“Hey, pretty lady. Can I buy you a drink?”

I turned my head sidewise to look at the guy who just made that comment. Dyed blonde hair gelled back to give a sleek look, hazel eyes and a pretty face. The man was wearing blue denims with a white t-shit and a black leather jacket over it, and he seemed to have a nice physique. Normally, I’d take up the offer in an instant, but now I just raised my martini glass.

“Thanks, but no thanks.” I told him politely.

But he didn’t look the least bit offended. “Well, it was worth a try.” His smile seemed genuine enough, or maybe that was the alcohol. What was I on my fifth or sixth glass? But blonde guy wasn’t done talking. “I’m Jared, by the way,” he extended his hand. “And you are?”

Normally, it would seem like a nice distraction; a hot guy trying to get into my pants, but right now my mind was filled with another guy with dark brown hair and the most brilliant smile I’ve ever seen. Him and his insane challenge. What makes him so confident that I’d run into his arms just because he says so? I can pick up any guy I want if I wanted to get laid, just like the one sitting beside me, then what makes Victor Summers so smug about it all?

I raised my eyebrows at him but he just gave me a megawatt smile in return. Oh, what the Hell! “Kenna.” I told him, deliberately making a short change as I placed my hand in his.

“Nice name,” he brought my hand to his lips and placed a slobbery kiss on the back of my hand.

I instantly pulled back my hand. “What the Hell!”

“Is there something wrong?” The bartender, Joshua, came over instantly. By now all of Daniel’s staff was aware of whom I was along with Ty. Since our best friend was now engaged to their Boss, it was one of those things they just had to know about.

“It’s alright, Josh.” I told him while paying my bill. “I’m done anyway.”

Josh nodded as I jumped off the stool but not before glaring at the Jared guy. I walked through the middle of the dance floor, which was relatively less crowded for a Sunday and made my way to the exit. But someone grabbed my hand just before I made it.

“Hey, what’s the hurry?” Jared asked as he pulled me back to his chest and wrapped his arms around my waist. “The party’s just getting started.”

And then the bastard made the mistake of moving one hand up my body and try to grope my boobs.

I slammed my heels on his leather boots, hard enough that it didn’t matter how thick his boots were. The effect was instant as he let of me and bent down to clutch his injured leg in his hands. “You bitch!” He sneered at me while his face contorted in pain.

“Well, that’s what you get for trying to grope me, sucker!” I spat at his face and turned to find Daniel walking through the crowd towards me, followed by two of the bouncers.

“Throw him out,” he ordered and the bouncers immediately picked up the whimpering fool off the floor and headed out the exit. Daniel turned to me, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I said to Daniel while brushing off the creases from my dress. “Peachy.”

“Well, Grace seems to think different since you pretty much ran out of Victor’s apartment this morning claiming you had to go somewhere even though you didn’t have any such plans before.” Daniel mused, his navy blue shirt brightening the blue of his eyes even further. “So?”

“A client called,” I made up. “While I was getting my clothes. So I had no other choice but to rush out. I’m sorry; I hope Grace isn’t mad at me.”

Daniel sighed. “She isn’t. She’s just worried. Give her a call, will you?”

“Sure. Thanks for letting me know.” I smiled at him before slipping past him towards the exit.

“You want a ride?” He called out, loud enough to be heard above the music.

Jeez, what it is with men stopping me from leaving the club? “No thanks, I just called an Uber!” I called out as I exited, pulling on a light jacket since winter hadn’t really set in yet.

I wasn’t lying, since my Uber was standing right outside the club. “Where to ma’am?” The driver called out as I took a seat.

“Downtown, Hastings Road, Small valley Apartments,” told him, pointing out directions to Victor’s apartment.

“Alright.” He turned around and started driving.

No, I wasn’t going to him because he thought I was some masochistic bitch who would keep coming back for more; I was going to him to prove that he did not have that much power over me to predict my every move! He was a child for God’s sake!

And yet, that didn’t stop you from fucking him, or liking how he fucked you in a dark alley, where a serial killer or two might have been taking a nap. My conscience reminded me.

“Damn it!” I muttered under my breath as I clutched my purse tightly in my hands. Why was I getting so worked up about this? I’m an adult damnit; I can handle any situation!

“Here we are,” the driver said to me about half an hour later. By now, the alcohol I’ve had was beginning to take a toll on me. My voice slurred as I asked the driver the amount I had to pay him, and when I got off the car, my feet felt unsteady.

I stumbled up the stairs, my vision going blurry at the edges and somehow remembering which floor Grace's old apartment from memory, I rang the door bell.

Victor opened the door on the seventh bell, looking both frustrated and worried and as soon as I saw him, the world came to vivid focus. “Toryyyy....” I slurred as I lost my balance for a second and stumbled into his arms.

“Mmmmmmmh!” I moaned as I took a whiff of his scent. There was no cologne, no perfume, just his musk, spicy and sweet. “I love your scent.”

“Kendra,” Victor held me back with his arms on my shoulder. “You’re drunk.”

“Soooooo?” I slurred and without waiting for his reply, placed my lips on his.

I felt the kiss all over my body, from the curling of my toes to the electricity that sizzled my nerves from where he touched me. It was like water after days of starvation. I wrapped my arms around Victor’s neck, tugging him to me, but as soon as I leaned back, my back connected with the door, causing it to jerk back and snap shut with a loud bang...and the spell was broken.

“Now, now,” Victor tugged my head back with his hold on my hair, his breath coming in pants. “That’s not how this is played, Kendra. Your rules don’t apply anymore. I want you, right here, right now, but I’m not fucking you while you’re drunk.”

“What makes you think I’ll listen to you?” I snapped, but my words sounded slurry and far away even to my ears. And suddenly, my vision started to go all hazy. “Whaaatt...”

And then the world went blank.