Until We Burn (Beautifully Broken) Read online

  “What happened?”

  He looks at me, shaking his head wearily and speaking with a heavy accent.

  “An American rock band is having a wild party with under-age girls,” he growls. “Fecking celebrities. They think they don’t follow the same rules.”

  I stare at him, not responding, because I know that we don’t. We don’t follow the same rules. I get off on my floor and as soon as I do, I pick up the phone to call Tally. He answers on the first ring.

  “You’ve got a mess to clean up,” I tell him. “And it’s not mine.”

  Chapter Eight

  Shooting for the promos with Amy is uncomfortable, to say the least. She shoots daggers at me from across the room with her eyes and when we have to kiss for a picture, she bites my lip.

  But I don’t react. I won’t give her the satisfaction.

  Instead, when she is sitting in a lounger by the wall, I engage in phone sex with an old friend, Kira, from back home. Amy glares at me for a moment, then stalks away to her trailer. I grin into the phone.

  “Yes, I’ll be home soon, Kira. No, I can’t fly you here. I won’t be here long enough. I’m coming to Chicago soon. Maybe I’ll even be home next weekend.”

  Kira laughs her familiar laugh. I’ve known her for so long, she’s known me since we were kids. In fact, she was Emma’s best friend. She knows what Emma did to me. And she’s been here to comfort me for years.

  “I heard Sin almost got hauled off to jail last night,” she mentions. “Fiona called me this morning complaining about it.”

  I grin, trying to picture how worked up my little sister Fiona probably was. Since she’d taken the job as Sin’s manager, he’s definitely put her through her paces.

  “Yeah. He’s got to get better about guessing girls’ ages. Or he has to start taking an interest. So far, he doesn’t give a flying fuck.”

  Kira laughs. “Well, I’m glad he didn’t get into trouble. It’s a good thing the laws there are so much more relaxed about that stuff.”

  “Yeah,” I agree. “It’s the only thing that kept him out of jail. Has it hit the news there yet?”

  “It’s on some gossip sites,” Kira answers. “But I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It’ll blow over.”

  “I agree,” I tell her. “Sin’s having a party next weekend at his house. Are you coming?”

  “I am if you are,” she purrs. “I’ve missed you.”

  I grin. “I’ll be there.”

  We hang up and I head outside, through the halls that lead to the doors. The sunlight pours in through the glass, and I can see the crowds of women flocking outdoors, just waiting to get a glimpse of Amy or me.

  The second I emerge, the women begin screaming and pressing toward me. Security moves me fluidly through the crush of women and within a minute, I’m deposited into a waiting car.

  As the darkness envelopes me, I close my eyes. As we drive away, I can still hear the women calling out my name. Asking for pictures, asking for autographs, asking for kisses and hugs.

  They don’t know me.

  They don’t know what I’ve done, or what I’m capable of.

  They don’t know any of it.

  I close my eyes.

  ********

  “You’ve got to be home on Monday,” Tally tells me firmly. “Shooting begins. I don’t give a rat’s ass what happened with Amy. You’ll be on set and you’ll be cordial to her. So have fun with your brother, clear your head and get ready to work.”

  I sigh into the phone. “You worry too much,” I tell him. “I’ll be fine. Amy won’t be a problem. Shooting will go off without a hitch.”

  “It better,” he growls, then hangs up. I roll my eyes and toss my phone down. Tally tries to sound like an ass, but his bark is worse than his bite. At least, it is with my brothers and me.

  I finish packing and then head to Providence to have lunch before I board my plane for home. I make my way inconspicuously through the restaurant and find my favorite table.

  I by-pass the hostess, but she sees me as she shows someone else their table.

  She pauses at mine.

  “Have you spoken with Tally about me yet?” she asks, her hand on my shoulder.

  I shake my head. “Not yet. I’m sorry. I haven’t had a chance. But I will soon. And I’ll give him your number.”

  And maybe I will. Tally can do what he wants with it. Melanie nods in satisfaction.

  “Thank you. And if you need anything else from me, let me know.” Her tone is suggestive. I smile.

  “Thanks. I will. Is Alex here today?”

  Melanie nods as she starts to walk away. “Yeah. She’ll be with you shortly.”

  As I wait, I decide to hit the men’s room. As I pass down the long hall that leads to it, an office door is slightly ajar. I glance inside as I pass and am startled to see Alex sitting on the desk, her legs wrapped tightly around the manager’s waist.

  I freeze in place, staring.

  Alex has her arms wrapped around his neck, her wedding band glinting in the light. Her tongue is buried in manager’s throat. My heart feels heavy as I remember what she’d said to me before.

  Sorry, dude. You’re hot and all, but I’m one of the few out there who believes that marriage is sacred.

  Not that sacred, apparently.

  She must feel someone staring, because she opens her eyes and sees me. She yanks away from the manager, her eyes wide. I don’t wait. I go to the restroom, wash my hands and then head back to my table.

  Alex is there within seconds.

  “Dominic, it wasn’t what you think.”

  “Really?” I raise an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure it was exactly what it looked like.”

  She starts to protest, to offer lame explanations about how she needs the money and the manager was going to cut her hours, but I hold up a hand.

  “It’s not my business,” I tell her coldly. “And actually, I’ve lost my appetite today.”

  Without another word, I get up and leave, ignoring her protests from behind me.

  As I drive away, I have to examine why I’m so annoyed. Because honestly, I’m pissed. And it shouldn’t be my business.

  What it boils down to, though, is that I thought Alex was a decent person. One of the only decent people I’ve met in LA. And the fact that she’s like everyone else is depressing.

  Everyone wants to use everybody else. They want something, they need something. They are willing to do anything to get what they want. They’ll break marriage vows, cross lines of decency, stretch bounds of propriety.

  Where does it end? And is there anyone out in the world who is a decent person? A person who is good on the inside?

  I’m beginning to think that there’s not. In fact, I’m convinced of it.

  I sigh as I drive to the airport and board my plane.

  Soon, I’ll be home, just for the weekend. I can relax, soak in the wild atmosphere of Sin’s party and disappear into the shadows.

  I can forget that people are greedy, black-hearted users.

  I can forget it all.

  As the plane takes off, I close my eyes. The weariness of the world has gotten to me. The ugly side of life, the guilt that I carry.

  Sometimes, it’s all just too much to bear so I cope in the only way I know how.

  It’s the only thing I can do.

  “Mr. Kinkaide, is there anything else I can do for you?” I open my eyes at the polite voice and find a voluptuous blonde flight attendant bent in front of me, her chest straining at the buttons of her uniform.

  I meet her gaze and smile my most charming grin, the one I’m known for.

  “Well, there is one thing.”

  I trail my fingers along the inside of her thigh and she smiles.

  The End

  To read the rest of Dom’s story….to find out why he is the way he is…and to see how he finds his redemption and his salvation, please read BEFORE WE FALL….the novel-length story of Dominic, my baddest bad boy yet and Jacey, the bad
girl who will save him.

  To read a preview of BEFORE WE FALL, please continue to the next page.

  BEFORE WE FALL: Preview

  Chapter One

  I like to watch.

  I know that I shouldn’t, but I don’t really give a shit. I like the flash of skin, the sweaty limbs, the sex smells, the fucking….

  Watching makes me feel something. It’s one of the only things that does.

  “Some things never change, Dominic,” Kira murmurs as her hand splays across my open shirt, her long brown hair moving in the breeze, tickling my chest as she watches with me. “You’re just the same…a freak. I love that.”

  I don’t answer because she’s right. I’m a fucking freak. She knows it and I know it, and neither of us care. If anything, Kira likes it. She must, because she’s stuck by me for a long time. She knows me better than anyone…and she definitely knows what I like.

  Even though she’s beautiful and familiar, I ignore her fingers as they trace across my skin, graze the tips of my nipples and trail down to my crotch. My dick is resistant to her touch tonight and remains soft inside my pants. Not because she’s not hot or sexy, because she is.

  But because familiar and normal don’t stir my blood. I’ve seen pretty much everything once and have done it twice. Normal doesn’t do it for me anymore.

  Forbidden things are what lift my dick. Dark things, bad things.

  I stare down from the balcony, looking past the shimmering pool below, past the rippling water that sheds blue light on everything around it, at the images that waver in the night. The images of two people fucking.

  Knowing that I shouldn’t watch is what excites me about it and so I don’t take my eyes from the couple having sex next to my brother’s pool.

  I take another drink of whiskey, letting the fiery liquid sit in my mouth before I swallow it, letting it curl its fingers around my stomach, warming my gut.

  Watching the couple quietly, I lean against the railing, half-hidden by the shadows, enveloped by the night. It’s just how I like it.

  In front of me, the scene turns rough.

  And my dick turns hard.

  The girl’s teeth sink into the guy’s neck, then she whispers something unintelligible into his ear, words that hiss as she drags her teeth across his skin. Hard, aggressive, rough. I can see the red trail of pain she leaves behind from here.

  “Did she just bite him?” Kira asks in amusement, her hand frozen at my waistband.

  I nod. She did. And it made me hard as a rock. I love watching pain. It distracts me from my own.

  The guy smiles, liking it, too. He lifts her legs onto his shoulders as he thrusts into her. Hard. Then he frees one hand to grab her neck. Hard. His fingers dig into the delicate skin there, cutting into the flesh, leaving red marks that just might turn purple by morning.

  But she likes it.

  I can tell by the way she scratches his back and moans for more. I can tell by the way she draws him even further into herself, bucking her hips to take him even deeper. I can tell by the way she doesn’t even try to take his hand away from her throat.

  It always fascinates me when I see women that like getting debased, the ones who like it rough, the ones who want to be dominated or humiliated.

  It doesn’t make any sense, but I see it all the time, more and more, especially here at my brother’s place at one of his endless parties. Around his pool, in his hot-tub, on his lawn. People seem to lose their inhibitions when they pass through these gates, which doesn’t make any sense, either. Most of them don’t know him, not really. But it doesn’t stop them from making themselves very at home here.

  Suffice it to say I’m always entertained when I come to visit.

  “Do you think they know we’re watching?” Kira leans up on her tiptoes, murmuring with hot breath into my ear as one hand strokes my balls.

  I glance back down at the couple, watching the guy’s face contort and twist, and watching the girl moan and writhe beneath him. They have no clue we’re here, but I have a feeling they wouldn’t care even if they did.

  “I think that girl served me champagne earlier!” Kira exclaims, leaning closer to look.

  “You’re probably right,” I answer, staring at the girl’s skimpy server’s uniform. I briefly wonder where her boss thinks she is. Surely he has no idea that she’s fucking a party guest next to the pool.

  But that’s not my problem.

  The bulge between my legs is my problem now. It’s grown thicker and heavier and I shift, easing the pressure of my jeans away from my dick. I brush my hand against the denim covering my crotch, stroking myself. Just a little. Quickly and efficiently.

  I’m not going to get off right out here in the open. Because of how I make my living, I’ve learned better than doing anything out in the open. The press would have a fucking field day with it if pictures of me jacking off leaked out.

  Kira takes care of the situation for me, just as she always does when I’m in town. She pushes me backward into the shadows, where she steps out of her shorts in front of me. She’s not wearing underwear.

  She’s right. Some things never change.

  “Fuck me with your hand while you watch them,” she instructs me softly, her green eyes gleaming. “Do it, Dom. And then I’ll let you come on my face, the way you like to.”

  .

  I reach for her. She stands limply in front of me, her head resting on my shoulder as I slide two of my fingers in and out of her. I know exactly where to touch her. She sucks in a breath and I have to smile. I know every inch of her. There are some things to be said for familiarity.

  She’s soaking wet, as though she’s been waiting for this since I’d seen her last. She hasn’t, of course. Kira and I have an arrangement of convenience. It’s convenient because we know each other, we trust each other. And there are no feelings involved. She and I are the same in that way.

  I can hear the girl by the pool moaning loudly and it makes my fingers move faster, working Kira harder, in time to the guy’s sweaty thrusts. Kira moans with the girl by the pool and I close my eyes, listening to the fucking sounds. With my hand buried in Kira’s crotch, the sounds are all I need now.

  If I were decent, I’d back away from the balcony and give the couple some privacy and I’d give Kira more coverage from the shadows...just in case someone happens upon us.

  But fuck that. I’m not decent. Not anymore.

  After a few more minutes of rough fucking, the guy pulls out of the waitress and grasps her hard, yanking her off the chaise and forcing her down in front of him, onto her knees. I can see her skin graze the bricks, just as I can read his lips.

  Suck me.

  I pause as the girl shakes her head, trying to scramble away, but he holds her fast by her hair, making her take him into her mouth. Making her suck her own taste off of him.

  She’s definitely not into it now. She swings her arms at him frantically, but he holds her hair tightly, wrapping it around his hands, refusing to let her go.

  I watch the fear wash over her face and my gut tightens in reaction.

  Fuck.

  Kira lifts her head as my hand stills. “What?”

  Her eyes are glazed as she stares at me. I nod toward the pool, at the struggle going on down there, at the girl trying desperately to get away from the asshole’s grip.

  “Hell,” Kira sighs. “Ignore it, Dom. It’s not your problem. We’re not done here.”

  I sigh too, because I know I can’t ignore it.

  This has been happening way too much. People come here and get wasted and out of control. It’s not worth the trouble but my brother keeps having the parties anyway. He says it keeps him relevant, whatever the fuck that means. I don’t seem to have a problem with being relevant and I don’t host a single party.

  I shake Kira’s grip off of my wrist, gulp down the rest of my drink and head down the stairs, ignoring her calls of protest.

  It takes a minute to weave discreetly through the masses of pe
ople scattered through the house and to make my way across the lawn and onto the stones leading to the pool. But I reach the couple within two minutes and without even pausing, I grab the guy from behind, ripping him backward. He hisses as the girl’s teeth scrape his dick.

  It serves him right. The fucker interrupted me.

  He yelps and I toss him on the ground, watching in satisfaction as he scrapes his face on the stone bricks before he rolls into the lawn.

  “Get the fuck out,” I snap at him. “No one gets forced against their will here.”

  “That bitch wanted it,” he protests as he climbs to his feet. “She was asking for it.”

  I shake my head. “The last time I checked, no means no. It’s not a new way of asking for it. Get the fuck out of here.”

  The guy looks at me again, recognizes who I am, and then stalks away without another word. I grab a pool towel and wrap it around the girl’s shoulders.

  Her skimpy uniform, which was barely there in the first place, is hanging around her waist now, apparently ripped in their scuffle. She seems self-conscious but honestly, I barely notice. She’s young and has perky tits, but so do thousands of other women. She doesn’t do much for me. Mostly because I know she’d offer herself on a platter if I wanted her to. I briefly consider inviting her to join Kira and I, but don’t. She’s drunk, and even if she’s too drunk to remember it, she’d just been almost violated.

  “You okay?” I ask gruffly. She nods, sniveling, just as another girl, a gorgeous blonde in a matching uniform, rushes up.

  “Holy shit, Kaylie. What the hell happened?”

  The blonde is obviously alarmed, concerned, and while Kaylie explains about the asshole, I turn to disappear back into the shadows. Regardless of my profession, I try to stay out of the spotlight when the cameras aren’t rolling. Unfortunately, I only make it partway before Kaylie grabs my arm, then wraps herself around my waist.

  “Thank you,” she tells me shakily, her arms like thin bands, not giving me room to even squirm. I stare down at her, looking past her tear-smeared eyeliner to look into her panicky eyes.