Etched in Stone (Six Degrees Series Book 2) Read online

  You’re supposed to do crazy shit on your birthday, aren’t you? Part of me, is even tempted to go as far as to suggest to him that we should get out of the club and head to the closest hotel or car or hell dark alley.

  But as much as I want to, I can’t.

  It’s fun to daydream about letting go and letting loose, but I don’t have it in me. I don’t have it in me to dream about bigger things.

  Not anymore.

  Disappointment filters through me, which genuinely surprises me. I don’t even know his name, how can I be disappointed?

  “That’s a very sweet invitation, but I don’t go out with strangers,” I finally answer. I break the gaze he held me with, mesmerized by his snake charmer eyes. I force myself to finish the rest of my drink.

  “Thanks for the drink.” Setting down the glass on the bar, I grab my clutch and start to walk away, when a hot, calloused hand grabs my wrist gently and I look behind me. Surprise fills me when I look at the expression on his face. Almost as if he’s searching within himself for something. I’m just not sure what.

  “Parker Stone,” He blurts out, almost nervously as his fingers trace lazy circles on my wrist.

  Hottie Mc Mysterious has a name.

  Parker Stone.

  It fits him. It fits him really well. Parker made you think of a good guy, which was what my instincts said he was. The edginess of his last name Stone, reminds me of the trouble that’s most definitely written across his forehead in neon lights.

  “We aren’t strangers anymore,” His husky voice says, smiling at me brightly.

  It isn’t a fake smile that you get from people in LA. No. It’s so genuine it makes me wonder what would be the worst thing that could happen if I give in. Taking in that I felt slightly light-headed, knowing the drinks and lack of food are not helping, I bite my lip before I completely throw caution to the wind and agree.

  “How about I give you my card and you call me, maybe we can hang out?” I surprise myself with how steady I sound. Clearly amused by my response with a raised eyebrow and a small smile on his face, he nods as he takes my card.

  His eyes roam my body as I stand there. Part of me is begging and pleading for me not to leave. Ask me again I think to myself, Ask me again, and I’ll go with you...anywhere. But he doesn’t.

  “I better go back to my friends...thanks for the drink.”

  “Thanks for keeping me company,” he responds, his eyes are warm on mine as I turn to walk away.

  Looking for the girls in the sea of warm bodies isn’t easy. It feels as if the dance floor is now even more crowded in the few minutes I’d been gone. I walk to the outer edge of the floor trying to see if I can somehow catch a glimpse of them, but the floor is filled, the club is dark and the bass is thumping so loudly I can feel it in my chest.

  I walk towards one of the outdoor designated smoking patios, the cool winter air hitting my face as I push open the door. High end lounge furniture is scattered around a big fire pit in the middle, an outdoor bar is at the end. I walk over buying a water bottle from the pretty red headed bartender.

  Taking a drink, suddenly feeling slightly old, I sit down watching the flames in the pit. The open flame didn’t help any. I’m not a fan of fires. Crossing one leg over the other, I stretch my foot out, not able to keep my eyes off the fire pit. The flames burn bright.

  From the corner of my eye, I notice someone walking closer to me, a man in a dark suit, I just figure him and whoever he is with are walking towards the bar behind me. As he nears, I don’t look up, my attention caught up in watching the flames burn.

  The suit sits next to me on the couch, and I look at him and everything in me freezes.

  Jake Thompson

  In my financial ventures in London, I had met a lot of people. Some I liked some I didn’t. One I had made actual friends with was Parker Stone. Slightly older than me, he had been in London for a while and for a couple of months before he came back to the states we had even been roommates. He was a good guy.

  A good guy, who I’d, turned my back on when he had left to return home. Now Karma being the bitch that she was, I watched him flirting with Liz. In my club! Well one of the four clubs in the city that I was a silent partner in.

  I’d seen Lucy Mack a week before, at a charity event and she had mentioned her girlfriend’s birthday and I had suggested they check out Wind. I watched from across the bar as Parker leaned in and whispered into her ear. I watched her flutter her eyes in unabashed interest. I watched as she internally battled with what to do with whatever Park had asked. I liked knowing that as I watched her slightly closer than I had been the last couple of months that I felt like I could still read her.

  When I saw her step out to the patio, I decided to grow a pair and follow her out. Not one to miss a chance when I saw one, I sat next to her. Her dark eyes landing on me completely surprised.

  “Hi Liz,” I watch the shock in her eyes filter out her body stiffen complete, anxiety radiating off of her.

  “Jake.” My name on her soft lips, had always done something to me in the past, yet my body didn’t react this time. No romantic reaction at least. Nope. I knew exactly whose fault it was. Damn little redhead! Something going over Liz’s face, her eyes turning cold, disdain over her face as she leans back on the couch.

  “What do you want?” she asks tautly. Her face hard, disinterested and I smile. So it seems sweet Liz had somehow grown claws.

  “I wanted to wish you a happy birthday.” I tell her happily and she rolls her eyes and sighs.

  “Well thank you. I have to go.” She says uncrossing her legs, my body definitely reacting to them in those shoes.

  “Wait.” I say grabbing onto her hand. It’s soft and small in mine. I look up at her, her eyes looking at where our hands are joined, slowly our gaze meets and I see the fight and temperament dwindling.

  “What do you want, Jake?” She asks and I bite away a smile. I had her.

  “To talk,” I respond quickly, and a delicate eyebrow immediately rises with attitude.

  “Here?”

  “Sure why not.” I say, trying to sound like it was no big deal.

  She stays quiet and shakes her head.

  “You were always so damn self-entitled.” She mumbles and as much as I want to agree with her I frown.

  “What do you mean?” I ask slightly offended.

  “Everything has to be on your time, about you.” She snaps, very unlike the Liz I used to know.

  “Liz…”

  “Fine… Talk.” She snaps, sitting down as close as she can to the other end of the love seat we were in.

  “How are you?” I ask, and she looks at me. Making it feel like she is looking pass my eyes and into me.

  “Seriously?” she asks, piss and vinegar turning into sheer annoyance.

  “Liz…” I start to say but she puts her hand out in front of me.

  “I haven't heard from you in five years, Jake. We ended the way we ended, and you want to sit here and shoot the breeze?” When I don’t answer, she keeps talking, “I’ll bite. I’m great, Jake. How are you?”

  “I’ve missed you.” I say without thinking, feeling like a complete ass.

  I know this isn't how it’s supposed to be going, but I’m off kilter. I hadn’t expected Liz to have her claws out. Or to have so much...attitude! She was never like this before.

  “I’ve moved on, Jake.” she snaps and I laugh. Not able to contain it and she scowls at me.

  “No you haven’t.”

  “How would you know?” Lines on her forehead form because of how hard she’s frowning.

  “I’ve kept tabs on you, Liz.” I tell her and her eyes go to mine, wide in surprise. Taking advantage of her surprise I grab her hand. Liking the way she lets me, even if I’m almost positive she doesn’t realize what she’s doing.

  “Yes I have... I’ve moved way past us. I’m not the same girl you left on a park bench and never looked back at.” she says softly but confidently. Hardness in
her eyes says that she is probably right about the new and changed Liz.

  “You might say that, but I know you haven’t. Shit, Liz, I think nuns go out more than you do. All you do is work and hang out with your friends. You even kept our old place. Why is that?" I ask clearly pushing buttons as her eyes spark up, but I couldn’t help it. She was in denial about having moved on.

  “First off, Jake, it was MY place. I let you live there so that you could afford to go to school while I worked my ass off so you could pay to go to said school. Second, I don’t give a shit about what you think….”

  “Lizzy…” I start to say but the moment the nickname slips from my mouth, she grabs her arm back fast, as if my touch hurt her and she shakes her head. Fire in her dark eyes, full to the brim with pain and anger swirling in them, makes something in my gut clench. Had she always looked at me like that? Had I been so self absorbed I never noticed?

  “When will it get into your thick skull that I hate being called that? I mean shit Jake I hated it eight years ago the first time you called me that! What makes you think I would appreciate it now?” She says and I feel like an asshole. I know she hates being called Lizzy. Why, I never asked, I just thought it was cute.

  “Liz. Fine, I’m sorry. You’re right. But tell me, why did you keep our old place?”

  "Maybe I stayed to remind me of everything I can get through… alone, to remind me that I can overcome anything." She says and my grin falters.

  "Maybe that’s what you tell yourself or your friends, but we both know the truth." I tell her and her eyes are cold.

  "Oh yeah, and what would that be?" She snaps back at me and I can’t help but enjoy the banter between us.

  "It’s to remind you of us." I tell her.

  "Yeah, maybe…maybe to remind me to never be that stupid or make the mistake of …" falling in love. I knew it was on the tip of her tongue but she didn’t say it.

  “You’ve missed me.” I tell her and I see hesitation in her eyes. Three years might not have been a great amount of time, but the things we’d been through together had been life changing. She hadn’t only been my girlfriend, but she’d been my best friend. My lifesaver when life had thrown a curveball to my plans and ego. Without her, there was no way that I would be where I am now.

  I owed her.

  She doesn’t say anything. Not a word. She takes the last drink of the bottle of water in her hands. Capping the bottle, in a calculating way, she leans over to the table in front of us placing the bottle there and stands up.

  “Great. We talked. I have to go back to my friends…” Standing up, grabbing her forearm without thinking as she starts walking away, and she stumbles into my arms. Her back is to my front and her body is completely stiff.

  “Wait. Shit. I’m sorry… Look…” I start to say, but the tremor in her voice stops the words coming from my mouth.

  “Let go of me, Jake,” she says quickly, her voice tight. I can feel the familiar heat of her body, the familiar scent of her skin and hair surrounds me, taking me back to a time before I had messed up everything. The scent surprises me so much, that I didn’t notice how hard I was holding onto her.

  “You’re hurting me, Jake.” She said stiffly, snapping me out of the memories that had flooded back.

  “Hey! Get your hands off her.” A blonde guy in a black suit yelled as he came over and she took advantage of that moment to jerk away from my grip.

  “Baby, you okay?” blonde guy asks looking at her, leaning his body down to make sure she’s okay.

  “Yeah Matt,” she says, in an unfamiliar soft voice. One I had never heard her use before and I squinted at the vision of both of them together. He moved her behind him, shielding her from me and took a step closer to me.

  “What do you think you were doing putting your hands on her?” Anger clear in his eyes, Matt Pierce, Lucy Mack’s bodyguard and the head of security for Belle.

  “Calm down Matt,” I hear her say but at the moment I’m pissed the guy would think I would somehow hurt Liz.

  “Why is it any of your problem, man? We were just catching up. Right, Liz?” I ask her and the look in her eyes guts me.

  She seems scared of me.

  What had happened to her these last five years? Was it what I did or more? A sick feeling sinks into the pit of my stomach.

  Liz

  My heart is racing.

  I hated birthdays.

  Not all birthdays. Not everyone else’s birthday.

  Just mine!

  I seriously did. This birthday in particular was climbing the charts in shitty birthdays and it wasn’t even officially my birthday. Between instantly regretting my decision to not have dinner with Parker and then to having Jake reappear as if from thin air after more than five years, this birthday was going on the extra crappy birthday’s list. Jake grabbing my arm as I tried to walk away after he’d said he missed me. The way he dug his fingers into my arm had scared me.

  “Yeah… Matt this is Jake, my ex. Jake, this is my friend Matt.” I introduce them and I feel Matt move to my side, sliding his arm around me, I look at him. After that one night we had never really touched more than a hug, and he was holding me?

  “Jake Thompson.” Matt said and I looked between them. How did Matt know Jake?

  “Matthew Pierce.” Matt raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

  “The girls are looking for you.” Matt tells me, without looking at me or letting go of my waist.

  “Okay.” The angry way Matt is looking at Jake worries me, so I cover the hand at my waist with mine, and Matt's bright blue eyes instantly move to mine.

  “Let’s go.” I tell him.

  “Liz…” Jake starts to say, but I shake my head.

  “I don’t know what you are trying to do, but right now…” I take a deep breath, “Right now I just want to go dance with my girls. Okay.” I tell him honestly, feeling tired. I watch his blue-green eyes soften and he nods.

  “They’re at the first bar we stopped at.” Matt said letting go of my waist his arm slack between our bodies, and I look at him.

  “Let’s go, Matt.” I urge him, but he shakes his head.

  “I’ll be right there” He said still not looking at me. Jake and Matt are playing a starring game of wills, and all I know is that I don’t want to go back into the club without Matt.

  “It’s really crowded in there...Lucy might need you.” I tell him softly, pressing my body into his and he surprises me by looking away from Jake and looks at me.

  He stays silent for a second, sighing when he takes in how much I need him to go with me. I hated the feelings that Jake had brought back when he’d grabbed me. The slight nerves that were washing over me, making me feel on edge.

  “Okay, babe. Let’s go.” his hands intertwined with mine.

  I don’t look behind me like the last time I walked away from Jake Thompson, and like the last time, I can feel his eyes on me and I didn’t want to think about what that might mean.

  Chapter Three

  Thankfully after the whole Jake thing, the rest of the night was non eventful. If I could ignore the fact that Jake had been there I would have even said I had a really great time, and was glad that Lucy had made me celebrate my birthday the way she’d had. Matt had got a call and Lucy had urged him to go, promising she was fine, he reluctantly left. As we were getting ready to leave, waiting for the limo that we’d hired to come pick us up in front of the club, my phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number, calling late at night, and I answered without thinking twice.

  “Hello?” I answer, smiling at Tess slurring about something that made no sense, partially because it was a jumble of rapid fire Spanish mixed in with English, but mostly because she was just slurring.

  “You said to call and maybe we could hang out.” A deep voice answers and I look around. Not able to move as I watch Parker on his phone standing a little way from where I stood with the girls, his strong, tall body leaning against a wall, his long legs crossed one over the other, o
ne arm in his pocket the other arm to his ear.

  “I did.” I whisper, shivers going down my spine as I watch his serious face slowly soften as he smiles. His eyes on me, and even as far as we are standing from one another I can feel his gaze on me. I feel his eyes move and roam my body from the heels of my shoes to my eyes and it makes my skin tingle

  “You are so fucking beautiful.” He whispers in awe in his sexy deep voice, almost as if he was talking to himself. It made his voice husky and so sexy, my nipples instantly tighten and my sex clenches.

  “Have coffee with me.” He tells me. It’s not a request, more of an order, and damn it did something to me. The way he says it, demanding but gentle. Not in an arrogant way but almost in a hopeful way.

  “Who is it?” Lucy asks giggling, making me have to break eye contact with Parker.

  Parker Stone

  A couple of my friends had left, and now I am waiting outside in the chilly January night for my driver to show. Hope fell over me as I watched her come out of Wind with three other girls. The four of them were obviously waiting on a driver or taxi, and I couldn’t resist taking a chance.

  Watching her now, keeping the phone to her ear as she looks away to the redhead and whispering something to her. I watch both of them look towards me. The redhead looks vaguely familiar but I’m not able to place her at that moment. Her eyes go wide when they meet mine, an innocent blush falling over her cheeks, somehow reminding me of a shy catholic school girl. They giggle, as a blonde in a blue dress comes over. I watch my angel talk to them as her whole group is now looking over at me. The other brunette in a tiny black dress waves hello, and by the way she can barely stand I can tell she’s more than tipsy, so I wave back at the four of them.

  My eyes go back to my angel, just as she bites her full bottom lip and I feel my body react to watching it. She’s considering my request and I feel hopeful. The slightly tipsy brunette in the black dress laughs and nods her head. From where I am, I can’t make out what they are saying and she’s muted her end of the call.