Page 59 of H E R
She doesn’t even realize how fucking sexy she is. I sit down so I don’t look like a fucking idiot and keep my eyes on her, but she pretends I’m not here. On the same floor some tables away, I can feel Jason studying me, but I ignore him. He can handle himself.
It isn’t until he’s rolling his way toward Niki and positions himself among Carlton and his men that I sense something is off. He’s chatting them up and then orders a bottle. Carlton’s eyes stay on my little fox and he licks his lips.
I grip the glass in my hand, and it makes a noise in my grip, reminding me of its fragility.
The bastard moves as if he’s going to stand when the fucker next to him, a lean built, tall motherfucker with gray hair, beats him to it. He walks away from the conversion and approaches Niki. He hands her a metal card, and she smiles seductively at him, then calls a big security guard standing nearby.
It’s a red card—she’s accepted a private dance. Son of a bitch.
I struggle but force my glare to Jason, who’s staring at me. His masked face gives nothing away, but his eyes give me a warning. What does Jason know that I don’t?
19
Justice
“He’s here.”
Jasmin smooths my next outfit on the bathroom vanity countertop. The white plastic resembles marble, but only in appearance. There’s a standup shower, and in order to wake the fuck up and start fresh, I needed to wash away the first half of the night. My goal was to get in with Carlton, and I couldn’t approach him stinking of sweat, tequila, and whatever else this place consisted of.
“Who’shere?”
The lace is soft and comfortable, and I splash on my favorite citrus-scented body spray and loosen my waves. I flip my hair and adjust my breasts, then reach for a black leather fox mask and adjust it over the top half of my face. “The rookie,” I whisper.
“What? How can you be sure?”
We exit the bathroom and walk toward the far wall that’s covered with a ceiling to floor length curtain. I move the velvet, burgundy-colored drape to expose the one-way glass window and point.
“I’m sure.”
“Fuck!” Jasmin bites her nail, and I reach out to tug her hand away from her mouth.
“He’s here to keep tabs onme, Jas. He’s not working tonight.”
She eyes me suspiciously. “Are you two…”
“No.” I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
“Well, go out there and pretend it’s any other night.”
I peer out again and he’s serving whiskey to a woman.Expensivewhiskey. “Who the fuck is that?”
Jasmin looks over my shoulder and whispers. “Elite client named Dominica. She wears a mask, but that’s just because of the rules. Everyone knows who she is.”
Lava fills my veins, searing away any and all clear thoughts in their path. A red film drops over my irises and then my fire-filled vessels turn to stone. A long and fluid ring fillsmy head, and I don’t even notice that I’m moving out of the staff lounge and back onto the club’s floor.
The base pulsates over my skin, but I can’t hear it. I make my way toward the incline to the second floor and freeze when the red bimbo’s hands sweep up Dylan’s arms and toward his chiseled, masked face.
His jaw tenses, and his nostrils flare slightly. And it’s the only thing that holds me back. He doesn’t want her touching him.Then why the fuck is he letting her?
I can’t stop watching. She hands him a cobalt blue card, which basically means she wants them to fuck.
He takes it, and my heart sinks to my stomach.I think I’m gonna fucking throw up.Maybe those three tequila shots were a mistake. I look away.
I can’t fucking handle the pain that seizes me, holding me prisoner in my own body. I imagine his eyes undressing her, his dick growing hard for her, and I snap. For a reason beyond me, I fight the urge to claw her fucking eyes out and smash her to the floor like a WWE wrestler, and instead, take my sulking self to the nearest dance pole. I don’t want to keep watching.
I knew it was him, the same mystery guest who couldn’t take his eyes off me for the past three shifts. But perhaps I was wrong, and he wasn’t here for me.Fuck!
Noah’s betrayal might have left me more vulnerable than I care to admit.