Page 5 of Sweet Possession
Interesting.
As I stare at Crystal, I realize that maybe I wasn’t as in love with Calista as I thought. Maybe it was all an illusion, one I got caught up in because she’s who I thought I wanted. I internally scoff. She obviously didn’t think so when she was fucking my best friend. I shake the thoughts away as I watch my angel move on the stage with such grace and beauty, it’s no wonder she caught my attention. You can’t help but be captivated by her, and, as I look around, it’s obvious that every other patron in here is caught up in her performance. My fists clench at my sides, and, not for the first time, I want to rip every one of their eyes out just for thinking they can stare at what is mine.
Mine.
I never thought I would use a word like that again after what Cali did, but here I am, proving myself wrong. Somehow it sounds right when it comes to Crystal.
The song comes to an end breaking me from my thoughts. Crystal gathers the dollars thrown her way, and disgruntled boos sound out as she disappears behind the curtain. That’s my cue. I push out of my chair, striding to the booth where I pay for my private hour. Tonight, I am determined to get more out of her.
Tonight, I will find out her real name.
* * *
Getting myself settled on the dirty couch, that has probably seen more action and has more bodily fluids sitting in the fibers than I want to think about, I pull two bottles of water out of the cooler and set my attention on the door that I know my angel will come through. Five minutes later, the door opens and in she walks, fully dressed like I have requested since our first meeting. She’s distracting enough with clothes on, let alone half naked. She flicks a glance at me and sighs like I’m an inconvenience before dropping down on the couch.
“You do know that you are going to get me in trouble? There are cameras in here, and my boss knows I don’t dance for you. He has started to ask questions,” she tells me as she nibbles her lip. Without thinking, I reach forward, enjoying her gasp when my thumb makes contact with her flesh and releases it from her teeth. Shocking me, she doesn’t pull away at first but leans into me and then, as if remembering herself, she jerks backward and scrambles against the arm of the couch with a harsh swallow.
I smirk, then get myself comfortable, ready for the next hour. Pinning her with my stare, I ask her the same question I have asked her for the past week. “What is your name?”
She pauses, then sighs. “Why do you want to know? Why is it so important to know my name?”
I figure it’s better to be honest if I want her to open up to me. “Because I have this incessant need to get to know you. I don’t know why, I just do.” My brows furrow in confusion at my admittance. I have no idea why I feel the way I do, but I am not going to fight it. If she stops me thinking about my past, about Cali, then I am going to encompass myself in all things her… that is, if she’ll let me. I want her to. “From the moment you walked on that stage, from the moment I saw you, something happened to me. I wasn’t looking for anything that night I ended up here, but then you appeared like an angel, and I can’t stop thinking about you.” I huff a humorless laugh because there really is nothing funny about this whole situation. “I want to know you. I want to knoweverything.” I enunciate the last word, hoping she can hear the truth in my words.
She watches me for a long beat, no doubt mulling over my words. And then she speaks the words I have wanted to hear since I met her. “Remi. My name’s Remi.” She whispers it so quietly, I almost miss it. But I hear it and smile. The name suits her. With her brown hair and matching eyes, she looks like a Remi. I have never liked a name so much in my life. I have never wanted a girl more.
“Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” I grin, my cock hardening in my pants when she rolls her eyes like she is annoyed, but I see the small smile curving her delectable lips. I smile. She is getting more comfortable around me, and that’s what I want.
“I still don’t understand why you wanted to know so bad. I’m a stripper for Christ’s sake, and you,” she waves her arms at me, “you look like you could be on the front of a magazine.”
Without thinking, I move towards her, closing the distance between us. My hand reaches up, fingers wrapping around her chin. She flinches, her eyes flashing with panic and is that a hint of… lust? Interesting. “Now listen to meRemiand listen good.” Her chest rises and falls as her mouth parts to suck in air. I want to stick my tongue in her mouth. Taste her. But that can wait. “You are not just a stripper. You can be or do anything you want. Stop selling yourself short,” I growl.
She rips herself from my grip and scrambles to a stand. “You don’t know anything about me. Stop trying to insert yourself into my life. I don’t know why you keep paying for these private hours just to talk to me, but it stops now. I don’t need some man to swoop in to save me or tell me who and what I am. I don’t know if you have some hero complex, Asher, but please leave me out of it.” She starts towards the door, stopping when she grips the handle. “I don’t want to see you again, and, if you show up, I will refuse.” And with that, she walks out, slamming the door behind her. I lean back on the couch. Pride radiates through me at her strength. She’s right, I do want to be her hero, I want to be her everything, which is ridiculous considering I don’t know the girl. But something inside me tells me this is right. Something tells me to make her mine.
And who am I to ignore that?
* * *
The next evening, I move my stalking up another notch. I don’t enter the strip club, don’t book a private hour with Remi. No. I sit, waiting in the parking lot like a creeper just to catch a glimpse of her.
Tonight, I am going to follow her when she leaves this shithole and find out where she lives. Remi may think I have heeded her warning, but she is kidding herself if she thinks I’m walking away. I will give her a little respite in her place of work for tonight. Let her think she’s won when, really, I’m sitting outside while I wait for her.
I wasn’t lying when I told her I wanted to know everything; I do. And there are no lines I will not cross to achieve that. Maybe I’ve lost my mind. Maybe finding out what Cali did with Brody has set in motion some kind of psychosis, and I’m projecting it onto this intriguing girl instead of dealing with it in a healthy way. I don’t know. All I know is Remi is mine—even if she doesn’t know it yet.
Movement to my right has my eyes snapping to a metal door being pushed open. My heart rate kicks up as a figure steps outside wearing a pair of sweats and a hoodie. I know it’s Remi even when she’s hidden in the shadows. I feel her in every part of my body, and when she steps under the light and it’s proven to be her—just like I knew it would be—I know there is nothing that will stop me in my pursuit. This is fate. It must be, with the reactions she elicits from me.
Remi glances around, pulls her hood up, and starts walking through the lot. It’s a brisk walk, almost a jog, and I wonder if she’s scared. How can she not be? Its dark and we’re in a shit part of town. A girl like her should not be on her own in this area. Anything could happen to her. When she darts right around the corner and out of view, I turn the key in the ignition and slowly start after her. I tell myself that I’m not stalking her, that it’s to keep her safe, but it’s a lie. I came here tonight to do exactly this—to find out more about her. I know I should leave her be, like she asked, but I can’t. And even when that little voice in my head, tells me I’m overstepping, I shove it aside. I know this is wrong, but Remi brings out a side of me I never knew existed. A caveman, obsessive, visceral side that I can’t seem to tame. That I don’t want to tame.
Driving at a snail’s pace, I follow as Remi walks the streets. Her spine is straight, and she is exuding a don’t mess with me vibe, but I see the vulnerability in her posture, see the way her eyes dart around as if she’s waiting for someone to attack at any given moment. She walks for around fifteen minutes when her self-preservation senses kick in. A man jumps out of the shadows making her scream. He grabs her arms and holds a knife to her neck, all in under a minute. I’m pulling to a stop and jumping out of my car before I can stop myself.
Remi stands, her chest heaving, eyes wide, as she panics. “Please don’t hurt me. I have money.” I barely hear her whimper over my rage, but I do, and it has me charging towards her attacker, not worrying that he has a weapon. Before he spots me, I’m punching him in the side of the face. A yelp sounds as he releases my girl and lands in a heap on the floor, the knife clanging on the pavement.
Glaring down at him, my face and stance threatening, I growl out, “Touch her again, and I will use that knife and cut off every one of your fingers.”
His eyes dart to me briefly before he clambers to his feet and runs away without saying a word. I watch after him for a long beat, trying to calm myself, all the while telling myself that Remi is okay.She’s okay because you followed her, the crazy voice in my head says and for a minute I’m glad I’ve turned stalker. I spin to face her, waiting for her wrath that will no doubt come.
She eyes me, a look of shock and gratitude on her face. “How…What… Why…” she stutters as she blows out a breath and composes herself. “What are you doing here?” her voice is accusatory, as it should be, but I don’t regret following her and preventing something worse from happening.
“I followed you.” I go for honesty because… well, I don’t know why. Going by the look on her face she is even more freaked out over my admission rather than the fact that she was attacked. I shrug. “I’m glad I did, you could have been seriously hurt. You shouldn’t be walking alone at this time of night in this part of town.”