Chapter 21
21
W e made our way out onto the dance floor, and it was unlike anything I’d experienced before. Not everyone was typically attractive, and many were much older than the crowd usually found in a dance club, but they all seemed to be reveling in the music. There were plenty of sexy dancers who looked like they’d be at ease on a strip club stage, but just as many people were awkwardly flailing with enough vivaciousness that it was sexy too. Their confidence was infectious, and I found myself letting go of my uncertainty to flow with the music.
It shifted into a sensual dubstep beat, and I rolled my body along with it, daring to steal glances over my shoulder at where Reaper still presided over the party from his throne. He was close enough that I could see the subtle line that creased his brow, but he hadn’t looked at me.
The crowd parted as Azrael made his way across the dance floor to join Styx.
She grinned at something he said in her ear, then leaned closer to me. “Are you into women, Juliet? It would serve the meddling bastard right if Az and I took you upstairs to our place and gave him a taste of his own medicine.”
I stopped moving for a second, breaking the flow of the dance. “I…don’t even know. I’ve never really let myself consider it.”
Her smile contained the kind of warmth and safety I’d never had in a friend. “If you ever want to unpack any of that trauma, I’m here for you. It seems we’re sisters in suffering.” She squeezed my hands. “But I’d rather be sisters in joy. Don’t waste another chance.” She jerked her head towards Reaper.
I shrugged out of his jacket and held it out to her. “If you’re going upstairs, would you mind looking after this?”
She took it and squeezed my shoulder lightly, and then the two of them made their way back towards the staircase. I crossed the dance floor too until I stood not far from the base of Reaper’s throne, directly in his line of sight. If he didn’t want to look at me, that was fine, but it wasn’t going to be because he couldn’t see me.
A handsome man with dark brown skin, wearing only a pair of boxer briefs held out his hand in offer. “Care to dance?”
Reaper still wasn’t looking, so I nodded shyly. If he was determined to ignore me, I could savor my last moments of freedom and live in the moment with someone else. Maybe Reaper was some kind of sex god, but at that point, I was happy just to be touched with kindness. I sought any memory I could cling to in the months and years to come.
So, as the handsome stranger moved behind me and placed his hands on my hips, I closed my eyes and sunk into the moment. He moved behind me, and I could feel he was aroused, but he wasn’t deliberately rubbing it on me in a creepy way. In fact, he kept putting distance between us like he was making sure I was okay with it.
His fingertips barely brushed under the waistband of my shorts, and my eyes flew open in confused desire—only to find Reaper staring at me with such hunger, I thought I was going to ignite on the spot. I bit my lip, willing him to come down and claim me, but he looked away again, suddenly finding something across the ballroom much more interesting.
The man behind me chuckled against my neck. “Ah…I see the rumors are true. You’re already spoken for this evening.”
I turned my back to Reaper, draping my hands around the man’s neck. “Hardly. He’s ignoring me.”
Mischief lit his face. “I can help with that if you’d like? It’s clear that’s where you’d rather be, and I can’t blame you.”
I nodded before I could lose my nerve, and we went back to dancing.
“He’s watching you again,” the man murmured.
I shivered with desire just knowing Reaper’s eyes were on me. I needed to feel his hands on me again.
I pulled the man closer, letting one of his thighs slide between mine. I gasped when he put a hand on my lower back and encouraged me to rock my hips because it meant my clit rubbed against his thigh. I didn’t want this man the way I wanted Reaper, but I was surprised to find I still enjoyed his touch. He was so casual about it all, like we were on the same team and this was as amusing for him as it was desperate for me.
He turned me back around, and this time Reaper didn’t look away. I felt wanton even though there were plenty of people literally having sex on the dance floor.
The pressure on my clit was gone, so I slipped my own hand into my shorts, holding eye contact with Reaper as I stroked myself and moaned.
“Do you want a taste?” I said slowly so Reaper could read my lips, like I was saying it to him. He raised an eyebrow but looked frozen, he was so still.
“Mmm, yes, please,” the man behind me said.
He lifted my middle finger to his lips before sliding it into his mouth and dragging his tongue around it. It felt good, and I let Reaper see the way I reacted, parting my lips and arching my back.
Reaper cocked his head like he’d had enough and snapped his fingers. The man instantly released me and went to Reaper like he was in trouble. I followed close behind, already fuming.
If Reaper didn’t want me, he had no right to intervene, and he certainly shouldn’t be punishing the poor guy for it.
The man knelt at Reaper’s feet, his head bowed obediently, but I charged to the side of his throne. “You said I could have anyone I wanted, and you made it clear you didn’t care. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
His expression was furious, but his demeanor was still perfectly calm. “You want something from me, Juliet? Stop being a brat and fucking ask for it.”
I crossed my arms, too nervous to actually say the words to him.
He sighed with frustration and snapped his fingers again. This time the man rose to his feet and climbed onto the throne to straddle Reaper. My jaw dropped as they kissed, a slow, gentle touch of their lips that Reaper controlled by wrapping his fingers into the other man’s braids. Reaper held eye contact with me until he closed his eyes in pleasure.
By the time Reaper pulled the guy back, they were both panting, and I was ready to start touching myself again. But, hot as it was, I was frustrated and hurt that Reaper wasn’t doing it to me. I had hours, maybe minutes, left before I had to go home. If I didn’t speak up now, I’d be tortured by this moment forever.
“If you want to use jealousy as a weapon with me, darling, you’d better be sure you know how to handle it. It’s sharp when someone throws it back at you.” Reaper kissed the man on the cheek and whispered something in his ear that made the guy throw his head back and laugh as he climbed down and winked at me before he walked away.
We were at a party with hundreds of people around us, but in that moment, Reaper was the only one who existed for me.
He patted his lap, and I perched with my back against him, conscious of how many people were watching us. The barest brush of his lips at the back of my neck made me squirm. “Are you going to be a good girl now and do as you’re told?”
I nodded eagerly, daring to slide my hand under his kilt and grip his hard cock.
“Prove it. Take off your top.”
I stiffened but melted against him when he kissed my neck again.
“I’ve had a sneaking suspicion about you since those tabloid pictures from that club were first published…and you tempt me with it at every turn. I think it turns you on when people are watching and they shouldn’t be.”
“All these people will see my breasts.” I should’ve sounded scared, but I was breathless at the idea of doing something so daring.
He rubbed between my thighs over my shorts, holding me back against him and thrusting so that we were basically dry humping in front of a crowd of people.
In one swift movement, I pulled my shirt off but clutched it in front of my chest. He sighed dramatically like I was being disobedient, so I slowly lowered it until it dropped from my fingers onto the floor.
I instantly started to breathe heavily, and my nipples turned to hard little pebbles.
Everyone can see!
I was topless in a crowd, grinding on a man who wasn’t my fiancé…and it made me feel bad …the kind of bad I’d never let myself enjoy before.
Reaper cupped my breasts in his big hands and lifted them a little like he was presenting them to the room. When his thumbs flicked over their sensitive peaks, I closed my eyes and whimpered. “I’ve never been so turned on in my life.” I dropped my head back onto his shoulder. “What does that say about me?”
His teeth scraped against the spot where my neck met my shoulder. “That you were made for me, darling. Made to be shown off.”
“You said if I wanted something, I should ask you for it?” Could he feel my heart thumping in my chest?
“Mmm?”
I got on my knees in front of him, looked up into his dark eyes, and said, “Fuck me.”
He tugged me to my feet, and I thought he was going to pull me onto his lap, but he stood too and said, “Upstairs. Now.”
I pouted at the very idea of having to wait. “Not here?”
He was already leading me towards the stairs when he said, “You haven’t earned that yet.”
“I was expecting a coffin,” I said, as he kicked the bedroom door closed behind us. Everything was decorated in tasteful blacks and grays, but there was no leather to be seen and not a single BDSM implement hung from the wall.
He nodded to the window. “Stopped using it as soon as blackout curtains were invented.”
I laughed at the unexpected humor, and he kissed my smile, pulling me into his arms, where it felt like I belonged. I was suddenly grateful for his aversion to shirts because it meant I could touch him without fabric getting in the way. As he slanted his mouth over mine, my hands roved over his shoulders and down to his chest, tracing the torque along his collarbone, then the line of his abs into the top of his kilt.
He put his hands on mine when I started to unfasten it. “Are you sure you want this?”
I was panting and ready to weep, I wanted him so badly. “You know I’m not a virgin anymore…I’ve had sex with Kevin. A lot of sex.”
He closed his eyes for a second like he didn’t want to hear it.
This time I was the one who made him look at me with a finger under his chin. “But that… that can’t be it. Tell me there’s something better than that.”
His smile was actual magic, and I felt it all the way to my toes. “Fuck telling you. I’ll show you.”