Chapter 7
I run back into the club.
Sadness wells up inside me—tight, bitter. I’m a ticking bomb of frustration.
I go straight to the bartender who served me earlier and ask for a double shot of whiskey.
Fine. Tonight, I’ll make sure my “guardian” earns his job. He wants to watch me from a distance? Then tonight, I’ll make it hard for him.
After downing the drink in one go, I head for the second-floor dance floor. It’s a little more exclusive, older men, probably divorced. But definitely men, not boys.
Right now, I wonder if I’ve been sabotaging myself my whole life. I’ve never truly liked anyone because, maybe on purpose, I was always chasing the wrong type.
Too young, too dumb, too polite. Everything in excess, except the kind that excites.
Lucifer’s got plenty of “toos” too, but all of his make my knees go weak.
Too dark, too hot, too tall, too strong, too protective.
Scratch that last part.
I don’t need protection anymore.
I’m looking for someone who’ll slam me against the wall like I’m a spring-loaded doll—someone who wants me.
Most of all, someone who sees me as a woman.
Determined, I step onto the dance floor alone, not giving a damn that it’s full of couples.
Soon enough, someone will approach. I know that for a fact.
It’s not my first time going out or dancing with a stranger, but tonight I’m stepping into huntress mode.
I’m the one choosing my prey. And I’m taking him home with me.
Lucifer
I wrestle with myself for a solid five minutes.
Logic tells me to leave her alone. Nothing will happen to her. Jackie can party all night and get shit-faced, and she’ll still make it home safely—because I’ll make sure of it.
But after all these years of watching her from a distance, this is the first time I don’t want to assign someone else to the task. And I have no idea why.
I know being near her is dangerous, for both of us, but I follow her back inside the club anyway.
I don’t go to places like this unless I’m here to kill someone.
I feel like a damn outsider, and I swear I want to spank Jackie’s ass for making me want to chase her.
I search the whole hellhole for half an hour, combing every corner of the first floor, until one of my men calls to say he spotted her in a more exclusive area upstairs.
When I get there, I lean against a wall, hidden in the shadows, and I watch her. But not like before. Now, to my own dismay, I’m fully aware that Jackie is a woman.
Yeah, I saw her grow up, watched her body change, but in my mind, she was still a kid. There’s a nine-year gap between us.
And yet, I’m stunned tonight by how I never noticed the stunning woman she’s become.
Frustration boils in me when I realize there’s no going back. I’ll never see her as just Martin’s little sister again. Her beauty radiates in the way her hips move, lost in the music, arms above her head, that gorgeous face oblivious to the bastards around her just waiting to pounce.
Hypnotized, I watch her dance. It’s like every turn of her body tells a year of her story—since I left their house for good, when she was fifteen.
It’s an overdose of her growth. Of the fact that she’s a full-grown woman now—all in a matter of minutes.
My gut tells me to walk away, but I ignore it. I tell myself, just for tonight, I’ll watch her up close—because her words from earlier are still burning in my brain.
“Yes, I’ve been drinking, guardian. And you know what? I’ll drink even more tonight, because I’m done waiting for you, Lucifer. Maybe I don’t want protection anymore. Maybe I want risk. And maybe I’ll find someone tonight who’ll give me that.”
I force myself to look around, partly because I always have to stay alert, partly because watching Jackie this closely, really seeing her for the first time, is making me hard. And that feels fucking wrong.
But I can’t stop it.
Jackie radiates life, joy, freedom.
And I’m death, darkness, trapped inside my own mind.
Her light calls to me. I want a piece of it.
My eyes lock on her again.
She’s not even trying, but every man on that floor is drawn to her.
She lights up the whole damn place.
The energy coming off her is consuming me, making me want to go to her.
It’s not a pleasant feeling—not for someone like me. Wanting closeness? That shit’s dangerous.
A waiter steps in front of me, blocking my view of the dance floor. I shake my head at his drink offer and almost shove the fucker aside, but he finally leaves.
Then, when I can see her again, my blood boils.
Jackie is pinned between two guys, dancing sensually, and the look on her face is nothing short of an invitation.
For the first time that I can remember, I don’t think. I move. I push through the crowd, straight toward her, something gnawing at me from the inside out. I don’t know what it is—but it’s unfamiliar.
Anger? Yeah. That’s it.
Because the thought of two assholes touching her, taking advantage of her sweetness, makes me snap.
I shove aside the last people in my way and finally reach her.
“Leave,” I say to both guys flanking her.
The music’s loud—maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe they just saw my lips move, but from their faces, I know they understood. Fucking with me would be a bad idea.
“I’m having fun,” Jackie says, and now I realize she’s had more to drink while alone. She’s too loose, too relaxed.
“That’s enough for tonight.”
“No.”
She wraps both arms around my neck, her soft body molding to mine. For a split second, I forget who I am. Who we are. And that she can’t be seen with me.
I grip her waist and start to pull her off the dance floor.
“I don’t want to leave.”
I stop and grab her chin, forcing her to look at me—my other hand gripping her hip tight.
“You can walk out or I’ll carry you over my shoulder. Either way, you’re leaving, Jackie Alston.”
Her eyes go wide and for a moment, I see a flicker of rebellion. Then she says,
“I’ve got a deal to offer: I’ll go, if you come back to my place with me.”
I lean down to whisper in her ear.
“You don’t exactly have a choice, Jackie.”
“We’ll see about that. If you send one of your cavemen to take me home, I’ll just sneak out again.”
I know we’re drawing attention and that’s the last thing I can afford.
I can feel that whatever decision I make next will change the balance we’ve kept between us for years. I should ignore her threat and get her out of here, but no matter what I should do, I say to myself: Just for tonight, I’ll go home.
Because that’s what Jackie has always been.
Home.