Chapter 14
Sofia
The beat from the club’s music vibrated through my body and down to my bones.
We’d been at the club for several hours, and I was beginning to lose my voice from shouting over the music for Riley to hear me.
On top of that, my feet were killing me in the high-heeled sandals I was wearing, but I was having the best night of my life.
We’d opted for a booth in the main club rather than the VIP section so that we could enjoy the music and watch the crowd.
Kai had ensured our booth was sectioned off, with two very burly men standing guard, making sure we weren’t bothered while we danced, or when we sat down to drink the cocktails our personal waiter kept bringing us.
Neither of us was drunk, but a pleasant buzz was working its way through my veins, and I couldn’t remember a time when I last felt this euphoric.
Although I wasn’t sure that was entirely down to the alcohol; I’d been on a high from the minute I caught Miles watching me as I made myself come in the shower.
I thought I’d feel embarrassed that he caught me, but when I watched how he squeezed his cock through his pants, followed by a look of ecstasy wash over his face as he found his release, I was flying high.
I felt alive.
His intense stare had scorched itself onto my skin, and despite being in the club, having a great time with Riley, all I could think about was Miles. How powerful my orgasm was, knowing his eyes were on me. How it felt to be seen.
Of course, he scarpered as soon as I’d cried his name, not that I had expected him to stick around for a friendly chat.
But I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a teeny tiny part of me that wondered if he’d be waiting when I finally emerged from the bathroom.
Waiting to talk or waiting to pounce on me and give me an orgasm with his fingers, I didn’t know, and it didn’t matter.
He wasn’t there, and neither was his car.
One thing I was sure of, though, he’d be doubling his efforts to avoid me.
Whatever.
If he wanted to pretend it didn’t happen, that was on him, but I certainly wasn’t.
After several dances on our private podium, complete with a pole where Riley had been showing me a few moves, we collapsed onto the couch when our waiter appeared with two freshly made Long Island Iced Teas.
“God, I’ve missed dancing,” Riley shouted over the music after she’d taken a large gulp of her drink.
I followed suit, the tang of the alcohol burning my throat as I swallowed it. “Would you ever work here?”
Riley had told me all about her time as a pole dancer before she met Kai.
From what she’d said, the club she used to work at was nothing like Sapphire, attracting clientele who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.
Unlike Kai’s club, you’d get thrown out if you so much as laid a fingertip on any of the dancers who were on podiums across the place.
“Like Kai would ever let me,” she replied, rolling her eyes.
“I thought Kai wasn’t the boss of you.” I grinned at her because all afternoon, while we were finding shoes to go with our new dresses, she’d reminded me that Miles wasn’t the boss of me, and Kai wasn’t the boss of her.
“He isn’t, but the tanned ass isn’t worth it,” she said as a devious smile lit up her face. “Speak of the devil.”
I followed where she was looking, and tingles coated my skin as Kai made his way toward us, my husband following behind him. Our gazes clashed, my core clenching as Miles’ dark eyes bore into me, the same way they’d done several hours earlier.
Until they hardened once more, and Miles changed direction, heading to a booth where two suited men were sipping champagne as they watched girls dance.
Rejection swamped me, cooling the flames licking my skin. I took another large sip of my drink, trying to ignore the pang of hurt that came from his dismissal as the men standing guard at our booth moved the rope to let Kai pass.
I kept my focus on the beads of condensation sliding down my glass instead of watching as Kai pulled Riley into his arms and devoured her mouth, not giving a damn about the public show of affection.
It was always the way whenever Kai kissed Riley.
It was a public claiming, letting the world know that she belonged to him.
“Ladies, you look beautiful,” Kai said.
I lifted my gaze to find him staring down at Riley, his arms clutching her hips like he was afraid to let her out of his grasp. As if realizing that his cousin hadn’t echoed his sentiment, Kai looked around, a scowl forming on his face when he found Miles in deep conversation with the two men.
He turned back to Riley. “I’m not here to interrupt your evening, baby. We’ve got some business we need to deal with, but I’ll hang around in my office after so I can take you home.”
His hands slid to her ass as he leaned in to kiss her again.
Not wanting to intrude on their moment, I looked to where Miles was, and a flash of envy shot through me at finding a waitress—who may have been wearing nothing for the lack of material her bra and hot pants offered—grinning at Miles with her hand on his arm.
It didn’t matter that he was scowling back at her, nor did it matter if he removed her hand from his arm and took a step back to put distance between them; the jealousy scorched me, ruining my good mood in a heartbeat.
When Miles caught me gawking, I pulled my gaze away, not wanting him to see the resentment I was sure was written on my face.
Reluctantly, Kai let Riley go. She fell on the couch next to me, her cheeks flushed as she tracked him through the club.
As soon as he reached Miles, the waitress quickly disappeared.
“What a complete dick,” Riley hissed, scowling at me.
“Um…Kai?” I replied, confused by her sudden attitude.
“No, Miles. Would it have killed him to come over and say hello to you?” Her scowl deepened as she glared at him. If looks could kill, Miles would have been nothing but a pile of smoldering ash.
I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
Miles was just another person to add to the list of people who ignored my existence. Yet, for some reason, that cut deeper than ever.
“It does matter,” Riley cursed, downing the rest of her drink. “You’re his wife, he could at least show you some goddamn respect!”
“It is what it is, Riley,” I replied, trying to hide the dejection in my tone.
“Fuck that!” She snatched my hand and yanked me to my feet. “That dick needs a wake-up call, and that’s exactly what we’re going to give him.”
Before I could ask what she meant or even protest, she dragged me over to the podium just as a new song started, her eyes twinkling with mischief under the strobe lights.
Abruptly, she released my hand and grabbed my hips, pulling me against her so our breasts were flush, and our faces only an inch apart. To steady myself, I clutched her bare arms.
“What are you doing?” I giggled as she began to sway her hips, moving mine at the same time.
“Dancing,” she replied innocently.
The beat of the music thrummed through my body, and despite the closeness between us feeling a little too intimate, I allowed myself to relax and follow Riley’s lead.
Our hips rolled together in time with the music, and when her hands slid further around my back, almost resting on my ass, I slowly glided my hands up her arms and circled them around the back of her neck. We were almost the same height, allowing us to stare into each other’s eyes as we moved.
A salacious grin tugged at her lips as we continued to grind together. She suddenly spun around, putting her back to my chest and rubbing her ass against my core. I grabbed her waist, moving her body to sway in time with mine, my confidence growing with every beat of the song.
Feeling eyes on us, I allowed my gaze to drift over the club. The two men who Miles had been talking to were looking anywhere but at us. Kai and Miles, though, their gazes were watching our every move, both wearing the same expression on their faces; fury warring with desire.
Spurred on when Miles’ lips twisted into a snarl, I twisted Riley to face me again, the two of us wearing matching grins as we continued to move, our hips rolling in time to the beat, our hands exploring the other’s body.
If I had been attracted to women, Riley would have one hundred percent been my type.
When the song merged into the next one, we broke apart, giggling. But my grin soon fell as the two Wolfes charged in our direction, and a lick of panic swept through me at the murderous look on Kai’s face.
Fuck. Was he going to kill me for touching his wife?
Oh shit.
Our security had barely enough time to move the rope before Kai stormed to us on the podium, his fierce eyes on Riley. Before I could throw myself at his feet and grovel for forgiveness, Kai spoke, his attention solely on Riley. “I’m sorry to break up ladies’ night. But I need to fuck my wife.”
She didn’t have a chance to react before he swooped down and grabbed her legs, lifting her and throwing her over his shoulder. She squealed as he marched away, but the glee on her face as she winked at me said she hadn’t minded our night coming to a sudden end.
They disappeared into the crowd, and I turned to Miles. Unsurprisingly, any desire that had been blazing in his eyes while we were dancing was no longer present, replaced by pure rage.
“Night’s over. Let’s go,” he snapped coldly.
Defiance swept through me. I was enjoying myself, and I’d be damned if I was going to let him ruin my night. I didn’t care that Riley had gone; I was more than happy to dance on my own.
“I’m not ready to leave.” I folded my arms, hiding my smirk when his gaze briefly dropped to the way my breasts were pushed together.
His jaw clenched. “Tough shit. I am.”
“Off you go then,” I replied, giving him a saccharine smile. “I’ll leave when I’m ready.”
“Like I’m going to leave you on your own.”
“You have no problem doing that the rest of the time.”
Despite the music pounding around us, we entered into a silent staring competition, neither one of us prepared to back down.
The catchy beat of the song playing around us caught my attention, and my hips started swaying as my lips twitched in amusement.
“You know, instead of being a grouch all the time, you could dance with me. You never know, you might actually enjoy yourself.”
“I don’t fucking dance,” he snapped, his gaze dropping to where I ran my hand up my side in time to the music.
Can’t say I was at all surprised by his answer.
But with my confidence reaching newfound heights thanks to a mix of the alcohol and the elation I’d been carrying since he watched me climax, I wasn’t ready to give up.
“Dance with me for one song, and then we can go.”
“No.”
“Okay,” I shrugged. “I’m sure I can find someone else to dance with.”
I moved to step around him, only to be stopped when his hand wrapped around my arm and he pulled me to stand back in front of him, fury rolling off him.“I’ve told you before. Don’t fucking push me, Jailbait.”
I yanked my arm from his grip. “I’m not pushing you. If you don’t want to dance with me, that’s your prerogative. I’m not going to make you, but I will find someone who does.”
This time, when he grabbed me, it was with both hands on my waist, holding me firmly in place. He glared down at me, a snarl forming on his lips before he closed his eyes for a few beats. When he opened them again, he schooled his features.
“One dance and then we’re getting the fuck out of here.”
It took all my effort not to allow a triumphant—albeit, surprised—grin spread over my lips. “Deal.”
It took even more effort not to react when his hands didn’t move from my waist. Instead, he roughly tugged me against him, my hands flying to his solid chest.
I’d danced with Miles several times before, but not like this. He’d always kept an invisible barrier between us, an impenetrable wall that I could never smash through. But not then. Not there on the dancefloor in front of hundreds of people.
Feeling brave, I slid my hands from his chest when he moved my waist and swayed us to the beat. Looping my arms around his neck, my fingers brushed against the short hair at his nape.
His jaw clenched as a battle raged in his eyes. It was as if he couldn’t bear to touch me, yet he didn’t push me away and remind me that I was nothing to him. Not even his grip loosened, and as the tempo of the song increased, so did the movement of our hips as they rolled together.
Electricity crackled, and the club around us disappeared.
I closed my eyes and allowed myself to imagine that there was something more between us.
That, just for this song, we weren’t two people who’d been forced into a marriage neither of us wanted, nor were we two people who had met years ago on a night that had resulted in deceit.
We were just us.
He shifted his feet, forcing his muscular thigh between my legs, and my eyes shot open when something solid pressed against my core. I ground my hips against him, confirming what I’d first thought.
His cock was as hard as steel.
My teeth sank into my bottom lip to stop a wanton moan from leaving me, dragging Miles’ heated gaze to my mouth. He stared for a second.
And then another second.
And then another.
Butterflies danced low in my belly, growing manic when he released my hip to reach up and pull my lip from between my teeth.
Holy shit.
He was going to kiss me.
More to the point, I wanted him to kiss me, more than I’d wanted anything in my life.
One of his hands moved from my lip to cup my cheek tenderly, his touch lighter than a feather against my heated skin. I held my breath, not daring to move as my heart rate accelerated, thumping against my rib cage.
He lowered his mouth, and my eyes began to close.
The beat of the music changed, and the voice of the DJ announcing a new act was coming to take over boomed around us.
Miles released both my cheek and my hip and took a step back, his lust-filled gaze returning to the hardened stare he reserved for me. Disappointment stabbed me in the chest as the invisible wall re-built around him, and I looked away, unable to witness the disgust reflected on his face.
“Song’s over. Time to go.” He didn’t give me a chance to reply before he grabbed my wrist and marched me off the podium.
Not that I could have formed a reply, the tears threatening to spill kept me silent.