Chapter 11
11
MALCOLM
I ’m standing behind the bar of an overcrowded Butcher and Block and talking to a girl dressed as a cat who sat down forty-five minutes ago and hasn’t left. She has blonde hair, freckles across her nose, and cat ears placed on her head to match the whiskers that have clearly been drawn on her cheeks with some sort of makeup pencil. The way she leans over the bar and squeezes her arms together, subsequently lifting her breasts higher into my line of view, tells me everything I need to know.
That I’ve done my job and have her under my spell.
I smile at her and lean closer to her face. “You know, you make a really cute cat. Probably the cutest cat I’ve ever seen.”
This causes her to giggle and cover her mouth with her hand. “You aren’t too bad yourself.”
At the same time, my eyes catch the sight of a group of guys walking in who look familiar and within seconds the rowdy noise of my friends descending on the bar consumes the space. All of them are dressed up. Hank as a character from a movie I recognize but don’t remember the name, Kolbi as some sort of spy, and Conrad as…something I can’t really put my finger on.
“Malcolm,” Kolbi’s voice booms as he leans over and slaps my hand. “Happy Halloween, brother.” His eyes fall to the girl sitting across from me and when he brings his eyes back to me, he shakes his head slowly.
“Happy Halloween. Don’t you all look like a bunch of idiots,” I joke. I might rag on my friends more than most but I love them and appreciate how they show up for me no matter what. The fact that they all dressed up to participate in the fundraiser means a lot to me. I feel my brows meet in the center of my face when I realize they’re alone and the girls aren’t with them. “Where are the Powder Puff Girls?”
“They’re on the way, we just spoke with them,” Hank explains, standing next to Kolbi.
“Bailey and Magnolia are coming with Ophelia and Margaret.” My ears perk up at her name and I try not to show my hand.
“Ophelia’s coming?” The girl sitting at the bar looks between me and my friends and frowns at the sound of another girl’s name. She smiles wide at me trying to get me to pay attention to her.
“Malcolm, what time are you off?” she asks almost desperately.
“Huh? I close. I’ll be here till at least one in the morning.” I don’t look at her as I say it, my eyes are too preoccupied with watching the door.
“Let’s get drinks for everyone while we wait,” Kolbi comments.
I take their orders and start to serve them while also managing the rest of the patrons at the bar. Every so often, the girl wearing cat ears tries to vie for my attention but between the crowd and watching the door, I’m no longer interested in what she has to offer. As I’m passing the drinks out to my friends, I see the door of the bar open and my eyes find her without issue.
The crowd of people standing around part like the Red Sea when the four of them walk in. Walking hand in hand, Bailey, Magnolia, Margaret, and Ophelia all walk in looking like Charlie’s Angels. Standing tall, confident, and sexy as hell. The only one I notice though is Ophelia. The way her fishnet tights stretch over her opulent thighs and carry your eyes up and around her supple waist and ass. She’s wearing some sort of bodysuit and corset and a mask that tells me she’s taking on the persona of Catwoman tonight. Much sexier than the standard cat staring at me from across the bar. My eyes glance to my friends and notice that they, too, have spotted the girls. Hank has a stupid fucking smile on his face and Kolbi’s jaw is nearly on the floor. I chuckle at their faces and don’t miss how Conrad almost looks annoyed by all the attention they’re bringing to themselves.
“Hey there, Danny,” Bailey coos as she steps up and wraps an arm around Hank.
“You look breathtaking, blondie,” he replies, pressing a kiss to her temple.
“Tell me about it, stud,” she says with a wink, quoting the classic movie and planting a kiss on his cheek. Magnolia wiggles her way in next to Kolbi who leans down to kiss her, their height difference still something that makes me laugh.
“Don’t you all look…festive,” Conrad says slightly louder than normal so they can hear him over the music.
“If by ‘festive’ you mean ‘hot as fuck,’ then yes, I would say we look quiet festive,” Ophelia quips, oozing with confidence. Hot as fuck is putting it lightly, you look like straight sin wrapped in faux leather. Her lustrous brown eyes flash to me for a second before looking back at Bailey.
“I’m going to do a round. Don’t wait up for me if I don’t come back.” She smiles and scrunches her nose at her friend before giving us all a small wave and walking into the crowd. I watch her hips sway and wish nothing more than to be able to reach over and grab her ass with my hand.
“Malcolm, hey, Malcom.” My eyes shoot to the voice calling my name and see my three friends watching me with wide eyes. “You good, dude?” Hank asks as he and his wife look at me, then to each other, then to Ophelia who is halfway across the bar by now. Bailey is suppressing a smirk and Hank gives me an amused look.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” My eyes flash back to where Ophelia used to be but she’s lost in the crowd by now. I swallow hard and assess the people around the bar, making sure no one needs a drink.
After an hour, my friends have filled the stools on the opposite side of the bar. Cat ears girl is long gone once she realized I was no longer interested. The girls, minus Ophelia, are sitting in the stools while my friends stand defensively behind them. Conrad has been kind enough to give Margaret his stool and is standing next to her, chatting casually. The night is going well, people are donating to the cause, and everyone is enjoying the evening. Alice and I are holding down the bar in sublime synchrony as we always do. Every so often, I’ll look up from where I’m standing and search the sea of bodies to see if I can spot her.
“Yo, Malcolm, we need more reds, man,” I hear Alice shout from down the bar.
“I’m on it,” I shout back over my shoulder. I give my friends a quick nod and dip under the folding door of the bar. Walking through the room, I check in on the people who are eating and drinking, and glance over at the makeshift dance floor we created just for the night. Normally Butcher and Block is a bar and restaurant only, but on special occasions we turn it into more of a nightclub to keep people around longer. I’m halfway to the storage closet when I spot her standing in the corner talking to a guy holding a drink. He’s staring at her tits and has a hand on one of her hips. Her body is flush with his and their eyes are locked and for a second I think he’s going to lean down and kiss her. My mind goes blank and without even meaning too I walk straight up to them.
“Enjoying the evening, little fox?” My voice comes out cocky and I run my fingers through my hair. Her eyes get heated when she sees me standing next to her and crosses her arms across her chest. I know I shouldn’t, but I love the way the movement lifts her chest even higher.
“ Excuse me ?” she scowls.
“Do you know this guy?” her suitor asks.
“Of course she does, she’s my little fox,” I answer, not giving her room to explain.
“I’m not your anything,” she scoffs, shifting her weight into her other foot.
“That’s not what you were saying when I had you in my bed a few weeks ago.” I revel in how her cheeks flush and her eyes go wide.
“Emphasize on the ‘weeks ago,’” she spits. Her lashes flutter and she snaps her head to the guy standing next to us, dumbstruck. “Will you excuse us?” The guy nods, clearly confused, and Ophelia wraps a hand around my arm and drags me through the bar. Not wanting to catch our friends’ attention, I grab her wrist and drag her behind me through the back of the kitchen and out into the alleyway. Once outside and alone, she gives me a good hard shove and glares at me, clearly pissed.
“What the hell is your issue?” she shouts at me. Her brown hair is big and curled and my first instinct is to wrap my hand through it and pull her face to mine. With the way her expression is contorted though, I don’t think that’s the best plan.
“You’re kinda hot when you’re angry,” I tease, taking a step closer to her with a smirk.
“Don’t play, Malcolm,” she barks, ripping off the mask she’s been wearing all night. The way her olive toned skin radiates in the back alley street light warms my core. “This is the second time you’ve pulled a little stunt like that and I’m over it. Why the hell won’t you leave me alone?” Her words are hot and her cheeks are flushed.
I take a few steps closer to her as she takes a few steps away from me, backing herself up enough to be nearly flush with the wall. “You wanna know why I won’t leave you alone?”
“Don’t try to be cute, it’s not a good look,” she spits, tilting her head back to look at me. I take another step closer to her until she’s pinned between me and the wall. I lean a hand against it, bringing my body close enough to hers so our clothes are brushing against one another.
“So you think I’m cute?”
“No, I think you’re a pain in my ass and not in a good way.” My eyebrows flinch for half a second as my brain takes in what she’s just said. I’ve never done that kind of thing before but I would if she asked me to.
She takes a step closer to me and presses a finger into my chest. “I want you to leave me alone.”
“I can’t do that,” I reply simply.
“And why the hell not?” she demands. I swallow hard, unsure if I’m actually going to tell her or not.
“I won’t leave you alone because you won’t get out of my fucking head. I don’t know what you did to me that night in my apartment, but every time I take someone home with me, I end up thinking about you.” The words explode out of me and I can tell that her chest is noticeably rising and falling. I lean in further and bring my face so close to hers that our lips are brushing against one another. “No one’s ever done that to me before, but you did. And now, when I see you out with someone else, especially in my bar, it drives me fucking crazy.”
I bring a hand to her waist and wait to see if she slaps it away. She doesn’t. “And you coming in here dressed like this tonight, how did you expect me to keep my hands to myself? It’s a cruel game you’re playing with me, little fox, and part of me thinks you like it.” Her lips turn up just enough to flash a glimmer of her teeth. The hand I brought to her waist is now exploring every curve and rounded edge of her body, traveling up her torso. When it reaches her chest, she lets me drag a finger across the top of her bodice and slip it down just enough to graze her nipple. Her breath hitches in her throat and I feel my own smirk grow on my face.
“Tell me you wanted me to notice you tonight. Tell me that when you slipped into this slutty little outfit and put these perfect tits on display, you were thinking about me while you did,” I try, hoping for nothing more than confirmation that she feels even an ounce of resemblance to how I feel for her. She swipes her tongue across the bottom of her red painted lips and lifts her eyes to me.
“And what if I did, pretty boy?” She pushes herself off the wall and makes her body flush with mine and I’m positive she can feel how hard she’s made me through my jeans. She confirms that she can when she brings a hand to my package and lightly massages it. I groan softly and drop my mouth to be next to her ear so she can hear what she’s doing to me.
“Then I’d tell you to go home and wait for me. I’ll be off in a few hours and then I’ll come over and fuck you into tomorrow like you deserve to be.”
“What if I’d rather have a taste of you now?” Her hands find the button on my jeans and start to undo it and as much as I want to let her do what she wants, I stop her.
“No, no, not here. Not yet. I’m going to make you wait as punishment for how you’ve behaved. No one toys with me and then gets a reward. You have to wait.” I pin her hands down by her waist and lean into her neck, pressing a soft kiss and playful bite into the side of it. “But I promise you, the wait will be worth it.”
She sucks in a breath as I sink my teeth into her. “And if I don’t listen? I have rules, you know?”
“I don’t give a fuck about your rules, Ophelia. The only thing I care about is getting your delicious pussy on my mouth again.” My lips stay on her neck while I slip a hand down her body suit and press my fingers right on her center on the outside of her clothes. She moans at the sensation and grabs my arm with her free hand. “I’m off at midnight and then I’ll come over. Wait for me?”
I look into her eyes and find a mix of uncertainty and pleasure. Almost like she wants to say yes but something in her is holding her back. We’re both breathing hard and my brain is starting to remember that I have a bar to manage and people are probably starting to notice my absence.
“It’s just sex,” she finally states, very matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, really good sex,” I chuckle, pressing another kiss to her throat and drinking in the smell of her lavender shampoo as if my life depends on it.
“But just sex,” she stresses again, pushing me away from her so we are looking at each other.
“Yes, little fox, just sex.” Her eyes lock on mine as I repeat her words back to her. She and I are the same in how we like to handle our private business. Just sex, nothing more.
“Fine. I’m going to go and say goodbye to everyone. I’ll text you my address.” She pushes me off of her but I grab her by the waist before she can get too far out of reach and pull her into me again.
“I didn’t say you could leave yet,” I growl before forcing my lips to hers. If I’m going to make it through the rest of the evening knowing what’s waiting for me once I’m off, I need a taste of her to hold me over. When I pull away, she uses her thumb to wipe away her lipstick from my lip.
“How do you have my number?” I question, still holding her against me by the waist.
“I have my ways,” she says slyly with a smirk. “Can I go now?”
I release my hold on her but she waits for me to dismiss her. “You can go now.”
With her signature small wave and a smirk, she’s heading back inside the bar and I’m following closely behind her to get the wine Alice asked me for ten minutes ago.
Once I’m back behind the bar, I check the watch I wear religiously and start my countdown to making Ophelia mine all over again.