Chapter 13 #2
It’s both incredibly sexy and incredibly Lucy-like. I always wondered if she kept wearing her brightly-colored patterns or if she’d dull herself down to please the bleak monochrome masses of the business world.
“Guess some things never change.” Her words from earlier haunt me.
“You made it!” Mike shouts over the clamor of the bar, coming over to us from one of the pool tables. He’s removed his suit jacket, and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows with the top two buttons of his dress shirt undone. Holding the pool stick out to Jules, he asks, “You play?”
“Oh, honey. I’m a lot older than you. I can probably show you a thing or two.” She smacks my chest lightly. “Get me a vodka soda, would you?” As Jules walks away with Mike, I can’t help but notice one of the guys I don’t know hand Lucy a tumbler with amber-colored liquid in it.
Thought you couldn’t handle the amber ones, rainbow?
She sips it before making a face, shoving it back into his hands before picking up a glass full of a pink drink while the guy laughs.
The music changes from a song I’ve never heard of to a dance version of a popular hit from the eighties.
Lucy lets out a whoop and grabs Anna, pulling the blonde from her chair abruptly and dragging her out to the dance floor.
While Anna flounders around like she’s never danced before in her life, Lucy twists and turns her body sensually, attracting the attention of multiple men around her.
None of the employees try to talk to me over the course of the next thirty minutes.
I don’t blame them. I don’t exactly make myself look approachable while I watch Lucy bounce from the dance floor to a spot at the bar to take shots and back again.
By now, Jules is on her third drink. She and Mike aren’t even trying to hide the fact that they plan on going home together after this.
My little rainbow doesn’t think I notice the way her eyes dart to me every now and then.
She’s trying to be discreet while she checks to see if I’m watching.
Every time she knows I am, she sways her body just a little more, the skirt of her dress riding up as she entices me with her bare skin.
Or she’ll thrust her hands into her hair, lifting it as she dances before letting it fall slowly to hide the naked expanse of her back.
She’s daring me to approach her. Tempting me like a siren luring a sailor out to sea.
I’m still nursing my first glass of whiskey when a random guy appears behind Lucy, caging her in by placing his hands on the bar top.
He leans down to whisper something in her ear, and she makes a face before trying to get away from him.
I’m out of my seat before I can even think about my actions—think about what it might look like to the rest of the employees—as I grab the guy’s arm and yank him away from her.
All I see is red as I step into the piece of shit’s personal space like an angry bull. “Keep your fucking hands off her.”
“What the fuck, man?” the guy shouts at the same time Lucy grabs my bicep to stop me.
“It’s fine, Lawson! I’m fine!” But her eyes are glassy, and her words are slow, and I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t been watching.
“I think you’ve had enough to drink.” I pull the shot she’s holding out of her hand and slam it back on the bar.
“Oh? You think I’ve had enough to drink?
” she parrots. “ Why don’t you go worry about your girlfriend, Mr. Morgan ?
She looks like she’s had enough to drink for all of us.
” Lucy sloppily motions toward where Jules and Mike are now making out.
“Besides, you’re not my daddy,” she sneers in a bratty tone, shaking her head saucily and crossing her arms.
Oh, I’d very much like to be your daddy, rainbow. I’d love nothing more than to put you over my knee right now and punish that smart mouth so the whole bar can hear you scream for me.
Instead, I grab her arm and haul her through the crowd to a long, empty hallway. The din of the bar finally dies down, and when I stop and turn around, it’s only her and me in the pink-lit space.
“Is this how you spend your weekends? Getting blackout drunk and letting random men take you home?” I demand, tossing her arm away from me a little rougher than I probably should.
“What’s it matter to you? Like I said, you’re not my daddy. Go worry about your girlfriend .”
“Jules isn’t my girlfriend, and she’s the least of my worries right now.
I’d be more worried about Mike. He has no idea what he’s getting himself into.
Now answer my damn question, Lucy.” My growl reverberates through the space, the acoustics expanding my voice even though I’m speaking lower than normal.
“Maybe I do, Mr. Morgan.” She steps into me, probably thinking I’ll step back, but I hold my ground as our chests press together.
“Maybe I do spend my weekends letting random men do whatever they want to me. What are you going to do about it?” Her index finger jams into my chest. “You haven’t cared enough to speak to me in the last six years.
You blocked my number and blocked me on Iconic. So what. Do. You. Care?”
Each word is a new jab until I snatch her wrist mid-air and haul her against me, stepping forward until her back is pressed against the wall. I’m instantly hard, my erection pressing into her stomach. I know she feels it from the way her eyes widen and her mouth drops open in an O.
“You know damn well I’m not going to sit by and watch you make stupid decisions just to spite me, Lucy.” In a softer tone, I say, “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
With a huff, she slants her hips into mine, dragging her body against my cock as she whispers sultrily, “What? Do you want to take care of me now?” One arm winds over my shoulder, the other still firm in my grip as I hold it against the wall next to her head.
“You always did like making sure I was taken care of, especially when Rhys wouldn’t do it. ”
Little fucking brat.
Against my better judgment, molten desire claws down my spine, my body begging me to flip her skirt up and take her right here, even though anyone can walk by at any moment and see us. “You’re acting like a child.”
She smirks, lifting her chin. “You liked me better when I was a child.”
My grip tightens, the flimsy material of her dress bunching beneath my fingers as I dig them into her side. My stomach twists at her words.
“Are you trying to press my buttons, rainbow?” My nostrils flare, my breaths becoming hot, shallow pants as my anger at the insinuation and my lust from her proximity increases.
Lucy pushes up on her toes, using my shoulder for balance as she brings her face close to mine.
“Can your buttons be pressed, Lawson? You act like you hate me one moment, and the next, you look like you want to repeat graduation night. Which is it, sir ? Where is the button I need to press to get my way?”
Our lips are nearly touching. This damn temptress is just daring me to close the distance and give her what she wants. Her wrist slips out of my grasp, and she lays her palm flat against my chest, sliding it downward to my painfully obvious erection.
She’s always been this bold. From not freaking out when I saw my son fucking her to straight up looking at my cock. Not to mention that night, which she keeps bringing up, when she rode me like I wasn’t her boyfriend’s dad, pressing arousal-coated fingers into my mouth.
Lucy isn’t shy about what she wants, and for a split second, I almost give in—until a breathy moan leaves her mouth and logic kicks me in the balls, reminding me of all the reasons it’s not a good idea.
As much as I want to shove her against the wall and spank the sass out of her while fucking her, I unwind her hands from me and take a wordless step back.
Disappointment fills her eyes as she deflates like a popped balloon. “Message received, Mr. Morgan .” Without another word, she turns and walks down the hall, disappearing into the crowded bar.
And I let her go.
Because that’s the kindest thing I can do for her.