Chapter 6
SIX
Emmett
Arcane is packed by the time we pull up, and I check my watch – it’s only a little after ten, and there’s already a line out the door.
There are six of us here tonight, all of us somehow connected through work, aside from Logan and I.
Logan probably wouldn’t count himself as a colleague to the girls, because he’s ‘just’ our contractor and security guy, but he’s been my friend for years and he literally built the bones of several Fowler Enterprise businesses with his bare hands, so he gets at the very least an honorary title.
Mariah wraps her hands around my bicep as we move forward in the line, inching closer to the door, leaning her head on my shoulder.
She looks good tonight; she always looks good, but tonight, especially so.
Her black hair is piled on top of her head in a messy knot and a tight, light blue dress hugs her body with diamond-shaped cutouts carved through the middle that show off glimpses of her summer-sun-kissed skin underneath as well as the gem dangling from her pierced belly button.
She’s a nice girl. We have fun together and I could probably take her home tonight, if I wanted to.
After another fifteen minutes of slowly inching forward, we finally pass security and make our way into the packed club. As soon as we walk through the doors, loud bass pounds through my ears and a rainbow of neon lights flash in rapid succession to the beat, painting the entire space in color.
I approach the bar and flag someone down to order our first round of drinks, and I find myself closing my eyes, using my index finger to pick at the skin on the side of my thumb while I wait.
Rowan was right; I shouldn’t be here, I’m not ready for this.
To go from nearly three weeks of solitude to having someone’s shoulders squishing into me from all directions because it’s so heavily packed in this place is nothing short of overwhelming.
As the drinks make their way across the bar top, I stuff down my anxiety and slap on my best megawatt smile before walking the glasses back to everyone and handing them out.
The girls have already started dancing, forming a circle among themselves as they reach for each others’ hands and jump around to the rhythm. Logan stands off to the side, sipping on his beer while he scans the crowd – both strangers and our friends – for someone he’d like to make a move on.
Rowan leans against a table next to him, actively not participating in the lurking, sipping at her water and cheering on her friends.
Every now and again, she reaches over to fiddle with her wedding band, and I have to stifle a laugh knowing that she would rather be anywhere but a busy nightclub.
She would probably be having a thousand times more fun if she were curled up on the couch with my dad watching a corny movie or something.
When I finally get a good buzz going, I shimmy my way into the dance circle, pushing up the sleeves of my henley as I squeeze in between Mariah and...I swear to god, I know her name.
I brush a hand through my hair and pull Mariah closer until her ass is right up against me. She picks up on the cue and presses into my lap, grinding to the beat of the music as my arm snakes around her waist, her hand covering mine.
My mouth finds its way to the crook of her neck and I nibble and suck at her skin as we move together, and I feel her buckle, just a little bit. When she turns her head to take my mouth with her own, I slip my tongue past her lips and feel her let out a whimper into my mouth.
We dance – and make out – for a handful of songs before I step away from the group and head for the bathroom. The hall leading to it is like a soundproofed chamber, blocking out almost all of the music along with the flashing lights, and it’s completely disorienting.
Tapping my fingers on the wall as I walk, I make my way toward the empty mens’ room and step inside, greeted with the sound of grunting. A man’s voice comes through one of the stalls.
“That’s right,” he growls to someone else in the stall with him. “And you’ll take every fucking drop of it.”
My body goes rigid, my eyes flying open as I press myself against the wall – as if they’re going to see me standing here. As if I’ve somehow interrupted a private, intimate moment. As if they’re not doing this in a very public, very busy space.
“Christ,” I breathe to myself.
The grunting from the stall becomes desperate and full of need as whoever is in there reaches the edge, and liquid heat runs down my spine as the man’s breathing grows heavier.
“Give me your tongue,” the man in the stall orders, his voice strained, and I don’t have to wonder why that is.
I should turn around and get out of here.
I really don’t even need to pee that badly, it can wait.
This is intrusive and really uncomfortable; I don’t eavesdrop on other people having sex.
That’s not my thing. I should leave – but my feet force me a couple of small, curious steps closer to the stall as the man giving the orders moans through his release.
My mouth goes dry, my lips parting as my breath turns ragged.
“Swallow it,” the man in the stall orders his partner.
Silence hangs in the air before the stall door opens. It throws me out of the moment and I jump back, trying to figure out how the hell I can make it look like I wasn’t just listening to some guy getting his dick sucked.
I barely have time to turn toward the wall and pretend to casually inspect the paint job when I see Nash Montgomery step out of the stall, tugging up the zipper of his white slacks, looking satisfied.
Another man follows behind him and heads straight for the sink, where he turns on the faucet and ducks his head down to fill his mouth with water.
A taunting smirk spreads across Nash’s face as he steps closer to me, needing only a few long strides before he practically has me trapped between himself and the wall behind me. He plants a hand against the wall next to my shoulder as he locks his hazel eyes onto mine.
“You’re not supposed to be here, pretty boy,” he growls. “You should have been paying attention in that little meeting that we had. What did I tell you about being so easily distracted?”
I lock my eyes onto his, staring just for a second before my gaze drops to his angled jawline; the heavy stubble covering it, neatly lined and well styled, just like the rest of him. My stomach flips at the sudden thought of what that stubble might feel like against my skin and I swallow hard.
“I—what?”
I watch his eyes as they travel up my body and back down again, finally landing on my crotch. “You should probably take care of that soon,” he winks. “Blue balls can be a real pain.”
I follow his gaze, looking down at my lap, and I realize that my dick is hard as a fucking steel beam, obvious through the jeans I’m wearing.
What the hell?
Squeezing past him, I shove a hand into my pocket in an effort to hide the unwanted erection and I hurry back into the busy club, making a beeline for my group of friends, where I grab Mariah with my free hand. “Let’s get out of here,” I shout so she can hear me over the music.
She throws me an enthusiastic nod and I practically drag her out of the club without so much as a goodbye to our friends. Instead, I pull out my phone to order a ride to her condo because it’s closer than my place, and I need to get this out of my system, now.
We barely make it through the front door before I’m on her with a kiss so deep that I can taste the drinks still on her tongue. I hold her head in my hands as I walk her backward toward her bedroom, and my mouth doesn’t leave hers until I throw her onto her bed and climb on top of her.
“No condom?”
I shake my head. “I’ll pull out.”
My hands quickly get busy, yanking the top of her dress down to free her breasts, and I drop to nibble at her perfect, smooth skin and her peaked nipples, earning a slow moan in response.
“Slow down,” she whines at me.
I do as I’m told, slowing my frenzied movements as I work my way back up from her breast to the curve of her jaw, letting my hands explore the curves of her body as I move.
“Your skin, your tits, Christ,” I breathe against her with my hand kneading into her flesh. “I love them.”
Women turn me on.
It’s a woman’s body I want to fuck.
“Thanks,” she giggles.
I climb off of her to stand at the edge of the bed and I stare down at her body, laid out for me like a meal ready to devour. Gripping onto her thighs, I yank her toward me and work to slide her dress up over her hips, and her legs fall open for me with a quiet whimper.
It takes all of five seconds for me to pull my belt away, discarding it on the floor before I fumble with the button and zipper of my jeans and send them down to my ankles.
Mariah’s body welcomes my cock as I push inside of her, holding onto her hips while I thrust into her. Christ, she feels good. I stare down at her, watching her eyebrows pinch together as I give her as much as she can take, and her fist balls into the bedding.
Relieved, I shut my eyes and let my head fall backward, letting myself ride the pleasure coursing through me with a low moan.
I knew it; the bathroom was just a weird coincidence; I’d been grinding on and making out with someone all night. Anyone would get turned on after that, it’s only human. Add to that someone coming five feet away from you, and it’s a recipe for a throbbing shaft. Nash had nothing to do with it.
A hand reaches forward to grab my shirt and pull me downward. “Don’t leave,” Mariah begs. “Stay here.”
Shit.
Bringing myself back into the moment, I grab her by the jaw and dive into her mouth with my own. Her hips rock against mine while we fall back into a united rhythm and she moans her approval in response, crying out when I pick up my speed.
“Right there,” she pleads with me, “oh god, Emmett, don’t stop!”
I hold my pace steady until her body tenses, falling apart seconds later into a wave of trembling as she comes, and I know that I’m not far behind.
As soon as she’s finished, she quickly flips herself onto all fours, turning to face me while I stroke my cock, sticking her tongue out with her mouth hanging open in eager anticipation.
“Every drop,” I whisper, echoing Nash’s words as I lock my eyes onto her tongue, watching as I paint it white. Panting, I watch her throat as she swallows my cum, and I tear off my shirt, tossing it behind me. “Again,” I order her, inclining my head toward the mattress.
·
Morning sunlight peeks into the room, tinted pink as it filters through the curtains covering the single window behind the bed, and it takes me a few seconds to remember where exactly I am.
I walk my hand over the watermelon-pink nightstand next to me in search of my phone, but I come up empty as Mariah’s arm wraps around my bare chest and she pulls me in closer to her.
Oh, yeah. She’s a snuggler.
Carefully, I peel her hand away from my body and slide out of the bed, trying not to wake her up before pulling my pants from the chair at her desk and bouncing in place as I bring them up my legs.
Mariah is dead-to-the-world asleep and still naked in her bed, draped in nothing but her all-too-fluffy duvet.
I could wake her up; it wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve had a quick wake up call, but I decide against it and pull out my phone instead to order her some breakfast for delivery while I make my way out of the condo, dodging her nosy-ass roommates.