Chapter Eight
Orion
W hen I received a call notifying me that the object haunting my desires had decided to get a change of scenery, and to a bar filled with nothing but slimy pests no less, I determined I should keep an eye on the girl myself, out of concern of course.
And that was how I found myself in this god-awful place with a headache coming on, feeling instant regret over my decision.
Her eyes found mine immediately when I took a seat in the far back, sensing my presence like a magnet helplessly drawn to the other.
If I ever smiled, I would have. The silent confirmation she was as pulled to me as I was to her had my stupid heart spinning into a fucking tailspin, a feeling I’d recently become familiar with. Not good. I barely even noticed the blonde hostess sprawling herself over me like a damn spider monkey, my attention was too fixated on Emmy.
However, the satisfaction quickly dissipated when I noticed her arms wrapped around another man, testing my willpower to fight against putting a bullet in his head. He was a scrawny bastard too. The type that wouldn’t know where to find a woman’s G-spot if he fucking googled it.
Watching them had me grinding my gears into dust, sending me into a murderous rage when he stole her attention from me, making her pretty face don a brilliant smile as he no doubt whispered something straight out of flirting for idiots into her ear.
It was when he was about to kiss her that my blood stilled, forcing me to hold back from kicking my foot up his ass for even thinking he was worthy of those pretty pink lips in the first place.
Stop it, De Luca . Let it go.
Locked in an internal battle, the rage inside me won a split second before I dragged the fucker far enough away from Emmy a goddam bargepole could fit between them. I contemplated launching him across the bar like a bowling ball, but it seemed a bit excessive.
The halfwit merely blinked at Emmy before deciding she wasn’t worth the hassle and pleaded with me to let him go. I didn’t blame him; I was well aware my presence was intimidating.
If it wasn’t the overbearing height and the intense scar on my face, it was the deathly glint in my eyes. Emmy, on the other hand, only proved to be the willful spitfire I’d determined she was all but a couple of weeks ago.
Refusing to shrink away from the intensity of my gaze, despite it being utterly focused on her, she met my hard stare boldly, and it was hot as fuck. I couldn’t help but inwardly smirk at her feistiness, she had a little demon in her after all .
Then she realized the longer she defied me, the worse it was looking for her new friend Damien and concluded she didn’t want the moron’s blood on her hands. The clever girl didn’t underestimate me, thankfully for Damien, who ran like the wind when I finally released him.
Reluctantly, and with a look deadly enough to kill, Emmy did as she was told and went home like a good girl. Watching her walk away had my veins coursing with satisfaction. And this time, I did smile.
Besides, I am only doing as Atlas asked. Letting her go home with a stranger wouldn’t be very “looking out for her” of me, would it?
Yeah, that checked.
I returned to the VIP booth with a victorious spring in my step, only for my smile to drop the instant I saw Hague’s smug smirk. “Didn’t have you down as the type to get bent out of shape over a woman.”
“Shut up.” I fell back onto the booth, manspread my legs, and groaned when Hague sat beside me, still wearing that stupid look on his face. “I promised Atlas I’d keep an eye on her. He’s the only one of you I actually like.”
“Seems Atlas isn’t the only Fields you like,” Hague teased, arching his brow. “I know you and Atlas are close and all, but I think he’ll draw the line at you fucking his sister.”
“Jesus Christ.” I pinched my nose, ready to shove this idiot away from me. “I’m not fucking her, nor do I want to. Even if she wasn’t Atlas’ sister, she’s not my type.”
Liar.
“Hot isn’t your type?” He laughed, before taking a sip of his drink. “Just admit it, man. You’ll feel better.”
He leaned back beside me, a sly grin plastered on his face, clearly enjoying himself at my expense. The low hum of chatter and clinking glasses filled the air, but I could barely focus on anything other than his infuriating smirk.
“You’re acting far too brave for a man as replaceable as you,” I grumbled, reaching for my glass of whiskey from the table. I scanned my eyes across the bar, my upper lip curling as I did. I fucking hated these places.
Between the deafening bass blaring over your head, the sticky floor from the spilled drinks, and the pungent smell of sweat laced with perfume, it blew my mind that these places were considered fun .
Not to mention the barely dressed women stumbling in the heels they couldn’t walk in, their dresses riding up their asses and their tits all but hanging out, while men prowled around them, trying to suss out whose game to get laid, in the designer suit they skipped out on a month’s rent to buy and the fake Rolex on their wrist.
Call me old fashioned, but I preferred something to be left to the imagination, as well as preferring my women conscious in my bed and not covered in their own drunken vomit.
“Please,” Hague scoffed, eyeing up the blonde hostess making her way back over. “You’d never get rid of me.” Annoyingly true. Though not for lack of trying . I fired his ass at least seven times now, but the idiot just kept turning back up for work like it never happened. “But fine, if you’re not interested, maybe I’ll take a shot at it. ”
I took a sip of my whiskey, savoring the burn, and glared at him as I contemplated all the ways I could kill him and make it look like an accident. “You’ll stay far away from her if you enjoy breathing.”
Hague wagged his brows, opening his arms for the blonde who climbed onto his thighs. “A big threat for a man who isn’t interested.”
I scowled at him, but he just laughed again, clearly enjoying my discomfort. Was I that transparent? I took another drink, hoping the alcohol would dull the irritation swirling inside me. “Drop it, Hague.”
I was undeniably attracted to Emmy . But the attraction only extended as far as craving a night with her naked and flushed underneath me, her pretty pink nipples between my teeth, and her legs wrapped around me while she’d lose her voice screaming my name. Anything other than that wasn’t in the cards I’d been dealt.
Relationships weren’t my thing. I was a for-the-night-only type of guy, with no strings attached. Emmy came with all the fucking strings, as well as the baggage, neither of which I was interested in. As drawn to her as I was, I’m more than capable of keeping my hands to my damn self. I think. Plus, Atlas would have my head if I touched her.
Well , he’d at least try to.
I swirled the ice in my glass, my brows pinched as the blonde straddling Hague trailed her finger down my arm, her green eyes sparkling with invitation. “Are you going to join us, handsome?”
Setting down my glass, I ran my tongue over my teeth and pursed my lips. “Not tonight.” Without another word, I stood to my feet and left, no longer interested in being in this damn hot box now that Emmy had gone, and my job was done.
Atlas would be home in two days and my new role as Emmy’s watchdog would come to an end. I could go on with my fucked- up life and forget all about her.