Chapter 8
Eight
Igrip Cin by the waist and set her to the side of me, then stand. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my wallet and drop a wad of cash onto the table, then I adjust my rock-hard cock with a grimace. It’s so in need of relief that it’s painful.
“Thanks for the lap dance.” Without waiting for her to respond or looking at her, I make my way to the door and walk down the hallway.
I had to get out of there because what just happened is only going to fuel my obsession with her. And that’s not good. I’m already stalking most of her movements. I can’t afford for this to become more than it already is.
I promised my brothers in high school that I wouldn’t go there again. The last thing I need to do is give them an excuse to think they need to coddle me.
Shaking the memory from my head, I push out the main door of the club and suck in a breath of fresh air once I’m outside.
Jesus fuck, that woman is phenomenal. Perfect in every way.
“Get your shit together, man.” I stalk over to my vehicle, get inside, and peel out of the parking lot.
I drive around with all the windows down, hoping to clear my head, but it doesn’t help. Visions of Cin swim in front of me, superimposed over the road in front of me. Knowing nothing is going to help satisfy me except maybe coming into my fist with her name on my lips, I return to Midnight Manor.
A minute after I drive past the iron gates, my phone buzzes with a text from Asher. I hit the button on the screen of my car to have Bluetooth read it to me over the speakers.
“Come to my office. Now.”
I roll my eyes, knowing he likely instructed security to tell him when I was back on the property. What the hell could this be about? I’ve been slacking where work is concerned because I’ve been watching Cin, but Asher doesn’t know that. And if he does, he probably chalks it up to me calling off the wedding and the picture of Maude with another man.
I park my car and pocket the keys, blowing out a breath as I approach the doors of the manor, giving a quick glance at the gargoyles on top. They’ve given me the creeps since I was a kid.
I make my way to the west wing, where Asher’s office is located, and when I arrive, he and Sid are there. Asher’s dressed casually in lounge pants and a T-shirt, so he’s obviously been spending the night with Anabelle, but Sid’s still in a suit—no surprise. He probably sleeps in the damn thing.
“What’s this about?” I step over to the living area in his office where they’re both seated.
“Have a seat, kid,” Sid says.
I clench my jaw to keep from lashing out at the moniker. He only uses it because he knows I’ve hated it since we were young. It’s not as though I’m decades younger than either of them.
Instead of telling Sid where to shove it, I sit in the chair off to the side. “There, I’m sitting. Where’s Kol? Usually these ambushes involve all three of you.”
“Don’t know,” Asher says. “Probably has his hands full with Rapsody, if I had to guess. He didn’t answer my texts.”
“Well, let’s get this over with.” I wave toward myself.
Asher heaves out a sigh, and Sid leans back into the couch, crossing his legs and splaying one arm out across the back cushions.
“Something concerning has been brought to my attention.” Asher lets his statement hang there as if he’s expecting me to fill in the blank.
I look between him and Sid. “Enough with the fucking suspense. Just say it.” I narrow my eyes, knowing that whatever is going to come out of his mouth, I’m not going to like.
“Are you stalking someone again?” It’s easy to see why Sid’s the lawyer in the family—he’s always so direct.
“Why would you think that?” My question probably raises a red flag.
“It’s true then?” Asher arches an eyebrow.
“I’m not stalking anyone.” I stand from the chair.
“This is how it started last time,” Asher says and stands, too. Sid follows suit. “Something tragic happened in your life and instead of dealing with it, you fixated on?—”
“I know how it all went down, okay? I don’t need a play-by-play from you.”
Sid steps forward and places a hand on my shoulder. “We’re just concerned, that’s all. We want to make sure you’re not too messed up in the head after what happened with Maude.”
I push his hand off my shoulder. “That’s rich coming from you.”
Sid narrows his dark eyes, and I see a glimpse of what lies under the calm and collected fa?ade.
“Enough,” Asher snaps. “If you’re not stalking someone, where have you been going when you leave here?”
“I didn’t realize I had to sign myself out.” I cross my arms.
“What were you doing parked downtown? You never go downtown. None of us do,” Sid says.
“Don’t treat me like you’re cross-examining me on the stand, asshole.”
“Answer the question,” he says.
“All right, fine. You wanna know?” I throw my arms up at my sides. “I’ve been down at TT’s watching a dancer. Got a lap dance from her tonight and made her come with my hand. Is that enough information?”
Asher and Sid exchange a glance.
“What’s her name?” Asher asks.
I shrug. “What’s it matter?” He continues to stare at me, and I roll my eyes. “Cin.”
Asher blinks rapidly, and his head rocks back.
“Her real name, not her stage name,” Sid says.
“I don’t know. Like I said… I’m. Not. Stalking. Her.”
“You’re telling me you haven’t done a deep dive on her?” Asher arches an eyebrow.
“I haven’t. Like I said. I have it under control.”
They both give me a skeptical look, so I turn around and leave the office.
“Make sure it stays that way,” Asher calls out, always needing to have the last word.
I stalk back to my room, irritated beyond measure even though I understand why they’d check in. But how did they know in the first place? Obviously, someone saw my car parked downtown. I’m going to have to be more discreet in the future because there’s no doubt that I’m not done with Cin. I won’t make the mistake of getting as close to her again as I did tonight, but I’ll continue to watch from afar until my fascination with her wanes and I’m able to move on.
When I reach my bedroom in the south wing, I go straight to the en suite and strip out of my clothes, then I turn on the shower. Once the water is warm enough, I step into the large walk-in shower and get under the spray.
The hot water works to ease the tension in my body, but it doesn’t make any inroads into my mind, where visions of Cin still coast through my brain.
My semi-hard cock rests against my thigh, and I tug on it, remembering the way Cin stole my breath when she first walked into the VIP room and I saw her close up. Those big blue eyes tugged on something in my subconscious, almost as though I knew them from somewhere.
I remember the sultry note in her voice and strengthen my grip, jerking harder. Remembering her heavy tits in my face, I squeeze my balls with my free hand. My head tilts back, and my eyes drift closed. I wanted so badly to bite one of her nipples. Somehow, I stopped myself, knowing that one taste of her skin would never be enough.
When she turned back around and ground down on my cock, I almost came in my pants like a fucking teenage boy. Looking over her shoulder at her swaying tits and her touching herself, I couldn’t help but press my hand over hers. But there was no way I could touch her myself. The scent of her on my fingers would drive me to distraction for weeks. Either that or send me careening into full-blown obsession.
I jerk harder on my cock and squeeze my balls again, imagining what she might smell like, taste like. I keep jerking, pretending it’s her hand and that she’s looking at me with that determined confidence she has when she’s performing on stage. Tingling starts at the base of my spine.
Finally, I imagine another man behind her, fondling her tits while she pleasures me, and my load explodes out of me, hitting the shower floor and washing down the drain with any hopes of that image ever coming true.
If I thought this was going to make me feel better, I was wrong. Somehow, I feel even more fucked up than before.