Chapter 5
It’s been a week since Storm showed up at the club and ruined my job. I didn’t even have to quit, because Paul sent me a text letting me know I’d been fired.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Storm threatened him. I thought it was a miracle I got hired in the first place. I assumed Paul had no idea who my father was.
Whatever, it doesn’t matter now.
Tomorrow is a big night, but tonight I’m having a girl”s night with April.
“How was your week?” I ask when she walks in my front door. She’s been my best friend for a couple of years now and is the only girl I hang out with. She’s basically the only person I hang out with.
April is really pretty with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She’s my height at five-five and works out like it’s her second job. She’s sweet and happy and, like a ray of sunshine, is always positive.
It used to annoy me a little bit, but I’ve come to need her upbeat views of the world. Whenever the darkness gets too heavy, she reminds me to enjoy the rainbows.
“It was boring. Nothing but school, work, and sleep. You should see my apartment right now. It’s a freaking mess.” She sighs heavily. I watch her as she places a massive bottle of wine on the coffee table and then turns to me for a hug. “What about you?”
“Oh, you know, same old same old,” I grumble, and April smiles sympathetically. She knows all about my struggles with Storm. Although, she has no idea that Storm killed my uncle. I left that detail out for obvious reasons.
But she’s seen him scare off guys plenty of times over the years. She’s well aware of the push and pull between us, and she’s the one who sent me the details for the party tomorrow night.
“Are you at least excited about tomorrow?” she asks, and I shrug.
“In a way. I mean, I have spent years avoiding Storm, but he somehow always manages to cock block me,” I huff. She also has no idea that I was trying to meet up with Eric and ended up getting eaten out by Storm. That would have been difficult to explain.
Like hey, so I didn’t double-check that the guy under the mask was actually my date, but turned out to be my nemesis. Oops.
I’m leaving that detail out.
“No kidding,” she chuckles. She doesn’t have the same problem I do. She can go out and sleep with whoever, whenever, and no one cares.
No one tries to stop her.
No one growls in her ear that they’re her only option.
“I’m less excited about the fact that you can’t pick your partner beforehand, but I do know that they run background checks and stuff on everyone,” I add, and she nods. The premise is that you drop your room key in a bag, and then someone pulls the key. That night, you hook up.
You can be as vanilla, or as kinky, as you want. Everyone gets a safe word, and you can change your mind at any time. If I decide I’m not interested, then I don’t have to follow through.
“Why didn’t you sign up?” I ask. This kind of thing is exactly her vibe.
“Eh, if I want a hot one-night stand, I’ll just go to the bar and find one.” She shrugs, before heading to the kitchen to grab us both glasses for the wine. I watch her pour one for me, then herself, before she takes her place beside me on my little couch.
“Fair enough. Somehow, Storm always knows where I am. If I go out, he catches me,” I huff, taking a sip of my wine.
“Well, tomorrow night will change that!” April cheers, clinking her glass with mine.
Hopefully.
* * *
Storm
Every donation madefor tonight goes to charity. So there’s no real loss in signing up. There’s only one key I want to pull tonight, though. The second I saw the email confirming she signed up, I knew what I had to do. I wasn’t going to let her find a fucking loophole.
Tonight is only going to end one of two ways. Either I pull her room key, or I drag her out of here.
How she thought I wouldn’t find out about this, I’ll never understand. I know every step she takes, and every fucking move she makes.
I signed up minutes after her. Currently, I’m searching the crowd for her pretty face. She texted April thirty minutes ago that she was on her way here. She should be walking in at any moment.
Several women have attempted to speak with me already, and I politely shut them down. There’s only one woman for me. There has only ever been one woman for me.
I’m watching the door closely, hidden slightly by a pillar when I see her walk in. Fuck, she’s stunning. Her long brown hair is curled, and she’s done her makeup. She looks hot.
The black dress she”s wearing is skin-tight and shows off every curve of her body. I’m tempted to toss her over my shoulder right fucking now, but I’m curious to see how she’ll react once she realizes I’m here.
Even more curious to see what she’ll do if I pull her key. Will she be pissed? Excited? Will she attempt to resist, but eventually give in?
She glances at several of the men as she passes them.
I’m not going to let her sleep with another man. No fucking chance, Little Sinner.
Tonight, like every other night, she’s mine and mine alone.