Chapter 4
Mace
Ihad a plan for Saturday night, one that involved Lily without directly involving me with her – a virtual meeting of sorts, and one she didn’t need to be aware of.
It hadn’t been difficult to identify her social circle.
Lily seems to have made just one close friend since moving to Chicago two years ago.
Kaitlyn Dartmoor is even more lax with her online privacy than Lily, so finding her email address was easy enough.
I just had to hope that when the invitation arrived, Kaitlyn would keep to her usual MO and take Lily along to the club.
It might have been simpler to send the invite straight to Lily, but despite disabling her dating apps, I couldn’t be sure she didn’t have some go-to guy she might want to take with her. And there was no way I’d let her use my invitation to bring another date.
Not that I am her date. I just want to see her again and test the theory that I’d simply had a weird seizure on Monday that had fried my brain. I’ve never been this obsessed with a woman before, and for it to happen so quickly makes no sense.
Alerted by Kaitlyn’s Instagram post, I’d checked the club’s CCTV, and spotted Lily and her friend waiting in line outside. I’m looking down from the top floor balcony when she makes her entrance.
She almost refuses to accept the cocktail I sent, but she’s easily swayed by her friend. And talking of swaying…
When Lily starts dancing, I grip the rail so tightly, my knuckles turn white. If it was some sort of glitch on Monday, it wasn’t a one off.
Her body moves like liquid gold in that dress, and the tits she’d been showing off in the photo her friend posted, bounce in time to the music. The thought of trailing my tongue between those two soft mounds as I fuck her almost has me self-combusting.
“What’s so special about Kaitlyn Dartmoor?”
I turn to the man who’s joined me. Calder Moncrief is wearing his trademark three-piece-suit with a tartan vest. Like his brother Rory, he’s proud of his Scottish roots.
The Moncriefs look like Celt warriors and although they’re not usually dangerous, they are powerful, which makes them good allies.
“I’m not interested in Kaitlyn,” I correct him without taking my eyes off Lily.
Calder leans over the balcony. “Ah, her friend in the gold dress. Nice,” he says, following my gaze. “I could still arrange VIP access if you want her up here.”
I drag my gaze away from Lily long enough to scan the exclusive third floor lounge until I find my brother.
Reid is relaxing on a couch with his arm around the blond on his lap while he talks to the brunette leaning on his shoulder.
He said he’d keep her warm for me. No, thank you. I’ve become a one-woman guy overnight.
“It’s a bit too crowded up here,” I explain.
“Scared Reid might steal Goldie away from you?” Calder asks.
I don’t like that he’s already given my girl a nickname when I haven’t chosen one myself yet.
And it damn well won’t be Goldie. As I tamper down my jealousy, it makes me all the more certain I made the right decision not to bring Lily up here.
I don’t need Reid witnessing my temporary insanity.
And I’m already starting to regret involving Calder.
“I’d just rather see how this one plays out without any of my brothers volunteering their opinions,” I admit. It’s bad enough that Maddie has already picked up the scent.
Calder laughs as he slaps me on the back. “I know that feeling,” he admits. “And on the subject of brothers, will I see you at Rory’s charity gala next weekend?”
“I believe I’m obliged to make a brief appearance,” I reply. “But if you need to make a quick exit on the night, please take me with you.”
“You can count on me. It’s not my scene either.” His gaze drifts back to the dance floor. “But speaking of quick exits, your girl’s on the move. And you’d better make yours soon because there are wolves circling. One of them might be me.”
“Fuck you, Cal,” I say as I spin on my heels.
“Fuck you too, Mace,” Calder replies, but I’m already disappearing into the shadows.
And it had been my intention to stay in the shadows, but Calder was right about wolves circling.
I position myself at the opposite end of the bar, back resting against a wall to keep my head low enough not to stand out while following Lily’s every move.
I see the two guys approaching before she does.
Lily really needs to improve her spatial awareness.
She’s waiting for the barman when the guy on her right starts chatting to her. He pulls her attention away from whatever the guy on the left is doing. I straighten up. It looks like a coordinated approach, and one that these guys are going to regret.
I position myself directly behind Lily, still far enough away that I can see exactly how much of a kicking these two creeps are going to deserve.
The barman pours three drinks into glasses filled with ice.
His attention is on Lily rather than the guy waving around his credit card.
Calder has trained his staff to identify and neutralize predatory behavior, and as much as I appreciate the care the barman’s showing Lily, she’s not his to protect.
An arm slides around her waist from the left, swiftly followed by another belonging to the guy on her right. Fuck me, did these guys just guarantee that their night won’t end well.
I step forward and grab each of the offending arms, pulling them off Lily in quick succession.
Instinct tells me they’re not the kind of men who would step up for a fight, and they quickly scurry away, muttering their apologies.
It’s not going to be enough, but as angry as I am, I can deal with them later.
I keep my gaze on the mirror behind the bar.
When my chest is only an inch away from Lily’s back, she looks up and her slate grey eyes widen. Fuck, she’s beautiful. She steals the air from my lungs as she inhales deeply, and I don’t take my eyes from her as I lean close enough for her auburn curls to tickle my cheek.
“Did you tell these men they could touch you, Lily?” I whisper in her ear.
Her wide eyes dart left then right. “What men?”
Her friends have vanished.
I place my hands on either side of the bar, caging her in.
The barman has stopped polishing his glass and meets my eye.
I nod once, and he turns away to deal with his other customers.
He knows who I am. Everyone who works here knows who I am, and they treat me with the respect a trusted friend of their boss deserves.
“As much as I like that answer,” I tell Lily. “I think we need to have another talk about your personal safety.”
She bites her lips. “Why? Am I in danger?”
No, but I might be. I widen my stance so she doesn’t realize the effect she’s having on me. I point at the three drinks that have been left on the bar, taking my focus away from my thickening cock.
“Today’s lesson is that we don’t accept drinks from creeps in a nightclub,” I begin, anger and frustration hardening my words. If something were to happen to her, I wouldn’t be responsible for my actions.
Lily ignores my growing agitation. “It’s an occupational hazard.”
“Only if your occupation is to get fucking drugged.”
“I saw the drink being poured in front of me,” she points out.
“You didn’t see who made the cocktail you were handed when you came in,” I remind her.
Her head turns slightly so she’s looking at my profile and not my reflection. “You watched me come in?” When I don’t answer, she tries another approach. “Those drinks were handed over by a server. I saw her ID.”
“And she was a woman, so of course you trusted her,” I add for clarification. “Psychos can have accomplices. I could have given her a uniform and sent her over to you. Do you see anyone else being handed free cocktails?”
She pulls her head back for a better look at my expression. Naturally, I give nothing away. “They were from you?”
“A slow-acting drug could be coursing through your veins as we speak,” I say. “I could be keeping my arms at either side of you just waiting for you to fall into me. I could be that fucked up.”
She swallows a lump in her throat. “Are you?”
I hesitate, unsure how truthful I should be. I opt for evasion. “I would never harm you, Lily. If I’m scaring you, I’m sorry. I just want you to be more careful in future.”
Lily relaxes enough to turn to face my reflection again. “So, you’re saying I’m not supposed to let anyone buy me a drink ever again?” Her hips wriggle as she talks, and I swear her ass is trying to connect with my hard-on.
“You had two guys surrounding you,” I remind her. “While one was talking to you, the other had plenty of opportunity to slip something into your drink. Have you ever seen a girl who’s been roofied?”
“I’m not stupid. I know what to look out for,” Lily says, continuing to argue. “And I hope you realize you’re victim blaming. Go deal with the assholes who spike our drinks. Don’t put all the responsibility on us!”
“Oh, believe me,” I say in a low, menacing voice, “if anyone else touches you, I’ll be dealing with them.” That shuts her up. And it leaves me almost speechless too. I’m already claiming her. My nose brushes against her ear. “I should make you mine.”
Her breath catches on an inhale. “I don’t even know your name.”
“No, you don’t,” I agree as I lift my gaze to the barman.
He isn’t looking at me, but he’s had me in his periphery so he comes over immediately. “What can I get you, Sir?”
I tip my head to the abandoned drinks. “Take those away and get me two fresh ones.”
As the barman sets to work, I brush my lips over Lily’s curls. I breathe her in deeply and taste the citrus notes of her shampoo.
“Is this a test?” Lily asks, eyeing the drinks the barman sets down in front of us.
“Might be,” I say. “Pick up the glass, Lily.”