Chapter 15 Jade #2
When I look around, I notice that half the players are holding bottles of water. “The guys are okay with that?”
“Some of the younger lads get a little annoyed, but they know it’s for the best, and they respect Tieran enough to listen.”
Something in my chest lifts. I wonder if he realizes how much these men care about him—trust him.
Lottie grabs my hand, pulling me through the throngs of people to get to the kitchen, but the bar area is crowded with bodies, and we’re not having any success getting through.
“Maybe we should just wait until it empties over here?” I suggest.
She pouts. “Dammit all to hell, I really wanted a—” Her words are cut off as a corded, deeply tanned forearm snakes in between our bodies, holding a drink out to her.
“…Vodka soda.” We look over and see Cavan at the other end of the drink, his arm flexing slightly as Lottie takes it.
Before she can say anything, he’s walking away again.
She takes a sip of the beverage and looks over to where Cavan has retreated over to Myles and Tieran. “How did he know I wanted a vodka soda?” she muses.
I suspect I know why, but I’m not getting involved. I’m already too involved with the people on this team.
“Do you want another?” she asks, but I shake my head. I’m still nursing my first and have no intention of drinking more. Being here was already against my own rules; bringing more alcohol into it was not a wise move. “Let’s go join the others.”
She grabs my arm and starts dragging me toward a group of people in the far corner of the flat.
When we sidle up next to Cavan, he stiffens slightly, nodding when Lottie thanks him for her drink.
Myles stands behind Aanya, his arms wrapped around her stomach as he rests his head on the top of hers.
And on the opposite end is Tieran, and a beautiful redhead hanging on his arm and standing very close, laughing at something he just said.
A pang of annoyance hits me square in the gut.
“I’m going to come with you to the next match,” Aanya announces, drawing my attention away from the attractive couple. “It’s time I come support my man as much as he’s supported me.”
“I’ll be there too!” Lottie exclaims, pulling my friend into a hug as if they’ve known each other for years.
Aanya steps out of her hold, taking in her loud outfit and running a finger along the jewelry adorning her slim neck. “I love your necklace”
“Thank you! I made them, actually. This one is—”
The redhead laughs again, resting her palm against Tieran’s chest. He smiles down at her, and it makes something inside me wither. He deserves someone he can be with out in the open, someone who can appreciate him fully, and that can’t be me.
Another laugh scrapes against my skull like nails on a chalkboard.
I shouldn’t be here. If Chapman got wind I attended a party at the home of a player, he’d find a way to use it against me. I’m sure of it.
Taking a cue from the Irish, I decide to slip out undetected. I briefly tell Aanya and Lottie I’m going to use the restroom. The lie rolls off my tongue easily, but I know if I tell them I’m going to leave, they’ll try to get me to stay.
I can’t have Tieran, but I don’t want to watch someone else crack on with him either.
The night air is balmy as I slip out of the flat onto the street, heading toward my side of town. I’ve only made it halfway down the street when someone falls into step next to me.
“Nice night,” Tieran observes.
“Go back to the party, Tieran.”
“I think I’ll walk. I could use the fresh air.” He shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, walking alongside me.
“Is there anything I can say to get you to go back?” My attempts are futile. I know that once he’s decided on something, he goes after it with singular focus. It’s why he’s such a force on the pitch.
“No can do, boss. It would be unwise of me to let you walk home alone wearing that dress.” I look over at him, and he makes no move to hide his obvious perusal. My stomach tightens, and I’m suddenly glad for my skimpy dress, enjoying the admiration from him.
We’re both quiet; the only sound is my heels clicking against the pavement as we turn onto the high street littered with shops, bars, and people milling about.
“Did you have fun the other night?” Tieran asks, finally breaking the silence.
I glance over, hesitant to answer, afraid it might say too much. But I’m weak, and the words are coming out, unbidden. “I never want to do it again…” His face falls slightly. “But,” a glimmer of hope straightens his shoulders, “yes, I had fun.”
He holds his hand up to his head, cupping his ear. “What?” I say.
“I’m just waiting for you to say I was right,” he gloats.
“You’ll be waiting a long time, then.”
“I’m a patient man.” There’s an insinuation to his words that makes me flush with heat.
I look over at him and his blue eyes are glowing under the lamppost lights. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to your friend?”
“Who?”
“Red hair, leggy, sumptuous curves.”
“I certainly could. She made it clear the invitation was open.”
Jealousy ignites as we pass through a crosswalk. “What are you doing here then?”
“I guess I’m a martyr for wanting what I can’t have.” His brazen admission makes me stumble on my heels as he reaches out, steadying me with hands on my waist. “Careful, Hellfire. I’d love to hear your whinging if I had to carry you all the way home.”
We’re standing in the middle of the road, his hands on my waist, bright blue eyes suddenly serious as they peer into mine. The eye contact is intense—charged with a tension so palpable, I can feel it coursing under my skin.
A car horn blares, causing me to jump and step out of his grip as I scurry to get out of the road, Tieran hot on my heels.
“I’ll be fine on my own.” He needs to stop following me, stop texting me, stop doing things that make it really difficult to dislike him.
Tieran Stone is poisoning my bloodstream, and I don’t know how to rid myself of him.
He is…everywhere—at work, on my phone, on my mind—his presence makes me feel electric whenever he’s around.
I feel a sprinkle land on my skin, and I glance up at the clear evening sky. Must have been condensation from someone’s air-con.
“I know you feel this too,” he says.
I round on him, because dammit, he’s right.
I do feel it—this inconvenient, all-consuming attraction to him.
He’s peering down at me, skin paler under the moonlight, contrasting against his black shirt, dark hair falling into his hopeful face, a chain around his neck that I want to use to pull his face down to mine.
“You’re about to feel my foot up your ass. ”
I turn and start to quickly walk away, but he grabs my arm, spinning me around to face him. “Jade.”
“Don’t.”
He takes a step towards me. I take a step back, and he follows.
Tieran is corralling me toward a shop window when Mother Nature decides to have my back and the skies open up, chucking down rain.
“Fuck,” I exclaim.
Tieran grabs my hand, pulling me away from the wall. “Come on. We’ll pop into the next bar and get a drink—wait out the rain.”
I don’t argue, because the slight rain has turned into a torrential downpour, already soaking my clothes and skin.
As water fills the street, it becomes slick beneath me, causing me to slip in my heels.
Tieran tightens his grip on my hand, and before I know it, he’s guiding us into the first place we see called Stag & Vixen.
The bouncer at the door takes pity on us, waving us through to walk down a long hallway lined in burgundy velvet, floor to ceiling curtains.
What kind of bar is this? The hairs on my neck lift and Tieran takes off his jacket, draping it over my shoulders to ward off the goosebumps that erupted across my skin.
Pulsing bass thumps through the walls, and when we make it to the threshold of the main room, I stop dead in my tracks.
We haven’t come into a bar at all.
We walked right into the den of a sex club.