Chapter 16 Tieran #2
I can’t help but grin before I bring my drink to my mouth, never letting go of her stare, hoping to rile her up.
Only, she doesn’t look away like I think she will.
Instead, she uncrosses her legs, leaning closer to me as she reaches forward, and grabs her cocktail, downing the rest of her martini.
My body tenses in anticipation when she holds eye contact, seductively curling her tongue around the speared olives before closing her mouth and slowly pulling the short skewer out from between her full lips.
Shite, now I’m hard.
“I—” I stumble on my words when a loud gasp from the stage pulls our attention, finally forcing us to break eye contact.
Based on the show, this is no longer a performance, and the dancers appear to be getting just as aroused as their subjects. All around us, patrons shift—hands slip under tables, lips find necks, and some couples get up to find somewhere more private.
On the stage, hands roam south, pinching and caressing as lips find skin.
The man is very clearly turned on, indicated by the tenting in his pants as his dancer grinds against him, and his date looks like she’s about to combust as the male dancer settles in front of her, inching his hand higher up her skirt.
Their faces are screwed up in pleasure, begging for more—begging for the performers to take them to the brink.
Gasps turn to outright moans as hands find their marks and—
Black silk curtains the length of a rugby pitch drop from the ceiling, carrying with them aerialists wearing nothing but leather body harnesses.
The floor length fabric completely obstructs our view before we see too much—though that doesn’t stop us from hearing it.
Sex permeates the room around us, and that, in combination with the woman sitting next to me in the sexiest dress I’ve ever seen, makes my skin pull taut.
Soft murmurs devolve around the room as everyone is released from our trances, now watching the aerialists climbing the silks and putting on their own, less erotic show.
A moment later, a man in black dress pants and white button up approaches our table, offering his hand to Jade in invitation, angling his head toward the back hall. My hackles rise.
“Wanna go have some fun?” he asks, like I’m not sitting right fucking here.
I white knuckle my glass, pushing the whisky in my mouth through my teeth like a sieve before I swallow. “Remove your hand from her airspace before you leave here without one.”
The man arches a brow at Jade, as if to ask, does he own you, before she shakes her head, and he walks away rejected.
The air around us grows taut with tension. “What the fuck was that?”
My jaw aches from clenching it so tightly, to keep myself from saying what’s on the tip of my tongue.
“Answer me.” Her voice is firm, authoritative.
“You’re not my boss here,” I bite back.
Jade looks long at me before abruptly standing, striding away from the table.
Fuck.
I race after her through the cavernous room, weaving past servers, dancers, and at least two people wedged into a dark corner, bringing each other pleasure.
“Jade,” I call after her. She’s several feet in front of me, walking surprisingly fast for someone balancing on shoes with five inch toothpicks. “Jade,” I say again.
Her only response is throwing up the middle finger right before she turns down the hallway. Surely, she doesn’t realise what’s down that tunnel, or she wouldn’t have gone this way.
Like an obsessed puppy, I follow her.
“I don’t think you want to go down here.” I shove my hands in my pockets as I close in on her. There’s only so far she can get down this hallway before she has to double back to exit.
She whips around, losing her balance in those deathtrap heels. I brace my hand on her waist helping to stabilize her, but she swats my hand away. “Why do you seem to think you’re the authority on what I want, Stone?”
She’s using my last name because she thinks it offers some sort of separation—all it does is make me hard.
My gaze darts down to her vicious lips; the words flying out of them are meant to cut me down to size, but something about being around her makes me feel ten feet tall.
“Stop staring at me like that,” she bites, jaw clenched.
“But you’re so lovely when you’re yelling at me.” The smirk curling the corner of my mouth makes her eye twitch.
“You’re insufferable.” Frustration is etched on her face. Because of me, or because of what she feels for me, I can’t be sure.
“Yeah, well, so are you,” I volley. “But you’re also gorgeous. It’s very conflicting for me.” My shoulders lift and drop in a shrug.
Her eyes roll so hard, they’re almost all white before she turns, going deeper down the dark hall lined with brocade wallpaper.
“Jade.” She continues to ignore me. “Come on, the rain’s probably stopped. I’ll walk you home.”
“Or, you can walk straight into the Thames,” she volleys, never turning to look at me. “You can go. I’ll get myself home when I’m ready.”
“Like hell I’m leaving you here alone.”
“I can handle myself. I’ve been doing it my whole life. I’m actually really good at it.”
I sigh. “Fuck. I know that. I know you can. You’re the most formidable person I’ve ever met, Jade. But I’m still not leaving you here or letting you walk home alone.”
“I’m not giving you a choice, Tieran.” Abruptly, she turns to an unmarked door, trying the handle. It opens under her touch; she tries to slip in and shut the door on me, but I wedge my foot in before it closes, following her into the dark.