Chapter 27 #2
Von picked up the stack of hundreds that Joy hadn’t even noticed was sitting on his lap and peeled off half, sprinkling it over Mel in a delicate trickle.
Mel smirked while continuing her routine, then quirked a brow. Von licked his lips before picking up the rest of the stack and continuing the unhurried trickle over her until she was surrounded in a pile of hundreds.
Joy watched the interaction for a few more moments before Mel shifted away, returning to the pole and doing a series of intricate and smooth moves that created a beautiful routine.
When the song ended, she posed on the pole and blew a kiss before the lights went out completely.
The entire club erupted in applause and whistles.
Joy stood, smoothing her dress and April did the same.
Ace nudged Jovon lightly. “We heading back up.”
Jovon blinked once, like he was coming back to himself, then nodded and stood.
Back in the section, August and Jrue had swapped out dancers and Jovon ordered more bottles.
Joy moved to sit on the edge of the section but Ace’s hand on her arm guided her to a couch right in the middle.
Joy opened her mouth to protest, preferring to be off to the side and out the mix, until Ace silently pulled her down onto the couch beside him.
When she looked down over the railing, she discovered each entrance was perfectly visible from that angle.
She looked up at Ace who winked down at her before ordering refills of their drinks.
Joy pulled out her phone to text Mel, and found a message from her already waiting.
Mel: Not you partying with the Kings
Joy: Not intentional lol. They caught me at the door trying to sneak my knife in
Mel: Girl
Joy:
Joy: April is cool but I don’t know the rest of them like that
Mel: It definitely seemed like it to me. I was almost bucket naked and Ace’s eyes never left you
Joy: Von had enough eyes on you for the rest of us
Mel:
Joy: That’s what I thought
Joy: They have a section at the top. Come join us when you’ve changed.
Mel hearted the message and Joy returned her phone to her clutch.
Beside Ace on the couch, she bobbed her head to the music. She didn’t know the lyrics to most of the songs but she enjoyed the beat and let the rhythm carry her.
Joy was catching the vibe but her eyes kept moving, her head stayed on a swivel, keeping watch of what was going on around them as she’d been trained to do.
On occasion, Joy and Ace’s gazes collided as they both got caught conducting their scans. They shared a knowing grin before getting back to it.
When Mel finally made it to the section, Joy hopped up to greet her and introduce her to everyone.
They all exchanged greetings before April proposed a group round of shots, allowing no one to decline.
One shot turned to four and before Joy knew it, she’d ended up out of her own seat and in Ace’s lap. His breath fanned the back of her neck whenever he spoke and his hardness pressed into her whenever he shifted.
Joy didn’t know how she’d ended up there or why she felt so comfortable but she had no desire to move.
Mel caught Joy’s eyes and she could see the questions swimming in them. Joy had no answers. All she knew was she didn’t feel like fighting whatever they had tonight.
Instead, she leaned back into his chest and turned to speak into his ear.
“I thought you were mad at me,” she said.
Ace’s brow quirked. “Mad?”
Joy nodded. His arm tightened around her waist.
“Why would I be mad at you?”
Joy shrugged. “Because of… our conversation. Because I left.”
Ace chuckled “I’m not mad.” Leaning forward, he spoke directly into her ear. His lips grazed the shell of her ear as he spoke. “You can run all you want, Rose, I don’t mind chasing.”
“Why?”
“Because I know that having you as my prize once I catch you will be worth it.”
Joy faced him and the look swirling in his eyes could only be described as possessive and borderline crazed and maybe that made her crazy because she liked it.
That voice in her head, the thief of her happiness, reminded her that he’d made that promise under false pretenses. He didn’t truly know her.
She shooed that thought away. That was a sorrow for tomorrow. Joy smiled then leaned forward, kissing his cheek. The act was quick and tender.
Ace opened his mouth to speak but the song switched and April and Melody both squealed their delight.
“Come on Jo! This is my shit, let’s go dance!” Melody hollered, pulling Joy from Ace’s lap and snapping whatever tension was simmering between them.
Through the haze of the substances he’d partaken in throughout the night, Ace watched Joy from his spot in their section as she danced with April and Melody. All he saw was the cloud of tight coils that whipped as she moved her head to the music.
When she turned, Ace could see her rapping the lyrics back and forth with April like she wrote them, with a smile that made his heartbeat triple its rhythm.
She raised her arms and flung her wide hips, bouncing and whining to the music like an 2000s video vixen.
She was in her zone and all types of off beat, making Ace chuckle but he continued watching anyway, more enthralled with the show many feet away from him than any of the entertainers in the section vying to gain his attention.
When the song moved from the upbeat rap song to a more sensual vibe, Ace rose from his seat, ignoring the questioning glances from his brothers.
He moved through the crowded dance floor with laser focus, zeroed in on his target.
She was swaying to the rhythm, still off-beat, when Ace slid behind her wrapping his arms around her waist.
Joy didn’t startle or pull away. Instead, she turned around with a grin, as if she already knew who had joined her.
“You know you don't have no rhythm right?” Ace asked in her ear.
Joy laughed, throwing her head back. Ace had to bend his knees to align their bodies. “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Anybody looking for a professional can direct their attention to the stage.”
Ace chuckled at that.
The feel of Joy’s body pressed and writhing against his had him hot and he knew his erection was poking her through their clothes.
He’d never hidden his attraction to Joy but that night, he couldn’t even if he wanted to.
Her in that dress. Her big hair. Her soft skin.
Her sweet scent. Moving that body that arrested his mind. He was damn near feral.
“Let me help you out, Rose,” he proposed as he gained a firm grip on her.
Ace laid his hand flat against her stomach and applied light pressure guiding her body to rest flush against his.
Using his body and grasp on her hips, he directed her movements, slowing them down so she rode the correct beat.
He held onto her waist and ground his pelvis to meet her movements. Joy choked out a gasp of surprise but she didn’t protest, only continued letting Ace direct her in the way he wanted her to go. They moved together, a sensual dance that made both their breaths come heavier.
Ace inhaled deeply and his eyes almost rolled back in his head at her scent. Her perfume combined with the natural aroma of her skin, Ace could get high from her fragrance alone. He knew if he could find a way to bottle it up and sell it, he would make a fortune.
But he wouldn’t.
He’d keep it all to himself and put the traces of her in every space he owned.
He’d keep it in a vial around his neck so he could smell her with him all day long.
He would spritz it on his pillows and sheets so he could roll around in it.
Soak paper and fabric in it and hang it from the rear view mirror in all of his cars.
Turn it into a soap so he could smell her scent on his skin.
Mix it with wax so he could turn it into a candle and light it in his office on the nights he needed her presence.
God, he didn’t know what was wrong with him but the high he felt couldn’t just be coming from the blunts he’d inhaled. He’d smoked a thousand blunts in his lifetime and none of them made him feel like this.
He was levitating. Just having her close again was enough to both satiate the hunger and make him crave more.