Chapter 7 #2
“Um, we probably need to be going now if we’re going to make our reservation on time,” she prompted. I raised a brow, just daring her to kick me out.
She dared.
“It’s time for you to go, Trick,” she snapped, giving up all pretense of polite conversation.
“Sure thing, babe,” I drawled, then shot another glare at her date.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I told her huskily, making a point to drop a kiss of my own on her cheek as I walked past her.
She jumped, startled at the sudden contact.
Before either one of them could say a word, I grabbed the ladder and left.
The ride back to the clubhouse was a blur as I stewed over the clusterfuck I’d just left behind. I’d spent weeks thinking about the damned woman, and there she was dating some other fucker without a care in the world.
I stormed into the common room and called out for a beer, letting my angry gaze roam over the usual Friday night crowd.
Joker and Skid had already scoped out their plaything for the night, as they crowded around a brunette who looked vaguely familiar. Lucky was flirting with Melina and DD was giving Ace a lap dance in the corner by the stage.
I ended up parking my ass on a stool at the bar with a bottle of my favorite beer and resumed watching the crowd.
Jag and Molly wandered in a little while later and joined me at the pool table with Bodhi.
Molly challenged us to a game, and I was just stupid enough to take her up on it.
Molly was a pool shark, as we’d learned on her very first visit to the clubhouse last year.
Half an hour later, and I’d lost twenty bucks – or rather, I had made a donation to her kindergarten classroom supply fund – as Molly referred to it.
She moved on to her next victim when Jagger brought over one of the regular clients from Rome’s tattoo shop to play against her.
Apparently, Jag was her pool hustling pimp now.
The new guy was tall, muscled, and covered almost head to toe in ink.
The only clear skin I could see was on his face and the backs of his hands.
He looked overly confident as he sized Molly up.
In her jeans, ponytail, and a T-shirt with her elementary school’s logo on it, she didn’t exactly look like a formidable opponent.
I settled back on a stool to watch the massacre I knew was about to happen just in case the guy decided to get nasty about losing.
I knew Jag would watch out for her, but it was my job to keep things under control in the clubhouse.
Besides, it would be funny as hell to watch sweet Molly hand this guy his ass.
By the time the guy was handing over his cash – forty dollars, because he clearly didn’t know when to quit – a crowd had gathered around to watch. Luckily, the guy accepted his loss with good humor, even tossing in another ten-dollar bill when Molly explained about her classroom fund.
Just as I was about to call it a night, a woman slid onto the empty bar stool next to me.
She leaned over to order a drink from the prospect, and I caught a glimpse of her long red hair as it brushed against her bare shoulder.
I whipped my head around so fast I got dizzy for a second, thinking it was Lauren.
It wasn’t.
However, the woman was beautiful and sexy – and judging by the seductive look she flashed my way – clearly interested in me.
I studied her for a moment, remembering how the aborted attempt at a blowjob from Melina last week had fizzled out, especially once I’d looked at her blonde hair.
This woman had possibilities, though. Her hair wasn’t quite the same as Lauren’s.
It was straight, with only a little curl at the ends, whereas Lauren’s was a mass of bouncy curls.
Lauren’s hair color was a blend of shades from copper to a more vibrant red, while this woman’s hair was a darker auburn.
Still, in the dim recesses of a darkened hallway, it might be close enough, especially when I reminded myself that the object of my obsession was out on a goddamned date with another man.
“You up for some fun, babe?”
Her smile widened , and she placed her hand high up on my thigh to balance herself as she leaned closer to answer, “Always.”
I grinned at her, then stood up and offered my hand before leading her across the common room and down the hallway toward the restrooms.
I stopped at the end of the darkened hall and pulled her close, turning and pressing her against the wall behind her. She gasped, then moaned as I moved closer, sliding my leg between her thighs as I used my body to hold her in place.
I ran one hand up and grasped her hair, tugging lightly and causing her to moan again.
“Aren’t we going up to your room, handsome?” Her voice was all wrong, and I dipped my head to press a kiss to her lips, mainly to get her to stop talking.
I almost sighed in relief as my cock twitched in my jeans, thankful the damned thing was finally showing at least a glimmer of interest in someone besides Lauren. I broke the kiss and pulled my fingers from her hair so that I could reach down and cup her ass instead.
That was all wrong, too. Instead of the lush curves that I instinctively knew would overflow my hands, I grasped bony hips.
I resolutely pushed Lauren out of my mind again. Hell, she was probably doing this very thing with Dustin the Douchebag right this minute, anyway. The very thought pissed me the hell off, and I grabbed the redhead’s hips again, a little rougher this time.
“Oh, yeah, baby,” she said, her voice thin and high pitched. Nothing at all like the throaty, sexy voice that had followed me into my dreams for weeks now.
Shit, there went the beginnings of my erection.
I dropped my hands and took a step back as if the woman were on fire. She reached for me, not realizing that I was no longer into this, if I had ever really been interested in the first place.
“Sorry, darlin’, I just remembered that I’m supposed to be someplace. I’ll catch you another time,” I said, the lie falling easily from my tongue.
I turned on my heel and stalked back down the hall toward the common room, ignoring the outraged screeching from behind me.
Unable to stomach the idea of another night spent in my room, I headed for the door.
The night air was still warm, although thankfully it wasn’t as humid as it had been earlier in the day.
Luckily, I’d only had two beers over the course of the last few hours, so I crossed the parking lot to my bike, and moments later, roared out through the gates.
Maybe a ride would clear my head. The idea of punching something sounded like a great idea, and since I couldn’t punch Lauren’s damned date I headed for the gym, taking the long way around town to get there.
Over three hours later, I dragged myself up the stairs at the clubhouse, still pissed the hell off.
My hands throbbed from the relentless workout I’d given the weight bag and my legs felt like they were filled with lead with each step I took.
I’d showered before I left the gym, so I just had to strip off my clothes before faceplanting on my mattress.
A deep sigh escaped me as I settled in, letting my exhaustion overtake me.
A vision of Lauren in her own bed, with another man curled around her, filled my head just as my eyes closed.
“Damn her,” I muttered into the dark, before punching my pillow a little harder than necessary to plump it under my head.