Except they’re not my friends, just colleagues, and they’re now upping bets on who can bag the redhead.
I glance back, but I can no longer see Eliana.
“Fuck,” I mutter, self-loathing coursing through me. I grab a twenty out of my wallet, then drop it on the table for a tip. To the guys, I say, “Gotta go.”
They wave and call farewells, but they couldn’t care less that I’m leaving.
I push my way through the crowd and out the door, looking left and then right.
There they are, half a block down. The man has his arm around her waist, supporting some of her weight. I wonder where he intends to take her, but it’s moot because I’m not going to let it happen.
The self-loathing I felt in the bar doesn’t have a damn thing to do with how long it took me to jump into action to save Eliana.
No… I hate that I’m actually going to do it because she doesn’t deserve my help.
But she doesn’t deserve to get raped either, that voice inside my head says.
It’s the voice that holds my moral compass, and I know I’m not going to let anything bad happen to her tonight.
Within moments, I’ve caught up to them and put myself in their path. Eliana is still cognizant enough to recognize me because she curls her lip in disdain. “Just fucking great.”
I don’t waste time exchanging nasty remarks. I nod at the man, who is surprised to see me there. “He spiked your drink in that bar. It’s why you feel the way you do.”
I’ve known Eliana for a long time, and she’s an incredibly sharp and strong-willed woman. Despite the drug warming her blood, her eyes clear and then narrow as they turn to face the man holding her elbow. She accepts what I said as truth because she knows me well enough to realize it would normally be a cold day in hell before I’d ever help her out.
As such, she gives full credence to my allegation.
Yanking her arm from the man, she hisses, “You bastard. You were going to rape me?”
“No,” he asserts in self-defense, glaring at me. “This guy is lying.”
Eliana looks at me, too disgusted to give me any credit, and then back to the man. “This guy is an asshole of epic proportions, but he’s not a liar. And if I had a knife on me right now, I’d slice your balls right off.”
The man pales over the iciness of her words. Hell, if he has half a brain, he can tell she means it.
I know she means it.
The guy mumbles something and takes off.
We watch until he disappears around a corner, then I turn back to Eliana. “You should be a little more vigilant in watching your drink when you’re at a bar,” I chastise.
“You can bite me, Ronan,” she snaps back as she hitches her briefcase higher over her shoulder.
She starts to turn away, but then she bends over with a tiny moan, hand going to her lower belly. “Oh, God.”
“What is it?” I ask, not concerned but not feeling like I can leave her here on the sidewalk.
“What did he poison me with?” she asks.
“Poison?” I bend over to catch her eye. “He probably dropped X in your drink.”
“I don’t feel right at all,” she gasps, trying to straighten up. Her hand rubs across her stomach, then her knuckles press against her breastbone.
Shit. I don’t want to get involved, but I find myself asking. “Where do you live?”
“Uptown,” she replies. “The Sapphire.”
“Come on,” I say gruffly, grabbing her hand. “I’ll make sure you get home okay.”
CHAPTER 3
Ronan
I know I’m in deep trouble the minute I get Eliana into an Uber. As I slide into the seat next to her, she throws her head back and starts to pant. The Uber driver takes off, and I watch as Eliana’s hand rubs at her stomach more, then moves up to her breast.
She reaches inside her open blouse and pinches a nipple.
“Christ,” I mutter, reaching over to pull her hand out.
“Stop,” she snaps, hand diving back inside her bra. Again, I can tell she’s rubbing her nipple with her index finger. “Something’s wrong, Ronan.”
“Yeah, you’ve been roofied,” I mutter.
The Uber driver jerks, shooting me a wide-eyed look in the rearview mirror. I glare back. “Not by me. By someone else.”
The driver’s eyes go back to the road.
I turn back to Eliana, but God help me, her hand is now between her legs. I can’t see what she’s doing under that skirt, but I know by the way her hips are circling that she’s probably two fingers deep in herself.
Shifting uncomfortably in my seat, I stare out the passenger window, trying to stop the thickening of my cock through sheer force of will.
Eliana groans deeply, and my head snaps her way. Her back is arched, hips lifted off the backseat, and I can tell she’s orgasming.
My traitorous cock swells to epic proportions.
Mercifully, Eliana slumps in the seat, drawing her hand from between her legs. With bleary eyes, she tries to smooth her skirt down while regaining her breath. The Uber driver and I exchange glances in the mirror, and I look out the window to see The Sapphire just half a block ahead, thank fuck.
“Oh no,” Eliana snarls in misery, and my attention jerks to her. She stares back, eyes wide with fear. “It’s starting again. What’s happening to me?”
The driver comes to a halt in front of The Sapphire, and I have to decide. It’s the fact that in all the years I’ve known and hated Eliana, I’ve never seen her scared of a single thing. She is the most fearless woman I know.
Her hand goes back under her skirt, but I grab her by the wrist, pulling it out. She makes a sound of protest, but I point out, “We’re here… at your place.”
“Oh,” she says, momentarily distracted, but then whatever is going on inside her body starts to heat up again. She gasps, trying to pull her wrist out of my grip, but acknowledging that she has to get out of public view. “I need to get inside.”
Quickly, I open the back door, slide out, and pull Eliana with me. She bobbles her briefcase, and I take it from her. Her legs are wobbly, so I let her lean against me, my free arm going around her waist.
Inside the lobby, we gather a few stares. She’s panting with need, and I haven’t the foggiest idea what to do with her other than dump her in her apartment and hope she has a lot of batteries and a vibrator handy.
The elevator doors open as soon as she hits the button, and we step inside. She taps the 27th floor, and the minute the doors slide closed, she jerks away from me with a groan. “Goddamn it,” she snarls. “I need to come again so bad.”
“Jesus,” I mutter as I try not to watch, but her hand dives under her skirt again. I see long legs, hand working hard, and it takes all my willpower to turn away. “What the fuck did he give you? I didn’t think ecstasy worked like that.”
“Maybe I’m more susceptible,” she rasps as her hips twist to rub against her hand.
“Apparently,” I murmur as I keep my eyes focused on the opposite wall.
Eliana lets out a low groan, the sound of her orgasming again, and I clench my teeth.
“Fuck,” she growls in irritation. “As soon as this passes, I’m going to go find that guy and cut his balls off.”