“You’re not wrong.” He gave a small nod. “It sucks that we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.”
“Well, it seems this time we don’t have to.”
He smiled. “True. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
And with that, he turned and walked away. Standing alone by my car, I watched as he met up with the other woman and placed a gentle hand on her lower back, leading her to a parked motorcycle.
It was a much nicer bike than the one he used to drive.
Was she his girlfriend?
White-hot jealousy flared inside of me, but of course, a guy like him wouldn’t be alone. What did I expect?
Then
“I restored it myself,” Josh said proudly. “What do you think?”
I raised an eyebrow at the old motorcycle, noting the rust he hadn’t quite managed to get rid of. “It’s cool. Is this your other move? Showing girls your sweet bike and hoping they swoon over you?”
“Maybe.” He grinned again.
As if on cue, a group of girls who’d been hanging out nearby moved closer. One of them, a tall voluptuous redhead with immaculate nails tapping on her half-filled red Solo cup, bravely stepped forward. She was wearing a bare-midriff top.
“I…like your motorcycle.” She practically purred, moving to block me from his view. “I think it’s sooooo cool you fixed it up yourself. You…must be very good…with your hands.”
The other girls giggled, and I rolled my eyes, unable to stop myself. Josh saw and laughed. “I am,” he said with a nod, swinging his leg over the bike so he could stand. “I’m great with the rest of my body, too.”
My heart sank. I should have known his interest would switch once somebody more interesting came along. It wasn’t like I was giving him much to work with, anyway.
“I bet you are,” the redhead said flirtatiously.
His eyes slid from hers to mine, and he stepped around her to come toward me. “If the bike doesn’t work for you, maybe my sweet dance moves might.” He winked, slipping his arm around my waist as he led me toward the house.
It was so hard to play it cool when I was literally swooning over him on the inside. His dismissal of the other girl took me completely by surprise, and I felt like I was floating on cloud nine. Like this couldn’t possibly be happening. Pinch me, I’m dreaming!
“Define ‘sweet dance moves.’” I couldn’t stop my smart mouth even if I tried. That line had been so cheesy, but he wasn’t.
Luckily for me, he didn’t seem to care. In fact, he seemed to kind of enjoy it. “It’s better if I show rather than tell.”
Inside, the music had been changed to something with a slower beat and several drunk and horny couples were taking full advantage. I tried to ignore the ones blatantly making out for everybody to see, which was easy since I couldn’t take my eyes off Josh.
Without warning, he pulled me close and began to move along with the music, leading me as he went. The ease in which he moved wasn’t what surprised me. No. What surprised me was how any nerves or self-consciousness I had went right out the window. I began to move with him, letting go of my inhibitions and allowing myself to enjoy the moment. When he took my hand, pulling me even closer, the nearness of his muscular body, the smell of him (leather and sandalwood) left me breathless and weak in the knees. I peered into his blue-green eyes, and I could have gotten lost in their depths. It was as if he saw me, the real me, and liked it.
Out of all the girls at the party, he could have his pick of any of them, and yet he was focused solely on me. Me. April Everly Dawson. It was intoxicating and incredibly flattering.
“This okay?” he asked in a low voice only I could hear.
I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s amazing.” It was. I could hardly breathe. But I couldn’t let him know that, of course. I had to keep my cool. He really did have sweet dance moves.
“Told you so.”
“See, now you ruined it.”
We both laughed because we knew I was full of shit. He hadn’t ruined anything.
Now
I returned to myself when I heard the roar of his motorcycle as his “companion” climbed on behind him. I watched her snuggling up against his back and wrapping her arms around his waist, her eyes closed with a happy smile spreading across her face. She was pretty. Okay, she was really pretty, and I was being petty. But damn. I didn’t have to like what I saw. It made my chest ache and… Realizing I was staring, I tore my gaze away and climbed into my car. It wasn’t until I was halfway home that the reality of the evening finally set in and panic started to rise in my chest.
There had been so much I’d prepared for when planning this job. Josh Varjak being Josh Vorn, the King of Staten Island, had certainly not been one of them. Neither was the way my stomach still fluttered when I saw his eyes, the way he looked at me. And the way he still made me feel.
“Get a hold of yourself,” I scolded out loud, my hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter than I probably should. “You have a job to do. You can’t get caught up in your unresolved feelings. You have to remember the story.”
The pep talk seemed to work. Finally able to push all thoughts of the party away, I focused on what I’d seen at the club tonight.
I was convinced more than ever that the Hell’s ran out of Sinner’s Lounge. I wasn’t sure if Marlene or Zahíno were part of it, but I suspected they were, especially Zahíno. Josh being the club leader would also explain why he was so hands-on with the business. If it were me, and my guys met at my popular club, I would want to make sure nothing went wrong while they were there.
As soon as I got home, I kicked out of my shoes and plopped down at my laptop. I needed to write down everything I saw and everybody I spoke to while it was fresh in my mind so I wouldn’t forget any details.
It was crazy and unrealistic to think everybody who worked at the club was involved with the MC. I doubted any of the dancers were. Maybe that Bella chick. She seemed too overprotective of having an “outsider” join the team. Josh’s girlfriend might be, too. If she even was his girlfriend. I wasn’t sure. I also couldn’t remember her name, and it dawned on me that we hadn’t been introduced yet. She might be a wonderful source of information, and I’d have to let go of that green monster of jealousy that had reared its ugly head. Honestly, it had been stupid.
If she knew anything of course.
Even as I typed, I could feel my eyelids begin to droop. The excitement and hard work of the evening had clearly gotten to me. I needed rest. Especially since I had to do it all again the following night. I got up from the table, taking off my clothes, and started removing the tassels and past—
What. The. Fuck?
My eyes were wide open now! Okay, why weren’t the pasties coming off? I thought they just peeled away from the skin like a Band-aid. Hell no they didn’t! It couldn’t possibly be that hard, but each time I yanked, it felt like I was ripping my freaking nipples off. I was practically in tears. Was there some kind of “insider” secret to evil pasties removal?
I think I’m gonna die. Are my nipples bleeding? Oh, God. I’m gonna have to Google this shit.