TOBY
“We’re getting out of here,” Nico shouts in my ear. “You coming or what?”
“Is that a trick question? Hell yes, we’re coming.”
I watch as he steers Brianna toward the exit with his hands firmly on her hips.
“What’s going on?” Jodie asks, her dark chocolate eyes staring up at me with a lazy smile playing on her lips.
“They’re leaving. Do you wanna—”
“Yes,” she says enthusiastically. “Where are we going?”
“I’ll take you wherever you want to go, baby,” I growl in her ear.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re about to offer to take me to heaven?”
A deep laugh rumbles in my chest at her words.
“Again?” I quip, lifting a brow and shamelessly running my eyes down her body as memories of how it felt to sink inside her earlier assault me, making my dick swell.“If you beg, I could make it happen all night long.”
“Big words for a guy who’s not dragging me out the door.”
“Demon,” I hiss in her ear, delighting in the shudder that rips through my body as I grab the back of her neck and steal a quick kiss. “Let’s go, then. Heaven will only wait so long.”
Her laughter fills the air around us as we rush to catch up with the others.
The air turns bitter as we climb the stairs from the basement bar and soon, spray from the rain that’s pounding on the pavement splashes us.
“Oh my God,” Jodie cries when we emerge, the downpour soaking her white sheer blouse in seconds.
“If I’d brought a coat, I’d have offered it to you,” I tell her, letting her know just what a gentleman I could be if the situation were different.
“Quick, get in. We’re going to my place,” a familiar voice shouts over the rain, and when I look up, I find Brianna and Nico in the back of an Uber on the other side of the road.
“Come on, baby.” I grab Jodie’s hand to race across the street, but she doesn’t move. “What’s wrong?” I ask, looking down at her. Her hair is already sodden and sticking to her cheeks, her dark makeup making tracks down her face.
“No,” she says quietly like she’s talking to herself and not even aware that I’m here. “We’ll walk,” she suddenly shouts, before tugging on my hand and dragging me down the street.
The rain is relentless, but her steps don’t falter.
“Are you crazy?” I shout over the lashing rain.
“Yeah, probably.” Her hand slips from mine and she turns to face me, her arms out wide. “Doesn’t it make you feel alive?” she asks, a wide, honest smile on her face. As I look at her, something inside me loosens, and I can’t help but smile back at her.
She’s right.
“Come on,” she says, tugging her heels from her feet and taking off. “Bri only lives a few streets away,” she calls.
Shaking my head, my smile firmly in place, I run after her. Her manic laughter gets louder as I close in on her.
The second she’s in reaching distance, I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her off her feet.
She squeals in delight as I spin her around.
“Toby,” she screams until I stop and press her up against the building beside us.
Both our chests are heaving as we stare at each other.