Chapter 7: Zara
I looked around the bar. It was only nine o’clock, and the place was already insanely busy. The club had a really good thing going here. I understood from the others that the Dublin Falls chapter had a similar setup. With their live bands on the weekends, they made a killing. Seemed like the Hunters Creek chapter did too.
I was slowly learning about the businesses the club owned and how the members made their money. Each member had shares of all the businesses, with the one who was considered the manager getting a bigger percentage. They had the bar-slash-restaurant, a bakery, a construction company, a real estate agency, a new security company and a tattoo shop, as well as looking to maybe purchase the local spa. They were business moguls, in my opinion.
I sat at the table with Jessica on one side of me and Demon on the other. All the ladies had come out tonight, even the ready to pop, Madisen. She was due in two weeks. I thought by the look of her, she’d go early. Even pregnant, she was beautiful. All the ladies were. I felt good tonight about how I looked. I’d seen the look in Demon’s eye when he saw me earlier. The heat had almost caused my panties to melt. I was nervous about it, but I was going to move our relationship to the next level tonight. I wouldn’t know if we could make it until we did that, and I was dying to know what it was like to have sex with Demon.
He was a very experienced guy. He’d know a lot about sex and pleasuring a woman, and that made me sort of anxious. Would I be able to satisfy him? I had no doubts he could me. I guess time would tell. I prayed we weren’t making a mistake.
I hadn’t had sex in four years, and before that, I’d been with two other guys. Not a whole lot of experience to bring to the table. While I’d enjoyed sex, I’d never found it to be earth-shattering like some women claimed it was. That had made me think I might not be good at it or know enough to make it that way. Maybe that had been the reason that my relationship with Nathan ended. I shook those gloomy thoughts out of my head.
Tonight was about having fun, relaxing, and hopefully getting into bed with Demon. God, just the thought of that had my panties getting wet and my insides clenching. I held in a moan. I took a swallow of the mixed drink sitting in front of me. I had no idea what it was, but it tasted great. Madisen had been the one to order it for me.
A caress along the back of my neck made me shiver as lips grazed my ear. “Are you alright, honey?” Demon whispered to me. I nodded and looked at him. I ran my hand across the stubble on his jaw.
“I’m fine. Just wondering what is in this and how badly will it knock me on my ass when I stand up,” I lied. I didn’t want to tell him what I was really thinking. It would raise questions, and this wasn’t the place for those. I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to tell Demon about my past, but if we were going to have a relationship like he said he wanted, we’d have to at some point.
He looked at me searchingly for a minute. I could see in his eyes he wasn’t convinced I was telling the truth. I tried to distract him. “I want to dance. Will you be alright here?” I stood up. He gave me a slow nod. I smiled and headed toward the dance floor. I wanted to lose myself in the beat of the music. I found a spot and started to move. A moment or two later, the other ladies joined me, except Madisen. She stayed at the table and watched us with envy in her eyes.
Jessica danced closer to me.
She shouted in my ear so I could hear her over the loud music. “What’s bothering you, Zara? I know something is. Let me help.”
I shook my head. “I appreciate the offer, Jess, but it’s not anything anyone can help me with. I have to figure it out on my own. I just want to dance and forget for a while.” She reluctantly nodded, and we went back to our dancing.
The next hour or so passed uneventfully. We’d dance, stop for a brief rest, grab a drink, then get back to the floor. The guys stayed at the tables, drinking and talking. Every time I’d look, I’d find Demon had his eyes on me. Heat would flash through my body.
I noticed more than one woman in there watching the Warriors and practically drooling. I didn’t blame them. I knew some of them had to be drooling over Demon. It was hard not to. The guys acted like they were oblivious to it, or at least the married ones did. I saw some of the single ones sending looks back at some of the women that told them they were interested. A lot of hooking up was in the air before the night was over.
I was about to call for another break and use the bathroom when movement at the club’s tables caught my attention. I turned more to see what it was. I saw two women crowded up near Demon. They were smiling and flirting with him. I didn’t see him flirting back, but he was talking to them.
What the hell? Every time I looked at him, he had women hovering around him. They were definitely women guys would look at twice. These two seemed to be maybe in their mid-twenties. They were dressed to seduce in their tight denim skirts, high heels, and skimpy tops. Too much makeup and hairspray completed the look. They weren’t unattractive, just overdone.
I turned my back on them and went toward the hall where the bathrooms were. I locked the stall door and pulled down my pants. As I relieved my bladder, I tried to calm down. I shouldn’t be so upset. He’d had a life before me. He wasn’t doing anything with them. He was allowed to talk to people, even women.
When I was done, I pulled up my jeans, flushed, and opened the door. There stood Jessica with a concerned look on her face. I went to the sink to wash my hands. “You know he doesn’t want them, Zara. He’s into you. He can’t help it if women talk to him.”
I held up my hand to her. “I know, Jessica. I just need a minute. Please go back to the table. I’ll be there in a minute.” She shook her head, but she listened to me and left. Looking in the mirror, I could see the upset on my face. No way was I going to go back there and let him see me this way. I was going to do what I’d told Jess I was going to do—take a minute.
It was hot as hell in the bar with all the people in there and the heat on. When I exited the bathroom, I turned right and went to the end of the hall. There was an exit there. I’d step outside for a minute or two and cool off, figuratively and literally. Stepping outside, the much cooler temp took my breath away for a moment. Damn, maybe I should have stayed inside. The March air was still cold. It was below freezing some nights and the last frosts hadn’t passed yet.
I walked away from the building to pace around to keep warm. I could slowly feel my angst melting away. I was about to call it quits and go back inside when the back door was thrown open. Demon stalked out with an angry look on his face. When he saw me, he stomped straight toward me. What the hell? Why was he looking at me like that? I barely had time to blink before he was on me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and yanked me into his chest.
Demon:
I was looking toward the bathroom. Player had nudged me a few minutes ago and said she’d headed to the bathroom. I almost went after her, but then I saw Jessica go that way. Man, I hope like hell she hadn’t seen those two skanks who’d accosted me.
Darla and Nina had been a couple of barflies I’d hooked up with a few times. The last time was about six months ago. We’d had fun together, but nothing extraordinary, at least not on my part. They, however, seemed to want to repeat the experience.
When they’d come up and started in on their propositioning me, I’d been quick to cut them off. “Ladies, before you say anything else, I need to tell you, I’m not available. I have a woman. She’s up on the dance floor.”
They both gave me incredulous looks. Then they looked at each other and back to me. “Well, if you want, she can join us too. We know you’re man enough to handle all of us,” Darla said with a smirk. Fuck, couldn’t they take the hint? Why did women all think a guy couldn’t be faithful to a woman?
“I guess I didn’t make myself clear. I’m not interested. Ever. I only want one woman, and she’s not either of you. Sorry if that’s too much to hear, but it’s true. Why don’t you move along? There are plenty of other men for you to spend the night with.” They both harrumphed and then flounced off, shooting me pissed looks. I sighed in relief. That was when Player tapped me on the shoulder.
“Hey, man, just wanted to let you know, Zara went to the bathroom a minute or so ago.” I looked at the dance floor. She wasn’t there. Shit. As I waited for her and Jessica to return, I worked through my mind what I would tell her if she’d seen Darla and Nina. I knew other women set her off. I didn’t want her to be doubting me.
Jessica pulled out a chair next to me. I looked around but didn’t see Zara. “Where’s Zara? I thought she was in the bathroom with you?”