Chapter Twelve
By 9:00 p.m. the party had turned from a casual gathering to blaring music, flowing drinks and plenty of bumping and grinding. Families had gone home, Macy was picked up by her aunt and Chelsea had forfeited the rest of the party to take Harlyn and Jayla to her and Op’s room for bed.
I knew she was running low on energy, her usual smile had started to fade earlier, so it was probably best she get some rest.
Op was in and out, spending time with his brothers and checking on her and the girls.
There was a mixture of music filtering through the large speakers out to where the fire pit was set up.
Kat had gotten off her shift at X-Rated early, and we were currently dancing on the patio toLaylaby Eric Clapton. Kev was standing behind me, one hand on my hips as they swayed back and forth, the other holding a beer. None of the boys were much into dancing, but if it involved rubbing up against one of the girls, they gave it a go.
“Fancy seeing you here,” Tally called over the music as he stepped up to Kat.
She smiled softly, almost shyly, a rare emotion I’d had yet to see from the queen of sarcasm. “Hey, Tally. I wondered if you’d be around.”
He smirked. “And miss a chance to see this again,” he said, reaching out to her waist and pulling her body against him. She fell against his chest and they began to move to the music, blocking out everything around them.
I turned my head to the side. “They have a thing?” I asked Kev. His hand slipped around my waist as he rested his head down on my shoulder.
“I don’t know if you’d call it a thing. But every time the boys are in town, those two seem to be connected at the hip,” he explained.
I laughed. “Kev. That’s what I would call a thing.”
He chuckled. “Okay, then yes, they have a thing.”
Huh, interesting.
Seeing Kat so smitten and not her confident self was strange and almost sweet.
My eyes drifted past them and connecting with Leo’s as he sat atop one of the picnic tables across the other side of the fire. His feet resting on the seat and a beer bottle hanging from his fingers. Kaylene, another club girl, sat perched next to him, her hand on his thigh as she laughed and chatted with someone beside her.
His eyes stayed on me, though.
The fire gave his face a soft glow. Matched with the intense look in his eyes, he almost looked dangerous.
He was dangerous. The way he looked out for his family. The way he treated Macy. How he touched me, spoke to me, felt inside me, it was all dangerous because it was making me want him more than ever. And that wasn’t why I was here.
Kev’s hand moved up my body, the front of his pants pressing snuggly against my ass. He gripped my breast in his hand, kneading it through my shirt. Our bodies continued to move to the rhythm of the music as his lips found my neck.
My eyes stayed on Leo.
His beer bottle was now clenched tightly in his fist. I was afraid it might explode if he squeezed in any tighter.
I tried to block out the way Kev was teasing my body. Usually, I’d be all for the sexy dance and erotic touching. But the problem was, it felt nothing like Leo’s touch. His had set my body on fire, and I’d gone up in flames. I wanted that burn, that inescapable heat.
I felt like he knew it too. He never looked away, his gaze only becoming more furious. Like he knew that I wished it was him, but that neither of us could do a single thing about it.
I was a club girl.
The boys didn’t fight over us, and I couldn’t say no simply because I was pining over another one of the men. Shit like that caused problems, and it got girls thrown out. These guys didn’t put up with jealous women trying to play games with the members.
Suddenly, there was a body standing in front of me. Kev’s hand quickly moved away from my breast. At first, I wondered why then I realized it was out of respect.
“Hi, I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Harmony,” she said with a knowing smile.
I smiled back, standing a little straighter. “Hi, I’m Hadley.”
Harmony was an Old Lady, a president’s Old Lady no less, so I gave her the respect she deserved.