Chapter Ten: A Taste
Naomi
“Wait a minute. You can’t leave until we talk,” Smoke called out to me.
I sighed. I had made it halfway across the parking lot. I should have known I wouldn’t be able to get away that easily. I slowed to a stop, one hand gripping the strap of my backpack slung over my shoulder.
When I turned around, he was closing in on me, frustration and concern battling for dominance on his face.
“Do we really have to do this now?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. He was too worked up to put this off. It was a shame. I felt mortified at being discovered like that, ready to bare my breasts to a crowd of men in a seedy strip club. Now, I had to confront that feeling and the opinion of a man I actually cared about. I had tried to leave before I had to talk to him, even lying to Duane about not feeling well, but it didn’t do any good. I wasn’t avoiding Smoke.
“Of course, we do. How could you not tell me you were a stripper? Did you think I’d never find out?”
“No, I just…” I wasn’t sure what to say. That I was embarrassed? That I was afraid of his judgment? “It’s not the easiest thing to explain.”
“Well, give it a shot.” He widened his stance and folded his arms across his chest.
It was a sign of stubbornness if I’d ever seen one. For some reason, it made me feel angry and defensive. “What the hell do you want me to say, Smoke?” I snapped. “That I have a kid at home to support? You already know that. I’m going to college, and I need a job with hours that work with that. My list of qualifications isn’t exactly a mile long.”
“There has to be another option. I don’t like this one bit.”
“Who the hell do you think you are? I don’t need you to like it. You don’t make my decisions for me.”
“I give a damn about you, Naomi. I don’t want other guys ogling you like they’re worthy of such a thing. That’s who I am. I don’t like knowing that other men see you like that.”
“Other men?” I repeated faintly.
“Yeah. No one else should get to see you like that. Just me.”
I suddenly felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. “Smoke…”
“I wasn’t expecting this, you know,” he said. “Not just seeing you on the stage, but feeling this way about it.”
I could see something close to vulnerability burning in his eyes. “What way?” I knew how I felt. Embarrassed. And I hated it. I shouldn’t have had to be ashamed about stripping. I was doing what I had to so I could provide for my son. I didn’t need to worry about being judged.
“I sure as hell didn’t like it. Those other men watching you, wanting you. Damn it, Naomi, I wanted to kick every ass in that room. Whatever it took to protect you from their eyes...their hands…”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I had thought he’d been judging me, but I was wrong. This was something different, something much more complicated.
He stepped closer to me, his eyes burning into mine.
I felt goosebumps break out over my skin as my body came alive. A warm yearning took root in my lower belly and seemed to spread all the way to the tips of my fingers and toes. I wanted him to touch me so badly that it was more like an all-consuming need, and I couldn’t make myself care about my reasons for resisting this, the logic I had come up with to deny him.
His hand caressed my cheek, and I leaned into it, feeling tingles erupting from the light touch and racing across my skin. I tilted my head back, opening up to him. I wasn’t going to pull away this time.
My eyes fluttered closed as he lowered his head, and a second later, his lips were pressed against mine. A devastating progression of lust swept through me, and that was before our mouths even parted. When he slipped his tongue inside of my mouth, I moaned, wrapping my arms around his neck, holding him close.
It was just as I imagined, and so different from how I remembered. We were different people now, and with the changes in our lives came a change in the fire that burned between us. The kiss didn’t last long, but it was perfect, and it left me wanting more.
But Gavin was waiting for me at home and I certainly couldn’t bring Smoke there to explore this attraction further. He pressed his forehead against my own, trying to catch his breath, and a curious feeling of pride erupted inside of my chest, making me want to puff it out, knowing I had this kind of an effect on him.
“I’ve got to go,” I said.
He nodded. “We’ll pick this conversation up later,” he promised.
Well, I intended to try to avoid that at all costs. I didn’t want to feel like I had to explain myself to anyone, not even him. I was an adult and I had been independent long before I even reached that status. I didn’t need someone else chiming in on my decisions.
“Be safe,” he said.
“I will,” I replied, giving his hand a squeeze before stepping away. I could feel his eyes on me as I walked to my car, and I felt something comforting about it, knowing he was watching over me.
This changed everything. No matter what I was afraid of happening, I couldn’t keep denying the feelings I had for him.