Right before I step out into the hall, I turn and glance at her. Jade eyes bulge as she looks at the tip, and I almost laugh. She stares over at me, her mouth agape, and I feel a twitch in my pants. All I can say is, “You look gorgeous in that dress.”
Before she can process, I head down the hallway toward the dance floor, looking for Leah. I want to make sure that she knows the club is hers. I’m out. Dylan gives me a nod, and I wave at him, knowing he’s got the entertainment under control. Ethan’s at the door, looking tough, though I can tell from here, he’s screwing around with the guy trying to get in. Carter’s behind the bar, and the waitresses on the floor are more than capable of getting us through the night.
“See ya, Leah,” I say, deciding now isn’t the time to tell her about Marco. Why ruin what’s left of her evening?
She’s standing behind the bar looking at a report. “You going to bed?”
I nod. “Headache.” I salute her, and she grins at me, saying she hopes I feel better.
Walking through the employee area, I see a few other familiar faces, waitresses on breaks, and other people switching shifts. I bid them goodnight and head to my room off of the office in the back of the club.
Closing the door, I thank God for soundproofing and head to the bathroom. I turn the water on in the shower to heat up, and down a couple of Tylenol, hoping it helps my throbbing head. But the more my thoughts return to Meg, the more my other head begins to throb.
The warm water helps relieve some of the tension I’m carrying in my muscles responsible for at least part of the pounding in my head. I wash my hair quickly, then rinse and get out, drying off. Going to the mirror to brush my teeth, I think about Velasco’s face when Meg told him to secure a place in the reality sector. She’s so fucking clever. To see her politely discuss business with a guy like the Raven is just a further reminder of what a treasure she really is.
With my headache dissipating a bit, I head to bed, Meg’s face lingering in my mind’s eye. The way that dress accented her breasts, hugged her waist, and fell halfway down her muscular thighs has me physically reacting beneath my towel, and I know I can no longer fight off the feelings I have for her—not in the solitude of my own bedroom, anyway.
Lying down on my bed, I let my mind run wild. I see her in here with me, my hands roaming her body, my mouth tasting those ruby lips of hers. She moans slightly into my mouth as I tug down her dress.
I watch her strip, taking her time, teasing me, and in reality, my hands find their way to my hardness. I take hold of my dick with one hand, my other hand cupping my balls as I think about what it would be like for her to slowly slide out of her bra, her pink nipples hard and ready for my mouth.
In a lacy thong, she’d slide to the floor, taking me in her hand, staring up at me with those wide eyes as her tongue darts out and circles my head, lapping a drop of precome off of it. Then she’d wrap those lips around my length, taking me fully into her sweet, warm mouth. Her hand is on my balls as she opens wide, letting me explore the back of her throat.
I can’t help it as I pick up speed, all the while imagining it’s Meg’s mouth I’m thrusting into. When I finally release, I find myself panting, a sheen of sweat covering my skin and a sense of loneliness settling over me like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
Without even bothering to clean up right away, I stare at the ceiling, trying to convince myself that I can’t let this happen again. I can’t keep thinking about Meg, like being with her is an option. It’s simply not.
But accepting that fact is beginning to feel a lot like knowing I’ll have to live the rest of my life without air. Both analogies are impossible and are equally as likely to kill me.
CHAPTER14
MEGHAN
Three thousand dollars.
Who tips three thousand dollars? Apparently, Hunter Stone does. It’s been two days since he asked me to wait on that table in the back of the club, the one that introduced me to the Raven, who is yet another crime lord, from what I could gather. I had been trying my best not to listen to the conversation, but it was hard when Hunter was talking in secret code about their operations, and my brain felt the challenge of trying to decipher what they meant, even though I knew it was in my best interest to not only play dumb, but be dumb.
Nevertheless, I’d gone and opened my mouth and said something stupid. I’m just glad the Raven was a lot more of an understanding guy than his name might imply. We actually ended up having a decent conversation. When he first started asking me questions about my opinion on different aspects of business, I thought he was doing it to get back at me, to make fun of me with his other muscle-bound business associates, but then, when I actually started talking to him about it, he seemed to respect what I was saying.
It had almost been like talking to someone at a party or an acquaintance at a get-together. We had a decent time chatting to one another and left the situation amicably—him thinking I wasn’t just a dumb broad and me thinking perhaps I didn’t need to be worried about him taking a hit out on me.
My reflection in the mirror tells me I’m looking pretty good this afternoon. I finish with my eyes and run some lipstick over my lips before I give my hair one more fluff and head out. I am taking a detour to the bank before work, and since the bank closes at 5:00 and work starts at 9:00, I will have some time to kill. I contemplate going back to the café I visited the other day for my birthday, but that seems more like a lunch sort of place, so I think I might try another restaurant nearby…
I almost run into Mrs. Woodside as I’m turning the corner to head down the stairs. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” I say, reaching out to steady her so she doesn’t fall. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes, dear, I’m fine,” she says with a smile and a chuckle. “Takes more than a little near-collision to knock this old lady off her game. You look pretty, dear. Where are you going?”
I look down and check my outfit. Since I’m going to the bank, too, I don’t want to wear anything too revealing, so I have on a black skirt that hits mid-thigh and a red button-down, short-sleeved shirt that I can tie up later if I need the tips. “To the bank. And work,” I say.
“Shouldn’t you be laughing then?” she asks, and I give her a puzzled look. “You know the saying ‘laughing all the way to the bank’?” That makes her laugh, and even though I’m not sure what she’s talking about, I laugh, too.
“Right, right.” I do like talking to her, but some of her references are from another era and go over my head.
“Say, I heard that we’re all going to be able to keep our current rent. I got a letter in the mail the other day. Isn’t that lovely?” She pats my arm, and I can tell she’s feeling relieved.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” I tell her. I haven’t checked my mail recently. It’s usually just bills. But I’m so glad Hunter did that. “Well, you have a good evening, Mrs. Woodside.”
“You, too, dear. And I hope you make lots of tips tonight!”