“You got it, handsome.” Kitty starts collecting glasses and setting them on the bar quickly, putting together Drink Me Elixirs.
My stomach twists at the sight, and I try not to react. I don’t think I’ll drink another one again after what happened to me.
“Gracias, gatita.” Esteban slips her several hundreds and gathers all the glasses in his hands, managing to carry five at once. He winks at me and nods his head toward the man. “You’re up, mamacita. Just make sure he sees the women after I leave.”
I rub my lips together, bobbing my head, summoning my courage to follow through. I just have to stop thinking about it. It’s the only way I’m going to get shit done. Grabbing the glass of whiskey, I straighten my shoulders and strut toward the man.
I exhale a deep breath, lowering my voice, hopefully disguising it enough. “Hey, handsome,” I say, copying Kitty with her compliment. “The ladies over there bought you a drink. Are you alone tonight?”
The man tips his head up from his glass and looks at me, his face not lighting up like I expect from a man who just got hit on by a beautiful woman.
“Unfortunately, yes. My girlfriend dumped me.” The man swigs the rest of his whiskey and takes the one I offer him. “I had planned on proposing to her.”
Aw man. This is definitely going to be kicking a man when he’s down. I push through my awkwardness and lean in close, half hugging him. “Oh, handsome. It’s a good thing there’s a table of pretty ladies over there waiting to distract you.”
I peek over, watching Esteban slip away, disappearing into the crowd. Touching the man’s chin, I get him to follow my line of sight, where the women all lift their drinks with huge smiles on their faces. He chuckles, lightening up.
“See? It looks like they want your company. Why don’t you join them?” I hug him with one arm, quickly dropping the baggy into his pocket.
“You’re right. Fuck Trinity. All she wanted was my money, anyway. Ungrateful bitch calling the cops.” The man bangs his fist on the bar, his eyes glassy with intoxication. “I didn’t even hit her that hard.”
My eyes widen with his comment, my heart sinking to my stomach. I can’t believe I felt bad about this for even a second. He’s moping because he assaulted his girlfriend and is mad she stood up for herself and called for help.
“I’m sure you didn’t,” I bite out, struggling to keep my cool. I want this asshole out of here. I want him to know that shit guys deserve shit lives.
“Damn straight. I bet those ladies are ten times better too.” The guy stands up from the barstool.
I pat his back. “I know. They’re so hot. Go have fun. That’s what the Looking Glass is for. Forget reality and enter the world of your own desire.” I sound like an infomercial for the club, but in a way, I’m right. This has always been a place for people to come and ignore the world outside. If only I could do so now.
The man grins and holds up his glass of whiskey, whistling at the ladies in the booth. They all cheer, drunk and high on their excitement, and he manages to slide into the booth with them. It’ll be a rude awakening when they sober up and realize just how ugly the man truly is. Because no one with an attitude like his could ever be attractive.
“Mamacita, you did good. Look at that asshole. Even if you didn’t plant any Jabberwocky on him, he’d probably still try to force himself on one of those ladies. I can see it in his eyes. I’m good at reading people, and he’s a disgrace of a man.” Esteban materializes beside me, sliding his hand around my back, leaning in to whisper in my ear.
“You’re right. He’s an abuser. He deserves what he gets. I know men like him. They think they’re untouchable. And the police are useless when it comes to the victims. I’ve seen it.” Because a lot of shit goes down around me. At college. At clubs. I’m only safe because my dad owns this place, and I have his entire team watching my back.
Not many have that luxury.
“I’m glad you finally see it my way. It won’t be long. The woman to his right was only drinking water, so I slipped something in her drink. They’ll all know something is wrong and call for help.” Esteban squeezes my side, humming in my ear.
“You really thought this through, haven’t you?” Slipping the sober girl something is the surest way of getting her friends to notice. As for the rest of them, they could play it off as them drinking too much. It wouldn’t be the case if it was their designated driver.
Excitement blooms through me, heating my chest. I turn and hug Esteban, so thankful that he demanded to help me and wouldn’t let me be stubborn about it. His hand draws down my lower back, and he pulls me in closer, meeting my gaze. I bite my lip, his closeness, setting off my desire. So I kiss him. I mold my lips to his, wanting so badly to thank him in the best way I know how.
Tightening his arms around me, Esteban spins me slightly and sets me on the barstool, getting between my legs, ignoring the fact that the whole fucking club could watch us. I don’t even care. It excites me. And damn, he’s an amazing kisser. Our tongues graze together, dancing with our passion, set off by the thrill of the night. I comb my fingers through his hair, deepening our kiss, wishing that we could go somewhere private, so I could experience more of him. Because I’m so fucking tired of the bullshit. I just want to have a night of fun. I want a night to forget about everything.
“Take me to the car,” I murmur through kisses, reaching between us to rub my fingers over his hard-on. “I want to fuck you.”
Esteban groans against my lips, his breath warm against my mouth. He eases away, meeting my eyes again, studying my face as if he needs to see the truth of my words in my stare.
“Mamacita, we have to make sure things unfold as we intend.” Esteban tucks my hair behind my ear, leaning in to kiss me again. “Just give it a couple more minutes. Then we’ll really have something to celebrate.”
I scrunch my nose, wishing he had just given in to me with reckless abandon, the same recklessness I want to explore. I’m so tired of being restrained. I’m so tired of being the heiress of the St. Germain Empire. I just want to be invisible and free, and that’s how I feel right now. I don’t feel like me. I feel like some random party girl having the night of her life.
I stroke him harder, exploring the length of his desire. And damn, I almost forgot how big he is. I want to get on my knees for him and give him a better experience than the last time I had to kneel before him. “Are you sure we have to? If you don’t want to go to the car, there’s a storage closet by the bar we can go to.” The same one where I fucked Leandro.
“Stacia—”
“Natalia! Oh, my God. Natalia! Someone help us!” The scream rips over the music, cutting off Esteban.