“God, you’re wet,” he said. The tone of his voice revealed just how excited the idea made him. “You promised me a taste of this the other day.”
“Yes.” All pretense or reluctance flew out the window. She wanted his mouth on her now. “You’re killing me here, Jack.”
With a growl, he pressed against her, leaning her back. His fingers moved faster and faster, stroking and circling. Pain or something akin to it but much more pleasurable radiated through her belly and down her limbs. She writhed against his hand, looking for relief and finding none. His mouth took hers again, and set her adrift in a tempest of sensation.
“Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you,” he ordered, his voice edged with steel.
“I want you — down there — inside me.” The words tumbled over of her lips, her breath ragged and uneven. I can’t take it anymore, she thought in a panic, and struggled against him. Twisting and pushing, she tried to try to tear away his hand. He grabbed both of her wrists in his and trapped them between his chest and hers.
Hearing the panic in her voice, he stopped and moved back a little to see her face. Her breath came in deep gulps. She struggled between the urge to run away and to beg him for more.
“You were almost there, baby,” he said in a soft voice. His eyes are warm and liquid and heated. “What are you so afraid of?”
“I – I don’t know,” she whispered. “I feel so out of control with you.”
He grinned and nodded. “That’s exactly the way you’re supposed to feel. Like you’re riding on a wave and you have no idea what will happen on the other side. Just let go and enjoy it.” He lowered his hand back to her sex and stroked it lightly, sending shivers of pleasure through her. “Trust me, Ally.”
“Alright.” Her voice, small and quiet and reluctant, sounded like it belonged to someone else.
“Let’s try something else.” He scooped her off his lap, set her back onto the chair, and knelt between her parted thighs. Before she knew what happened, he tilted her back in the chair and hooked her knees over his shoulders so that her calves rested on his back. With two fingers, he lifted the hem of her dress and peeked beneath it. “Mmmm...I can hardly wait to taste you, Allegra.”
Every time he said her name, desire flooded through her veins in a scorching hot rush. He raised an eyebrow in question, brown eyes turned black as onyx. She squirmed in anticipation as he kissed along the inside of her thigh then slid his nose up and down her sex. The feel of his lips on tender skin combined with the motions of his tongue removed every last coherent thought from her brain. She buried her fingers in his hair the way she had fantasized about so many times. She was beyond herself now, her control tattered and shredded on the battlefield. He slid a finger inside her and she contracted around it, legs jerking and quivering, a cry of surprise yanked from her lips. She tried to squeeze her thighs together but he held them apart, forcing her to feel the sensations. He paused only long enough to let the shaking subside before he began again and she dissolved into a spiraling release.
“Jack? Jack!” A heavy pounding on the door preceded Randy’s rough voice. “Jack, we need you out here, man. There’s some shit about to go down.”
The interruption brought Ally back to reality with a rude jolt. Jack looked up from her lap, eyes twinkling, one eyebrow raised, and his hair in adorable disarray from her clenching hands. Words escaped her as she struggled to gather her wits and regain her breath. He’d stripped every shred of coherent thought from her mind with his nimble tongue and agile fingers. Every ounce of self-control had dissipated. She could do nothing more than lie back in the chair and stare at him.
“Ally?” Very gently, he shrugged out from underneath her legs and pulled the hem of her dress down to cover her. With a satisfied smile, he leaned up to kiss her forehead. “Ally?”
“Hells bells,” she said then shook her head to clear the cobwebs. “I think I might have lost a couple of IQ points.” The tingling in her arms and legs made it impossible to do more than sprawl in the chair and gape like a fool.
He broke into a belly laugh. “Good. Just trying to level out the playing field.”
Randy pounded on the door again, his voice tinged with aggravation. “Jack! Dude! I’m not kidding.”
“Hold your fucking horses, man. I’m on my way.” He shrugged on his shirt then scooped her panties off the floor and flipped them at her like a sling shot. They hit her on the chest and slid down to her lap. “I’m not through with you, but we’ll have to finish this later. I’ve got to see what’s up.”
Jack and Ally had been in the back room less than an hour, but in that time the crush of people had thinned and most of the younger preppy crowd had left. Dystopia, a competitor’s club on the upscale north side of town, had the audacity to bring in Cerebral Whiplash as a surprise featured band. While Jack had been successful in stealing away part of Dystopia’s patrons with a few well-placed radio spots and some posters, the strategy hadn’t been enough to keep them throughout the night. Like rats on a sinking ship, they’d hit the door of Felony as soon as Cerebral Whiplash took the stage across town. He’d gambled with the few precious marketing dollars available and it had paid off, however briefly, but not enough to bolster his dwindling bank account. The reality of the situation stung enough to dampen the residual euphoria from his hook up with Ally.
On impulse, he put his hand on the small of her back to reassure himself that she was still there. She turned to look up at him with an almost imperceptible smile on her lips. The girl had her emotions on lockdown; he’d have to give her that. While her face remained expressionless, those enormous green eyes glowed with a surprising heat that sent a shockwave of lust straight down to his groin. God help him, he had to have her again — for real — in a bed. This time he’d have her on her hands and knees with that pretty little bottom in the air and pound her until she screamed with ecstasy...
“Dude, did you hear what I said?” Randy snapped his fingers in front of Jack’s eyes with irritation. “Earth to Jack. We’ve got a situation here, man. Put that thing on a leash, would you?”
“You think you could find somewhere else to stay tonight and maybe get her friend a ride home?” Jack asked, lips pursed in introspection as Ally moved away from his hand and the short hem of her dress swirled around the slender thighs where he’d been just a few minutes earlier. He could still taste her.
Randy forced his attention away from the situation at hand long enough to take a long look at Karly. “She’s a little hottie. Like a sexed up Smurf. Except she’s not blue.”
“Do not fuck her.” Jack snapped back to attention when he saw the gleam in Randy’s gray eyes. “They’re best friends. It could be awkward when you dump her and run.”
“So who died and put you on penis patrol? I don’t tell you who you can sleep with and who you can’t.” Randy sniffed and swelled up like an angry lion.
“Now who’s full of shit?”
“Dude!” Randy shook his head and nodded toward the gathering crowd of patrons near the dance floor. “We can debate this later.”
“Uhm, sorry.” With an apologetic shrug, Jack scrubbed his hands over his face to rein in his imagination and turned to Randy with a glower. “So what’s so frigging important?”
“Two assholes at twelve o’clock, one with flames on his leather jacket and the other in the football jersey.” Randy nodded toward a cluster of people a few yards in front of them. The guy with the leather jacket looked vaguely familiar and after a few seconds Jack recognized him as the guy at Chelsea’s crack house. “Word on the street is that the leather jacket guy is packing heat. The dude in the jersey made some comment about Leather Jacket’s girl and it was on from there.”
“Who the hell wears a leather jacket in this heat?” Jack muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“Leather Jacket’s got his posse with him. Eight that I know of for sure.” Randy nodded toward the group of rough, bedraggled young men gathered a few paces behind
Leather Jacket. They stood tense and uneasy, hands clenching and unclenching at their sides, in readiness. “They’re going to throw down any minute.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Jack rubbed an absent-minded hand across his abdomen, fingers tracing the ripples of muscle. With a sniff, he drew himself up, squared his shoulders, and rolled his head on his shoulders to loosen up.
The last thing he needed was a brawl on his hands. He cast a glance in Ally’s direction to find her barstool deserted and hoped that she’d gone off to find her friend. Probably just as well if she wasn’t around for what might happen next. With Randy’s help, he’d managed to cut the number of altercations in half over the past few months, but the threat remained as long as assholes like Leather Jacket continued to show up. Physical aggression was an unpleasant side effect of heavy metal music mixed with the ungodly July heat and the bar’s location on the rough side of the city. And the combination of metal heads and bikers was an unnatural mix. There was nothing he could do except put the word out that violence would no longer be tolerated and he was dying to make an example out of this asshole.
“Let’s do this,” Jack said to Randy over his shoulder and began to press his way through the throng of people. The band broke for the end of the set and an eerie silence ensued while the DJ queued up the house music.
As Jack neared the two men, the air changed subtly, charged with the scent of testosterone and potential male aggression. Separately the two were impressive but when paired together made an intimidating force; Jack with his piratical air of danger and Randy who looked like a rampaging Scottish Highlander. Together they stood a head taller than almost everyone in the club. The crowd recognized their strength and broke apart as they approached.
“Is there a problem here?” Jack asked, directing his question to Football Jersey.
“No problem here,” said Football Jersey. He jerked a thumb at Leather Jacket. “This guy is the one with the problem. I was minding my own business.”
Jack eyed Leather Jacket. He’d seen the guy here before; unkempt black hair streaked with blue, bloodshot eyes, and a piercing in his upper lip. Rumor had it the guy and his minions dealt crack on the street. Jack had a sneaking suspicion that the guy conducted business in the club as well, but hadn’t been able to prove anything as of yet. He’d like nothing better than to take this guy down.
“Nope. No problem,” Leather Jacket said tearing his eyes reluctantly from Football Jersey to meet Jack’s glare with a cocky smile.
“We don’t need any trouble,” Randy said, pressing his shoulder to Jack’s to form a wall of muscle. “You need to respect that.”
“I have a zero tolerance policy for violence here,” Jack said. “If I see either of you lift one finger towards anyone in this club, I’m calling the cops. And while we wait for them, we’re going to go outside and have a little private conversation with the Angelmaker. Do I make myself understood?”
Football Jersey raised his hands, fingers spread, in a gesture of compliance and backed away. “I’m good. Like I said, I don’t have any problem. I just came here to have some fun with my buds.”
“Good.” Jack nodded in dismissal and turned his attention back to Leather Jacket. “What about you? Do you understand or do I need to draw you a fucking picture?”
Leather Jacket smirked in a way that made Jack want to bitch slap the guy on the spot. “Where’s the owner? Where’s David? He and I had an agreement. He’s not going to like you blowing me shit.”
“David’s not here. And he’s not coming back any time soon.” Jack took a step toward Leather Jacket, towering over the shorter, slighter man, and sneered down his long nose at the creep. “He left me in complete charge. What I say goes and David will back me up on that. He brought me in here to get rid of losers like you. So what I propose is that you and I come to a new agreement.”
While Randy and Jack got a handle on the situation, Ally got a fresh drink and watched Jack from a safe distance away. He made an intimidating picture with his dark hair ruffled and a scowl on his brow. After a brief conversation with the two disgruntled men, the crowd dissipated. Ally roamed the hallways and alcoves in search of Karly. She wasn’t too concerned; Karly made friends easily and always reappeared before the end of the night. In truth, Ally needed a few minutes away from Jack to regain the perspective that he had obliterated with his talented lips and tongue. With a sigh she melted into the darkness of an alcove a few yards from the stage and waited for the band to return from their break.
When the band started up again, the clash of drums and seething guitar licks caused Ally to jump. Without conscious thought, her eyes flitted around the dance floor in search of Jack, but he was gone. A sudden pang of insecurity made her scour the place until she found him back behind the bar. Their eyes met and he smiled. The feeling of unease dissipated like mist in the morning sunshine.
“There you are!” Karly bounded up to Ally with a beatific smile on her face. “Where’ve you been all this time?”
“I’ve been right here looking for you,” Ally replied. “Where the hell were you?”
“Up there!” Karly pointed to one of the cages next to the stage where two girls were dancing.
“No way!”
“Yes, way!” Karly replied, laughing. “It was awesome.” As she caught Ally’s expression, her tone changed from excitement to concern. “What’s wrong? Did something happen with Jack?”
“Yes. I mean no.” Ally sighed. “Nothing bad happened. I’ll tell you later.”
Karly clapped her hands. “Did you guys do it in the back? I saw you go back there.” Ally flushed. “Son of a biscuit! You did, didn’t you?”
“Shhhh...stop it,” Ally hissed. “We didn’t do it — exactly — just something like it.”
“What does that mean? You either did or you didn’t. Honestly, getting information out of you is like decoding the Dead Sea scrolls,” Karly said, rolling her eyes. “You should run for President.”
“He wants to take me home with him,” Ally said. “But I’m not so sure.”
“Yes!” Karly did a happy dance around Ally, red curls bouncing. “Of course you said yes.”
“I didn’t say anything. Besides, I can’t send you home alone.”
“Who says I’m going home alone?” Karly’s gaze landed on Randy who loomed a few paces away, arms crossed over his chest. Ally followed Karly’s gaze and raised her eyebrows. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. It’s no big deal. He said Jack asked him to take me home so you guys could be alone.”
From behind the bar, Jack caught her eye and frowned. With her wits dulled by alcohol, it took a few seconds to realize that he wasn’t looking at her but at the guy standing behind her. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed a guy dressed in ripped jeans and a black leather biker jacket, shoving the shoulder of another guy wearing a football jersey. Heated words split the air. A small crowd had gathered. It pressed back as Leather Jacket leaped onto Football Jersey. Both men tumbled into Ally. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. In a flash, Jack leaped over the bar, baseball bat in hand, looking like the angel of death. She had a quick flash of the word Angelmaker burned on the underside of the bat before someone stepped on her leg. Trapped beneath the fighting guys, Ally pulled up her knees and raised her arms to protect her head. Pain shot through her ribs as Leather Jacket stumbled over her. Her head thumped the floor and stars danced before her eyes.
God, please don’t let me die on the floor of a club, she thought. My dad will be so pissed. She flinched, waiting for the next blow, when strong hands grasped her wrists and dragged her out from underneath the brawl.
Within seconds, she sat shaking and trembling in the office with Karly beside her, holding a bag of ice to the knot on the back of her head. After an eternity, the door creaked open and Jack strode in. The air in the small office changed immediately, imbued with testosterone and excitement. The room receded in size, too small to contain him as he loomed over her, all tense muscle and male
ness. He crackled with vitality as if he fed off of all the craziness.
“You alright?” he asked. As he caught sight of her face, his expression changed from one of excitement to one of concern. “That was some crazy shit, huh?”
Still too shaken to speak, she nodded vigorously, wincing at the sudden movement.
“I’ve had my eye on that fucker for awhile. I don’t tolerate that kind of shit in my club,” Jack said and frowned down at her. One of the straps of her halter dress had snapped, revealing a good deal of her breasts and spatters of blood. “Jesus! Are you bleeding? I’m going to kill that fucker.” He made a move toward the door but she stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Not mine,” she said and his frown relaxed.
“Stand up. Let me look at you.” He removed the ice pack from her grip and offered his hand. She stood up, still shaking, and let him guide her to the desk, where he settled her onto the corner. He pulled the remaining pins from her hair and ran his fingers through it so that it settled in waves over her shoulders and down her back. Gentle fingers probed the knot on her skull provoking an unsettling tremor in her stomach and down lower still. “You’ll live,” he decided.
Satisfied, he placed one hand on each side of the desk beside her, leaned forward and peered deeply into her eyes. The inky long lashes swept his cheeks in half moons when he blinked, distracting her from any discomfort. How odd that such a virile man should have such beautiful, almost pretty eyes, she thought dreamily.
“Any dizziness? Nausea? You’re shaking.”
“No, Dr. Jack.” She scooted back on the desk in a desperate attempt to put some distance between them. Despite their recent intimacy she felt intimidated by her attraction to him. The nearness of his body made her tremble. “I’m fine, thanks. Just shook up a little. Can’t say I’ve ever been trampled in a club before.”
“You scared me.”
“I scared me, too,” she replied. His hand caressed her cheek then he bent down and kissed her lightly.
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