From what I can see in the dim club, the stranger is handsome with a square jaw, dark green eyes, and wavy blonde hair. He looks like a real life Ken doll. He gives me a megawatt smile, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why.
Then he starts talking. “You looked great out there.”
“Thanks,” I answer lamely.
“For real. You looked so sexy out there. All eyes were on you.”
I blush at his words and shift from one foot to the other. He’s complimenting me, but the way his eyes are sliding over my body is making my skin crawl. “Thank you,” I mumble again and try to step around him. My breath freezes in my lungs when he moves in front of me, preventing me from taking another step.
“Can I buy you a drink?” It just so happens that, at the moment he decides to ask me this, the club begins to spin.
“Actually, I think I’ve had enough to drink.” My stomach rolls when I try again to walk around him, but he once again blocks me from going further.
“How about a dance?”
I’m shaking my head before he even finishes his sentence. “I’m actually here with someone.”
“Come on,” he says through what I’m sure is supposed to be a charming smile, but at this moment, I just find it to be incredibly creepy. “Just one dance.”
“She said no,” Phoenix says. I look around, but I don’t see him anywhere. It isn’t until the stranger moves out of the way that I see Phoenix, and he’s pissed.
He’s staring at the stranger and hasn’t even looked in my direction. His arms are crossed over his chest. If it wasn’t for his jaw ticking, and his body vibrating, he could be a statue.
Ken turns around and sizes Phoenix up. “Excuse me?”
“I said,” Phoenix begins right before taking a step toward us, “she said no. So, you can move on now.” My stomach rolls with anticipation. By the time he finishes talking, he’s standing less than an inch away from Ken-doll.
Phoenix’s words do not sit well with him. He went from somewhat relaxed to obviously offended and unbelievably pissed off. “Who the fuck are you?” he growls.
I expect anger from Phoenix at this point, especially at the way Ken-doll just spoke to him. What I do not expect is what he does instead—smile. “I’m her boyfriend.” His eyes still don’t come to me, but he nods his head in my direction.
Phoenix doesn’t wait for a response to that. He takes another step closer to the guy and leans in to begin talking to him. It’s dark and loud in here, so I don’t have a clue to what Phoenix is saying to him, but I would guess it’s not friendly. The stranger’s face goes from irate to pale the more Phoenix says.
When Phoenix is done talking, he gives Ken-doll a friendly pat on the shoulder, another award-winning smile, and walks over to me.
“What’s happening?” I whisper.
“Nothing, baby. Let’s dance.” He grabs my hand and guides me back to the center of the dance floor.
Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love” starts to play when we reach the spot on the dance floor. I have a million questions and all of them have to do with what he said to that guy for him to turn that shade of white.
As soon as Phoenix’s hands go to my hips, he pulls me into him, and we begin to sway to the song, I forget all about those questions. I breathe him in and soak in this moment.
For the second time tonight, everyone else in the club disappears. Only he and I exist. I rest my head on his shoulder and he wastes no time kissing the back of my head.
It starts out simple and sweet, but when he starts talking, it takes a much more suggestive turn. “Have I told you how fucking sexy you look tonight?” he growls, his hands snaking from my waist to rest on my bum.
“You may have mentioned it a time or two,” I joke, but on the inside every single muscle is tight with anticipation.
“Did you know you’ve been slowly driving me mad, teasing me from the moment you walked into my life? Did you know at times it felt physically impossible to keep my hands off you? All I have wanted is to feel you underneath me. Nothing between us, just skin on skin.”
My head leaves his shoulder so I can look at him in shock. I mean, obviously I know Phoenix likes me. He’s made that clear numerous times over the past few months, but I would have never guessed it was hard for him to keep his hands off me.
It always seemed so easy, so frustratingly easy, for him to keep his hands, and other parts, to himself. I feel like I’ve been in a personal hell where I’ve wanted him to want me as bad as I want him. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I’ve been in hell, baby. This dress, your hair, and your makeup? Don’t get me wrong, it’s so motherfucking hot. I’ve been hard since I first laid eyes on you tonight, but in all honesty, it’s everything about you. I love the way you treat and talk to your fish like it’s a human and how excited you get when you talk about books. I’ve never met anyone who gets as enthusiastic as you do over a book.” He chuckles.
“Baby, I fucking love the way you blush when anyone gives you a compliment.” I smile and of course my face heats. “Like that.” He grins. “And I love how you can meet a stranger, hold a two second conversation with them, and they are your best friend by the time you walk away. It’s everything about you that makes it hard for me to not throw you over my shoulder, carry you to my bedroom, and show you just how much I love everything about you. I’m telling you all this for a reason, birdie.” He stops swaying us to the music and cups my face.
“I’m telling you this because I want you to know that I’m done. I can’t keep holding back. I want to have you…all of you. Tonight. Are you ready for that?”
I know that I am, but I still find myself hesitating to answer him right away. I know I want him. I want to feel him inside me, but can I handle it if, for some reason, this doesn’t work out? Would I be able to bear the pain if he walked away at any point? No, I don’t think I would.
On the other side, though, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I passed up the chance to be loved by Phoenix, to be loved by the man I love so wholeheartedly. I believe the regret of passing up this chance would be stronger than any pain I could feel if things don’t turn out well in the end.
“Yes, I’m ready,” I say with confidence.
No sooner do the words leave my mouth then Phoenix’s lips crash down on mine. I don’t even care that we’re in a club full of strangers, standing in the middle of the dance floor. I kiss him back with everything I have.
“Can we leave now?” he pants when the kiss ends. I can’t help it. I throw my head back and laugh at his eagerness. It’s about time he feels what I’ve felt for what seems like forever.
“The night is young,” I tease.
“Really now? Well, the way I see it is you have two options here. You could come willingly or I can pick you up and carry you out. Either way, tonight you’re going to come.” My core spasms and my panties are instantly soaked at his obvious innuendo.
I’m about to flip the switch and start begging him to take me out of here when we’re interrupted by Emily. “Come on, girl. More drinks at the bar!” she slurs. I look between her and Phoenix. I know where I want to go, but I’ve also never had a night out with girls like this before and a very miniscule part of me wants to stay.
“Go, baby. Like you said, the night is young. There’ll be plenty of time later to have our own little private party.” He winks. He gives me another promising kiss. Then I’m pulled to the bar.
***
“I’m so drunk!” I scream. Two hours, four shots, and two mixed drinks later, and I’m g-o-n-e. One second I’m loving life and the next I’m about throw up, but this is the most fun I think I’ve ever had, although I’ve been warned by just about everyone tonight that I may not think that in the morning.
“I’m thinking it may be time to cut you off, sweetheart.” Phoenix chuckles. I turn from the bar and look at the stool he’s sitting on and giggle because I know what leaving here means. It means sex. Lots and lots of sex with Pho
enix Castle.
“Me thinks you might be right.” I hiccup. “But first I have to tinkle!”
“Here, baby, let me walk you there,” he says. He steadies me. I didn’t even know I was falling.
“I’m okay,” I say after deciding in my drunken stupor that Phoenix standing outside the bathroom while I pee and possibly vomit isn’t going to happen. “But when I get back, I’m leaving with one of you two,” I say in what I think is a sexy voice, but I’m sure I sound like a slurred mess as I point to Phoenix and his holograph twin that my plastered mind has created. I walk away to the sound of Phoenix busting out laughing.
After I stumble my way to the bathroom and into the stall, I tinkle, just barely hold my vomit back, and then stumble to the sink where I splash cold water on my face. When I was just sitting at the bar, drinking, I didn’t realize how sloshed I really was. Now that I’m walking around, it’s hitting me.
I’m drying my face off when I hear, “It’s never going to last.” If I was sober, I would probably be at least a little intimidated at the sound of Marcy’s voice, but right now I’m just aggravated she’s ruining what should be the most perfect night.
I groan while my face is still buried in the hand towel. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Marcy, and I got to be honest here, I really don’t care.” I toss the towel to the side.
I half laugh at the look of shock on Marcy’s face at my bluntness. I’m sure she thought she could come in here and intimidate me, and on any other night she probably could have, but right now I’m three sheets to the wind and really anxious to leave this bar.
“Well, you’re going to wish you listened to what I said when Phoenix gets tired of you and leaves your ass,” she hisses.
Well, I guess leaving this bathroom without trouble is not happening. I take a deep breath to mentally prepare for what I’m sure is about to be a showdown of epic proportions before taking a step toward her.
“What happens between Phoenix and me is just that, between him and me. Save your warning and your bullshit for someone else. I’m not interested.”
“You may not be now, but mark my words, you will be soon. You can change your clothes and cake on as much makeup as you can, but there’s always going to be something you can’t be. Me. Phoenix always likes to have his fun with the easy girls, but trust me, he always comes back to me. I can assure you this time will be no different.”
I can’t stop myself. I laugh—bend at the waist, holding my stomach while tears stream down my eyes laugh. “What’s so funny?” Marcy snaps when I fail to get hold of myself.
I look at her again when I finally gain composure. “Are you really going to stand there and try to convince me that you and Phoenix had a relationship? He told me all about what you guys had and what you are. You’re a groupie, Marcy, and it doesn’t matter how short the hems on your dresses are or how low cut your top is, that’s all you’re ever going to be.”
I pissed her off. Her face is blood red and at any moment her head is going to pop right off, but I don’t give her any time to spread more poison. After throwing her words back at her, I step around her and march out of the bathroom.
I don’t stop marching, though. I storm across the club, heading straight for Phoenix, who looks at me when I get about halfway to him. I can tell by the way he goes from laughing at something Nick said to serious that he knows I’m on a mission. “Hey, baby, is everything—”
I don’t let him finish. I grab his face and slam my lips on his. Everyone around us cat calls and whistles, but I don’t care. I kiss him anyway. “Holy shit,” he whispers when I pull away.
I grab a shot out of Nick’s hand and toss it back. “Take me home now, please,” I say. Without taking his eyes from mine, he pulls out a couple hundreds from his wallet and tosses it on the bar. Then he grabs my hand and we walk out without another word to anyone.
***
“Here, baby, just lie down,” Phoenix whispers once we arrive back to the suite. I can’t say much about the cab ride home. I spent most of it with my head in Phoenix’s lap, battling nausea.
As soon as the cab started moving, all thoughts of being sexy flew out the window and the only thing I wanted was to be near a toilet. It’s crazy how fast I went from feeling amazing to feeling so sick.
“I don’t feel good,” I moan.
“I know, babe. I think you overdid it just a tad.”
“I ruined tonight.”
“No, you didn’t. There will be plenty of nights for me to make love to you. Right now I just want you better. There’s a cup of water on the nightstand and a bucket next to the floor.”
“Thank you, Phoenix.”
“It’s my job to take care of you. Now, let me hold you,” he whispers as he climbs in bed next to me and wraps his arms around me. I’m not sure if I reply before sleep claims me.
Chapter Seventeen
A Night To Remember
My eyes crack open, but I close them again when I see the room is still clothed in darkness. I have no idea what time it is, but I know that sometime earlier tonight I got up to throw up, shower, and change into one of Phoenix’s band tees, sans panties. I felt miserable. Thankfully, I now feel somewhat human again.
It’s when I reach over to his side of the bed and feel it’s empty and cold that I open my eyes again and lift my head from my pillow. I hear Phoenix playing his guitar and singing softly from the living room.
After looking at the clock and seeing that it’s only six in the morning, I climb out of bed and wrap the bed sheet around me. I tiptoe out of the room and down the hall because I don’t want him to stop singing. I love hearing his voice anytime, but I never get to just hear him and I’ve never seen him play the guitar.
When I reach the end of the hallway, I rest on the corner of the wall. I have a complete view of the living room. I can see him sitting on the couch, his back toward me. The only light we have is from the moon shining through the windows. I don’t think he’s been up long because from what I can see, he’s still wearing only his pajama bottoms and no shirt.
He doesn’t hear me and he doesn’t stop playing. I don’t know how long I stand there and I lose track of how many songs he plays. I just enjoy this moment with my head resting on the wall and my eyes closed, letting his melodic words wash over me.
After a while, he stops playing and sets his guitar to the side. I’m about to turn and dash back to the room when he says, “You can stop pretending you haven’t been standing there listening for the past twenty minutes now.”
“Busted.” I laugh and walk toward him. Instead of sitting on the couch next to him, I opt for sitting on the coffee table in front of him so I can get a better view of him.
“How are you feeling, baby?” he asks as he pushes the hair away from my forehead and places a kiss there.
“Better. Almost like last night never happened.”
“Oh, but last night did happen.” He laughs.
“Don’t remind me.” I groan. I know I was a hot mess, but I can’t bring myself to regret any of it. I had a blast. “I had fun, though. I really like Liz and Emily.”
I was sure I was going to say more, but I lose my train of thought when he takes the sheet I have wrapped around me and pulls it down and off my shoulders so it pools at my waist.
He doesn’t stop there. As soon as the sheet is gone, his hands go to my bare knees. “Yeah? They like you too,” he says conversationally, as if his hands aren’t creeping their way up my thighs, heading straight for my naked center. I gulp as he gets closer, but then he suddenly stops and my gaze shoots to his. He looks at me with an expectant look and with my horny induced mind, I can’t figure out why he’s waiting.
An answer! He wants to finish this conversation right now? Surely, there is a better time to do that. Whatever, I’ll do or say whatever if it will get his hand moving again.
“They do?” I ask, and the sex gods must be listening to my silent pleas because his hand begins to creep upwards again.
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“Yeah, they only told me how much about a hundred times last night.”
“Oh…that’s nice,” I mumble right before his hands reach the top of my thighs. Sadly, he keeps moving his hand up until he reaches the hem of his t-shirt, the one I’m wearing. He wastes no time ridding me of it, leaving me completely bare to him.
The earlier conversation is long forgotten and the mood shifts dramatically. I know I’m about to finally get what I want, Phoenix making love to me, and the anticipation is driving me mad.
His hands go back to my legs and he spreads them apart. Phoenix and I have done other things, I’ve been exposed to him like this before, but it still doesn’t stop me from blushing.
“You are the most stunning woman I have ever laid eyes on.” I try to look at him as he says those beautiful words to me, but my eyes flutter close when he runs his finger from my throbbing clit down to my opening, where he slowly pushes in.
“Every time, it amazes me how fucking tight you are. And you’re always so wet and ready for me. I can’t wait to feel your heat wrapped around my cock.”
I moan out as his finger quickens its pace, thrusting in and out of me. “Does it feel good, birdie?”
“Yesss,” I hiss as my back arches. I can feel the most delicious climax coming.
“You gonna come for me, aren’t you, baby?”
“Yes! Oh yes!” I cry as wave after wave of thrilling desire rocks through me. I’m gripping the side of the table so hard, I’m sure my knuckles are white. “Phoenix,” I cry out over and over again.
“Fuck yeah, sweetheart. Give it all to me. Come all over my hand.” I don’t have a chance to come down completely from my high before he grabs my waist and lifts me up, then sets me on his lap.
Love, Unwanted (Discovering Love #3) Page 12