by T. N. King
“Are you really friends with that guy?” Megan asked, looking back at him.
“More like friends with benefits.” She ran into her and laughed as she went inside. Megan followed her into the building and was immediately consumed with flashing lights and a loud thumping beat that caught her foot and made her tap along. They moved up to the bar and managed to find a place they could weasel their way into.
“What are you thirsty for?” shouted Lorena.
“That tequila shot you gave me the other day was really good,” she shouted back.
“Get a few, I’ll find a table.”
Megan nodded and waited for the bartender. She ordered a tray of tequila shots complete with lime wedges and salt and paid for them. She grabbed the tray and found Lorena sitting at a small table for two.
The girls picked up a shot glass and held them up in the air.
“To your new career. May you profit fundamentally from it and climb the corporate ladder to success.”
“Here, here! And…here’s to being single!”
“Yeah! Fuck men!”
“Woo!” They clinked their glasses together and downed them. They shoved the lime in their mouths and Megan started to laugh. “We forgot the salt.”
It took them a while to finish their shots but when they did, they headed to the dance floor to have some fun. Each song sounded a lot like the last one, but they all had an amazing beat. As the tequila started working its magic, Megan let loose and danced song after song after song. They turned heads and that fueled Megan. She felt sexy and was having more fun than she ever remembered having.
“I have to get some water!” she shouted to Lorena.
“What?”
Megan motioned her hand to her mouth and Lorena nodded. “Get me one too! I’ll meet you at the table!” she said pointing in that direction.
Megan nodded and made her way to the bar. She found an empty stool and sat down as she fanned herself. Her body continued to move and she smiled as she looked around the room. She was having a great time even though the tequila was hitting her a little harder than she had expected.
“Hi!” Megan shouted when the bartender got her attention. “Two waters please.”
He handed her a bottle of champagne instead, and pointed to the end of the bar. “This was ordered for you by the man at the end!” he shouted.
“Oh,” she said smiling. She leaned forward and when she saw Jensen smiling back at her, her heart flipped. “Tell him thank you very much!” She grabbed the bottle and two glasses from the bar and left. “Doesn’t surprise me,” she mumbled as she located Lorena on her way back to the table. She grabbed Lorena’s arm and leaned in toward her. She held the bottle up and shouted, “It’s from my ex!”
Lorena’s mouth dropped open. “He’s here?” She looked around as if she would have known who it was if she saw him. Megan pointed at him as she leaned toward her. “Dark hair, maroon shirt, black pants.”
“Yum! He’s gorgeous. Good eye candy.”
“Yeah, that’s about all though.”
“Really?” Lorena teased.
Megan giggled. “No.” She popped the top and poured the glasses full.
Lorena took a sip and her eyes widened. “O Dios mío. ¡esto es increíble!”
“That good, huh?”
“Try it!”
Megan sipped hers and let the sweet bubbles consume her senses. “Wow, it is good. And, if I know Jensen, it is not cheap.” They clinked their glasses together. “Here’s to expensive champagne and a good buzz!” They giggled like school girls and drank them down.
A new beat began and Megan wiggled in her chair. “I love this song!” She started singing the words when Lorena took her glass and set it down, dragging her off her chair toward the dance floor.
They danced together, and she twirled around and around having the time of her life. The alcohol made her a little dizzy and she almost toppled over but she regained herself and turned toward Lorena to continue dancing. Jensen stood in front of her, dancing and smiling at her. She wasn’t surprised to see him and her body didn’t react like it usually did in his presence. She wanted to believe it was because she was over him, but she knew it was just the alcohol.
He wrapped his arms around her hips and swayed in unison with her. She felt the rhythm and started moving seductively to the beat, against his body. She pushed into him as he held her arms up in the air, his fingertips gliding down the backs of her arms and down her body. She felt like Baby in Dirty Dancing as she moved against his body through the end of the song. She turned to thank him for the champagne, putting her mouth inches from his ear. She wanted so badly to kiss his neck. She took a breath and yelled, “Thanks for the bubbly. It was quite nice of you.” He nodded. “Are you stalking me again? I don’t imagine a guy like you in a place like this too often. Aren’t you kind of old to be in here?” she teased.
“I didn’t know you were here, scouts honor,” he said holding his hand up.
“Then what are you doing here?”
“I own part of this club and I’m helping out my friend, Elle. She is trying to expand her chain of night clubs.”
“Ah,” she mouthed as she nodded her head. She kept dancing with him, feeling a little guilty thinking he was stalking her.
He leaned in to continue conversation, but Lorena interrupted them. “I am going to dance with my new friend,” she said pointing at their table. Megan looked over the crowd and saw a guy sitting there, alone.
Megan nodded and linked her arm into Lorena’s. “This is Jensen, my ex boyfriend,” she said in her ear.
Lorena was stunned by his attractive features and just smiled at him, which was odd for her. She usually always had something to say.
Jensen smirked at her reaction and escorted them back to their table. When they got back, Lorena looked the crowd over for her friend. “Where the hell did he go? He was just here. I told him I would only be a minute.”
“Maybe he had to pee,” Megan said.
Lorena pulled her phone out and looked at the palm of her hand. She texted the number and waited. Megan and Jensen sat at the table and she took another sip of her champagne smiling at him.
“Yep, he is at the bathrooms,” she said, reading the return text. “Be right back,” she said winking at Megan.
“Have a good time blowing his mind!” she shouted as Lorena waltzed away.
She watched her roommate dance away, happy with life and with herself. Megan secretly wished she could be that carefree.
“I like your friend,” Jensen said.
“She is my roommate.”
“How is that going for you?”
“It’s great! I have never been happier.”
“Where are you living now?”
“Wow,” Megan said, propping her head up with her hands. “I’m surprised that with your excellent security team that you don’t already know that.”
“I guess they are slipping,” he said with a smile.
“I’m in Paddington, close to Hyde Park. It’s nice, economical.”
“I know where it is. What building?”
“12 London Street.”
She wasn’t sure why she told him her address, but she did, and it felt good. She finished the champagne in her glass and grabbed the bottle for a refill.
“I am going to grab a drink and I am going to get you a bottle of water.”
“Thank you, yes. Water would be good.”
“Are you okay for a few minutes?”
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” He stared into her eyes and put his hand around her arm when he spoke. She nodded humbly, remembering how he made her feel when they were intimate. His control, his dominance, something about it was comforting to her and made her feel safe.
She sat at the table and tried to look around, her head feeling the dizzy effects of too much alcohol. She looked at the table and counted the number of drinks in her
head. A few shots of tequila and a few glasses of champagne shouldn’t have had such an effect on her.
She grabbed her purse and staggered toward the dance floor. She figured if she danced enough, it might sober her up. When she reached the dance floor, she felt the familiar beat of the music and moved her body accordingly. Her moves were much more provocative and sexual which caused several men close by to turn and watch. Two guys started dancing close to her, groping her and touching her inappropriately. They sandwiched her in between them while they grinded their groins against them. She tried to move away from them but they fenced her in with their arms while their hands touched her and felt her up.
“Please, don’t,” she begged, but the music was much too loud for them to hear her even if they wanted to. She felt a hand between her legs and she tried pushing it away as another hand slid up underneath her dress to her ass. She was about to grab him by his ponytail when she felt the man in front of her leave her quickly. When she looked up toward him, she saw Jensen. He was moving quickly toward the other guy who still had his hands on her and he didn’t look happy at all. He grabbed the guy and flung him on top of the first guy who lay on the floor in front of her. He leaned down and grabbed the pony tail of one of the guys, jerking his head back and screaming something about touching her again and finding their own dicks in their hands when he was through. He grabbed Megan and escorted her off the dance floor.
She started giggling after tripping over nothing at all. She tried looking at Jensen but saw two of him. “Were you…jealous that I was dancing….”
“No, I was not jealous. You clearly did not have control of the situation. Do you know how dangerous that is?”
She tried to respond but her lips weren’t working and her body began to do the same. “What the hell….” She looked over at Jensen and got angry. “Stop touching me,” she slurred.
“Megan? Are you okay?”
“I would be if you left me the fuck alone. Why do you keep grabbing me?” Her words were barely audible.
“I’m not even touching you. Are you sure you are okay?”
She opened her mouth to respond but felt her body go completely numb and the world around her went black.
Jensen caught her just before her head hit the floor. “Shit!” He picked her lifeless body up and carried her out of there.
CHAPTER FIVE
Megan fluttered her eyes open and swore at the bright light that threatened to invade her world. Her head pounded with every breath she took as she tried to cover her face with her arm but something tugged at her hand when she lifted it. She tried opening her eyes but the light was too predominant.
“Turn off the lights,” she said. Her tongue felt like it was three sizes larger than normal and her mouth was dry like cotton. When her eyes finally adjusted, she opened them enough to look around. Wherever she was, it smelled very clean, like antibacterial soap. She looked around and saw a tube hanging from a machine by her bed. She followed the tube and saw it was attached to her hand. Her eyes flew open and she tried sitting up. She was in a hospital gown surrounded by white curtains and white walls.
“What the hell?” She tried moving to the edge of the bed and swinging her legs out but the rails of the bed wouldn’t allow her to do so. She grabbed the tube that was stuck into her hand and just before she jerked it out of her skin, Jensen came from nowhere. He had his hands up toward her and he was shushing her.
“Megan, I’m here. Please, calm down, love.”
“Where the hell am I?” Her speech was slurred and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t talk clearly.
“You are in the hospital. You blacked out last night and almost hit your head on the floor.”
She looked around, rubbing her head. “I…don’t remember.”
“How do you feel?”
“Like complete shit.” She moved her tongue around in her mouth and felt like it would stay pasted to the top of her mouth. “I need water.”
He handed her a cup of cool water and sat on the end of her bed. He picked up the call button and notified the nurse’s station that she needed their help.
“Where are we?”
“I brought you to a private hospital. You were acting so odd at the night club and you blacked out. Did you meet anyone else while you were there? A friend perhaps, or a stranger?”
She shook her head, “No. No one.”
“I think your drink might have been spiked with something.”
“What?”
Before Jensen could explain, the door opened and a doctor entered with a nurse following behind him.
“Miss. Jenkins. I am Dr. Branning. How are you feeling?”
“Not good. I feel like I have been hit by a bus.”
“What are your symptoms?”
“I’m dizzy, like there is a buzz in my head. I’m extremely thirsty. My head is pounding.”
“And by the way you are talking, your speech is quite slurred.” He leaned in and examined her eyes and checked her breathing. “She seems to be recovering quite well,” he said to Jensen. “We should have her test results back within the hour. We should know more by then.”
“Thank you, doc.”
“What if my drink was spiked?” She looked at Jensen with wide eyes. “Who would have done this? Oh God…I could have been raped.” She looked around wildly as she felt a panic well up inside her. “What the hell is wrong with me? How could I have been so stupid?”
“Calm down, Megan.” He said leaning over her. He put his hands on her arms and slowly rubbed them up and down. “It’s okay, you are okay. I had my eyes on you the whole night.”
“But what if you weren’t there?” She shook her head and closed her eyes.
“But I was. You are safe here with me and I won’t let this happen again. Do you understand me?” He was looking into her eyes, a serious expression on his face. “In fact you will not be clubbing ever again. That’s an order from me. I don’t care what you think I did or didn’t do. I care too much for you to let something happen to you.”
Megan raised an eyebrow, wanting to laugh at his dominance over her. “We are not together, Jensen. You don’t have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do.”
His serious expression changed to something that made Megan regret her choice of words. She wanted to apologise even though she wasn’t sorry for what she said.
Jensen wanted to change her mind by grabbing a hold of her and showing her just what he was made of, but in her state of being he thought better of it. Instead, he stood up straight and looked down on her.
“If your drink was spiked by some stranger, then obviously someone is after you. If your tests come back positive, you are coming back to the Penthouse where I can take care of you.”
“How dare you try to tell me what I will be doing? You don’t have any right to….”
“I don’t think you have much of a choice. I just saved your ass back there and you should be thanking me.”
“You can’t control me. I am not your girlfriend or your housekeeper anymore. I have no ties to you.”
“You’d be surprised at what kind of ties you have to me,” he mumbled.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. When they release you, I am taking you back.”
“The hell you are. I’m signing out now and I’m going home.” She struggled to climb to the edge of the bed where the rails didn’t confine her but Jensen stood in her way. He leaned over her and growled.
“Don’t make me punish you here. You know I will.”
“And what do you think you are going to do?”
“I will yank you over my knee and spank you like the child you are acting like.”
“You…wouldn’t…dare.”
“Don’t try me, little girl.”
Megan was mortified and embarrassed beyond shame. She tried not to show it and instead of arguing without recourse, she sat quietly on the bed until the doctor appeared with her test results. Jensen
sat next to her and calmly folded his hands into his lap.
“Miss Jenkins, I have your results. It appears that there were traces of a drug called Rohypnol in your system.”
“What is….”
“It is a form of a date drug most commonly used in rape cases and kidnapping cases.”
She immediately looked at Jensen and instead of being upset that he was planning on dragging her back to his penthouse, she felt indebted to him for saving her life. Jensen’s jaw flexed after hearing the results but he stayed calm as he talked to the doctor.
“Thank you, doctor. Can I take her home now?”
“I’ll get the nurse to sign her out.”
Megan didn’t know what to say. She was ashamed that she was so naïve, embarrassed that she acted so childish when Jensen was just trying to protect her, angry that someone could have done this to her and scared that they did. She calmly looked at Jensen.
“What about Lorena? Does she know what happened?”
“I couldn’t find her anywhere. I found your cell phone in your bag and texted her. Last I looked, she still hadn’t responded, so I’m not sure what happened to her, but it is still quite early.”
Megan nodded, grateful that he was there for her. “Thank you,” she said humbly.
The doctor reappeared and handed her some paperwork. “I have signed you out. If you could just sign the bottom as well, I can get out of your way and you can go.”
Megan looked at the discharge paperwork and signed the bottom, handing it back to the doctor.
“Thank you. Here is a prescription for some medication. It will help your body heal a little faster from the drug. If you have any issues or questions, feel free to call us.” He smiled and stepped back after letting the railing down from the side of the bed.
“Thank you, doctor. I’ll keep a good eye on her,” said Jensen.
The doctor left the room and he helped her with her things after she changed back into her clothes. She felt a little trashy putting the same dress back on, but she had no choice. She grabbed her shoes and her bag and walked barefoot out of the hospital, with Jensen by her side.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked as they reached the car.