by Samantha Bee
As the song comes to an end and I’m lying flat on my back on the stage, I briefly notice Joe coming up the stairs to our area. As I finish and hold my position, I can’t help but flick my eyes to the table and butterflies erupt in my stomach as I see the heat in Noah’s, Kade’s, and even Ryder’s eyes.
There’s one silent moment between the music ending and the crowd going crazy. It feels heavy with my anticipation as I look at the men sitting back at our table. I slowly draw my focus away from them as I search out Luca.
He’s climbing back up on the stage as he reaches out to help me up. The butterflies in my stomach turn to pure heat as I check Luca out. My attention snags on his full lips and that tongue ring taunts me as he talks to the crowd.
He turns his attention back to me as we both jump off the bar but I’m still staring at his lips. He’s been harder and harder to ignore and I’m not exactly sure why but all I can think about is his lips against mine.
I know the two of us together could burn down a city but somehow, I can’t remember why that would be such a bad idea anymore. His dark throaty chuckle really does something for me and the rush of heat between my legs brings me back to reality.
Fuck.
I think those pills are affecting me more than I realized. I meet Luca’s eyes and see the lust there but also his amusement. Yupp. I definitely just got caught eye fucking my boss.
Again.
Chapter Nineteen
I grimace and he cackles in my face. Bastard.
Like I haven’t caught him staring at my ass before. Or like he didn’t confess his undying love for me just yesterday. I roll my eyes and give him a quick peck on the cheek.
Totally unsatisfying but I know that’s all either of us could handle.
I’m greeted with cheers as I walk up to the table. I laugh and take an exaggerated bow for my friends as they clap and holler. I can’t help the smile or the feeling of contentment rushing through me.
I look around the table and wonder when I started having so many people I genuinely enjoyed being around. It’s been me and Luca for so long, I didn’t even realize all these other people becoming important to me.
Noah grabs my hand and yanks me down into his lap. My mouth pops open in surprise by the aggressive move from my sweetest man, but I can’t say I didn’t like it. The dampness in my panties would call me a liar if I tried.
I run my finger through Noah’s chocolatey brown hair before tightening and pulling him in for a kiss. When I pull away, he’s smirking at me. I smile and wink back as I turn around and settle in his lap.
Conversations have resumed up around us and barely anyone pays attention when Kade leans into me to steal his own kiss. As he withdraws Noah whispers in my ear, “You looked gorgeous up there.”
I feel myself preening at his compliment and a slight blush heats my cheeks at my pleasure over his words. I’ve never really had that kind of reaction before. I’m usually kind of a smug bitch when someone compliments me.
These pills must be messing with my head more than I thought. They’re making me feel kind of...soft. I shudder. It’s not a feeling I’m accustomed too and I’m hoping it goes away as soon as I get off this medication. I’m not a fan.
I feel another pair of eyes searing into me as Kade holds my hand and Noah peppers kisses down my neck and to my shoulder after his whispered words. I look around expecting to see Luca having joined us but find only Ryder’s eyes on me. I flush at the unexpected tingling of my skin as I meet his eyes.
I smile and just shrug, trying to break the tension between the two of us. As attractive as I find Ryder, that’s not a road I’m willing to go down. Being on the team is a huge step and we can’t risk other dynamics interfering with how we work.
It’s bad enough with the relationships between Kade, Luca and myself but at least we all have a complete understanding of each other. We don’t let it affect how we work as a team. If anything, we work better together because of how well we know each other.
We don’t know Ryder like that though. I intrinsically trust him, and I’ve seen how well he’s slipped right into our lives but he’s still an unknown factor. We can’t risk our operations falling apart because my libido went a little too crazy.
Noah draws my attention back to, “Would you like to go on a date next weekend?” I turn to look at him and smile.
“You wanna take me out, Handsome?” I grin as I study his baby blue eyes and see the excitement there. He has something planned and I want to know what. I’ve never been one for surprises. I’m too impatient for that.
“I may have planned something special for us,” he admits, mischievousness gleaming in his eyes. I wiggle in his lap causing him to groan as I feel him hardening underneath me. Serves him right for teasing me with this. He knows I don’t like surprises.
“What’s the occasion?” I lean back into him and he wraps his arms around my waist. “I just saw it and knew it was something you would enjoy, so I planned it out.” He drops a kiss on my shoulder, and I let out a sigh of contentment.
“Well, you have me intrigued,” I drawl out. “If I suck your dick will you tell me what you planned?”
His boisterous laugh draws eyes towards us, but I ignore them as I stare at him expectantly. He gets himself under control and waves off the onlookers. “You could try but I can’t guarantee any answers.”
Dick. Hmm. I think over my options and notice Kade watching the interaction with amusement. I internally cackle as I decide what to offer Noah next. “What if Kade sucks your dick?”
Both men start spluttering and I’m pretty sure Kade choked on his drink. Good it can be practice for when he chokes on Noah’s dick. I cackle aloud, sitting smug as shit.
Before either of them has a chance to respond, Tyler looks over, “Well shit, Kade. I didn’t know you swung both ways.” My cackling intensifies as everyone at the table starts looking to Kade for a response.
The arrogant bastard just winks at me, “Why? You trying to see if you’ve got a chance?” The entire table erupts in laughter, but Ty doesn’t miss a beat, “Nah, Scar shot me down years ago.” The laughter only increases, including my own. I always knew I liked Ty, even though he can be a grumpy bastard. Maybe because he can be a grumpy bastard.
Of course, it’s at that moment that Luca walks up to us, “You better be kidding, Tyler.” He arches his brow before dismissing him as he looks into my eyes and sees my amusement flashing there. He keeps a straight face, but I can see his enjoyment lurking in his features.
Luca is easy to read only if you know what to look for. Kade and I both do, unfortunately for Ty, he does not. He doesn’t realize he’s being fucked with. He raises his hands up and lets out a shaky laugh, “All jokes, boss. Scar’s not really my type,” he winces, apologetically looking my way.
I shrug, I’m not bothered. Can’t be everyone’s type. Also, from my conversations with Ty before, I have a feeling that he has a special girl in his life. I don’t think he’s acknowledged his feelings for her yet, though. I doubt he has a type other than her though, that’s the vibe I get from him.
Luca pins him with another hard stare before looking back at me. I can’t resist but trying to mess with him the same he was just doing with Tyler. Don’t worry Ty, I got your back. Kinda. “Yeah, don’t worry, Bossman. I’m not his type. We were just discussing if he wanted Kade to suck his dick or not.”
Noah leans his head into my shoulder, and I can feel his body slightly shaking. Kade just snorts beside me. Tyler’s mouth drops open and he throws me an incredulous look. Only Britt and Ryder don’t have a similar reaction.
Everyone else doesn’t really get to see the other sides of Luca, other than his boss persona. There’s just so much more to him than that. Although, Kade and I are the only ones who could get away talking to him like that. Even Mikey and Ronan are shaking their heads at me. I just grin.
I can see Luca struggling not to break his serious facade. It’s always a bit of a game Kade and I play w
ith him. Trying to get him to act out of character around others. I see him lock down the smile that was twitching at his lips. “Yeah, I don’t know how to respond to that,” he says calmly, “but we need to discuss things from last night.” He gives Kade and I both pointed looks before gesturing to his office.
I start whining, “But I wanted to dance with Britt.” I’m not normally very whiny but I’m hoping I can get him to break. By the twitch of his lips again and Kade’s laughter beside me, I know they both have me figured out.
He holds in his amusement as he just nods, “I’m only having you do three sets tonight. After your second set, business.” I nod to agree, and he turns and heads back to his office. I wish he would just sit and hang out with us, but I know he won’t in front of all these people.
I get up off of Noah’s lap and move to stand in front of the table and gesture for Britt to get her cute ass up. She giggles as she stands, and I can tell she’s a bit wobbly on her feet. Apparently, she drank more than I had realized.
I grab her hand and lead her down the stairs to the main part of the club. We move through the crowd to the center of the dance floor and Britt immediately throws her arms around my neck and starts moving her body against mine.
I laugh as I wrap my arms around her waist and grind with her to the music. We joke and tease each other as we sway back and forth. “You never told me how hot your friends are?” she accuses me.
“Which ones?” I laugh and silently pray she doesn’t say Ryder. I’m still hoping to get her with the burly tattoo artists.
She throws her head back and laughs, “Umm, well, all of them.” I laugh with her because I guess now that I think about it, even Tyler and Ian are pretty damn attractive.
“Okay well is there one, or two,” I emphasize the last part, “that you’re drawn too?”
She raises her brows at me, and I know she’s realized I’m hoping for a specific answer. She’s studying me like she’s trying to read the inside of my brain. I’m not sure what exactly she’s looking for, but she must have found it because she decides to answer. “Ronan and Mikey are both sexy as fuck. They’re also pretty easy to talk to.”
I feel the satisfaction radiating off of me in smug waves and Britt must be able to as well. She smirks, “You wanted me to be attracted to them!”
“I just think that you need two men to handle your crazy and they just might be able to,” I cackle.
She joins me as she looks up at the balcony area of the second story, “You really think they could be interested?”
I scoff, “Have you looked in a mirror?”
“Have you?” she retorts.
I can’t help but cringe at what she’s implying, “Mikey and Ronan are our tattoo artists,” I explain to her. “Luca and I met them when I was like eighteen and in a pretty bad place. They look at me like their weird kid sister.”
“Well, that might explain why they are watching us pretty closely,” she says looking up at the balcony again. I look up just as Noah, Ryder and Kade join them.
“Nah, babe. Their eyes are currently glued to your ass.” She smirks at me and gives her ass a little shimmy. I have the perfect view of both Mikey and Ronan’s reaction. They’re intent on the way her ass moves to the music.
“Wanna give them something else to look at?” she asks me, and I can see the glint in her eyes that promises trouble. This is why I love this girl so damn much.
I let my hands wander from her waist down to caress her ass, I smirk as she struggles not to laugh, “Something like this?”
“Yeah, a little like that.”
She lets loose a couple more giggles to herself. It’s hard not to smile at her. I’m surprised by how much I really needed this night and some solid girl time. “How’d they react to your hands on my ass?”
I chuckle, messing with the guys is a definite extra perk to this night out with Britt. “Their eyes almost fell out of their heads, all five of them.”
“Five?” she asks before turning her body in my arms and pushing her ass against me as she continues to dance. I’m actually impressed by how casually she looks up while pushing her hair back, never missing a beat to the song. I seriously love this girl.
“Oh yeah, there are five of them. You weren’t exaggerating about their eyes.” I turn her back around so we can continue dancing while we face each other.
“They’re so easy to tease.”
“You enjoy taunting them, don’t you?”
“Of course, don’t you?” Teasing Luca and Kade, playing pranks on them and generally trying to get on their nerves is honestly one of my favorite past times. I’m finding Noah and Ryder both easily fit into the same category. Even Mikey and Ronan, or any of my friends, I fucking adore messing with them.
“Oh, I absolutely do,” she grins back at me. “We deserve to have our fun somehow, right?” She leans her forehead towards me to rest against mine. We both start moving our bodies closer to each other and I laugh as I drop my head to her shoulder and start giving her kisses and little nips up her shoulder to her neck, and end by giving her ear a little flick with my tongue.
As I’m making my way up, she pushes her hair to the side, out of my way and tilts her head away from me to give me better access. I start working my way back down and make sure to leave a mark just above her collar bone, “Damn Scar, I think I’m wet for you.”
I laugh as I start to pull away from her, but I’m suddenly yanked out of her arms and up against a familiar chest, “Well, I know I’m hard for you.” I look up and meet Kade’s twinkling eyes.
“Enjoy the show, perv?” I tease him before looking around to see Kade brought back up. Mikey and Ronan have Britt surrounded as they lean into her talking in hushed voices. I’m not worried based on her lascivious grin. Girl is getting dicked down tonight.
She looks up and meets my eyes and I wink at her. A yelp escapes me when Kade pinches my ass, “The fuck, Stranger?”
“Wasn’t me,” he smirks.
Noah moves out from behind him, “Guilty,” he winks at me.
“Well, what the fuck then, Handsome?”
He just shrugs, “Didn’t think biting your ass would be acceptable in public.”
My mouth drops open and I think Kade is struggling not to follow suit because what the actual fuck? I think I’ve unlocked like a whole new level of Noah and I am kind of loving it. He can bite my ass anytime he wants. I stop myself from actually saying that though.
“At least now I know you and Britt are in fact not fucking,” Kade says as he pulls back against his chest and starts to move our bodies to the music. Noah moves and steps in at my front, so I’m sandwiched between the two of them as we grind and sway together.
“Was that a possibility?” Noah asks, nothing but curiosity in his voice.
“Well, it could have been, if you neanderthals hadn’t interrupted,” I taunt.
Kade growls in my ear, “I know that little show was purely for our benefit, it worked by the way.” He pushes harder against me so I can feel his hard on pressing into my ass. I tilt my head back and moan at the feeling.
He leans down and steals a kiss at the same time Noah leans forward and nips at my collar bone, marking me exactly where I marked Britt. I raise my brows at him, but he just shrugs like he’s not entirely sure why he did it either. It feels surprisingly possessive of my American boy. Even more surprising is the rush of desire that rushes through me at the thought.
I let the thought go as I lose myself to the sound of the music pulsing in my veins and the feel of their bodies pressed against mine. I’m not even sure how long the three of us dance before Kade is pushing us back towards the stairs, reminding me I still have two more performances to get through.
I make it through my second performance without any issues. I’m a little sweatier and out of breath than normal though. All the dancing with the guys and Britt really took a lot out of me. Some pain is starting to break through the haze of the pain meds so I know they must be wearing off.
I grab the whiskey out of Ryder’s hand and start drinking some. I still have one more set to get through tonight, and I can feel the last couple of days taking a toll on my body. I just need something to take the edge off to get through the rest of this night.
I check my phone for the millionth time and see nothing from Josie. She had texted just before the last set to tell me Roe was still sleeping, no sign of nightmares yet. I’m looking forward to getting home and crawling in bed with her.
Kade went to go check in with the other guys as we wait for Luca to finish his meeting with Joe before pulling us in to talk. Ryder, Noah, and I sit at our table and pass the bottle of whiskey back and forth.
Noah seems just as tired as I am which makes sense because I know this is not his usual scene. He’s so busy with school, he doesn’t have a lot of time to sleep, let alone have a night out. A warm feeling invades my chest again at the thought of him making time for me. I shake the weirdness off and turn to Ryder.
He seems almost twitchy as his eyes dart around the club. I stand and straighten my shorts, “I need a smoke, wanna come?” I offer to both of them.
Ryder looks up at me and nods, but Noah decides to stay where he’s at. I lead Ryder to the stairs before moving through the crowd again but this time towards the back patio.
I sigh as the cold air touches my skin, cooling the sweat from my skin. Now that we are getting into September, the days are still warm, but the nights are getting cooler and cooler. I love the cold nights.
I pull out a smoke and my lucky pink lighter before lighting up. I go to offer one to Ryder, but he already has one in his mouth with a cherry end. He smirks, “Luca provided with me everything down to the smallest detail.”
I nod as I lean against the brick wall and inhale, thinking about Luca. I exhale and watch the tendrils of smoke curl into the sky. “He’s like that, always seems to know what you need even before you do.”
He takes his own drag before responding thoughtfully, “Are you ever gonna explain your dynamic to me?”