Her smile fades and her eyes narrow. “Would you like a drink?” She changes the subject, but I wouldn’t have used her name if I weren’t absolutely sure no one would hear.
She catches the attention of Popcorn and points to me, holding up two fingers. Popcorn’s eyes meet mine, waiting for a signal, and I give her a quick nod before turning my attention back to Kennedy.
“What information were you trying to find out? No better person to ask than the object of your obsession.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” She laughs nervously. “Just wanted to know if you’re a stand-up guy.”
“Shouldn’t you have asked that before we fucked?”
She gasps. “We didnot!” Swiveling around on her stool, she knocks my legs with her leather-clad knees.
I give her a smug grin and figure why not play with her a little. “Do you even remember?”
“I think I’d rememberthat.” But based on the look on her face and the greenish hue to her skin, I can tell she’s not convinced of her own statement.
“We didn’t fuck,” I tell her to ease her conscience. “You’d remember if we did.”
“Two Louis’s,” Popcorn says, interrupting our conversation. She’s giving me the stink eye. The one she uses when she’s concerned about things that really shouldn’t matter to her. She places the glasses in front of each of us. “Anything else?”
“We’re good.” I wave her off, wanting to get back to where we left off. There’s an electric charge between Kennedy and me that I can’t explain, but I’ve felt it since the moment I laid eyes on her. Kissing her hasn’t helped the feeling fade either.
Popcorn doesn’t leave, though. She takes the rag off her shoulder and starts to scrub an imaginary spot off the bar top just to the right of Kennedy. She’s eavesdropping, or at least, trying to.
“Would you like to take our drinks somewhere more private and talk business?” I ask Kennedy much to the chagrin of Popcorn.
Kennedy grips her Cognac in one hand and grins. “I’d love to, Nix. There’s lots to discuss.” She holds out her left hand to me, and being a gentleman, I take it and help her from the stool. She barely wobbles this time in the sky-high heels and doesn’t spill a drop of Louis.
I don’t look back as we walk away, but I can feel Popcorn’s eyes on us as we move. If I had been paying better attention, I would have probably found more than one set watching us as we moved through the bar to head down a back hallway. It’s a special section of the club used for special meetings and privacy when necessary. Even though Hassan is out of town, I know he has people in the club at all times, and I’m sure he’s getting a full report of my activity with his newest blue-haired obsession.
I motion toward the room at the end of the corridor, which is the farthest away from prying eyes and the most secluded. When we enter, I stand near the doorway and check that we haven’t been followed. Very few things make me nervous, but being alone with her in this place has my pulse racing. Maybe it’s the hard-on I can already feel coming and the possibility we’ll be caught.
She takes a seat in the red velvet chair in the corner, setting her drink down on the tiny gold end table next to her and crossing her legs. “Everything okay?” she asks, fidgeting with the edges of her skirt, which has ridden up her thighs.
“It’s fine. Just checking to make sure we’re alone,” I tell her as my eyes take a final sweep of the hallway before closing the door. Locking us in, I stalk toward her, taking a seat on the coffee table directly in front of her.
“Who are you, Kennedy?” I ask, watching her reaction closely for anything that could tip me off. Even though I got her tipsy the other night, she didn’t cave. She stuck to her story, but it sounded rehearsed to the trained ear.
“I’m Kennedy.” She smiles playfully and avoids the question, licking her lips to distract me.
I place my drink next to hers and scoot forward, caging her in. I want her captive. “Let’s be real for a minute here.” The warmth of her thighs does nothing to quell the ache that’s starting to become painful.
“I have been.” Her back straightens, and her legs brush against the insides of my thighs.
I scoot closer and place my palms on her knees to stop their shaking. “Do you want to be with me or Hassan? I don’t do sloppy seconds.”
“Hassan’s a means to an end, Nix.” She swallows hard, and her lips part as she stares at me with a look I can only describe as lust-filled. “You’re…”
“Sexy? Handsome?”
She laughs. “Nix.”
“Come on. Just admit you wanted to fuck me last night, and I’ll stop.” I want this woman.
Her body moves forward, and her knees brush against my cock. I slide my hand under the hem of her miniskirt. “Only if you’ll admit it too.”
“I have no issue saying what I want, Kennedy. Right now, I want you. I don’t want Hassan’s filthy hands touching you again. I don’t want him to even look in your direction. You wanted my attention, and now you’ve got it, but you may regret trading in one devil for another.”
“I don’t want Hassan.”
