He narrowed his eyes on the stranger before nodding at me and taking a bill off the guy’s stack of cash. “It’s on him.” Smirking, he slipped away to get the drinks.
The stranger ignored what Josh had done and kept his attention on me in a way that made my skin itch. Something told me that whoever this guy was, he wasn’t here to make friends. He certainly didn’t understand when I wasn’t interested.
“Did you come in with the ex-mayor?” he finally asked.
Warning bells went off in my head and I straightened, glaring. “Who the fuck are you?” I stared at him more intently, taking in the neat clothes and even neater appearance. I didn’t miss the phone in the right pocket of his shirt, a weird place for it to be. The camera was pointed straight at me, though, and it didn’t take much to put two and two together. “You’re a fucking journalist.”
He smiled and it was smarmy, like what I imagined a supervillain’s smile would look like in real life. “Neven Alexson,New Gothenburg Mainline. I’m a blogger. I cover ourQside of town stories. Anything to do with the LGBTQ community comes up, and I’m there.”
“But still a journalist.” I rolled my eyes, and thanked Josh when he came back with my drinks. Leaning in closer to him, I said, “This asshole is a journalist looking for a story. I know your employers wouldn’t want him snooping around. I’d probablyencouragehim to leave.”
Josh glared at Alexson and raised his hand. He made a signal at the security men, and I knew I was about to get a show if I stuck around.
Turning back to Alexson, who’d paled, I winked. “Honey, this is thewrongplace to be looking for a story. You do know who runs it, right?”
“Please, I just need a story,” he whispered desperately, grabbing hold of my arm.
I shook my elbow and glared harder. “Let me go or I’ll tip these drinks all over you.”
“Listen to me. Let me tell Midberry’s story. All the other news outlets made him out to be a criminal, but I don’t believe he is. I can give him a platform.” He tried to follow me but didn’t get far before a pair of familiar bouncers approached. I winked at Charley and Travis, brothers who were also part of the Kings of Men MC. I’d seen them at Black Out before, too, so I thought maybe the clubs passed them around to where they were needed. They weren’t big men, but they could easily haul Alexson out of the club, and they did exactly that.
I watched as Alexson struggled, yelling in my direction about telling the truth about Midberry, but I ignored him as I made my way back to Ross and Eli. Either they hadn’t heard the commotion, or they were ignoring it, because by the time I got back, they were still deep in conversation. I slid onto a chair next to Ross and passed him his drink, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“You have to ask yourself,how do I make my Dom happy?” Eli finished, and Ross nodded.
“It makes a lot of sense.” He laughed and leaned back against the booth. Taking the drink from me, he smiled in thanks and held his mouth toward me hesitantly, like he wasn’t sure if I wanted to kiss him or not. Kiss him I did. I slammed my mouth against his and devoured his taste. I let Eli and everyone watching know that this man was mine, and by the time I was done, Ross’s eyes were clouded with need and he had a stupid grin on his face. “Thank you, Mister.”
“You’re welcome, Pookie.”
“I don’t want to waste your night with the details of the job, but I would like you to come see me tomorrow at my apartment, Ross. We can talk pay and what your duties will be.”
“You accepted the job?” I asked Ross, wrapping my arm around his shoulders proudly.
He took a deep sip of his scotch. “Yeah. It’ll be a good time, and I’ve had personal assistants before. I know how it works. I could even talk to Mark about it. He… contacted me recently. Tried to, anyway.”
I rubbed his shoulder. “That’s a really good idea, Pookie. Now enjoy your drink. I want to take you dancing.”
By the time he was done with his scotch, my knee was bouncy with impatience. Eli laughed at us when I dragged Ross onto the dance floor. I saw his hesitation in the way he glanced around at the people crowding us, and how he licked his lips, but I wasn’t going to let him feel that way. I’d taken him out to relax, and that was exactly what we were going to do.
Dragging him closer, I grabbed his asscheeks and moved to the beat of the music. He had no choice except to dance with me, his body swaying with mine. He curled his arms around my neck and leaned in closer, the scent of his cologne lingering in my nose. Everyone around us disappeared. There was only me and Ross. No one else existed.
My heart thumped hard and my stomach warmed. Ross’s closeness had me sweating and my cock hard, and I couldn’t get enough of his reactions. After three years at the Courtesan, sex had become routine rather than enjoyable, but with Ross it had always been exciting, now more than ever. This was my houseboy. My bitch.
I leaned my forehead against his and sighed. “Don’t leave me, Pookie.”
“What?” he whispered, mouth parted.
“When you start getting some money in the bank again, please don’t leave me. I want you in my life.” It felt like I was ripping my heart out of my chest and presenting it to him. Now it was up to him whether he wanted to stomp on it or keep it.
He stopped moving, and I froze with him. A tender smile curved at his flushed mouth and he kissed me lightly—too lightly. “I’m not going anywhere, Mister.”
“Good.” We started moving again, and I reveled in the feel of him against me. It didn’t matter that the music was fast and a thumping beat, we moved slowly, enjoying the feel of each other until all I wanted to do was go home and cuddle with him.
By the time we got back to Eli, he was chatting with a handsome man who had short, shaved hair, a sharp jawline, an even sharper red suit, and an ebony complexion. Eli grinned at us like he’d won a lifetime supply of fancy cooking gadgets when we approached.
“We’re going home. Will you be okay, cupcake?” I asked with a wicked smirk.
Eli ran his hand down his visitor’s arm and winked at me. “I’ll be just fine. Go have fun, kids.”
