He laughs without a worry in the world, and I catch myself sprouting seeds of jealousy. I shouldn’t be but the idea that he can laugh like that with others, but not with me, makes me want to rip my heart out and throw it off a bridge.
27
Visha
Our eyes meet across the room, and my heart skips a beat.
“You can’t even spend an hour without drifting back to him,” Liv mocks and slaps my arm with the back of her phone.
I wince and scrunch my nose at her. “But look. He’s giggling and drinking like a fish. I’m worried, and yeah, I do want to walk over there and kidnap him.”
“Some would call you possessive, you know? Oh, your phone lit up,” she points out. “Who is it?”
I glance at the screen and let my grin overtake my face.
She laughs and I can almost hear her rolling her eyes. “Never mind. There’s only one person who can make you smile like that. What’d he say?”
“He asked me for a dance,” I mutter, flushing brighter when I peer up at Aoi in his booth and catch him smiling at me. “Liv, I think I’m hard.”
She wheezes and holds up her palm. “Okay dude. Too much information. Go tellhimthat. I can’t help your wiener.”
I get up abruptly when Aoi strides toward the center of the dance floor, surrounded by eager men and women who cannot take their eyes off him. Taking a step forward I glance back at Liv apologetically ,but the huge smile on her face puts me at ease as she motions me to go.
My legs pull me right where my heart belongs until they stop an inch away from him. He gazes up at me, cheeks flushed adorably and eyes sparkling with mischief. The glare Amira throws me over his shoulder doesn’t fly past me, but I couldn’t care less about what she thinks of me right now.
He grabs my hand and settles it on his waist, closing the gap between our bodies until we’re pressed flush against each other. The small tilt of his head when he leans next to my ear to whisper makes my pants tighten at the crotch.
“Does it surprise you that I’m a heavy drinker and a party guy?” he asks, and the look he shoots me tugs at a primal need inside me to devour him.
“You could be a serial killer, and I would still be mesmerized by you.” I lean in, inhaling his intoxicating citrus and jasmine scent.
Before I can kiss him, he puts his index finger against my lips, teasingly telling me, “You haven’t unlocked the kissing privilege yet.”
I burst out laughing and embrace him like I’ve dreamed to for so long, spinning him around until he orders me to put him down. “You never cease to surprise me.”
Noticing several pairs of eyes on us, I fear Aoi may pull away but instead, his hands drift over my biceps and settle around my neck. “Don’t worry, they’re not looking at you.”
And he’s right. Every single man and woman in the room has their eyes glued to Aoi as he sways against me.
As though an incredible idea popped into his mind, he pulls away from me and with a bright smile he grabs my hand, leading us toward the VIP balcony. I hold back my snarky comment about the ease with which he uses my influence to get what he wants since he walks by the bouncer guarding the balcony without a care in the world.
The bouncer, Bill, nods at me when I gesture at him to escort everyone else back inside. “No one else is allowed out here after us.”
“Yes, sir.”
The remaining people head back inside on Bill’s demand. Aoi leans against the railing and exhales in delight, taking in the starry night sky, silk blouse swaying in the breeze. “This is exactly what I needed. It’s too hot inside.”
The club is not the only thing that’s hot.
I walk up to him and put my palm on the small of his back, extracting a divine startled gasp that shoots straight to my cock. “I overheard your friend say you were finally single.”
He tips his head back into place but his smirk falters. “I warned you. I’m a piece of shit.”
“I don’t think negatively of you for hiding that important detail. I just want to know if it’s true. That’s all.”
“Rachel and I had an agreement,” he explains casually, but I sense an edge to his voice. “We broke it up, though. It was neither real nor serious. I didn’t cheat on her if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I’m not implying anything, Aoi.”
