An uneasiness creeps up my spine. I glance around but don’t see anyone who should get my hackles up. The sooner I can get back to Sam, the better. Being away from her for even one bleedin’ day is turning out to be harder than expected. I think I’m fuckin’ addicted to the lass.
“Everythin’ good?” Shay raises a brow at my sudden alertness and glances at my phone.
“Grand.” I take a swig of the Guiness.
Two women enter and sit down at the bar next to us. They look like tourists with their tans and bleached blonde hair and are too friendly for my liking. Shay chats ‘em up though, and Ioverhear them say they’re visiting from South Carolina. I tune out and check my emails.
While I’m working on my Shepherd’s Pie, I feel one of the women slide onto the stool next to me, her too-sweet perfume tickling my nose.
I swing my gaze to her, still chewing.
She holds out a hand with pink polish and gold bracelets. “I’m Lyla, and you are?”
I ignore her hand. “Enjoyin’ my lunch.” I go back to eating and scrolling on my phone. I feel an elbow poke in my ribs and turn a sharp gaze on Shay.
“Be nice,” he whispers through his teeth.
I narrow my eyes. “We’re not here to make friends.” I glance around him to the now glassy-eyed woman who’s got her tits resting up against Shay’s arm. Then I give Shay a cold glare, my voice low enough for only him to hear. “Get rid of her or I will, yeah.”
He sighs. “You can be a real fuckin’ cunt, you know.” After he gets the women to leave, I can feel him eyeing me.
“What?” I ask without looking up from my phone.
“This thing with Dr. Sam… it’s serious, yeah?”
I turn to look at him. He’s not pissed anymore, just curious. So I decide to answer him. “Aye.”
He grins then and pats me on the back. “About time, brother.”
Chapter 39
Samantha
Atrickle of sweat rolls between my breasts as I slide down the pole and let my toes touch the mat that I’ve put down for the women’s safety. They whoop and clap.
“I’ll never be able to do that,” Crystal says, hands on her hips, a big grin on her face.
“Of course you will. Come on.” I motion for her to step up to the pole. “The laybacks feel scary, but you’ll build up to them safely, I promise. Go on, start from the floor. Remember the grips we practiced with multiple contact points. The different contact points give you the varied range of shapes. Don’t think too much, just let your body flow.”
As we watch her, Vega steps up next to me, her arms crossed. I can feel the hostility coming off her in waves. What’s she so angry about?
“The boss isn’t here today?” she asks.
I glance over at her. There’s a slight smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.
“No, he’s not.”
“Well, I hope he’s back tonight. I’ll miss slipping into the back office for our nightly fun. That man sure knows how to show a girl a good time.”
I blink, my chest squeezing. I keep my eyes locked on Crystal, but I can feel the tears stinging the back of my eyes. Nope. No. There’s no way Killian is fucking this dancer at night after he leaves me.
How does she know where he’s sleeping though? A tiny bit of doubt seeps in. It’s enough to make me nauseous and question everything. I mean, how well do I actually know Killian? We’ve never discussed being exclusive.
No, she’s just trying to get under my skin. Killian hasn’t even tried to hide our… whatever we are. He’s openly touchy-feely and possessive of me even when the club is crowded. She knows we’re together. Everyone knows we’re together. So why is she trying to convince me he’s fucking her?
I force myself to smile. “Great job, Crystal.” Then I turn to Vega and meet her eyes with a challenging glare. “You’re up, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Vega is not the most talented dancer, and I shouldn’t have spotlighted that. Shouldn’t have sunk to her level. I realize my mistake when she falls off the pole with a hard smack on the mat while trying to invert. Then sweaty and red-faced, she shoots me a narrow-eyed glare before she storms off. It’s a look that says she could hurt me. Bad. I just don’t know how yet.
