“Fuck what others might wonder. I’m wondering what you've got hidden under that dress.”
I scoffed lightly to play it off, but my eyes lingered on her full and inviting lips, the way they curved when she teased me. Damn, she had no idea what she did to me, stirring up that attraction I tried to ignore. Her body was a distraction I didn't need, curves that begged to be touched.
“Looks like you care more about what’s under Sienna’s dress.”
“Stop looking so hard.”
“I wasn’t looking. I was just…observing.”
Her eyes flicked back toward the club, then back to me, and I caught the spark between us, the one that made my pulse do something that other women never made it do. I stepped a bit closer, close enough to catch the faint scent of her sweet and teasing perfume, matching the way her dress hugged her curves. “Observe all you want, sweetheart. I love when your eyes are on me.” When she swallowed hard and flushed red, I decided to take her out of her misery and change the subject. “Me and Sienna are a business arrangement. That’s all it is. We are an item on paper. That's it. You know that.” I held her gaze, letting my tone turn playful. My hand brushed lightly against her arm, and I knew it sent a little jolt through both of us. “But if you're jealous, baby girl, just say the word. I'd love the chance to show you how I’ve been thinking about wrecking that pussy, and Sienna and any arrangement won’t stop that.”
Ava's cheeks flushed and her breath hitched as she stood there, eyes wide and locked on mine, like my words hit her right where her clit was pulsating. She shifted her thighs together, and I could smell the sweet, musky scent of her juices leaking from her pussy, soaking through whatever she had on under that dress, her body betraying how bad she wanted me despite everything.
Seeing her vulnerable like that made me want her even more. She was too good for my world, too pure for a nigga like me who chased thrills but never settled. I got any woman I wanted with a wink and a line, but Ava was the one I craved. Her innocence made me hard just thinking about corrupting it, teaching her to moan my name, but I couldn't.
No strings, no future—that was me.
Ava blinked hard, straightening up quickly, forcing a cool smile as she tossed her hair back, trying to play it like she was some tough big girl, not the innocent little thing I knew she was underneath, all wide-eyed and aching for what I could give her.
“Well, that can’t happen, because you’re involved…on paper.” She took a sip of her drink like she didn’t care, but she cared. I could feel it. And the worst part was I cared too, more than I should. Her lips on that glass had me imagining them wrapped around something else, something thick and ready for her.
She stepped around me. “Enjoy the party, Reek.”
“Ava—” I reached out and my fingers grazed her wrist and turned her back toward me with a gentle tug. God, she was beautiful, and it took everything not to pull her close right then, to whisper how bad I wanted her, how she'd be the exception if only I could be the man she deserved. But I wasn't. I'd ruin her with my ways, leave her wanting the family life I could never give. Still, the temptation burned, making me want to taste her, claim her, even if just for one night.
Zahra’s voice cut through my thoughts and our tension. “Everybody, come here real quick!”
I blinked like I’d forgotten where I was. Ava jumped out of her skin and scurried away.
I followed the small crowd from the patio back inside. People moved toward the center of the club, trying to guess what Zahra was up to. She stood there waiting with a gift bag in her hand, trying to keep it cool, but failing. Her eyes looked shiny like she’d been crying already.
Saint was across the room, watching her with a confused look on his face.
Zahra looked around until she confirmed everybody was paying attention, then called for her husband. “Saint, come here.”
He walked over slowly, suspicious as hell. “What’s going on? It ain’t my birthday. It ain’t our anniversary.”
People laughed.
Zahra smiled, but her hands were shaking a little when she held the bag out. “Just open it.”
Saint stared at the bag. “Zahra, what is this?”
“Open it,” she pressed, giggling nervously.
I glanced to the side and saw Ava with her phone up, recording with a huge smile on her face. She looked excited like she’d been waiting on this moment all day.
Saint finally reached in and pulled out a tiny black onesie. It had the Cartier crest on the front, and under it in gold letters it said BABY CARTIER.
Saint froze.
The club gasped in that split second everybody realized what it was before he did.
He stared at it, then looked up at Zahra. His eyes went wide, then grew teary. “Stop playing with me,” he said, and his voice cracked hard. “Stop playing, bae.”
Zahra shook her head, already crying. “I’m not playing.”
Saint looked back down at the onesie like he didn’t trust his own eyes. His mouth opened, then closed. His hands started shaking, and the tough act fell right off him. “You serious?” he whispered. “You serious, baby?”
