Bitch? I was the first woman to have Adam’s cock in her mouth! I cringe at my own thoughts. I’m seriously glad no one else can hear them.
Anna grabs Lana by her arm. “Let’s give them some privacy.”
I silently plead with them to stay, but they won’t even look in my direction. Yeah, no help there. I watch them disappear into the VIP room, then send my dirtiest look in Adam’s direction, but he’s not even looking at me. He’s trying to get rid of the woman who is still pasted against him.
“Go,” he demands, tone cold. “Don’t make me have to tell you again, because I won’t be so nice the next time.”
She storms away, shaking her ass so much I’m surprised her hips don’t dislocate. She does have a nice ass though.
Bitch.
He turns to me and we continue our silent conversation. His eyes say, I can fuck whoever I want. While mine say, Perhaps you should grow some fucking standards.
Now that Adam and I are finally alone, I kind of wish she would come back.
Desperate times, apparently.
“Now, what the fuck are you doing in my club?” he growls, stepping closer to me.
His club?
Shit.
“You own this club?” I ask, eyebrows rising.
How fucking unlucky am I? Is this the only club he owns? Because that would be pretty damn unlucky. Then again, good luck and I have never really mixed. “Heartbeat” by Childish Gambino starts to play, but I can’t even enjoy the song under Adam’s intense stare.
“I do,” he replies slowly, taking me in from head to toe in a painfully slow inspection that has me feeling a little self-conscious.
“Okay,” I say, looking around. To the left, to the right. Behind him. Anywhere but into his eyes. I don’t know the man standing before me, and while a small part of me wants to run into his arms, the rest of me wants to slap him across the face.
“Who are you here with?” he asks, making my gaze reluctantly meet his once more.
“A friend,” I say.
“Where is this friend?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
I shrug, feeling a little sheepish. “Around here somewhere.”
I said I was with a friend, not a good friend. Trust me, there’s a difference.
He nods his head, his lips as tight as I’ve ever seen them. “You gonna come back here?”
I shake my head. “Definitely not.”
He scrubs a hand down his face. “Good. Unless you want to fuck, you know, for old times’ sake?”
Is he serious right now? Did I want to fuck for old times’ sake?
I grit my teeth and count to ten in my head. If he wants to unsettle me, he’s sure doing a good job of it.
I actually contemplate slapping him, but no, that won’t help the situation. Best not to let him know how much his words affect me. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how just seeing him again makes my soul whimper in pain.
I force out a humorless laugh. “I do want to fuck,” I say, licking my lips. His eyes widen, surprised at my words. I take a step closer. “Anyone except you, Adam.”
“It’s Rake,” he says, expression now blank. “No one calls me Adam anymore. And to tell you the truth, my name on your lips is just pissing me the fuck off.”
“Right,” I mutter, looking at my feet before back up at him. “Well, Rake. Please tell Anna and Lana I said ’bye.”
He scowls. “Stay away from them, Bailey. I don’t want you to have anything to do with me or anyone I care about. You’re nothing to me anymore. You haven’t been for a long-ass time. Now get the fuck out of my club.”
The last line of the song plays, the words lingering between us.
They hurt.
The past hurts.
Everything fucking hurts.
The last thing I need is to open those old wounds. I worked so hard at burying everything, at moving on. Apparently all it takes is one look at his face to bring every pain back.
So I turn and leave.
He isn’t worth it.
Rake
I watch her walk away from me, my chest feeling constricted—so tight it hurts to breathe. Seeing her again here, of all places, really has me feeling off-fuckin’-kilter. I rub the back of my neck, staring at the spot where she was just standing.
Fuck.
I’m not him. I’m not the boy whose heart she broke, not anymore. I shouldn’t be feeling anything when I see her. It’s been years, but it feels like Bailey is still mine. She still looks good—I’ll give her that. Her brown hair still looks fuckin’ soft and I know it would have smelled good too. Her brown eyes can still peer into my fuckin’ soul.
I can’t see her again.
She’s nothing to me. I must be feeling like this because of the surprise of seeing her again. That’s all. Yeah, she has no hold over me.
None.
Fuck, I need a smoke, even though I quit.
“She’s pretty,” I hear Tracker say from behind, placing his hand on my shoulder for a second before removing it. “Lana seems fond of her. We gonna have any trouble with her?”
“No,” I growl instantly. “No trouble.” I turn to look at my brother. “And only I deal with her, all right? No one else goes near her.”
She’s my burden to bear. The walking example of what happens when you let a woman get close to you. My own personal walking lesson.
“You want me to call Kira back?”
“Who?” I ask Tracker distractedly.