by Alison Mello
“Good.” Logan nods toward Jonah. “How’s your new bouncer?”
“He’s great so far.” Jonah shrugs. “Bouncing isn’t like bartending though. You either have it or you don’t. As long as he continues to show up and pays attention, he’ll do fine.”
“Good, now Club Heat business. I want to figure out how this bastard is vandalizing my club and we need to make sure my dancers are safe,” Logan growls angrily, but we’re distracted by our women. We all look to the stage because the girls have burst out into a fit of laughter. Damn, my girl looks fucking hot up there. She’s on the pole, trying to spin as she lowers her body down to the floor. The pride written all over her face is beautiful. “I hate to be a cock blocker, but can we finish talking business, please?” Logan asks.
“Yeah, sure. Vandalism, right?” I laugh.
Logan laughs. “Right.” Logan shakes his head.
“Do we know when it happened?” I ask.
“Apparently our security crew has become predictable because they knew when to strike. They came in between them checking on the club. Clearly this time it’s personal.”
“We get that, but that doesn’t tell us how we fix it,” Jonah says.
“Yeah, we can’t let our boy get his ass kicked,” Shane says, still screwing with me.
“I can hold my own. You guys just watch your own asses.” I shove Shane.
“Um, you may be able to hold your own, big boy, but I still want protection on you.” Miranda walks up behind me. She has sweat dripping down her body and it’s sexy as hell.
I’m telling Miranda that I’ll take care of it, so she’ll stop stressing over it when the food is delivered. We all make our plates so we can get back to our conversation. Logan brings the security issue back up. “I can’t have security outside the building all night, that’s just silly. Maybe I need to put cameras in and only have them run while I’m closed. I can try to hide them so that clients won’t know they’re there.”
“I think it’s the only way we’ll catch them, and I agree, they have to be well hidden,” Shane says. “If the dickheads see them, they may stop and we won’t catch them; and if the cameras are seen, you may lose clients.”
“I don’t know what else to do, so I’m making the call for a consult this week. In the meantime, I want security stepped up during business hours, and you,” Logan says, pointing to me. “Watch your ass.”
“I will.”
***
Miranda
I’ve been half listening to this conversation all night, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. This guy is going to be the death of me. I even screwed up on the stage tonight, causing all the girls to laugh because I was too busy trying to hear what their plans are for protecting the club and Stone. To be honest, I’m not really happy with what I’m hearing. Stone thinks he’s indestructible, and though the cameras are a great idea, that doesn’t do shit to keep my man safe. I’ll be sure to let him know I’m not happy about it later. We walk off the stage, and when we approach the guys, I put my two cents in, but the food has arrived, so I quickly eat in silence because I’ve heard enough. I don’t feel like he’s taking this seriously, and he’s going to get hurt. Tossing my plate, I turn and shout to Stone, “You ready to go?”
He cocks an eyebrow, but he must notice I’m upset because he agrees, shaking hands with his boys. I’m not in the mood, so I say goodbye from across the room and head toward the door.
“Hey, before I forget…” Logan shouts, causing Stone to turn around. “Thanksgiving dinner, new place, four o’clock.”
“Sounds good, man.” Stone turns back to me, and as soon as Stone is by my side, I push the door open and hurry toward the truck. Slade and Cole are right behind us. I’m happy to see that no one has messed with the truck tonight. I quickly jump inside and wait for him to take off. He pulls away, saying nothing as I stare out the window the entire ride home. For the first time since we’ve started seeing each other, there is some serious tension in this truck. It’s so thick I could scoop it with my hands and toss the shit out the window.
When we finally pull up to the house, I jump out of the truck and run up to the building. I’m feeling emotional and I need to calm down before I explode at him. I run straight past the doorman and to the elevator, hitting the button, hoping it will arrive quickly. It seems like it’s taking forever, and when it finally comes, Stone has caught up with me. He steps inside behind me and we ride the elevator to the eighth floor in complete silence. It’s not until I step out of the elevator that I realize I had decided to leave my purse and keys home tonight. I step to the side with my hands folded across my chest, waiting for him to open the door. As soon as he does, I bolt to our room, going straight to the bathroom. Before I can manage to get in the shower, Stone comes up behind me and pins me to the counter.
“Talk to me,” he demands.
“There’s nothing to talk about. You’ve clearly made up your mind that you’re man enough to take on these guys despite my fears or opinions.” I try to push away from him, but he’s so strong and won’t allow it. I turn my head and close my eyes as he presses his lips to my sweaty skin. “Stop.”
“Why?” He licks up my neck.
“Because I’m sweaty and nasty,” I answer, a moan escaping me when he nibbles my ear. “And I’m mad at you.”
He sighs. “What do you want me to do?” he questions, spinning me around so I have to face him.
“I want you to take this seriously. That message was no idle threat. He’s coming for you.”
He looks at the ceiling, trying to maintain some sense of control. “I get it, but I’m not taking security off of you to protect me. I can protect myself.”
“Bullshit. You just don’t want to deal with them anymore than I do,” I scream at him. “I say Slade stays with me and Cole stays with you.”
He rolls his eyes at me and sighs. “Will that make you happy?” he asks, totally frustrated.
“Yes.” I pause. “Happier, anyway. I love you and I don’t want these fuckers getting to you.” A tear escapes me and I look away, trying to hide my fears.
“Look at me, baby,” his voice is much softer. When I don’t look up, he gently grabs my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. “I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how worried you were. If it will make you feel better, we’ll split the security. The guy hasn’t said or done anything toward you, so maybe you’re right and it’s me he wants.” He pauses for a minute. “You have to promise me you’ll be careful, though.”
I give a small, tight smile. “I will. Thank you.”
He presses his lips to mine. His hands instantly go to my hair, pulling my elastic out, so my hair falls in waves down my back. He pulls slightly, tilting my head to the side, licking up the vein in my neck. When he gets to my ear he moans, “Bed.” When he picks me up, I wrap my legs around his waist. He continues licking, biting, and sucking on my neck and ear. As he places me down on the bed, he grabs the top of my leggings and thong, removing them and tossing them over his shoulder.
“Stone.” I begin to protest against him positioning himself between my thighs, but before I can say more, he begins to lick through my folds, causing me to forget my insecurities. He feels so good. My man has the most magical tongue. Once it touches me, all else is forgotten. He’s attacking my clit, licking and sucking like his life depends on it. Bolts of pleasure shoot through my body as my legs shake. Stone is not letting up as I ride out an intense orgasm.
He finally breaks away to begin kissing a path up my body. He pays special attention at my hip and bellybutton. When he gets to my breasts, he takes some time on each one before he kisses up my neck to my ear. “I love you,” he whispers as he slowly slips his cock into my wet pussy.
When he’s seated balls deep inside of me, he looks into my eyes. “I love you too,” I say, just before he crushes his lips to mine. His hips are rolling at the same time his tongue is searching and tasting my mouth. His hips stop for a second, but the
kissing continues, our tongues dancing as we both show each other exactly how we feel. It’s been a stressful few weeks, but times like this remind us how important we are to each other. He needs to know what he means to me, so he’s careful. I don’t know what I would do if he got hurt or I lost him.
I’m brought back to the now when he nips my lip and begins rolling his hips again. Lifting one of my legs slightly, he changes the angle and picks up the pace. Tightening my muscles, I squeeze his cock, causing him to groan in my mouth as he continues to kiss me. “Fuck, don’t do that, baby.”
I giggle and roll my hips meeting him thrust for thrust. It doesn’t take long before I get that beautiful feeling deep in my belly that tells me another orgasm is about to shred me. His lips find mine one more time just as my muscles tighten, milking his cock. He seats himself balls deep one more time, emptying every last drop deep inside of me. His hips stop moving, but we’re still locked in a passionate kiss and I don’t want it to stop. Everything that’s been going on has me an emotional wreck, and when he breaks away, another tear rolls down my cheek.
A sudden flash of panic spreads across his face. “What is it, baby? Why are you crying?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just scared. I can’t lose you, Stone.” I take a deep breath. “I’ve lost so much over the years. I can’t lose you too.”
He wipes my tears with his thumbs and says, “Baby, I promise you’re not losing me, okay?”
I nod my head, trying to gain some control over my emotions, but I’m failing. “Come on, let’s go take a shower, and then I’ll hold you until you’re asleep.” He thinks I don’t know it, but sometimes after I fall asleep he climbs out of bed. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but I think it’s due to all the late nights he works. He doesn’t get home until three or four in the morning sometimes.
“Baby, the shower’s ready,” Stone calls from the bathroom. I climb in behind him. We both quickly wash up, tired from the long day. As soon as I’m done, I jump out to dry off and slip on some sleep shorts and a tank top. I’m climbing into bed when Stone climbs in next to me, wearing nothing but boxer briefs, and it makes me smile. My man is sexy as hell with his bumpy abs and his muscular chest.
He pulls me close, wrapping an arm around me. “Sleep, baby, I’ll keep you safe.” He kisses me on the head and holds me until I’m out.
Chapter 14
Miranda
It’s Thursday. Thank the lord the week is just about over. I’ve been really busy at work, and the struggle has been real this week. I sat in the back of the car with my eyes closed as security drove me in. Since the threat was made against Stone, they drive me to work and leave me there so they can be around for Stone during the day. Though all has been quiet with Higgins and his goons, tension has been at an all-time high as we wait to see if and when he strikes again. To make matters worse, I haven’t been feeling my best. I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home.
I’m wrapping up some business before I go to lunch with the girls when Tanya walks in my office. “Good afternoon,” she says.
“Hey, Tanya, what can I do for you?” I question as she takes the seat across from my desk. I love the suit she’s wearing today. She looks professional and it’s very flattering too. She smiles at me and says, “I’m happy to say that Higgins has paid his first half of the bill, so you can go ahead and start planning his event.”
“Oh, good. I was going to email him today if I hadn’t heard from you to ask him if he’d changed his mind.”
“He actually sent an apology with it,” she says with shock, and yet a hint of skepticism in her voice.
“Yeah, well, now he’s threatening Stone, so we’re still on alert,” I tell her as I make a note in my system to email him.
“Good. Make sure you two stay cautious.” There is concern in her voice and the thought makes me feel good. It’s nice to know my boss genuinely cares for me.
“We are. He has someone with him at all times now and I have someone with me when I’m not here, but thank you for your concern.”
“You’re welcome. Now go enjoy your lunch. I’m gone for the afternoon.” She stands from the chair.
“Have a great day, Tanya.”
I open my email to send a message off to Mr. Higgins. In my message, I thank him for his payment and ask him if he would like to plan his party for New Year’s Eve. His response is instantaneous. He agrees to a New Year’s Eve party and says he’s waiting for my promo ideas. He also informs me that the VIP rooms are all finished and that he’s already forwarded all the necessary information to our web design team so they can go live with the new website.
I shake my head in shock at his complete turnaround from just a few weeks ago. He was a sleazy dick. I read through his message one more time before I respond, when there’s another knock at the door. I look up to see Katie and Lila standing there. “Are you ready for lunch?” Katie asks.
“Yeah, let’s go. I need a break.” I grab my purse from the drawer.
We head to the deli up the street, and we wait in line for a seat. “Are you okay?” Lila asks.
“Yeah, I’m just really tired and have been feeling off lately. I think it’s just all the stress with the Higgins bullshit, and now Tanya just told me he made his payment, so I need to start working on his event and promoting it.”
“At least it’ll all be over soon,” Katie says.
“Look, there’s a table,” Lila points out. We hurry over to snag it before someone else can.
That’s when my stomach starts to turn and suddenly I feel really sick. I’m trying to take a few deep breaths to calm myself, but it’s not really working. “Miranda, you’re really pale all of a sudden. Are you all right?”
“I will be. I think I’m going to just get some soup. My stomach feels awful.”
The waitress comes over and we order our lunches before turning back to work talk. “Anyway, Tanya told me Higgins sent an apology letter with his payment.”
“You don’t believe he means it, do you?” Lila questions.
“No, not really. I mean, he isn’t the type of guy to apologize. I personally think he’s up to no good. I just don’t know what it is yet. Club Heat hasn’t been touched, and neither Stone nor I have any further ‘messages.’ Higgins has only messaged me about business. Stone even spoke with Logan again last night to get an update before Club Heat has another busy weekend and he said he hasn’t heard from the guy.”
“Okay, let’s talk happy stuff. Have you thought about your wedding?” Katie asks.
“Not really, we agreed to have something small here with just our friends and family. Stone called Jonah and Shane and asked them to be in the wedding, and of course they both agreed.”
“Yeah, Shane was pretty excited to be in the wedding with us,” Katie says with a huge smile.
“I’m torn over the entire process, though. I don’t know where I want to have it. What will everyone wear? When should we do it? I mean, Halloween is in a month, then it’s Thanksgiving, and then Christmas.” A bulb goes off in my head and my face lights up. I know they all see it, because they’re smiling too.
“What?” Lila asks.
“Valentine’s Day wedding. Stone proposed with a teddy bear and roses. You don’t get more Valentine’s Day than that.”
“We can wear red!” Katie shouts, thrilled with the idea as the waitress puts down our lunch. The smell causes my stomach to turn again, but I try to fight it off and take a few bites.
“I would love for you to wear red. I’ll wear a white dress with a red sash and the guys…” I trail off. “Well, they can figure out what they’re going to wear.” The girls begin to giggle.
“This is going to be so much fun,” Lila says.
“Speaking of fun, you girls have to come hang with us for the Halloween party at Club Thrive. Everyone is dressing up. It’s going to be a blast,” Katie says.
“That sounds awesome!” I clap excitedly. “At least I’ll be able to
hang with my friends while Stone is busy working.”
“Oh my, I have an idea for the party.” Lilia’s face lights up with excitement.
“Do tell,” Katie says.
“Miranda should be a zombie bride and we should be her zombie bridal party.”
“Love it,” Katie claps her hands, thrilled with the idea. She looks at me and says, “What do you say?”
That’s when I realized just how sick I was. “I’m going to be sick.” I jump up from the table and run to the bathroom to empty the contents of my stomach.
A few minutes later both girls are in there with me. “Are you okay?” Katie asks through the stall door.
“Yeah,” I walk out to rinse my mouth and wash my hands.
“I think you need to go home. You don’t look good.” I take a deep breath and nod my agreement.
“Here, I had them pack up your soup.” Katie hands me a container. “We’ll walk you to your car. Go home and get some rest,” she says, linking her arm through mine.
“We need to call Slade and Cole. They’ve been driving me into work.” I take a deep breath, trying to settle my stomach. Katie pulls her phone from her purse to make the call for me and then walks me to the door to wait for the guys to arrive.
When they pull up a short time later, Katie helps me into the back. I roll down the window and peek my head out. “Thanks, girls,” I’ll be in touch.
When I pull up to our building, Stone is waiting downstairs by the doorman. “Baby, what’s wrong? You look awful.”
“What are you doing?” I give him a puzzled look, not understanding why he’s standing by the door.
“The guys told me they had to go get you. I’ve been down here waiting for you since they left. Are you okay?”
I shake my head no. “I’m so sick to my stomach,” I tell him as he wraps his arm around me to help me upstairs. “Stone, I can walk. My legs aren’t broken, I just feel tired and sick.”
