“Zac, I—” He smothered her mouth to muffle her scream as her body shook with her orgasm. He kept a grip on his own pleasure, not wanting to come in his pants. No, he wanted to be inside her when that happened. She whimpered and another shudder went through her body before she relaxed against him. He could hear her heartbeat thundering in her chest. Or was that his?
He kissed her temple, feeling the overheated skin. “Astrid, I want—”
“Excuse me, what the hell are you doing in here?”
They both froze at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. The door to the closet had been opened, allowing light to stream in behind the middle-aged woman who stood there, hands on her hips. “You two! No fooling around in my closet. I’m going to report—”
“You will do no such thing,” Zac said, his voice taking on a dangerous edge. “Leave,” he growled, his wolf coming to the surface. “Now.”
The janitor’s face grew pale. “I … uh …” She shrugged. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. That better be enough time for you.”
When the door slammed shut, the room went dark, but not for long. Light filled the small space and when he turned around, Astrid quickly let go of the string hanging above her. With her hair all disheveled, her skin flushed and lips swollen, all Zac could think of was how sexy she looked and how he wanted to pick up where they’d left off.
“Zac!” she warned, raising her hands up as he took a step forward. “What are you doing?”
“Something you obviously want me to do,” he answered, licking his lips.
“I—no!” She stammered. “This can’t … we can’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“Because … you know this isn’t right.” She turned away from him.
“Did I imagine you kissing me back? Or you coming from—”
She shook her head and buried her face in her hands, murmuring something he couldn’t understand. “Stop, this is so wrong.”
He wanted her to stop saying that. Because none of this felt wrong. “Is it that guy?”
“What guy?”
“The guy that was on top of you.” It was hard to say it.
“Guy—oh my God. Joey? We were training, not doing the horizontal mambo,” she said. “Besides, what about Isabelle?”
“Who?”
“Isabelle Anderson.” The tips of her ears went red.
“Isabelle—Are you jealous of her?”
“No!” she retorted. “I’m not. But I mean, her—she—she’s the type of girl you should be with.”
“Says who?” he challenged. “She means nothing to me. Astrid, I want you. And I know you want me.”
“Zac, use your head.” She shuffled, moving around him. “Look, you’re probably used to girls falling straight into bed with you. I don’t know what kind of girl you think I am, but I don’t do that.”
Now he was confused. “Do what?”
“Just jump into bed with anyone.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I just … I know how this works,” she said in a quiet voice. “I’m not the kind of … I mean, we’ll have a fun couple of days together, but then you’ll go back to London and I have to stay here. And then you’ll find someone appropriate for you and I’ll just end up …”
Zac stared at her, stunned. Appropriate? What the hell did that mean?
“Just … let’s not do this, okay? I already know the drill.” She reached for the door.
“Wait, Astrid—”
“Don’t, Zac. Just don’t.”
The sound of the door shutting sounded so final to his ears. Like this was it, the end, and that he would never see her again after this.
Perhaps he was going through the stages of what the fuck just happened again, but he was sure of one thing: he was not going to accept Astrid’s excuses.
Chapter Eight
Astrid was glad for the day to be over, at least the first part of it. As soon as the trainees were dismissed, she made a mad dash to her room. She had over an hour to get ready for her shift at The Vixen Den and gobble down dinner somewhere along the way.
Somehow, she made it to the subway, running into the car just as the doors were closing. It was packed, and she found a quiet corner in the back and leaned her head against the wall. This was the first time today she’d even had a chance to think, and the problem with that was once she started, it was like a floodgate opening, and her thoughts came back to that afternoon.
Her mind was still reeling, one moment wondering if that did really happen and that they had kissed, or was it her imagination? Because never in a million years would she thought she would be making out with Zac Vrost.
Well, more than making out. Her body was still buzzing from that orgasm. Oooh, boy. The memory of his substantial erection pressed up against her core made her shiver. If things had progressed any further, she was pretty sure she’d be walking funny for two weeks.
It had been too long; dating had never been a priority for her, and save for a few drunken fumbles over the past few years, her sex life was pathetically lacking. Maybe that was the reason she’d thrown herself at him. Maybe she should start putting herself out there again.
Her wolf growled at her, making her startle. Horny little bitch. Her animal reveled in Zac’s kisses and the way his body felt. Her animal side was partly to blame, as it whined with need when they were interrupted. Well, too bad. No way that was happening again. She just couldn’t do that to herself. Not again.
The PA system called out her stop, and Astrid pushed her way to the front of the car, hopping out and running up the stairs to the street. She ran all the way to the club, which was still two blocks away from the stop. She made it inside, fifteen minutes past the hour she was supposed to have clocked in.
“Yo, girly! Late again. You’re fired.”
Astrid sighed. Her father told her that the forgetting potion worked as expected, and no one who had witnessed her shifting or using her powers remembered any of it. Maybe she should have asked him to make Mr. G’s a little more potent so that he didn’t remember all those times she was late. “I’m sorry, Mr. G, I promise—”
“Hey, hey, I was kidding!” Mr. G took his cigar out of his mouth and chuckled. “You think I’m gonna fire one of my best bodyguards? You saved Petal. And besides, the girls would riot if I let you go. I owe ya one. Whatever you need, you ask, okay?”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Mr. G. Actually, would you mind if I bounced a little early tonight? My friend’s having this party and—”
“Sure! Just have one of the guys cover the backstage entrance, okay?”
“Thanks, Mr. G, you’re the best.” Now that she was sure she wasn’t going to be fired for being late, she slowed her pace as she made her way to the dressing room. When she entered, she saw most of the girls gathered together, talking quietly.
“Hey, ladies, I’m b—Petal?”
The crowd had parted in the middle to allow Astrid to walk over to Petal. When she saw the girl’s face—healing, but still bruised, she let out a soft cry. “Oh, Petal, I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I should have—”
“Your fault?” Petal stood up. “None of this is your fault, Astrid. This is all on me for being a damn fool.” She embraced Astrid and drew her close. “If anything, I’m still here because of you.”
Astrid felt the burn of the tears in her throat. The look of horror on Petal’s face that night was still fresh in her mind. Thank goodness she didn’t remember a thing. That was the reason Lycans had to conceal their true selves from the humans, but it didn’t seem fair. “I let him hurt you,” she said. “I should have—”
“Shush.” Petal put a finger to Astrid’s lips. “Maybe this is what I needed—no, I mean, really. For me to hit rock bottom and finally have the guts to put Leon’s sorry ass in jail. I’ll be testifying at his trial and making sure he’s put away.”
“I know a lawyer,” Astrid said. “He’s my cousin, and he’ll help you out. Anthony’s the best.�
�� She made a mental note to call her cousin, Anthony, in the morning.
“You’ve done enough, Astrid.” Petal assured her. “I can’t let you—”
“Don’t even think about saying no. I’ll take care of it.” She frowned. “What are you doing here, by the way? Shouldn’t you be at home resting?”
“I can’t afford to be out of work,” Petal said. “So, Mr. G said if I can come in and keep the dressing rooms tidy, he’ll give me a paycheck until I’m ready to come back on stage.” She wrinkled her nose. “But, with all these slobs here, I hope I heal sooner rather than later!”
All the girls laughed, and Astrid couldn’t help but chuckle too. “That’s great, Petal, I’m glad. But if you need anything—”
“Girl, I’m fine.” She waved Astrid away. “Go and get to work before Mr. G chews you out again!”
“Yeah, we don’t want the man to have an aneurysm or something.” She waved to the girls before she headed to her locker to put her stuff away.
Astrid’s job was actually pretty boring. Mostly, she patrolled around the backstage area, checking in with the other security team members. Sometimes, if some very insistent customer tried to sneak in, she would call one of the burly bouncers out front using her walkie-talkie and the customer would be escorted out and banned from ever coming back. Mr. G ran a very tight ship; it was a business, after all, despite whatever went on in the front of the house.
She finished her rounds when she decided to swing by to the dressing rooms for her break. Once again, the girls were gathered together, chatting and gossiping, but this time, they all stopped when Astrid entered.
“Do I have something on my face?” Everyone remained silent. “What’s going on?”
“Just tell her, Rose,” Coco said.
“What’s going on?” Astrid turned to the petite redhead in the leather bustier. “Rose?”
“Well …” Rose hesitated. “This guy comes in and asks for a lap dance, right? So the boss calls me and I go into the room and he’s there. Fancy executive type, dressed in an expensive suit. But before I even start, he stops me, won’t even let me near him.” She shrugged. “I ask what’s his damage, and he says he doesn’t want a dance from me, but he gave me a couple hundred to go backstage and deliver a message. To you.”
“Me?” Astrid swallowed a gulp. “Who was it?”
“He didn’t tell me his name.” Rose shrugged her shoulders. “He just said, ‘Tell Astrid that fifteen minutes in the closet wouldn’t have been enough.’”
That dipstick jacker. What the hell was Zac doing here? “Is he still there?”
“Yeah. Room three.”
Her fury barely contained, she made her way to Room three. She threw the door open, and there, sitting on the red velvet couch, was Zac Vrost, looking entirely too pleased with himself when he saw her enter.
“You got my message?”
“Yes. And how. Dare. You!” She stomped over to him. “You can’t just come in here!”
“This is a place of business, right?” Zac looked up at her innocently. “And I’m a customer.”
“Fine, then I’ll call Rose and you can get your lap dance!” She turned to walk away, but Zac used his Lycan speed to get in front of her. “Get out of my way or—”
“Astrid, please.”
“Wasn’t I clear enough today?”
“Actually, you weren’t.” He straightened his shoulders. “Those things you said about not doing this to each other and knowing the drill didn’t make any sense. We’re adults, we can do what we want.”
Oh, why was he making this difficult? It was embarrassing enough as it is. She didn’t want to think about the past and what they were. “Zac, you and I move in different circles. You’re the Beta’s son, not to mention, your dad’s like a bajillionaire and your mom’s Cady Vrost, the most classy woman on the planet. You went to Harvard, then Oxford, and now you help run this huge company, not to mention, you’ll probably soon be second-in-command of the largest Lycan clan in the world.”
“So?”
“So? I’m just a fuckup nobody. I dropped out of college after one semester, and I’ve been drifting from job to job, year after year, pretending I’m an adult.” Reliving how much of a failure she was wasn’t really helping her confidence, but she was trying to make a point. “I finally find a job I like and I fuck that up too, and nearly expose our kind to the humans. I’m just no good for you, Zac.”
His expression turned dark. “First of all, you’re not a fuckup and if you say anything like that again, I swear I’m going to put you over my knee and spank you. Your parents are respected in the Lycan community, but even if they weren’t, I don’t give a shit about that. Second, it’s not like I’m asking you to marry me.”
She tried to ignore the sting of those words. “If you want a quick fuck, I told you, I’m not that kind of girl.”
“For God’s sake, Astrid.” He rubbed his palm down his face. “That’s not what I want.”
“Then what do you want?” She was getting frustrated. “Why did you kiss me?”
“I don’t know … I just … I had to.”
“Had to?”
“Well, why did you kiss me back?” he countered.
She didn’t have a comeback for that one. “Zac, I’m tired of going in circles with you. What will it take to make you go away?”
He was silent for a moment. “Kiss me again and then tell me you don’t want me.”
“Fine.” She reached up and pulled him down to give him a quick smack on the lips. “Now go.”
His eyes darkened. “You didn’t say you didn’t want me. And that’s not the kind of kiss I meant.”
Before she could protest, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. Shock ran down her spine as his lips landed on hers in a fierce kiss. Her knees immediately went weak, and she lost all will to fight him off, despite the ringing alarm bells in her head. A hand moved up her ribcage to cup her breast, and she moaned into his mouth. She had no choice but to cling to him, as she surely would have melted into a puddle by now.
Zac maneuvered her around and walked her back against the wall, trapping her. Escape was the farthest thing from her mind, especially when all the pleasure centers in her brain seemed to have lit up like Christmas lights. She moved her hands down, feeling his hardened cock through his jeans, and this time it was his turn to moan and thrust his hips against her hand.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
Mr. G’s furious voice was like getting doused with a bucket of ice water, and Astrid quickly pushed Zac away. “I’m sorry! Shit, I’m—”
“You!” Mr. G pointed a meaty finger at Zac’s face. “She’s not one of the dancers. I sent you Rose. What the hell happened to her?”
“I can explain,” Astrid began. “I—”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Garavaggio.” Zac’s voice was cool and collected. He didn’t even flinch at Mr. G.’s accusatory glare. “It’s all my fault, I’m afraid.”
“You can’t be touching none of my staff, whether they’re dancers or part of the crew. We got rules here.”
“I know, sir. Again, my apologies for the misunderstanding. I thought Astrid had told you about me.”
“Oh, yeah?” Mr. G chomped on his cigar. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Astrid’s boyfriend. Zac Vrost.” He held his hand out.
“What?” Oh God, this is what going crazy felt like.
“Boyfriend, huh?” Mr. G looked Zac up and down.
“Yes, sir. It’s our anniversary tonight,” Zac explained. “But you know, Astrid’s such a hard worker and really cares so much about your girls, she didn’t want to take the night off. Especially after what happened last week. Poor girl, that Petal.”
Mr. G eyed Astrid. “Girly, if you wanted the night off, ya could have said so, instead of asking to bounce early.”
“Er, well. See, I didn’t need—”
“All right, all right, you twisted my arm.” Mr. G waved his ha
nds dramatically. “Go on, girly, get your things and go have fun with your man.”
“But, Mr. G—”
“Ah, stop or you’ll give me agita! I ain’t letting you spend your anniversary with your handsome boyfriend here in the lap dance room,” the old man exclaimed. “Now go before I change my mind. Sheesh!” He shook his head as he pivoted on his heel. “Whaddaya got to do to give someone a night off around here?”
As soon as the door shut, Astrid’s gaze narrowed at Zac. “You did not just do that!”
“What?” he asked innocently. “Get you the night off?”
“No! Call yourself my … my …”
“Boyfriend? It got you out of trouble, right?”
“It got you out of trouble, mister!” She poked at his chest for emphasis, but he caught her hand. She ignored the sparks of electricity the contact of his skin sent along her fingers.
“Seeing as you are now free and clear, shall we head over to Blood Moon? Deedee’s waiting.”
“I’m not going.” She pulled her hand back and put her hands on her hips.
“Deedee’s your best friend,” Zac pointed out. “She’d be crushed if you didn’t show up tonight.”
“I—” She let out a frustrated sound. Deedee would never forgive her if she didn’t show up, plus she’d have to explain. “Fine. But I’m not going with you.” She ran out of the room before he could protest.
* * *
After gathering her things and changing out of her work clothes, Astrid left the building through the employee’s entrance in the back, hoping to avoid Zac altogether. She thought she was home free, but when she got to the end of the rear alley, a sleek black Porsche blocked her way.
The door swung open. “Get in,” Zac said from the driver’s side.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “If this is you trying to show me I’m wrong about how different we are, I’m afraid it’s having the exact opposite effect.”
“I know,” he said in an uncharacteristically cheerful manner. “Are you getting in or not?”
A Twist of Fate: True Mates Generations Book 1 Page 7
