Page 20 of Sawyer

“For one night and one night only!” The laser show begins just as smoke billows out of the fog machines. “Lotus!”

Shaking my head, I turn to leave as the bass drops, only my feet don’t take me out the door. Not when my eyes land on a special ops delta angrily yanking out a chair to the right of the stage.

What’s he doing here?

Like a curious cat ready to get rid of my very last life, I walk to the table next to him and sit. He vibrates with tension, and his blue berserker eyes glow in the fog, providing a striking contrast against his brown skin. He is very tasty indeed. I almost walk over and take the seat beside him.

Maybe delta is on the menu tonight.

When the slimy owner, Tomi, walks over, my fate is sealed, and I remain right where I am. He’s one sleazy alpha.

I will be listening to this conversation.

Curtains sweep across the stage with a dramatic swish. A woman steps out, and the lights dim.

My. Jaw. Drops.

It’s the reporter, the one I was supposed to work with. “Damn the fates,” I whisper. Her legs look long in the four-inch heels she’s wearing. She sways her hips in time with the pounding bass of a song I can’t name, wearing a black lace outfit. The dark color stands out against her creamy pale skin.

My cock hardens in my jeans, threatening to split through my zipper.

Shock rushes through me. Sure, I joked to Bast and Riot about fucking a blonde earlier. I didn’t lie about fucking her, I did, but I lied by omission because I never got off. I haven’t been able to find release since my mate died.

Yet this sultry woman, who hooks a leg around the pole and swirls her hips as though she’s making love to it, has me so fucking hard, I’m about to burst.

I glance at the owner and the delta next to me, their eyes riveted to the woman on stage. Lotus. Hell, every single person in this club has eyes only for her.

Furious anger swells inside of me. I want to gouge out their eyeballs and stuff them down their collective throats.

The delta doesn’t seem to fare any better than me, and he growls in his seat, his eyes trained on her lithe form.

Fuck, she moves like a goddamn demon.

She doesn’t dance on the pole, she makes love to it. Her legs stretch and her hips grind, and her body rolls like a seasoned professional. It’s as though she’s done this a thousand times before and knows exactly what to do to make every man and woman in this room drool and empty their pockets.

And they do. They throw cash at her, though few dare to get close.

Her long brown hair whips around her head as she flips upside down, but unlike the girl before her with dead eyes and a broken spirit, Lotus glares at every male and female in this room as though she’s picturing them dead.

Fire shoots from her glare that rips from her soul.

I want to touch her fire. I want her to burn me. Hell, I want to own her fire.

What?

No, I love Thea. My mate. There’s no way I can feel what I’m feeling now, yet I do. There’s no denying it—the woman on stage belongs to me.

I need to inhale her and find out if what I suspect is true. I have to know. It’s impossible. The fates aren’t that kind to allow me another love in the same life.

Turning away, I catch Tomi telling the delta, “Two weeks ago, Jenny gave her notice. She wanted out.”

“What?” The delta rips his gaze off the dancer and speaks to the slimeball owner.

“She said she got a better gig and was leaving town.” His voice is just above a whisper. He is close enough that the delta can hear him, but anyone else would have to strain. Luckily for them, I look like shit and am unassuming, with my shaggy beard and knotted hair.

“Did she say who her new employer was?” the delta demands.

“No, she didn’t say who, but she took another girl with her. Ivy. Her real name is Gertie. I’m betting she’s one of your dead girls.” Tomi says it so casually, as though he doesn’t give a fuck.

---