Page 43 of One Wild Night

I took a long drag and let the smoke permeate my lungs. When I needed oxygen, I released the tainted breath and sucked in a lungful of the air around me. The nicotine calmed me down infinitesimally, but I was still one big ball of nerves. "Gee, just what every girl wants to hear. Thanks. It’s been a long few days, I guess." It was a crock of shit, but I couldn't tell him the truth. I couldn't admit to this man that he was all I thought about anymore, all I dreamed about, all I wanted. I knew if I did, my resolve would weaken, and I'd allow myself to do something stupid that would cost us both our lives.

Ryan looked at me closely for what seemed like an eternity before pulling a long drag from his cigarette, finally breaking eye contact. He sighed heavily, releasing a whoosh of smoke before he said anything. "Yeah, I know what you mean." I highly doubted he did, but I didn't tell him that. Instead, I took another long pull of my smoke and sat in the silence of the night. Well, as silent as it could get in Chicago, anyway.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I had to say something. "Ryan, can I ask you a question?" I turned to meet his gaze, which quickly became teasing.

"You just did."

"Alright, smart ass! That's not what I meant and you know it!" That was so typical of Ryan to say, but I couldn't control the pull of my lips as they lifted into a smile. The tension seemed to melt away, and for that I was grateful.

"Siena, you can ask me anything," he said in a soft tone that held an undercurrent to it. I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it sounded a lot like longing.

I inhaled the sweet smoke once again, and then let out a deep breath before asking the question that had been plaguing me. "Why do you keep turning Barbie down when she offers to give you head?"

His eyes met mine and darkened with lust. "Because there's only one set of lips I ever want wrapped around my cock again, and they don't belong to that slut."

I was shocked at the look of pure desire on his face as the pull between us intensified. It was so strong, I couldn't fight it anymore. I found myself leaning closer and closer to him, until we were only a breath apart. My eyes traveled down to his mouth, and I watched as his tongue poked out to wet his lips. I did the same, and then looked back up into his eyes. This was so wrong, but I couldn't stop it. My body was acting on its own now, ignoring any sense of reason.

"R...Ryan, I...we..." I couldn't even form a sentence, my mind was so clouded.

He brought his right hand up to cradle my face as he stared into my eyes. "Shh," he shushed me. "I know." He leaned in just the slightest bit and was about to kiss me when the back door to the club opened with a bang. The noise caused us both to jerk apart, but I knew Libby saw more than she should have when her eyes just about popped out of her head.

"Um, Trixie? You're on in five, so I wanted to come find you. Are you ready?"

I stood up quickly, brushing off my skirt and tossing my cigarette to the ground. "Yep!" I said with a bit too much eagerness. "Let's go! See you later, Ryan. Thanks for the smoke."

"Anytime, Trixie," he replied easily. I could feel his eyes boring into my backside as Lib and I walked back into the club and the door shut behind us.

"What the fuck wasthat?!" she whisper-yelled once she had pulled me into the locker room and made sure it was empty.

"What was what?" I tried and failed to act like I didn't know what she was talking about.

"Don't youdaretry to feed me that bullshit, Trixie. I know you better than anyone here. You were about to kiss Ryan, weren't you?" she demanded.

You know that old expression 'like a deer in the headlights'? Well, I was the deer, and Libby was the car barreling toward me at seventy miles an hour. "Can we talk about this later, please? I need to get out to the stage for my set," I begged.

She raised a bitch-brow at me and tapped her foot. "You bet your sweet ass we'll be talking about this later!" she hissed. "And I want thewholefucking story. Do you understand me?"

Normally, Libby was very laid back, but she could be scary as hell when she wanted to be. Right now was obviously one of those times. With my tail sufficiently tucked between my legs, I met her gaze and nodded. "The whole story, I promise." With that, I left the locker room and waited backstage for Bambi to finish her set.

It had been three days since the near kiss, and I had successfully avoided speaking to Ryan. I had made it a point to stay as far away from him as possible, and it seemed to be working so far.

With Tony still off on Carlo's errand, I was able to have lunch with Lib the following day. I told her everything.

I admitted to her that Tony had gambled me away on the roll of some fucking dice, and that I had spent the weekend with Ryan before he left on his business trip. I told her that weekend I’d had the most incredible sex of my entire life, and that I couldn't get Ryan out of my head. Not wanting to leave anything out, I explained about why I was off last week and the subsequent beating Tony took from his father because of it. I told her about how Ryan found out somehow and went off on him the night he got back, then we laughed together over how I 'reset' Tony’s nose for him. Finally, I told her about the alley and the pull I felt for Ryan.

"Holy shit, girl! You're inlovewith him!" she squealed when I had finally finished my story.

"Goddammit, Lib! Keep it fucking down, will you? Someone could be listening!" I hissed at her.

"Sorry," she said, properly chastised. "I just can't believe it! Do you know what Tony will do when he finds out?"

I sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Yes, Lib, which is why he can never find out," I explained. I wanted to deny the fact that I was in love with Ryan, but I knew she'd see right through me. There was no point.

"Alright, then we need a plan," she whispered as she leaned in closer to me.

We spent an hour that afternoon coming up with a strategy to avoid Ryan. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but if it saved our lives, it would be worth it.

Later that afternoon, I found myself at the club again. It was a Friday, so we were expecting some major crowds. Carlo had hired two extra bouncers while Ryan was in Brazil to come in on the weekends, so I felt more comfortable dancing when it was busy. After that last incident had shaken me to the core, Carlo agreed that we needed better security.

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