Page 37 of The First Deal

He grinned. “Pollo al chilindrón.”

“Yes, it was delicious, which was surprising actually because I was sure we were going to burn it.”

“Why would you burn it?” Violet asked, glancing between the two of us.

I stroked Shane’s cock again and his grin widened as I spoke. “We were a little distracted.”

“Very,” he corrected, then turned to Violet, who had just cottoned on to what I was alluding to if her face was anything to go by.

“I don’t need details,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

Luckily, I wasn’t planning on sharing, and our starters were placed down before us, so we fell into silence as we started to eat. After a few mouthfuls the table began to come back to life—soft, quiet conversations happening up and down the length of it until you reached the three of us. Still sitting in silence.

I turned to the guy next to me, deciding to try to get involved in his conversation with Lynda before things got awkward or Violet tried to one up me with something else.

“I can’t believe I took a chance on him, and he ran out of that door like his ass was on fire. What a waste of time,” she huffed.

Oh crap, bad conversation to get involved in. I knew what she was talking about, and I had no interest in getting involved in it. Limelight had been having an awful week, losing a new artist before his contract was even signed, and then having Leo Birch’s disappearance.

Shane and Lynda were stressed. I could help Shane’s stress, but not hers. Although, maybe if her night went well the guy beside me might help her find a little release. God knew the woman needed it.

Deciding that I didn’t want to get involved in that drama I stared down at my plate and took my time finishing my starter. Appreciating the delicious food and finding that I was actually enjoying myself, even though I was just sitting, quietly eating.

“Are you alright?” Shane asked, leaning in to whisper in my ear.

I nodded, chewing my last bite, then placed my knife and fork down on the plate. Shane swept my hair behind my ear and dropped a kiss to my studded lobe. Groaning under my breath, I reached for his thigh again, and once more, he discreetly directed me to his cock.

“What I’d give to disappear under this table like I did on our first date,” he growled in my ear, making my cheeks heat at the memory.

“I wish you could.” I stroked him, then turned my head to capture his lips, just before whispering, “Meet me in the ladies’ room in ten minutes.”

I waited for our plates to be cleared before I excused myself, tucking my chair in and running my fingers along the line of Shane’s shoulders as I moved past him.

In the ladies’ room, I quickly shimmied out of my panties and hung them up on the hook behind the door. Then I checked myself over in the mirror and prayed to god that the next person to step through the door would be Shane, and not some innocent woman coming to use the facilities.

Just as I was running my thumbnail under my lip the door swung open, and as I caught sight of the person coming up behind me in the mirror my heart dropped, and my pussy dried up.

“Helena,” Violet said—an even worse attempt to ‘forget’ my name. I didn’t bother to correct her, I simply stared at her in the mirror as she stood behind me, tapping her toe.

“Are you going to turn around and look at me?” She sounded irritated.

I shook my head a fraction. “What do you want, Violet?” I didn’t need to stoop to her pathetic level.

She cackled, legit cackled, like a Disney villain. Then she was grabbing my shoulder and forcing me to turn. “What doIwant?” she sneered. “I want what’s mine. What was promised to me before your whore ass was even born. Hudson is mine. I’ve stood back for all these years, pretended to be happy with various men, waiting it out while he fucked hundreds, maybe even thousands of gold-digging little sluts just like you. Now, he’s mine. I’ll take him, and don’t for one second think that I can’t. You’re a bump in the road, that’s all. But for your own sake, your ownhappiness, you should walk away from him now, because Iwillhurt you.”

“Are you threatening me?” I asked, looking her up and down, deciding that I could take her, should I need to.

Violet cackled again and I winced, the sound more irritating than fingernails on a chalkboard. I wondered if she always laughed this way, or if this was just her adding dramatic flair to her sad little life.

“I don’t make threats, I make promises. Deals. I made a promise to that man out there, and I intend on seeing it through. When I do, you’ll be left heartbroken.” She smirked, a cruel expression on her overly made-up face.

Sighing, I pushed past her. “You can’t see it through. He doesn’t want you. He wants me.”

The next words that left her mouth had me pausing before I could pull the door open. “He wants me. He took me. In the kitchen, while you were showering. He’s fucked me behind your back more times than I can count. Sweetie, he’s only staying with you for now because he doesn’t know how to tell Quinn about us. Once he’s worked that out, you’ll be out the door, thrown in the trash. Yesterday’s news.”

Surely not. Surely that wasn’t true at all. Shane had barely seen Violet, and his feelings towards me… theyseemedreal. They seemed scary to him. Yes. They were. So there wasn’t a chance in hell that he had those same, or even stronger, feelings for his closest friend.

And Quinn. If she was the reason he was holding back with Vi, then why the hell were Shane and I a public item, and why had I been spending so much time with his daughter? If she wasn’t going to be okay with her dad dating, then I’d still be ‘just a friend.’ Wouldn’t I?

---