“I haven’t seen you in a while. No treadmill after work anymore?” Slade ran the backside of his enormous hand along her cheek, leaving the feeling of road rash on her skin.
“You’re not discreet, are you? You want a show, come to the club.” She stepped out of his reach.
“I’m here now,” he replied in a deep growl.
“Not a chance. I’m done for the night. And I guess I won’t see you stalking my apartment later since Lolli’s keeping you in good company?” She glanced toward the stage and sympathized with the girl. Watching Slade hit on Baby Jade distracted her, causing her to stumble. She grabbed the pole to catch herself and made an ill attempt to play it off.
“Well, that depends on whether she keeps me entertained or not. Not that anyone has ever held my attention quite like you.” He placed his index finger under her chin.
She jerked away, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Get a grip. I don’t know why you insist on putting Lolli through this. She’s always there, willing and able.”
“Oh yeah, she’s definitely able.” He leered up at the stage. It was pathetic the way Lolli soaked up the pitiful morsel of attention. As soon as he got the poor girl’s attention, he wrapped his mammoth-sized arm around Baby Jade and squeezed her ass. He was close enough that his heavy cologne assaulted her nostrils making her nauseated.
“Dammit, Slade!” She slapped his chest and marched past him. Lucky was still manning his post, eyeballing Slade, obviously ready to pounce. She had seen that look before. All Baby wanted to do was get the hell out of this damn Twilight Zone.
“Hey, you ok?” Lucky asked, stepping into the doorway.
“Get the hell out of my way.” She glared up at him, her cheeks red and flushed.
Lucky cleared his throat. “I wanted to see if you were ok, do you need a ride or something?”
“What I need is for you to go take a fucking leap off a short bridge. Get the hell out of my way,” she snapped and busted through the door. His nerve had her fuming. His back and forth macho man attitude had her head spinning.
With adrenaline pumping through her body, it didn’t take her long to walk home. She replayed the night over in her head, trying to make sense of the clusterfuck. Instead of finding answers, it only pissed her off more.
All the lights were out at Ma’Linn’s, and Baby was relieved to see she didn’t wait up for her to get home. However, she wasn’t surprised to find a bag with dinner and dessert on her doorstep. Her tummy growled as she popped the lid off the etouffee and inhaled deeply to savor the smell, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since the meager tomato sandwich. Snapping the lid back onto the bowl, Baby decided to knock out the treadmill while she was still too pumped up to go to bed. She stripped away her clothes. Wearing nothing but her sports bra and boy shorts, she clicked her iPod into the dock and set it to Sublime. Her bare feet pounded away for the next hour while the music blared through the apartment.
Baby hated the way her mind never slowed down. The thoughts bounced around in her head, trying to piece together the insanity from the club. Lucky was into her, it was obvious. If there was one thing that Baby knew well, it was men. She saw the way he watched her with his fiery eyes. The way he had to gulp for air and swallow when she walked into the room. When his hand clasped hers, the heat was enough to make her forget her own name. And that damn lopsided grin. Those dimples. The list went on.
She went from being angry to being flustered. Lucky had her all over the map. One minute they were joking around and getting to know one another, and the next icicles. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing if he didn’t get her all worked up. He was a mystery, and she fought the urge to want to figure him out.
Baby wanted no part of whatever shit Lucky was mixed up in.
If only the deep burning in her gut agreed.
Chapter Six
Lucky
From the moment Lucky walked into Bottoms Up he had hit a roadblock. A huge fucking roadblock with green eyes. Her voice and the feel of her skin had wiped out any brain cells he had left.
“You can go ahead and wrap up for the night,” Mickey said.
Lucky never noticed him walk up, and forgot what he was supposed to be doing, still wanting to kick his own ass for the way he let Baby walk out of the club without making things right. “Cool, thanks.”
“Not too bad for a first night, maybe it’ll work out after all. It’s only for a few weeks anyway, right?” Mickey folded his arms across his chest.
“Yeah, shouldn’t be too long.” Lucky didn’t like the way his new boss was sizing him up. “Hey, sorry about that whole thing with those assholes earlier. When he grabbed Baby I saw red, ya know?”
Mickey shrugged. “No big deal. Of course, I’d like to think you would have done the same thing for any of the girls, not only Baby.”
“Fuck yeah, I would. The douchebag deserved to have his cock knocked in the dirt.” He tried to size up Mickey. He didn’t want to cause any problems, and risk losing the job. “Look, I know you’re making a position for me because of Rodney. I don’t know why and I don’t give a shit, but I plan to do the best job I can while I’m here.”
Mickey shifted his weight; the look on his face was blank. Lucky didn’t like that he couldn’t get a read on the man. He already knew he didn’t like him. The way he ran his business spoke volumes. If his girlfriend was any indication of how he treated the girls, the son of a bitch was scum. Mickey didn’t give anything away when he said, “You do your job, and we’ll be fine.”
Lucky gave a curt nod. “Yes, sir.” He extended a hand. Mickey took it and gave it a quick shake with the same blank expression on his face before walking away.
He couldn’t wait to get the hell out of the club. Without Baby Jade, he had no reason to be there.
Chapter Seven
Baby Jade
Baby shuddered as the cool air whipped across her bare body. A tall figure tossed the sheet to the floor as he climbed onto the bed. Using his knee, the man nudged her legs apart, leaving her exposed for his pleasure. He nestled himself in between her trembling legs and used one hand to pin her wrists above her head. The bulge throbbing against the inside of her thigh confirmed the man was naked as well. Baby searched the man, attempting to make out his face, but only saw a dark silhouette. The warmth of his breath on her skin made Baby writhe under his weight. The fingertips of the man’s free hand caressed her breast, and down her side, slowly making their way closer to her groin.
“Baby …” the man whispered. The familiar way he said her name sent her hips up to meet him, pleading. “Baby … say my name.”
A throaty moan escaped her lips.
“Say it. I want to hear my name roll off those luscious lips. Say it.” He pressed his body into hers.
Baby’s moans grew carnal as she wrapped one leg around his, begging him to take her.
“Let me hear it, Baby.” The man gripped her wrists tighter. “Say Lucky.”
***
Baby Jade’s eyes flew open and she shot up in the bed, trying to catch her breath. A dream? I’m dreaming about Lucky? Sweat soaked the bed sheet, and worse, her body was buzzing. Almost aching, close to an orgasm.
A pounding at the front door shook Baby from dwelling on the dream. She hopped out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. The pounding continued, causing her to rush across the room, sending her stumbling into the wooden bookshelf.