The taxi driver was on our side. He’d been a rookie cop for six months before his partner was shot, and he consequently decided that kind of life wasn’t for him. But he loved the whole premise of us being followed, and the excitement of using his skills to evade our stalker.
He confirmed that a motorcycle was indeed following us. He went roundabout ways, weaving through traffic to shake our pursuer, but the motorcycle stuck to us like shit to a blanket, as Rebecca had put it, bringing us all to tears with laughter. Whoever he was, he was never more than two cars behind us.
When we got to the club, Lexi told me to not look around once we got out of the taxi—under any circumstances. It was also her crazy idea that I should be an exhibitionist tonight and dance seductively to attract men in the club, forcing Ryder—if it was indeed him—to show himself.
Lexi pulled a hip flask of bourbon from her purse and ordered me to drink some of it. It burned all the way down my throat, but it also helped ease the jitters that had come over me.
If it was Ryder, why the hell was he following us? Surely he knew that he we could talk at any time, so why would he feel the need to stalk me? Presuming, of course, that it was me he was stalking, and not Lexi or Rebecca. An uneasy feeling churned in my stomach. Maybe Ryder had his sights on my cousin? After all, she was more his type, with her tattoos, and piercings, and foul mouth.
But it would be cruel to chase after Lexi in front of me. Maybe he just didn't care. I sighed heavily, anxious to see Ryder again, whatever the reason for him being here.
“Oh my God, don’t look now, but it is fucking Ryder Knox! And guess who the fuck just joined him?” Lexi groaned as we got to the entrance. To give her an opportunity to turn around and face where she thought Ryder was hiding out, she proceeded to flash her ass to the crowd.
I had to laugh out loud. It would only be Lexi that was willing to expose herself to strangers for our cause. She laughed and said it was worth it, because none other than Razor, the man she was sweet on, had joined Ryder on the curb.
Razor hadn’t spotted her yet, but she was sure it would only be a matter of time before she drove him crazy with her antics and he came to claim her.
I channeled my inner stripper and gyrated my hips, needing to down the drink to numb my mind, because I was feeling like a huge fool—and a tramp. I searched the darkness for Ryder, scanning the booths, trying to see his face as I rocked my body.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
“Bring it, girl.” Lexi laughed as she gyrated her ass against a huge raging hard-on belonging to a rather handsome guy. She was enjoying herself way too much . . .
Shit was going to go down tonight. Ryder had told me about Razor’s attraction to Lexi, and also about what a hothead he was. Chances were good that the biker boys were going to play beautifully into our hands.
Then Cowboy stepped up and claimed me. Shit. Not the man I wanted right now.
“Work it, Cuz,” Lexi spurred me on. “Pretend it’s Ryder.”
That helped. I closed my eyes and let the stranger fondle and embrace me, all the time smiling as I imagined that it was Ryder. But when Cowboy licked my ears, I couldn’t pretend any longer. What the fuck was taking Ryder so damn long? Or did he really not care? Damn, maybe I should just leave with Cowboy, let him take me somewhere, ply me with more alcohol and fuck me. The booze was already working its way through my system, helping me lose my inhibitions.
I hadn’t had a man since Ryder had left. It was six weeks, and counting. I was tired of using B.O.B. and I wanted Ryder inside me. But if he didn't want me, I'd have to settle for someone else. Peeping through my lashes at Lexi, I squirmed when I saw she’d let the tattooed guy palm her ass, and virtually suck her up with his mouth. She’d worked him into a frenzy, and although it was all part of the plan, my throat tightened. What if our tactics bombed? What if neither Razor nor Ryder came to save us?
My eyes flew open when I heard Rebecca shriek. Razor was storming down on Lexi with a murderous look on his face.
“Shit!” Cowboy mumbled in my ear. “Let’s get out of here.”
Cowboy must’ve seen Razor’s face, because he’d gone paler that his baby-blue shirt. I looked behind him to see if Ryder was in his wake, but no. No Ryder. My heart sank into my pointy-toe stilettos.
“Come, babe, let’s go somewhere quiet,” Cowboy said and pulled me in the opposite direction to where Razor had come from. Disappointment washed over me as my heart squeezed. If Ryder was here and had seen all of this, he obviously couldn’t care less. What if he was in fact chatting up another girl, planning to fuck someone else? Of course. I could’ve slapped myself. Ryder isn’t following me. What an idiot I am.
Following Cowboy, I nearly tripping over my own feet as we left the scene. Cowboy seemed to know exactly where he was going, so I just followed him past the crowd of bodies until we got to a secluded passage at the back end of the club. I was humiliated, sad, and angry, all rolled into one. I needed someone to take my mind off how bad I was feeling.
Cowboy was very handsome. His sandy-brown hair peeked from under his hat, his square jaw was cleanly shaven, and he had bright and intelligent eyes. He was the kind of man I would’ve gone for—before I met Ryder. Clean, wholesome, smart—those were the things that always attracted me to men. So why wasn’t I turned on by Cowboy? Had I gone all cold again? What the hell was wrong with me?
We reached a narrow flight of steps that led to a door. Where was he taking me? Slightly out of breath, my heart beat wildly as a mixture of fear and excitement swept through me. We stood on the landing, Cowboy’s arm possessively around my waist, as he punched numbers into a keypad. I heard a click and he pushed the door open, pulling me inside.
How did he know what the code was?
Who the hell was Cowboy?
Chapter 29 ~ Jade
“Wait. Who are you? Where are you taking me?” I gasped. He’d already closed the door behind us. Fuck.
“Don’t worry your sexy ass about that, babe. My brother and his partners own the place. I help him out. We were watching you and your friends from up here—the security room—when I decided I needed to tap your pretty ass. If you were offering, I was taking.” He winked at me, a lascivious grin on his face. “Wasn’t letting the other pricks beat me to the prettiest girl here tonight. My brother fancies the redhead, but I want you. You and I will have the room to ourselves, soon. I’ll send the boys on a floor-round. That should give us enough time alone.”
He pinched my ass, and shoved me toward another door. Through the large, darkened glass windows, I could see the people beneath us. This was a really cool place to check the crowds from without them even knowing. The one-way windows were covered with mirrors on the outside so it looked like décor, not a security office. Damn.
“Floor round,” he barked as we entered the room. “Thirty minutes, minimum.”
The two guys nodded. “Sure, Colt.”
“No, please stay,” I begged. Shit; I didn't want to be alone with Cowboy. They ignored me. Treating me as if I were thin air, they stuck earphones into their ears and left the room.
“Strip, babe. Take it all off,” he commanded.
“Colt? I hardly know you. Can we have a drink, and get to know one another first?” My previous ideas of wanting to fuck a stranger were sounding dumb to me now.