Alex and I left and waved goodbye to a really excited Annie and a nervous David. I chuckled when I realized that she must have told him about her expected guest. I should have felt bad for leaving him to fend for himself, but instead, I couldn’t help but be amused.
We took Alex’s car so that he wouldn’t have to ride on the back of my bike and we parked along the same side street as before. It was a Monday night and luckily it wasn’t as busy at the club as it had been two nights ago. We made it through the front line with no problem and headed into the main area. Logan was tending the right bar tonight so I grabbed Alex’s hand and led us over to see him. He smiled when he saw us approaching and leaned over the bar to talk to me when I sat down on a stool.
“Back already? I was wondering how long I would have to go without being able to bask in your presence.” Logan looked up and did that head nod thing guys do when acknowledging each other. Alex nodded back and then sat down and turned to look out over the club.
I smiled at Logan for the compliment and asked, “Why’s that?”
He looked at me like I was crazy and laughed. “Because of what happened the other night. I saw the brawl you almost got into with the creep who grabbed you. And damn, Paige, that guy was twice your size. What the hell were you thinking?!”
I waved my hand in the air to stop his protest. “I’m not worried about that guy. I totally had that handled.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You had that handled? Because from where I was standing, it was Daemon who had to rush in there and handle that.”
Perfect. An opening. Time to throw on my business face.
“Speaking of Daemon, how long has he been working here anyway? I don’t remember seeing him around until the other night.” I gave him my innocent look.
Logan thought before answering and then shrugged. “He’s been working here since before I started. I’m surprised you haven’t seen him before. He doesn’t work every night, so maybe you just keep missing each other.”
I nodded my head in moderate disinterest and tried to appear like I was just making polite conversation.
“So, is he just a bouncer, or does he work other jobs around here as well?”
Logan narrowed his eyes slightly like he thought I was up to something. “He’s just a bouncer. Why?”
I realized he may have been on to me so I rubbed my finger in a circle on the bar to enhance my innocent facade.
“No reason. I was just making conversation.” I smiled up at him sweetly. “You don’t happen to know his last name, do you?”
A low timbre voice from beside me responded and I jumped. “If you want to know about me, why don’t you just ask me yourself?”
Busted.
I slowly turned around and looked up into Daemon’s eyes. My body instantly reacted and I felt woozy all of a sudden. Holy Crap! Was that a swoon?! Did I just fucking swoon?! What the hell is wrong with me?! Daemon had his signature smug look on full power and my face heated from his glare. I reached over to take Alex’s hand and he turned back and noticed my predicament. He scooted over in my direction and put his arm across my shoulders. I looked up at Daemon and a sly grin broke out on his face.
“Hey Daemon, long time no see.” I looked between Daemon and Alex and I wasn’t shocked to find them in the middle of a stare down. “Let me introduce you to my boyfriend, Alex.”
Daemon and Alex both looked each other over and then Daemon smiled and nodded his head at Alex. I turned, “Alex, this is Daemon. He’s one of the bouncers here at Tomb.”
Alex nodded at Daemon and I was pleased to get the introductions over with.
Daemon looked back over to me and held my stare as he spoke next. “I’m glad to see you brought your own personal white knight with you tonight, Damsel. I was nervous when I saw you were here. You tend to make my job a little tougher.”
If my eyes could throw daggers, this man would have about a thousand holes in him right now.
We continued our stare down and then Alex cleared his throat to break up the tension. I shook off whatever this was between me and Daemon and said, “I’m happy to oblige, Daemon. I’d hate to pull you away from your fan club again this evening.”
A wicked grin broke over Daemon’s face. “I’m surprised you noticed. I would have thought you were too busy with all the situations you kept finding yourself in. I was starting to wonder if you weren’t purposely setting it up for me to have to come save you.”
I narrowed my eyes at Daemon and then Alex reached down to squeeze my hand. I looked over to Alex and he had a questioning look on his face. I looked back over to Daemon and said, “Well, this has been a good talk, but I’ll need you to excuse me so I can enjoy my evening with my boyfriend.”
A low timbre chuckle erupted from Daemon and he nodded his head at me. “Stay out of trouble tonight, Damsel, I hope you and your boyfriend have an enjoyable evening.” With that, he turned and sauntered out into the crowd. I realized my body had been tense while talking to Daemon because when he was out of sight, my shoulders relaxed and I turned back to Logan to order a drink. If I was going to get through tonight without committing murder, I needed a few mixed drinks to relax me. Fortunately, we took Alex’s car and he could play the designated driver.
Alex and I talked with Logan while he was preparing our drinks and then sat at one of the tables by Logan’s bar. We talked and joked around about the people at the club and after a couple of drinks, Alex left to go to the restroom. I stayed at the table and continued looking out over the crowd. The club was playing old southern rock tonight and I tapped my foot along with the music. It took a while for Alex to return and I turned in my seat looking for him. When I spotted him, I noticed that he was chatting up a pretty brunette over by the dance floor. She was looking at him with interest and kept lightly touching him in response to something he said. I should have been jealous to see him like this, but I couldn’t help but hope that maybe, Alex was finally moving on.
“Where’s your white knight, Damsel?” That familiar low timbre voice called from behind me.
I turned to see Daemon staring down at me and he momentarily looked over in the direction of Alex. His eyes narrowed when he saw Alex and the brunette and I could see his body physically tense. I looked between him and Alex and shrugged my shoulders. “Uh, he’s over there talking to an old friend of his.”
Daemon eyed Alex again and then raised one eyebrow. “A friend? Okay, Damsel, we can go with that if you want.” I nodded my head in response and then started playing with the little straw in my drink. Daemon moved closer behind me and then leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You know, if you were my girl, I wouldn’t take time away from you to talk to a friend.” His lips brushed my ear and tremors ran through my body. He must have felt me shake because he smiled knowingly at me and his gaze darkened slightly. I had to play this off.
“Yeah, well, you know how it is; we’ve been together so long that we’re kind of like an old married couple now.”
Daemon cocked an eyebrow at me and I realized what I had just said. He moved to stand to my side and reached up to trace his finger along my jaw. As good as that felt, I pulled my head away to appear disinterested. He smiled and those dimples of his popped out causing me to melt a little. I decided to play along even more. I leaned up to whisper into Daemon’s ear. “Tell me something. What do you mean by ‘if I was your girl’?”
Daemon flashed me a seductive grin and I realized I had stumbled into dangerous territory. Daemon looked over to where Alex was standing and after deciding that he was otherwise preoccupied, reached out and took my hand. He started pulling me towards the same back storage area from the other night. I hesitated to follow him at first but then remembered my mission. Deciding that getting him alone might help me get the information I wanted, I got up and followed behind him.
When we reached the back room, Daemon opened the door and motioned for me to walk through. I walked straight to the other end of the room, taking the position that I had the o
ther night. Daemon closed the door and locked it and then blocked it when he continued standing in front of it.
I spoke first. “Well, here we are…in a locked room…together. Feels familiar, although, I’m not a raging lunatic tonight so there’s really no need for the lock and barricade.”
He let out a low chuckle and my knees started giving out beneath me. What is up with this guy and how is he doing this to me?
Daemon looked amazing as usual. He had on a dark blue t-shirt that brought out the crystal blue of his eyes and his dark jeans hung off his hips, yet still perfectly hugged his bottom. His hair was stylishly messy and he had his usual five o’clock shadow peppered along his jaw. I imagined what that stubble would feel like scraping across my skin and had to stop the mental imagery before I lost it. He was slowly stalking towards me when he finally responded. “Yes, it does feel familiar. However, I never know what you are going to do next, so the lock is just added security.” He stopped when he was a few feet in front of me. “Why are you here, Damsel?”
I flinched at his use of that word but I played it off and acted like a professional. I cleared my throat. “I’m here for the same reason everyone is I guess; music, alcohol, dancing. You know, fun with the boyfriend and all.”
By the time I was done spewing out that pathetic excuse he had walked closer and was standing directly in front of me. I could feel the heat coming off his body and I had to look up to meet his darkened eyes. He looked like a predator and I froze. We stood there staring at each other for what felt like minutes and my heart felt like it was going to come through my chest. He reached his hand up to my face and starting tracing the outline of my bottom lip. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking by the strange expression he had on his face. He leaned over slowly and replaced his finger with his mouth. His kiss was feather light but sensual. My traitorous body trembled again and he softly laughed and ran his hand over the goose bumps that broke out on my arms. He pulled back to look me in the eyes and I continued my statue impression while he backed up to put a small amount of space between us.
“There you go using that ‘boyfriend’ word again. Somehow, I don’t think you are being very forthcoming with me, Damsel. Care to guess why I think that?”
I looked up at him and in an attempt to appear angry, I narrowed my eyes at him. “I have no idea why you would think that, Daemon.” I angled my head to the side. “I will tell you though, if you attempt any more funny business like you did just a second ago, you’ll be lucky if you don’t walk out of here with two black eyes.”
Daemon’s eyes got wide and he suppressed a grin. “Can’t wait.”
I was suddenly under the impression that Daemon wasn’t believing my cover. He continued. “Although I’m thoroughly enjoying this back and forth that we are having currently, I believe I brought you back here to answer a question, which I very much would like to do.”
I was confused for a second but then remembered what I had asked him while sitting at the table. I started to chastise myself for having opened up that line of questioning.
“You wanted to know what I meant by saying ‘if you were my girl’.” He moved closer to me again and tilted my head up by placing his finger underneath my chin. “If I had you, Paige, I would not only be with you; but I would own you, I would control you, and I would, in all ways, possess you.”
A shocked laugh burst from my lips. “You would own me and control me. What kind of crap line is that?! I mean, do women really fall for that shit?” My laughter continued bubbling out. “I don’t know who you think you’re talking to Daemon, but I believe you have me mistaken for the slutty redhead you were with the other night.”
His eyebrows shot up at that comment and he chuckled. “No. I don’t have you mistaken for anyone, Damsel. I know exactly who I’m talking to at this moment.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared up at him. “Well, then it’s obvious you’ve suffered an unfortunate head injury and have forgotten what I told you about myself. NOBODY owns me or controls me or dictates my life in any way. Besides, I don’t even know anything about you. For instance, what is your last name?”
He gave me a knowing look and answered. “Pierce.”
My head shot up in shock at how easily he had given up that information. He smiled and then continued explaining his statement.
“I think you may be misunderstanding what I am saying. I wouldn’t dictate your life and you’d be free to do whatever you like, but when you are in my bed, you will do as I say, when I say it. Thus, the control. And if you were in my bed, I’m not sure I could stand it if any other man touched you again after that. Thus, I would own you from that moment forward.”
I didn’t understand why he was telling me this. Even though I now had the information that I needed and I should be walking back out to the club, my curiosity got the best of me and I couldn’t help but question him further. This was just too good to not fully discuss. “So, if I’m understanding you correctly, if I were to sleep with you, you would own me or control me, just like the rest of your lady friends?”
He eyed me for a minute before responding. “No. Not like my other lady friends. I couldn’t care less what they say or do once I’ve had my night with them. I just know that with you, it would be a different story altogether and I think it’s only fair that I warn you ahead of time.”
His eyes were the deepest blue that I had ever seen. His jaw worked over itself and it made his face appear even more masculine. He crossed his arms over his chest and I wanted nothing more than to reach out and run my hands over the definition of his arms. I tucked my hands behind myself to keep them from reaching out on their own accord.
I couldn’t help it that my voice was husky when I responded. “I guess it’s a good thing that I’m spoken for. I suspect we’d have a few issues if we ever attempted being anything more than we already are. I’m not one of your women waiting around to be tamed and I don’t enjoy being told what to do, or pain, or crazy bondage shit, or whatever the hell else it is you are implying that you would like to do to me.” I started moving forward to indicate I was leaving when he grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him again. His look was intense as he searched my eyes.
“Once again, Paige, you are mistaking what I’m saying.” He bent down to whisper against my ear. My breath hitched at his closeness and I tensed up in an attempt to control my body’s reaction to him. “I would never hurt you. I would never do anything to you that you haven’t asked for. There is no crazy bondage shit; no whips, no chains, nothing like that. What I want to do to you doesn’t require props or toys or anything else. Just me and you. But I would control you and I know that you would like it.”
The tension within me was more than I could handle and I started feeling woozy. Damn my traitorous self and this annoying swooning. I shook it off.
I spoke slowly so as not to give away what he was doing to me. “I can guarantee you, Daemon Pierce, that you can set whatever it is you are suggesting aside. I’m not the type of girl you think I am.” I looked up into his face in challenge and he released me. I started to walk past him and he called out to me again.
“Whatever you say, Damsel; but I’ve felt how you react to me and I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again. Enjoy your evening with your boyfriend.”
I didn’t look back at him as I walked to the door, unlocked it and then let myself back out into the club.
When I emerged from the storage room I searched around the club for Alex. I couldn’t find him immediately so I walked over to sit at a stool by Logan’s bar. Logan walked over to me after a couple minutes. “Where’s Alex?”
I looked at him nonchalantly. “He’s around here somewhere. He ran into an old friend earlier and he’s been catching up with her.”
Logan looked scared for a moment but then motioned to one of the dance floors. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Paige, but I think he’s a little bit more than friends with her.”
I looked in the direction he
had indicated and my jaw dropped when I saw Alex and the brunette dancing and grinding in to each other like there weren’t other people around who could see them, including his fake girlfriend.
Damn it. I am seriously going to have a conversation with Alex about acting like a boyfriend while in public.
I continued to watch Alex and when they started kissing I turned to look away. As I was turning back to the bar I caught sight of Daemon. He was standing in a corner near the dance floors where Alex was kissing the brunette. He was staring Alex down with a murderous glare in his eyes. He turned to look in my direction and when he saw that I was looking at him, his face softened and he looked sorry for me.
I looked back at Logan and shrugged. “Guess you figured out he’s not really my boyfriend, huh?” Logan smiled and patted me on the head. “It’s okay Paige. Your secret is safe with me…” He paused for a moment and then added. “…And everybody else in this club.” I was about to change the subject when my phone chirped.
David: When are you coming home??!
Me: In a couple hours. Alex met someone and I want to give him a chance to get to know her better. What’s up?
David: Annie’s boyfriend is here and let me tell you, this guy is a real treat.
Me: That bad? Maybe I can hurry Alex along and come to your rescue.
David: Hurry.
Me: I’ll try but Alex is in the middle of a heated game of tonsil hockey, so I’ll see what I can do.
I looked back at Logan and then remembered my earlier idea for a match made in heaven. “So, are you seeing anybody currently?” Logan gave me a strange look and I laughed and continued. “I have a roommate who, unfortunately, has a tragic love life. I think you two would really get along so I was wondering if you would want to come over one night when you are off work.”