It's never my idea to go to the club yet I am always dragged alongside everyone else. My job is always protection though which means I can't drink, I just have to keep an eye on the idiots that get way too drunk way too quickly. I haven't been to the club for fun since before Diedre left. We walk in as a group and the whole dynamic of the club changes, we own the place and everyone knows that so they move to allow us to pass through to the VIP area.
We order drinks - I get stuck with club soda - and I watch as the masses grind and sing together. I almost choke on my drink when I see Eva hanging off someone's shoulder drinking champagne, she looks amused by it and starts dancing incredibly close with the guy.
Is she seeing someone else?
The thought alone makes my blood boil and I watch as he grabs at her hips and face. She just laughs and dances along with him. I know we're not exclusive, we haven't had that conversation but it doesn't hurt any less to watch it happen. "Is that Eva?" Saviour asks excitedly, all the other women now recognising her.
They all make their way across the dancefloor to her and she hugs all of them tightly, introducing them to her friends seconds later. "Do you think that's her man?" Boulder asks and my body tightens even more.
"Nah, that guy is gayer than a rainbow." Runner replies tucked in next to Romeo, he then laughs Romeo's pissed off face. "I am not explaining why to you either." I roll my eyes, feeling better about the whole situation.
"Aren't you gonna go over there and stake your claim?" Reign inquires, looking at me seriously, making the others think the same thing. I just shrug, we haven't talked about it and it's not my place to make assumptions like that. Maybe she doesn't want me involved in anything outside of what we have. "You're thinking too hard, pops, stop it."
"I don't know what you want me to say, kid. We haven't talked about it."
"Oh yeah, like the rest of us did. One minute we weren't together, next minute we were. It's just how it works." Bear rolls his eyes during his explanation while the other mated riders nod along.
"Thing about that is none of you had an Old Lady before that." I point out as all of them then back off in understanding. I can't rush into this, I won't, for both Eva and I's sake. It's weird though that I spent years with Diedre before we even spoke about the claim, it was months before she even said that she loved me but with Eva all of it feels so fast.
Just watching her now makes me want so much more than I ever wanted with Dierdre. I want everything with her and I want it now. I take a deep breath and tamper down my emotions to bring back the clarity I need to do my job. Eventually, all the women drift back to us after dancing for close to an hour and Eva finds herself being dragged along with the pack. Her friends seem to have left to go home to their wives, leaving Eva alone.
"Hi!" She greets, dropping onto the couch right next to me with her leg folded over mine as she fiddles around with her phone. There it is again, that feeling in the base of my stomach that wants to claim her in front of everyone. That primal urge is hard to resist as her perfume sweeps over me and her warmth radiates against my side.
I rest my arm on the couch behind her, subconsciously trying to protect her and making sure people know she's off limits. She leans into me without much thought either as she watches Riley bicker with Saviour about something stupid. "I don't like this phone." Eva whines, shoving the thing back into her purse and throwing her head back on my shoulder while I laugh at her. "Don't laugh, it won't let me load a stupid app and find out where the four stooges are.... are there four stooges? How many stooges are there?"
"Three, Eva. There are three stooges." Her nose crinkles adorably as she looks up at me.
"Are you sure?" She leans away to look at me properly like I would lie to her about something as stupid as how many stooges there are. "Fine, I believe you. Three stooges." I brush her cheek with the back of my hand as she rolls her eyes after agreeing with me. "You're not drinking?"
"I'm on protection duty, I can't drink or have any fun or anything like that." She pouts then, looking over the club and finding the couples back out on the floor either drinking or dancing or both. There are a few random Riders left on the couches but they're all distracted by women as well.
"Can I kiss you or is that too distracting for you?" She laughs softly as I drag her down to me, brushing my nose on hers and breathing her in. She kisses me gently at first before opening my mouth with her tongue and sweeping in, grabbing my face as I grab her waist. "There. You had fun on protection duty." She says breathlessly while I sit trying to gather my thoughts.
I brush her hair behind her shoulder, the soft tendrils sifting through my fingers and she tilts her head to nuzzle into my hand. How am I supposed to hold it together when she does shit like that?
She stays with me for the rest of the night as we wait for the others to finish up their evening. By the time everything is done, Eva is sober again - having been drinking water for the five hours it took for them to stop - and I lead her out to her car that she called. "Hey Alaric." She greets the driver with a smile as he opens the door for her.
"Get home safely." I tell her, leaning on the car as she turns to face me.
"Do you have to go back to the clubhouse?" Her hand reaches out to touch my cut, her nails dragging over the embroidery and making me think some very dirty thoughts.
"What are you thinking?" My voice gets deeper as I lean into her, Alaric takes the hint and gets in the car to give us some more privacy. I decide to reach out and grab her waist, pulling her closer to me and enjoying the way her body melts into mine perfectly.
"I am thinking..." She drags her fingers down my chest, following them with her eyes as I watch her do it. "About everything underneath this." Her fingers stop at my belt and her eyes flash back up to mine, darkened with lust. "And what I would like to do with it... it's completely your choice though."
"Get in the car." I growl and she does as she's told.
YOU ARE READING
Mac (Riders of Apollo #8)
Romance"Are you going to kiss me or are you just gonna stare?" As if he needed the encouragement, he slams his mouth down on mine in a frenzy, his hands moving from the counter to my thighs and pressing himself against me completely. I try and overcome hi...
