Training her may have been my punishment from Colton, but he doesn’t know just what he’s done. My fixation on the beauty is turning in my mind as I pull up to the club I know will be filled with easy, yet sexy women.
It doesn’t take me long to scope out my friends, Pax and Curtis, seated in the VIP section. The deep blue and purple strobe lights highlight women in white dresses, making me want to keep my eyes peeled, drinking them in, but each one I pass is yet another copy of the one before.
None of them stand out. Even with their clothes illuminated, they’re nothing compared to Haelee. And that pisses me off even more. I reach my friends as the server brings them two beers, and I order one for myself.
“You look like shit,” Pax remarks, chuckling when I pin him with a glare so fierce if he weren’t used to my attitude, he’d have been shrinking away.
“He’s right. What the fuck crawled up your ass and died?”
“Fuck you both,” I bite out, taking in the crowd, even though I know nobody here will capture my attention. Perhaps I should just focus on shots of tequila with beer chasers and keep them coming.
When my drink arrives, I pick up the glass and swallow down a mouthful. The burst of bubbles trickles its way down my throat, but I know this won’t satiate me for long. I’ll need something stronger, something that will take the memory of her away.
“Want me to call over a few beauties?” Curtis asks, but as much as I know I should say yes, I can’t bring myself to do it. One catches my eye, giving me a sly wave, which would usually work, and I wonder if I should just give it a try.
“The one in the short white skirt that looks like her ass is peeking out,” I respond, not looking at my friend because I know if I don’t end up taking her home, he will.
Curtis is on his feet and on the dance floor before I have time to change my mind. But it’s Pax who leans in and asks, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Do what?” I turn my attention to him, swigging my beer as I take him in.
He shrugs. “Random chicks. From what you told us, you seem to like this little racer chick,” he remarks. He was with Curtis when I called them after getting home from the track.
It doesn’t matter if I take someone home or not. I can’t have Haelee. First, she hates me for how I treated her, and second, I work with her now. She’s my teammate. As much as I don’t want her to be, I can’t stop it from happening. To be fair, I doubt Colton will have any issue with it, but I wouldn’t feel right.
I think.
“Hi.” The soft sultry voices of the girls come from my other side, catching my attention away from Pax. I should answer him, but I can’t find the words. Curtis settles beside me with a blonde on his lap while a redhead sits her ass beside Pax. The one with the short skirt looks at me expectantly before I pat my lap.
She slides on, and for a moment, just for a split fucking second, I try to imagine her bouncing on my dick. But the more I look at her, the closer I take in her appearance, I realize there’s not a chance in hell I’m going to get a hard-on with this woman.
Not even a jolt. Not like the one I felt when I looked into Haelee’s eyes. And certainly not the way I felt when I inhaled her fragrance. Even though it was spicy, there was a hint of woman. Nothing overly sweet. Nothing to make your teeth grit and your stomach to roll.
Not like the woman on my lap.
“Holy shit.” Curtis’s voice cracks through the dilemma currently torturing me. My head snaps his way, but then I turn my attention to the group of girls who just walked in. I know a couple of them, they’re pit girls, but the others I don’t know. One though, only one holds my attention like it’s been fucking glued to her.
I don’t think.
I don’t even breathe.
When she spins on her heel, I see it. I see her.
For a second, she smiles, laughing at something someone said, and a few guys join them. They don’t touch her, but my awareness has sparked. She’s dressed in a beautiful pair of tight pants that hide nothing. Her slender legs, her pert ass, and those incredible hips all taunt me from afar.
A guy from the crowd surrounds her, practically wrapping his arms around her when she turns to push him away. I watch as she says something and shakes her head.
But the dick doesn’t get the message and leans in closer to her. My hackles rise, and jealousy rolls in my gut, churning the beer into froth, and I’m about to lose my cool when he tries to kiss her when a few of her friends finally step up to save her.
My hands are gripping the glass and sofa cushion too tight. I don’t realize it until I spill beer all over the woman on my lap. She squeals loudly in my ear, which only irritates me. And that’s when Haelee looks right at me.
Her smile falls. Her eyes widen. But it’s not the look of frustration that kills me. It’s the raging jealousy that sparks in her eyes for a split second before she turns around and focuses on her friends.
She wants me.
Just like I want her.
And I sure as hell ain’t gonna sit around and wait for her to come to me. Pushing off the seat, I’m on the dance floor, moving through the bodies before I have time to think straight. I reach her quickly, and within seconds, my hand is around her arm, and I’m pulling her into the darkened hallway, which leads to the offices.
She doesn’t realize my friend owns this club, but that’s okay. She doesn’t need to know anything. I’m going to have her thrown out of here tonight if she’s not careful.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I bite out, my jaw flexing with frustration.
“I’m here with my friends. What are you doing here?” The fire in her eyes burns me to fucking ash as I lean into her. “Kayden.” She whispers my name, and the sound sends a jolt of pleasure straight to my dick.
“I’m here because I can be. You should be at home resting up because tomorrow you’re training again.” The warning in my tone is clear, and I know I shouldn’t be such an asshole, but the thought of her dancing with any other man sets my gut alight with jealousy.
“I’m old enough to be here. I’m not drinking, and I’m not staying late,” Haelee bites back angrily. The venom in her tone is enough to make me want to kiss her, to steal her lips, and make her whimper as I bite her tongue for being a brat.
“Don’t fucking push me.”
Her eyes widen as she takes me in. I can tell she wants so badly to fight me. I doubt she’s ever had someone like me in her life, but if she wants to make this career work, then she’s going to have to listen to me. And if she doesn’t, this isn’t going to work.
But what is it that I want to work?
To be her trainer?
Or be her fuck buddy?
Something tells me she doesn’t do fuck buddies.
“I don’t belong to you. I don’t belong to anyone,” Haelee informs me with those dark eyes shimmering at me in the dimly lit hallway. People pass us but don’t take notice. We look just like any other couple doing the same thing, practically kissing.
7
Haelee
His eyes look luminous in the darkness, and I can’t help the shiver of awareness trickling through me. I don’t know what he wants from me. Surely, he can see that I’m my own person, independent.