A Touch of Heaven (8 page)

Whoever this man was, he knew how to make
her burn.

Resigning herself to enjoy it while she
could, Paige slid her arms back around his neck, relishing the feel
of his arms around her, holding her tightly to him as his tongue
slid sensually against her own. Her body once again relaxed against
him.

Simon inhaled her scent, memorizing the way
she felt and tasted. He knew once she realized who he was, she'd
never speak to him again—that is if she didn't have him killed for
not telling her to begin with.

He never wanted the night to end. Never
wanted to let her go and a small part of him wished she didn't have
to find out. He knew, the minute she realized he was Colin Gregory,
the one person she loathed most in the world, what they had just
shared wouldn't be the glorious, life-altering event he thought it
was, but a dark, ugly memory she would probably spend the rest of
her life trying to forget.

He knew he couldn't let it end like this. He
was too big of a bleeding heart for that to happen. He had always
loved her. He still did.

Breaking the kiss, Simon pulled back from
her, smiling as her eyes slowly opened. "So, are you…"

"Hey Simon, you in there?" Someone yelled
from the other side of the door, knocking loudly.

"Yeah," Simon yelled back, his eyes never
leaving Paige's.

"You got a phone call."

Fuck. Not now.
"Take a message. I'm busy."

"Tried. They said it was important."

Simon sighed heavily, closing his eyes
briefly and clenched his jaw before he looked back up.

Paige gave him a tiny smile and her arms
loosened from his neck.

"You hear me Simon?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there," he said,
looking away from Paige for a second before glancing back up at
her. "Well, seems like the small talk will have to wait," he told
her smiling, before grabbing her hips and lifting her up slightly.
A small moan escaped them both when he slipped from her warmth.

Paige smiled at him when he took a step away
from her and reached down and grabbed his robe. She watched him
slip it back on and tie the belt closed.

She still hadn't said a
word to him, her voice completely gone as the
old reserved
Paige came crashing back
through to push
slut Paige
away. She looked away from him, her face flaming
from embarrassment as she tried unsuccessfully to cover her
nudity.

He took a step toward her before saying,
"I'll be right back." He leaned down, kissing her on the cheek
before he reached for the doorknob, turned it, and left the
room.

Paige let out the breath she didn't even
realize she'd been holding in when she heard the door click shut
behind her. She hurriedly reached out and turned the lock.

Laying her forehead against the door, she
shut her eyes, taking a few deep breaths before she turned slowly
and leaned back against the door.

Her eyes fell to her naked form in the
mirror and she almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the
situation. Here she stood, bare ass naked in some strange man's
dressing room, a stripper no less, alone, and feeling like a
two-dollar whore.

"What in the world have you done?" she asked
herself quietly as she watched her reflection.

"You just had mind-blowing sex, that's what
you've done," her inner voice sang out.

Raising her hands, Paige covered her face
before pushing her hair back and looking around the room. It was
slightly bare, only a table and small chair sitting in front of the
large mirrors and a bigger armchair off in the corner.

There were a few pictures hanging on the
mirror although she couldn't tell whom they were from where she
stood. A coat rack, holding a black leather jacket and a motorcycle
helmet sat off to the side.

Glancing back at the mirror, Paige once
again saw herself and panic started to set in. She once again
started going over in her mind what had just happened.

She still couldn't believe it and neither
would her friends. Her eyes widened at the thought of them.

What would they say?

She wouldn’t tell them. How could she? That
was the last thing she needed. Hearing them go on and on about her
having sex with a stripper wasn't on her list of fun things to do,
especially seeing how said stripper didn't even know her name.

She sighed as she thought about it. "Great,
I'm just another notch in his belt now," she said softly to no one
and rolled her eyes. "You really are a slut."

For the first time in her life, she'd acted
on impulse. Sex with a total stranger, in a dingy back room, wasn't
anything she thought would ever happen to her. Let alone have
unprotected sex. "Oh my god. You're an idiot, Paige. One pretty man
and you completely loose your mind."

The possible consequences of what she'd done
made her slightly ill. She sighed heavily before closing her eyes
and groaning at her stupidity.

Hearing a voice in the hall, her eyes opened
before she hastily reached down and grabbed her dress. She quickly
slipped it back on and fumbled with the clasp, trying to get it
hooked before Simon came back.

She had to get out of there. Fast.

As the voices seemed to disappear in the
hall she decided to save herself another embarrassing moment with
him and reached for the door. She unlocked it and poked her head
out, looking both ways.

When she saw the coast was clear, she darted
out of the room, shutting the door behind her before practically
running back down the hall towards the main room.

* * * *

Chapter 7

"There she is!" Megan nearly screamed.

"It's about damned time!" Kim yelled when
Paige reached their table. "We were about to send someone after
you. Where the hell have you been?"

Paige glanced at them, averting her eyes
quickly before saying, "Let's go." She grabbed her purse, hooking
the strap on her arm without looking at any of them.

She wasn't about to spend another second in
this place and give Simon time to come looking for her. Of course,
nothing really told her that he would, but she wasn't taking any
chances. She decided on the quick walk back to her friends that the
best course of action was to leave the scene of the crime.

She gave one last look at the stage before
walking away. She didn't wait to see if her friend's were following
her.

"Go? Are you insane?" Amy yelled.

"No, I'm ready to go," Paige yelled over her
shoulder before she headed for the exit.

"Okay, what the hell is up with her?"
Heather asked as they exited the club.

"Not sure," Megan said.

Paige heard their mumbled questions. When
they exited the club and made their way across the parking lot she
could hear the confusion in their voices over what was going on,
but didn't care. She fumbled with her keys, dropping them twice
before she finally found the right one and started to unlock the
car door.

Her hands were trembling and she was sure
someone would notice soon enough. She bit her tongue to keep from
blabbing to everyone what she had done.

Her alcohol buzz was completely gone and
even though Courtney was designated driver, she knew giving the
keys to one of the others would result in a little trip back inside
the club.

"Not so fast!" Kim yelled, jerking the keys
away from Paige. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Paige said, "Now give me the
keys."

"Nuh-uh, not until you tell us why we had to
leave the most gorgeous and bare-ass naked men I've seen in ages
behind and it better be good."

"I just… I don't feel good," Paige lied,
trying to grab the keys.

Kim looked at Paige, her eyes traveling over
her from head to toe before she smiled slightly. "Where have you
been?"

"What do you mean? I went to the
bathroom."

"You were in the bathroom for the last
thirty minutes?" Kim asked, grinning.

"Yes!" Paige said, loudly. "I told you—"

"Yeah, yeah… you didn't feel good," Kim
said, smiling.

Paige sighed heavily, watching Kim smile
back at her before she finally handed over the keys. She didn't
trust the look on her face or the fact she gave the keys back
willingly. She ignored her thoughts before shaking her head and
reaching for the lock, putting the key in. She got into the car
quickly; ignoring the looks everyone gave her.

Once everyone was seated, Paige glanced over
at Megan who sat beside her. Her friend never said a word and she
gave her a small smile. Starting the car, she pulled out of the
parking space and headed home.

"Hey Paige," Kim said leaning forward in the
seat. Paige saw her look over her shoulder, grinning at the others
before she turned her head back to her. "Did anything… happen while
you were in the bathroom?"

"Happen? What do you mean?" Paige asked
quickly, glancing over at Kim. The girl was practically hanging
over the seat.

"I mean, did you see Simon while you were
back there?"

"No!" Paige said loudly, wondering for a
brief second if they could smell the scent of sex she knew still
lingered on her skin.

Kim glanced over her shoulder again before
turning back to her. "Oh, well that's too bad ‘cause man I would
have loved to have had a taste of him. All that sweet, hot flesh
just begging to be fucked."

Paige glared at Kim in the rear-view mirror.
She was surprised that the small comment caused a second's worth of
jealously to flare in her. The thoughts of Kim having the wild ride
she herself had just taken caused her temper to flare. She shrugged
it off before looking back at the road.

"Yeah well, I'm sure he gets plenty of
offers," Paige said a little more hatefully than she had intended.
The thought of being one of those offers left a bad taste in her
mouth all of a sudden.

"Oh, I bet he does," Kim told her. "I bet a
guy as hot as he is gets fucked every night of the week by one of
the bimbos hanging out in there."

"You don't know that," Paige said
defensively, hoping she were right, but doubting it. She knew there
was no way anyone as hot as Simon didn't get propositioned several
times a night, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. She was
just another nameless girl that probably made his nights a little
less lonely.

Hell, someone was probably taking her place
this very minute.

"Oh I know," Kim said, smiling, "But man,
can you imagine? I bet he's a great lay. What do you think?"

Paige sighed lightly, shrugging her
shoulder. She kept her eyes straight ahead. "I wouldn't know," she
lied.

"Sure you wouldn't," Kim said, her smile
widening.

Paige glanced in the rear-view mirror,
seeing Kim sit back in her seat before she relaxed and turned the
corner, heading back to her apartment. Her mind replayed the events
of the evening and she had to forcefully restrain the smile trying
to creep up on her face.

She felt a little bad for having sex with a
stranger, something she had never done before, but another part of
her wanted to shout to the world that she'd just had the most
mind-blowing sex of her life.

"Hey Paige," Kim said, once again leaning
over the seat.

Paige almost growled, her thoughts of the
ultra-sexy Simon disrupted before glancing over at Kim. She waited
for her to speak before saying, "What?"

"I was just wondering."

"About…" Paige said when Kim stopped
talking.

"Well, I was just wondering… is this a new
fashion statement, or do you always wear your dresses inside
out."

Paige glanced down, looking at herself when
Kim tugged at the strap around her neck and everyone in the car
burst out laughing. Stopping at the corner Paige took a good, long
look at herself. Sure enough, her dress was inside out. The seams
shining up at her like a big flashing sign. She bit her lip,
holding back the smile tugging at her lips and felt her face flame
red-hot.

"You are so going to spill, you little
slut!" Kim yelled, laughing hard as Paige turned to face her.

Paige fought the smile, looking into the
faces of her friends before their laughter died down to
nothing.

"Well, come on girl, don't leave us
hanging," Kim said, grinning. "You so totally fucked him didn't
you?"

Paige stared at her, remembering what being
with Simon felt like and her body automatically responded, sending
a tingling wave through her body as her mind flashed back the
visions of them in the mirror. She looked back over at Kim and
couldn't hold the smile at bay any longer. "Best fucking ride of my
life."

All six girls burst into laughter.

* * *

Simon opened the door to his dressing room,
stepping in quickly before shutting the door behind him. His
once-happy mood vanished instantly, pulled away when he realized
Paige was gone.

He sighed before leaning against the door,
looking around the nearly bare room and shaking his head. He knew
it was too good to be true. He would almost believe he imagined it
all but his eyes caught on the one slip of evidence she left
behind.

A tiny, self-satisfied smile curved his lips
as he looked down at his feet.

Bending over, Simon reached out; grabbing
the small scrap of her silk panties off of the floor before he
slowly walked to his dressing table and sat down. He stared at
them, running the silk through his fingers and smiled.

Looking up into the mirror, he stared at his
reflection. His smile widened as his mind slowly replayed the
events of the last hour. He could still taste her in his mouth,
smell her perfume lingering on his skin and hear the soft cries of
his name whispered from her lips.