Intoxicated (17 page)

“Good.” Jack nodded in dismissal and turned his attention back to Leather Jacket. “What about you? Do you understand or do I need to draw you a fucking picture?”

Leather Jacket smirked in a way that made Jack want to bitch slap the guy on the spot. “Where’s the owner? Where’s David? He and I had an agreement. He’s not going to like you blowing me shit.”

“David’s not here. And he’s not coming back any time soon.” Jack took a step toward Leather Jacket, towering over the shorter, slighter man, and sneered down his long nose at the creep. “He left me in complete charge. What I say goes and David will back me up on that. He brought me in here to get rid of losers like you. So what I propose is that you and I come to a new agreement.”

While Randy and Jack got a handle on the situation, Ally got a fresh drink and watched Jack from a safe distance away. He made an intimidating picture with his dark hair ruffled and a scowl on his brow. After a brief conversation with the two disgruntled men, the crowd dissipated. Ally roamed the hallways and alcoves in search of Karly. She wasn’t too concerned; Karly made friends easily and always reappeared before the end of the night. In truth, Ally needed a few minutes away from Jack to regain the perspective that he had obliterated with his talented lips and tongue. With a sigh she melted into the darkness of an alcove a few yards from the stage and waited for the band to return from their break.

When the band started up again, the clash of drums and seething guitar licks caused Ally to jump. Without conscious thought, her eyes flitted around the dance floor in search of Jack, but he was gone. A sudden pang of insecurity made her scour the place until she found him back behind the bar. Their eyes met and he smiled. The feeling of unease dissipated like mist in the morning sunshine.

“There you are!” Karly bounded up to Ally with a beatific smile on her face. “Where’ve you been all this time?”

“I’ve been right here looking for you,” Ally replied. “Where the hell were you?”

“Up there!” Karly pointed to one of the cages next to the stage where two girls were dancing.

“No way!”

“Yes, way!” Karly replied, laughing. “It was awesome.” As she caught Ally’s expression, her tone changed from excitement to concern. “What’s wrong? Did something happen with Jack?”

“Yes. I mean no.” Ally sighed. “Nothing bad happened. I’ll tell you later.”

Karly clapped her hands. “Did you guys do it in the back? I saw you go back there.” Ally flushed. “Son of a biscuit! You did, didn’t you?”

“Shhhh...stop it,” Ally hissed. “We didn’t do it — exactly — just something like it.”

“What does that mean? You either did or you didn’t. Honestly, getting information out of you is like decoding the Dead Sea scrolls,” Karly said, rolling her eyes. “You should run for President.”

“He wants to take me home with him,” Ally said. “But I’m not so sure.”

“Yes!” Karly did a happy dance around Ally, red curls bouncing. “Of course you said yes.”

“I didn’t say anything. Besides, I can’t send you home alone.”

“Who says I’m going home alone?” Karly’s gaze landed on Randy who loomed a few paces away, arms crossed over his chest. Ally followed Karly’s gaze and raised her eyebrows. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. It’s no big deal. He said Jack asked him to take me home so you guys could be alone.”
 

 
From behind the bar, Jack caught her eye and frowned. With her wits dulled by alcohol, it took a few seconds to realize that he wasn’t looking at her but at the guy standing behind her. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed a guy dressed in ripped jeans and a black leather biker jacket, shoving the shoulder of another guy wearing a football jersey. Heated words split the air. A small crowd had gathered. It pressed back as Leather Jacket leaped onto Football Jersey. Both men tumbled into Ally. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. In a flash, Jack leaped over the bar, baseball bat in hand, looking like the angel of death. She had a quick flash of the word
Angelmaker
burned on the underside of the bat before someone stepped on her leg. Trapped beneath the fighting guys, Ally pulled up her knees and raised her arms to protect her head. Pain shot through her ribs as Leather Jacket stumbled over her. Her head thumped the floor and stars danced before her eyes.
 

God, please don’t let me die on the floor of a club
, she thought.
My dad will be so pissed
. She flinched, waiting for the next blow, when strong hands grasped her wrists and dragged her out from underneath the brawl.

Within seconds, she sat shaking and trembling in the office with Karly beside her, holding a bag of ice to the knot on the back of her head. After an eternity, the door creaked open and Jack strode in. The air in the small office changed immediately, imbued with testosterone and excitement. The room receded in size, too small to contain him as he loomed over her, all tense muscle and maleness. He crackled with vitality as if he fed off of all the craziness.

“You alright?” he asked. As he caught sight of her face, his expression changed from one of excitement to one of concern. “That was some crazy shit, huh?”

Still too shaken to speak, she nodded vigorously, wincing at the sudden movement.

“I’ve had my eye on that fucker for awhile. I don’t tolerate that kind of shit in my club,” Jack said and frowned down at her. One of the straps of her halter dress had snapped, revealing a good deal of her breasts and spatters of blood. “Jesus! Are you bleeding? I’m going to kill that fucker.” He made a move toward the door but she stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Not mine,” she said and his frown relaxed.

“Stand up. Let me look at you.” He removed the ice pack from her grip and offered his hand. She stood up, still shaking, and let him guide her to the desk, where he settled her onto the corner. He pulled the remaining pins from her hair and ran his fingers through it so that it settled in waves over her shoulders and down her back. Gentle fingers probed the knot on her skull provoking an unsettling tremor in her stomach and down lower still. “You’ll live,” he decided.

Satisfied, he placed one hand on each side of the desk beside her, leaned forward and peered deeply into her eyes. The inky long lashes swept his cheeks in half moons when he blinked, distracting her from any discomfort.
How odd that such a virile man should have such beautiful, almost pretty eyes,
she thought dreamily.
 

“Any dizziness? Nausea? You’re shaking.”

“No, Dr. Jack.” She scooted back on the desk in a desperate attempt to put some distance between them. Despite their recent intimacy she felt intimidated by her attraction to him. The nearness of his body made her tremble. “I’m fine, thanks. Just shook up a little. Can’t say I’ve ever been trampled in a club before.”

“You scared me.”
 

“I scared me, too,” she replied. His hand caressed her cheek then he bent down and kissed her lightly.
 

“I’ve had about enough of this place for one night,” he said. “It won’t take long to close up. You ready to get out of here?”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

At the top of the steps to the apartment, Jack paused long enough to unlock the door.
 

“You live here?” she asked. “We are literally ten steps from the bar.”

“Uh, well, Randy lives here. Technically, I’m between places right now.”

Ally waited behind him, wordless and subdued. Was she feeling the same hum of anticipation? The ambivalent expression on her face offered no clues. He rubbed his sweaty palms across his jeans; he hadn’t been this nervous with a girl since middle school. Even as a gawky adolescent he’d held the upper hand in his relationships. Ally, however, left him constantly off balance. He swung open the door and stepped over the threshold. Tasha had done her best to pick up the place while he and Randy closed down the bar, but it still looked like the trashy shithole he’d left earlier that day.

“Hang out here for just a minute — okay?”
 

Ally nodded her assent and leaned against the door frame for support while he scoured the place for anything shocking or disgusting. For the first time, he saw the place through someone else’s eyes —
her
eyes
. Fleeting disapproval flickered across her face before that damned mask slid into place and hid her thoughts from view. God only knew what lurked behind that calm expression. After a quick tour, he returned and gave her a smile meant to put her at ease but probably came across as more of a leer. He wiped his palms on his jeans again and held out a hand in invitation.

“All clear,” he said. After a moment’s hesitation, she took his hand and followed him through the living room to the sofa. “Pretty impressive, huh?” That brought a smile to her face and he relaxed a bit.
 

“I don’t care about your place, Jack. I’m here to be with you.” He remained unconvinced. “What were you looking for anyway? Groupies?” A slight smile twitched across her lips.

“Yeah and dirty underwear.”

“I thought you didn’t wear underwear,” she shot back. “Or did you mean panties from your groupies?”

“Well, I never really know what I’ll find up here,” he replied, unable to hold back his grin. “Like I said, this is Randy’s crash pad and he’s a pig. Want something to drink?”

“No, thank you. I’m pretty lit up already.”
 

He fell onto the sofa, tugged her hand, and pulled her onto his lap. The sudden request caught her off guard. She squeaked as she fell across his legs.

“I like that noise you make,” he said, nuzzling into her hair. The fine strands smelled like strawberry shampoo and tickled his nose as he brushed them aside. She’d left her hair down after the thump on her head. The heavy locks spilled haphazardly down her back and over her shoulders.

“What noise?” She struggled to push back from him, but he tightened his grasp and held her against his chest. As his tongue swept the shell of her ear, she squeaked again, wriggling on his lap and sending all the blood straight to his groin.

“That sound. I like it.” Before she could reply, he found her mouth, kissed her long and slow, only to be rewarded with another squeak.
 

“Hang on a minute.” She pushed away from him.
 

“Right.” With a deep groan, he waited for the blood to return from his groin to his brain. Well, he could be patient; he could kiss her all night if that’s what she wanted, even though he wanted to throw her down on the floor and...

“Jack? Did you hear me?”

“Huh?”

Ally rolled her eyes and gusted a heavy sigh that blew her bangs away from her face. “I said I need to use the restroom. Where’s the bathroom?”
 

When the bathroom door closed behind her, his brain resumed normal activity. The idea of a naked Ally, lying beneath him compliant and eager, set a fire in his blood that stripped way all pretense of composure. His hands shook as he raked them through his hair. He wanted her in the worst way, more than he’d ever wanted any woman. More than that he wanted her approval, to please her. This girl needed seduction and reassurance before she’d surrender to all that pent up sexual frustration. And for that to happen, he’d need to step up his game.
 

When Ally stepped out of the bathroom, Jack had disappeared. She’d been in there longer than necessary in an effort to quash the trembling in her knees and to freshen up after a night of drinking and dancing. The smoldering lust in his gaze left her with little doubt that he was going to have his way with her before she went home, a thought that elicited a new wave of euphoric panic.

“Jack?”
 

“Hey.” He appeared from the kitchen area with a glass of water and two tablets of aspirin. “Take these. You’ll be glad later.”
 

“How come you don’t have a place of your own? Isn’t this kind of cramped for two guys?”
 

“It’s not bad. I don’t spend too much time here except to sleep.” Jack shrugged and turned to face her, leaning against the counter behind him. “During the day I’m usually at Jameson’s. It seemed a waste to rent a place that I’d never use. I suppose it’s pretty disgusting to someone like you.”

“Like me?” She arched an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He ran a finger inside his shirt collar, as if to loosen a constriction. “You probably live in a condo or penthouse on the north side. Somewhere with a clubhouse and a pool.”

“I live in a house in Old Towne, the historic district downtown. My dad has a friend with rentals down there.”

 
“How come you never talk about your family?” he asked. “What about your parents? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Ally’s gut clenched. How in the world could she explain the craziness that comprised her family? At this juncture in her relationship with Jack, it might prove prudent to avoid the messy details; he’d run screaming from the room and never speak to her again. The calloused pad of his thumb brushed over the back of her hand. The intimate gesture sent an unexpected shiver of pleasure through her body. When her eyes rose to meet his, the returning gaze was interested and curious without any hint of malice. Very well, then. She’d give him the truth, or as much of it as she could without revealing the ugliness.