AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, he knew,” I admit. “I was staying with Angel for a while. Why the hell would he follow me?”
“Because he was interested, you dummy.”
I think back to every interaction. Every time I was in a club, dancing and having fun, only to turn and find Liam behind me. It wasn’t often. He was on the road with my brother’s band a lot. But now that I think about it, he mentioned during one of our encounters how he was only in town for a few days to see his daughter. Knowing him like I do now, it made sense. My brother’s band toured for over a year without stopping. Liam would never go that long without seeing Casey. But…
“If he was interested enough to follow you back then, why do you think he’d give up easily this time?”
I shake my head. “He needs to give up, Ash. We are over. It doesn’t matter how much time we spend together or how much he sings to me with that stupid, sexy voice of his; we aren’t getting back together.”
“His sexy voice, huh?”
“Oh my god, is that all you heard?”
“No. What I heard is his sexy voice makes you hot.” When my mouth falls open, her head falls back as her shoulders shake with laughter. “That’s where you just came from, isn’t it? That’s what brings you here all of a sudden. You left the office and needed to rant because the man you claim you don’t want, but clearly wants you, makes you horny.” She’s laughing so hard now, tears are streaming down her face. “Oh, this is awesome.”
I cross my arms and scowl. “Why is it awesome?”
“Because it’s fucking funny, watching someone else go through it. Let me just tell you from firsthand knowledge that fighting it is pointless.”
My eyes turn to slits as I push to my feet. “It’s not the same, Ashleigh. None of us—not you and me or Liam and Henry—are the same. The situations aren’t either. Besides, I’m engaged. If that doesn’t scream over, then I don’t know what does.” I stomp around the sofa, making my way toward the foyer so I can leave.
“If you say so, but remember what you told me,” she calls over her shoulder.
I pause, dreading what she’s going to say, but it seems I’m a masochist. “What’s that?”
“It’ll never be over if it’s real.”
Lily
I sit on the sofa in the apartment I share with Casey, staring at the paper I’ve been mindlessly doodling on for hours and blink. The same thing decorates the page repeatedly. I’m surprised when I realize what I’ve been drawing, but I shouldn’t be. Ever since I brought it up to Ashleigh, it’s been on constant repeat.
Paris, just over two years ago.
I remember being shocked to run into him at the exclusive, invitation-only club. Since the conversation with Ashleigh a few days ago, I haven’t stopped wondering if it was truly coincidental. He couldn’t have known I would be there, and even if he followed me, he wouldn’t have been able to just walk in unless he was a member or had his own invitation. That should mean it was a coincidence. But…
I shake my head, trying to push the it away, but that particular memory…
I stood in front of the building that looked like nothing more than a brick-and-mortar piece of French history, if not for the neon sign flashing above the entry. Nerves and anxiety weren’t something I dealt with often, but my hands shook as I handed the large, stern man at the door my invitation.
When I received it a few months ago, I had no intention of using it, but once the last band I was interested in finished performing, I was done with the music festival. My brother and his wife invited me to spend the evening with them and their friends, but they soon vanished into the night, the others following suit, and I was alone.
My curiosity piqued. The invitation burned a hole in my clutch, so when I fell into the taxi, I directed it toward the Red Light District instead of my hotel.
I walked into the place, and it seemed innocent enough. Like any other club I’d been to, but as I continued to wander through the different floors, it didn’t take long to realize it was everything I’d heard it to be and more.
And I liked it.
The acts being performed for anyone and everyone to see made me hot. Men with their heads between women’s thighs. Women with cum dripping down their chins. I sat on a low, crushed velvet sofa with a flute of champagne in my hand and watched with morbid fascination as a woman took three men at once. I’d watched porn, but this was… different. Not staged for some crude video. It was real and raw, and the eroticism of it all turned me on so badly that when a man approached me, I politely nodded in invitation to sit. He did, and we chatted for several minutes before his finger brushed my bare legs. He gripped my chin, turning me to the woman that now had another dick in her pussy. Her body was being used like a sex toy, but judging by the moans coming from her as she gagged on a cock, she was loving it. I wondered if it was the sex or the fact that everyone here could see.
“Is this something you’d like?” the man asked me with a seductive British accent.
I nodded, but the minute I took his hand, second thoughts, then third and fourth, took over. Sex was about power and pleasure for me, but in all my experiences, it was never with a total stranger. I always knew something about them, even if not personally. I knew nothing about this man. During our casual small talk, we hadn’t even exchanged names.
Instead of the usual rush I got from the unknown, a knot formed in my belly, and I hesitated. “Maybe I shouldn’t.”
He turned toward me, eyes searching. “We don’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with.”
I shook my head and stood. Something in his expression unnerved me. The way he wouldn’t release my hand had alarm bells ringing. Minutes before, I didn’t pick up any nefarious vibes from him, but suddenly it was all I was getting. “No. I don’t think so.”
