Page 5 of Hearts Storm

Studying her reaction, I clinch my jaw as Brex drags the bill down her side before tucking it into what’s left of her outfit. I should be up there with him, not sitting here like some nervous, lovesick sap.

Slowly she rises to stand before him, which puts her pussy right up in his face.

The moment her eyes lock with his, her expression shifts. Suddenly, she stands and turns, practically shoving her ass in Brex’s face before grabbing her cash and hurrying off stage.

A snort escapes when I see his look of surprise as he steps back, momentarily thrown off balance by her hasty exit.

“Looks like she got the better of you,” I snark when he returns to the table, still looking a bit dazed.

“Man, she sure is something else,” he replies, shaking his head with a grin. “One minute she’s looking at me like she wants to devour me, and the next—” He gestures vaguely toward the stage. “I don’t know what happened.”

“She probably realized you’re an idiot.” My eyes are already scanning the club, eager for her to reappear. “Did you get her name?”

“Nope. Didn’t get that far,” Brex admits. “But I’m not giving up that easily.”

The casual comment makes my stomach clench. I should tell him to back off, that I saw her first. But that’s not how we operate, and we both know it.

Neither of us do relationships, or each other.

“Gonna hit the head,” I say, rising to my feet. “These girls usually do more than one set, so she should be back.”

But an hour later, when she hasn’t come back out, we both begrudgingly get up and head back to the station.

Still, I can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t the last we’ll see of her. Deep down, I know that whoever she is—Anael or Lilith—will derail everything I’ve worked so hard to suppress.

three

The journey backstage seems to take longer than usual. My skin is buzzing and I can’t seem to get the image of Dark & Broody or Hot & Smirky out of my head.

Not even thirty seconds after I’ve dumped my cash onto my dressing table, Mia and Ari burst through the curtain like a couple of bloodhounds hot on the scent.

“Oh my fuck,” Mia squeals, bouncing on her heels. “Who the hell were those two hotties?”

The fabric of my costume sticks to my sweaty skin as I peel it off. “Which two?” I ask casually.

Ari flops down on the bench next to me, crossing her long legs. “Don’t play dumb, Rey. The two gods sitting at the VIP table. The one who came up to the stage...” She fans herself dramatically. “Not to mention his friend. Call me crazy, but he looked like he wanted to eat you for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

“Pretty sure that’s not the case,” I mutter, wiggling out of my bottoms.

Mia grabs my arm, her brown eyes wide. “Seriously, though. The energy bouncing around between the three of you? I could literally feel it from where I was sitting at the bar. It was like—” She circles her fingers in the air. “—electric or whatever.”

“More like nuclear or whatever,” Ari adds with a grin.

Cheeks burning, I roll my eyes. My friends tend to be a tad overdramatic. “They’re just customers, guys. Hotties for sure, but still just customers,” I huff, hardening my tone in a measly attempt to get my point across.

Fat chance.

“Uh huh.” Ari leans back, studying me with a pair of cornflower-blue eyes. “So you’re telling me you felt nothing when Tall, Dark and Handsome was eye-fucking you from across the room?”

I shrug, trying to play it cool even though my heart is still doing somersaults. “Exactly. I’m just here for the money.”

Mia snorts. “Yeah, okay,” she says in her signature, mock dumb-dumb voice. “And I’m the Queen of England.”

“Your Majesty.” I turn, giving her a dramatic curtsy, making her laugh.

But little miss Ari doesn’t know how to let shit go. “Rey, I’ve seen you work that floor for almost a year now. You’re good—like, really good. But I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you did those two.”

Unwelcome emotion tightens in my chest. She’s not wrong. There was something about both of them that got under my skin in a way no one else ever has before.