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“I think I’ll be the judge of that.”
My libido is primed, and now I’m fully invested in discovering all of his skills. Here’s hoping that in a matter of minutes we’ll be moving this evening forward to the part where all of the orgasms will be delivered.
But a voice behind us bursts the bubble we’re residing in very quickly. “Maddox?”
He twists in his seat, and I look past him to see a beautiful petite blonde in a skintight red dress, giggling as we both stare at her. “Hayley?”
“I’m ready to leave, Maddox.” Twirling a piece of her hair around her finger, she wobbles on her heels, clearly drunk and clearly anticipating leaving the club with the man I just spent the past hour with.
“Yeah. Okay.” He turns back to me, his brow furrowed but his intentions clear. “I’ll be right back, all right?”
“Um, yeah. Okay...”
Hayley peers around Maddox’s shoulders. “Maddox is gonna help me get home tonight.” She giggles again. “He promised me earlier.”
My brows pinch together this time. “Sure.”
Maddox stands from the booth but stares down at me, cupping my jaw. “Don’t go anywhere, Penelope. I’m not done with you.”
I don’t say anything as he walks away, but mostly because now I feel like a fool.
Of course this woman thinks she’s going home with him tonight. I recognize her as one of the blondes who were swarming him while he stood around with his friends earlier. I’m guessing that while I was busy working, he was giving her his attention and reeling her in with his suave demeanor and smooth words.
It would only make sense for a man like Maddox to have a backup in case the time he invested in me didn’t pan out. And a move like that definitely fits with his rumored playboy persona.
An unfamiliar twinge of jealousy builds in my chest, and that sign right there tells me to get out of this situation before I get in too deep, become just another one of his conquests, and wake up with regrets in the morning. So not my style.
I am all for a one-night stand, but not when the vulnerability that’s enveloping me right now tells me it’s better to avoid potential feelings altogether, especially now that I have a way out.
Without wasting another second, I stand up and move toward the back of the club, arriving at the office where I locked up my purse. I grab my bag, say a quick goodbye to Garret, and then make a beeline for the back door so I can walk out to my car, reaching for the Mace in my purse before I go outside.
Safety first, ladies—always.
Disappointment flows through me, but I shove it back down as I try to regain power over my feelings about the night. I’m taking control back, leaving before I can be left, and accepting that not all things pan out the way we think they will.
I have some firsthand experience with that.
But before I can reach for the handle on the door at the end of a long hallway, a strong hand grips my upper arm and stops me in my tracks.
“Where are you going?”
Spinning around, I meet the angry eyes of the man I was just running away from.
He came back?
“I’m leaving. Just like you were doing with Hayley.”
The groove in his forehead gets deeper. “No, I wasn’t. I told you to wait for me, that I would be right back. But when I got to the booth, you were gone.” Our eyes bounce back and forth between each other’s. “Why?”
I motion for Maddox to let go of my arm, and he does so willingly. “I wasn’t going to wait around when I wasn’t sure that you were actually coming back.”
“But I told you I would return.” He crowds my space, forcing me up against the wall so his chest is pressed into mine, our lips mere centimeters apart. “I meant what I said.”
“Forgive me for not wanting to look like a fool, but it seems Hayley was under the impression that you would be going home withhertonight.”
His face softens as realization dawns in his eyes, and then a grin graces his lips. “You’re jealous.”
“Ha. No, I’m not. I don’t get jealous.”Liar, liar, pants on fire, Penelope.
