a terrible idea, considering the tension radiating between us. But I was too stubborn to bail out of the club so quickly. That would be far too close to running scared, and that was something I would never do. Especially from Zed.
So instead, I relaxed my shoulders and leaned into his side to get comfortable. "I know," I replied, sassy as fuck. "I was just taking notes."
That comment made Zed stiffen, and his eyes followed where I'd been looking. It was a small area near the side of the room where a woman wearing nothing but some leather straps was being worshipped by three extremely well-hung men. At the same time. I wasn't even joking about taking notes; whether I wanted to or not, my mind was already jotting down ideas. Never say never.
Zed didn't respond to that comment; he just hummed a sound that could have been approval or disagreement and calmly sipped his drink before placing it back down on the table. I put mine down too, not totally sure I wouldn't spill it from how hyperalert I was to his touch.
Curious, and somewhat emboldened by our anonymity, I shifted to peer up at him. "You like to be watched, don't you?"
His brows lifted and he looked down at me with an edge of surprise. "I do." His tongue swiped across his lower lip, and I swallowed heavily. Damn, I wanted to kiss him. Did he know how turned on I was?
"So," I continued, chasing my thought train, "do you also like to watch?"
A bemused smile touched his lips, and he shifted his grip to pull me closer as he dipped his face. His mouth was so close to my ear when he replied that his breath tickled my skin, making me shiver.
"Are you asking whether I liked watching you and Cass fucking in my garage before the fight," he murmured, "or watching you riding his dick after his funeral the other day?"
I gave a throaty laugh. "You didn't just watch that time." He didn't respond, clearly waiting for me to answer his question. "Yes, that's what I'm asking." My breath rushed out at that admission.
Zed's nose teased a line along my neck, and I needed to stifle a moan as his lips brushed a kiss across my skin. "Well then, yes. I watched it, loved it, replayed it again later with my dick in my hand and came harder than I have in fucking years."
Oh fuck. My pussy throbbed at that mental image, and I found myself clenching my thighs on reflex. I couldn't hide how my breathing had spiked, though, not with Zed still placing hot, open-mouth kisses against my neck.
"Zed," I whispered, hoarse with need. He heard me, though, and heard a hell of a lot more than just his name. He raised his face from my neck and caught my lips with his in a kiss that shattered my reservations like a hammer against fragile glass. I leaned into him as his tongue traced the line of my lips, coaxing them apart so his mouth could devour me in the sweetest way.
His hand moved to my thigh, sliding up the bare length from my knee and teasing at the short hem of my dress. I wasn't even worried about the fact that we were in public where anyone could see us. I just so badly wanted his hand under my skirt, for him to finish what he’d started in my bedroom when I’d challenged him.
"Well, I have to say I didn't expect this kind of show tonight," a sickeningly familiar voice said, and a deep shudder of revulsion ran through me as I pulled out of Zed's embrace.
Outrage, disgust, and fury vied for dominance within me as I glared absolute, violent death at my ex-fiancé, who'd just dragged a chair over from another table and sat his ass down.
"Chase," I hissed. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
Zed radiated tension beside me, his fingers on my waist tight enough to leave bruises, but I wasn't complaining. "Oh, damn," he growled. "Looks like this club has a roach infestation."
Chase, smarmy fuck, just clicked his tongue and grinned. "Now, now, no need to be hostile. It's so rare to find you two alone these days; I couldn't resist the opportunity to catch up. Just like old times, hey Darling?" He shot me a lascivious wink that made me want to gag.
Then again... "Was that a wink or a blink?" I pondered aloud. "So hard to tell."