CHAPTER 9: BLACK LACE
2012 Words
GIADA
The bartender spots me and immediately makes his way over, earning me a few dirty looks from people who have probably been waiting.
“What can I get you, beautiful?” he smiles, revealing a cute dimple.
“Three shots of tequila, please.”
This is all I’ll have for the night. I haven’t seen Sebastian since the Michelle incident and this is the quickest way to settle my nerves before I go back to the booth. The first shot goes down smoothly and I’m taking the second when I sense someone behind me. I don’t need to turn to know who it is.
“Easy there, Green Eyes.” I could feel the heat of his breath on my shoulder.
I shudder and turn to look up at him, last drink in hand. I’m around 5’6" but he makes me feel tiny in comparison. I’d say he’s almost a foot taller than me but his commanding presence makes him feel even larger.
“Why are you over here by yourself?” Sebastian asks.
“I wanted a drink.”
“More like three drinks,” he says sarcastically.
“Look at you, Bash! You can count!” I pat his shoulder and give him a sickeningly sweet smile which earns me a groan.
“Let’s go back,” he says through gritted teeth.
“You can go back. I’m staying here for a bit.”
“Giada,” his voice holds a warning.
I drink the last shot and allow my eyes to roam. He’s wearing a light blue shirt that makes the blue rings of his grey eyes really stand out tonight. Instead of being intimidated by him in all his glory, I feel emboldened. I want to blame the drinks for what comes out next, but they cannot possibly work that fast.
“I’ll catch up with you in a bit. I’m enjoying myself right now with the cute bartender.”
Angering a possessive alpha is never a good idea but I can’t help myself. He doesn’t say anything though but his breathing becomes labored and some silver swirls in his orbs as he glares at me. Feral dominance is pouring out of him. It should make me nervous, frightened even, but I’m not. Something about provoking him excites me.
“He’s been awfully attentive and I don't want to go yet since this was supposed to be a girls' night before the three of you ruined it.”
His eyes soften a bit but his alpha aura is still radiating off him intensely.
“Why can’t the girls go a few hours without their mates? Werewolves are so damn controlling,” I complain.
“It’s natural to be protective of our mates and want to be near them.”
His gaze flickers over to the bartender and he flexes his muscles. My eyes are drawn to the tattoos on his bicep. It seems he has a half-sleeve but I can’t be sure and now I desperately want to check.
“It’s not natural. You’re all overbearing,” I huff.
“The she-wolves don’t see it that way. They like it.”
“Do they really? Thank the Goddess I’m a witch then.” I place my hands on my hips and a slight smirk forms on his lips.
“How much do you want to bet that since Lucius is here your sister will suddenly decide she doesn’t want to dance? Despite the fact that she loves to dance and has been looking forward to it tonight.”
Sebastian’s eyebrows shoot upwards as if he doesn’t understand what the problem is.
“Can’t you see how messed up that is? She should be able to do whatever she wants.”
“You think Jacquie doesn't do what she wants?” he scoffs.
“If she does, why is Luke here? None of you were invited.” I boldly step towards him, closing the little distance between us. He’s close enough now that I can smell his cologne and it’s intoxicating. Earthy and rich, it suits him.
“Maybe Lucius and Christian don’t want to be away from their mates. Maybe they miss them.”
“That’s absurd, they live together. The mate bond is totally unhealthy at times, you know that? They should be able to do things independently from their mates.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he grunts.
“I don’t have to be a wolf to know. I’ve watched the relationship between your sister and Luke develop. I know all about what male wolves do with their mates.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Really? Then explain it real slow for me. I’ll try my best to follow.” I roll my eyes.
He sighs and places his hands on mine which are still on my hips. My core clenches and I rub my legs together slightly, trying to ease the tension building there without being obvious.
“It becomes painful to be away from your mate at times. And it may seem like male werewolves are dominating because physically they are, but they cater to their women. They will stop at nothing to give their mates whatever their heart desires.”
Right now my heart desires my body’s release. My core is pulsing with need and I don’t know how much more I’m going to be able to take with his hands on me.
“Okay…” I’m trying my best to sound unaffected as I stare up at him.
“Okay?” he sighs. He’s determined to get his point across, to explain to me how good the bond is and can be. I know this. I just think some independence is healthy, and right now I’d rather be dancing the night away with the girls...well that’s not entirely true. I’m enjoying our position right now a bit more than I’d like to admit.
“Is there anything you want to do besides be a school teacher?”
“Not really, I love my job,” I say honestly.
“Not even say...own a dance studio?”
He’s holding my hands now on either side of me and it feels so intimate but innocent at the same time.
“You remember that?” I whisper. Hopefully the darkness of the club hides the fact that my cheeks are burning up.
“You’re not the only one with a good memory. If I was your mate, I’d get you that studio. No questions about it. But if you didn’t want to work, you wouldn’t have to. I’d provide for you. You wouldn’t want for anything if you were mine,” he says huskily in my ear.
Tingles spread throughout my entire body. If you were mine. When did this become a what if scenario with the two of us?
“What about clothes?”
I want to smack myself, now I’m rambling.
“What about them?” he rubs his thumbs over the tops of my hands and I’m reminded of Marco’s similar gesture not too long ago. This is so much more intense though. Everything with Sebastian is excruciatingly intense.
“Would you have made me change this outfit tonight?”
“Honestly?” He fingers the fabric of my bodysuit. “I actually have a thing for black lace, so I don’t think we would have left our room. The top wouldn’t have survived.” His chuckle is dirty and his voice is thick with need causing my panties to feel damp.
But the realization is short-lived because his words spark a memory of someone else's black lace lingerie.
“Did Michelle’s outfit survive? She was wearing black lace the other night too, wasn’t she?"
“Giada-” He grabs my wrist.
“Let go of me, please,” I say angrily.
“Wait!“
“Listen, Sebastian. You don’t owe me any explanations. But this touching, the flirting, the what if scenarios...need to stop. It’s not right. You have a mate! You need to start acting like it and just leave me alone. Please!”
I storm off towards the booth to grab the girls and like I predicted, Jacqueline suddenly doesn’t feel like dancing. At this point, I don’t even care. I just need to lose myself in the music a bit.
“It wasn’t Lucius or Christian who decided to come tonight,” Valentina tells me a little while later as we’re dancing.
“Really?”
“I saw the entire conversation when I hugged Lucius. It wasn’t them who brought it up, it was Sebastian who insisted...just thought you’d want to know.”
Why did he let me go off on that rant then? It doesn’t really matter, I guess. Getting involved would be a mistake. He has a mate and coma or not, he will always choose her, as he should. The thought pains me, but I have to get over it. He’s not mine and nothing will change that.
I throw my head back and my hands above my head as I swing my hips provocatively to the music. I know I look good, not because of the men looking my way, but because I spent years dancing on stage. I know how to move and I love the way everything disappears with just the right music.
SEBASTIAN
I can’t take my eyes off of her. The way she moves those hips and ass in that skirt is hypnotic and unfortunately, I’m not the only one who notices.
A few have already approached her and it's taken everything in me not to go over there and knock them out. She isn’t bothered though, she just smiles and turns them down, one after another. Such sweet smiles she gives to strangers, but not to me. No. She hasn’t even looked my way once since she stormed off. I know what she thinks. But nothing happened with Michelle. I got upset at her and told her to leave. That’s it. A deep ache settles in my jaw and I realize I’m clenching my teeth.
Seb, you need to calm down, man. Your alpha aura is beginning to freak people out, even the humans are getting antsy.
I’m good, Luke.
Who you fooling? You look like you’re going to kill someone and there’s a werebear ready to pounce on you any minute now.
I look to my right and sure enough, there’s a beast of a man eyeing me. Different shifters can sense alpha auras and sometimes feel threatened or the need to assert their dominance. I could handle him no problem but I’m not looking for a fight. I decide to head outside for some fresh air.
This fascination with Giada is becoming problematic. She’s all I can think about lately. My control goes out the window when I see her. And when I’m near her, I can’t stop touching her. It’s bad. No good will come of this. She’s right. I need to leave her alone.
- Writer
