Chapter Two
The walls of the house were vibrating from the music. Samantha Ronson was behind a set of turntables and Cain’s dining room had been turned into a dance floor. Hockey players and models moved together, grinding and dancing with the beat of the music, full glasses in hand.
In the kitchen Cain was uncorking bottles of champagne and handing them to giggling women. His penthouse was filled with people. Everyone was smiling for selfies and posting them to Instagram with the hashtag #samsonbash. His publicist was roaming around snapping pics and getting quotes. Even when he wasn’t working Cain Samson was still working.
All he needed now was Michelle to show up. He made his way over to the front door. He couldn’t get two steps without people slapping him on the back and congratulating him on his new contract. It took him forever to get anywhere, but he wasn’t complaining. At the door he heard the siren cry of several beautiful girls begging to get in. They stood behind the bouncers stretching out their arms past them, towards him.
He scanned the faces of the girls in the hallway, but didn’t recognize any of them. They looked like duplicates, thin blonde girls with long straight hair, black eyeliner and matching short skirts with tall boots. None of them were Michelle. Her dark skin, curly hair, and fantastically curvy physique would have stood out from that crowd.
He smiled and waved at the girls, but turned away without letting any of them in. The house was already crowded and if there were too many people the cops would show up, declare the whole party a fire hazard and kick everyone out,
Cain wasn’t ready for the party to be over. The whole party was just an excuse to see Michelle out of the office. Nothing he had tried before had worked. He had offered to take her to the nicest restaurants in town, fully-paid vacations anywhere she wanted to go, shopping trips, even the movies, but she had always responded with a smile and a no.
So he was her client. So what? He didn’t care. She was interesting and enticing and smart. She was funny and hot. She was so very, very hot. Every woman Cain met fell at his feet, everyone but her. He could see that she liked him. She liked their flirty interactions, but something was holding her back. He was hoping to find out what it was at this party.
“Why so glum, chum?” his friend and trainer, Brock Thaddeus, asked as he wrapped his arm around Cain’s neck and squeezed before letting go. “Looking for someone?”
“No,” Cain said shaking his head.
“Good, because there is plenty of talent here,” he watched a girl shimmy on the dance floor, her skirt rising dangerously up her legs as she moved. Cain nodded, there were a lot of beautiful women here, but the one he wanted was still missing.
No one knew about his feelings for Michelle. Cain Samson got everything he wanted, women included. His friends would have just told him to move on and leave Michelle behind. They would have taken him to the clubs to find a replacement. But he didn’t want a weak imitation of Michelle, he wanted the real thing.
“You finally ready to let the beast out of its cage?” Cain asked.
Brock let out a long sigh and said, “My divorce has been finalized. I am officially on the market.” He looked around, his eyes jumping from woman to woman as he surveyed the room. Cain did the same thing, it looked like Michelle was going to be a no-show. He would need to find someone else to keep him warm that night.
“Let’s get drunk,” Cain said. He grabbed three shot glasses and like moths to a flame they were almost immediately surrounded by five giggling women. They were each wearing high heels and seemed to always be on the verge of tipping over.
They tossed back their shots. The girls gave out a loud a woo-hoo and raised their arms over their heads. It was only a few seconds before they started chanting for another.
“How about a body shot?” one girl asked. She had long fake hair, sharp pointed nails, and teeth that were a little bit too white. She leaned onto Cain, her hand tracing down his chest as she licked her lips. She was right on top of him, pushing her body against his. But Cain didn’t feel anything when he looked at that woman, she was trying too hard.
“No one’s saying no to that,” Brock said, sweeping his hand over the table and knocking empty cups to the floor. The girl let her hand linger on Cain’s chest and gave him a cloying smile as she hopped up on the table and laid down on her back.
Cain poured a shot of whiskey onto her stomach and then leaned down and quickly drank it back. He could taste the salty sweat of her skin and even though he wasn’t attracted to her, he couldn’t stop his body from reacting.
“One for my friend, and the best trainer I could ask for,” this girl wasn’t what he wanted, but Brock was looking for someone so Cain pulled his friend over and poured another shot. Brock took his time, licking the girl’s stomach and making her shiver and giggle as he drank the bitter liquid.
“OMG,” another girl said. “You’re Brock Thaddeus! I loved your workout routine. I dropped two whole sizes from doing that.”
“I do what I can,” Brock said with a casual shrug. He turned towards the girl and smiled down at her. Meanwhile, the body shot girl was pawing at Cain’s shirt.
“Come over here, sexy,” she said pulling him closer. She was sitting up on the table and she pulled him so he was standing between her legs.
“You’re really good at that,” her voice was slurring and it looked like she was having trouble focusing her eyes.
“Good at what? Shots? I’m not sure that’s really a skill,” Cain countered. She was falling all over him. Her hands racing over his chest and sometimes going even lower.
She licked her lips and said, “I’m a huge fan of yours.”
“Really, you’re into hockey?”
“Totally, I love it.”
“What other hockey players do you like?’
“Um...” she said, blinking furiously. “I don’t even know any other players. Only you. You are the best, after all.”
“Yeah, but it’s a team sport,” he restrained himself from rolling his eyes. He wasn’t into this girl. She was just another starfucker. She didn’t care about him or hockey. All she cared about was being retweeted, upping her Instagram follower count and scoring a part on a reality show. Cain was many things, but he was not interested in being a rung on some girl’s ladder to fame.
“Please, don’t let me interrupt. I just heard there was whiskey in here,” his heart stopped at Michelle’s sweet voice.
He whipped his head around to see her. She was standing in the doorway wearing a tight black dress that hugged her hips in all the right places. Whenever he saw her at the firm she was always wearing suits and collared shirts. Her clothes were impeccably tailored, but modest. Now she stood in front of him in something that she would never wear to work. He didn’t think it possible for her to get even hotter, but here was the proof right in front of him.
Cain pulled himself away from the body shot girl. She tried to cling to him, but he managed to pry her hands off his shirt. He stumbled over a red solo cup and a beautiful smirk appeared on Michelle’s face.
“You came,” he said, his voice a little breathless. His heart was pounding. He felt like he had just run a marathon.
“I don’t think that girl on the table was ready for you to leave,” she said glancing back at the pouting girl who was still sitting on the table with her arms crossed. She was wearing a furious frown and glaring at Michelle.
“She’s fine,” Cain said with a wave of his hand. He didn’t know that other girl and he certainly wasn’t interested in her. He was in a room filled with party girls and models, but Michelle was the only girl he could see. “What can I get you to drink?”
“I will have your best whiskey, straight up,” she said.
He nodded and walked over to a high cabinet. He reached far into the back and pulled out a bottle of Lagavulin. “This up to your standards?”
“Absolutely. I didn’t know you had such good taste,” she said and then she bit her bottom lip and a surge of electricity pulsed through his veins. Fire. There was always fire within him. An unending burning fire in the pit of his stomach always threatening to overtake him. It was a roaring flame of passion stoked by Michelle biting that perfect lip of hers.
It had taken him years to control that fire. He had learned to channel it, keeping it locked down until game time. Once the game started he let the dragon out of its cage and used the fire to propel him to victory. Sometimes, despite his best efforts, the real dragon came out. He always struggled with it. But with age came wisdom. It had been a long time since he had lost complete control and changed.
Hockey had been his lifesaver. It was an outlet for his energy and aggression. He no longer lashed out. He was no longer angry for no reason. He was able to tire himself out with hockey and drain the beast. It helped him keep his transformation under control.
Girls that like body shots weren’t for him. They would never understand the fire that burned within him. They would only think about looks, TV deals and money. None of that stuff mattered to him. Those were bonuses that came with hockey, but he could have easily lived without all of that as long as he still had the game.
He had seen Michelle at his games. She came to most of them. She would have her seat right on the ice and anytime the ref made a bad call or the other team scored she would be up and screaming and slamming her fist again the barrier. When he scored, or made a great play she jumped up and threw her arms in the air and he could hear her cheer, different from all the rest.
Michelle didn’t go to the games to be seen and take pictures of herself. She didn’t want to sit up in a box or at the bar. She wanted to be where the action was. She went for the love of the sport.
Now she was here in his penthouse, at his party. This would finally be the night for him to make his move on the one woman he really wanted. The only thing keeping them apart was her job and Cain was sure that they could get around that. She needed to see how serious he was about her. Being with her wasn’t a joke to Cain and he was ready to prove it.
“OMG! More shots?” Body shots’ high-pitched voice was like nails on a chalkboard. She was right on top of him, hanging off his shoulders and getting between him and Michelle. The dragon inside of him reared up, he didn’t like anyone being between him and the woman he wanted.