An hour later I’m exiting the bathroom to find Jensen waiting for me in the darkened hall, biting her lower lip.

A week ago, I would’ve found that gesture sexy as hell. Right now, I wonder if she’s putting on an act. Ready to play me yet again.

“Rhett—” she starts, but I cut her off by raising my hand and practically putting it in her face.

“Not interested,” I say gruffly as I try to walk past her.

She puts herself right in my path, and the hall is narrow, so I would have to physically move her out of my way to get past her. Meaning I’m stuck. “Listen, I just want to explain a few things.”

I can hardly look at her I’m so annoyed, but I do. And then I tell myself to stare at her real hard. She’s got a lot of makeup on, especially around her eyes. Thick black eyeliner and lots of mascara, and her lips are painted a deep blood-red. Her skin shines and sparkles, like she sprayed herself with some kind of glitter lotion, and all at once, I’m disgusted. Disappointed. In her and myself.

I don’t know how to deal with her. I don’t want to deal with her right now. I’d rather lose myself in alcohol for the rest of the night and forget my troubles.

Instead I’m stuck in a dark hallway with a girl I still care about, even though I know I shouldn’t.

“What do you want to explain, huh? How you lied to me? How you told me a bunch of bullshit stories about your life and what you do?” I step closer but she never backs down. Instead, she tilts her head back, her gaze locked on mine, appearing fully prepared to take what I have to say. “I tried to help you, Jens. I brought you to my house that night and I was perfectly willing to do whatever it took to be there for you.”

Like a fucking sucker. What was her real plan on getting to know me? Was she using me because I’m rich?

She still hasn’t said anything. She’s just watching me with those big blue eyes, now shiny with—ha—tears.

“And you still ran out on me,” I finish, my voice bitter. I hate hearing that bitterness. Makes me think I actually cared.

Damn it, I did care, I just don’t want her to know it. Not anymore.

“I know,” she whispers, blinking up at me. “I messed up, okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you. Well…”

Her voice drifts and I’m confused. What does she mean by that ‘well’? I’ve had a few drinks, a couple of shots, so I’m full on buzzin’. And confused.

Jensen licks the corner of her lips, sexy as hell even though I’m so freaking mad at her. “I just…Rhett, I’m—sorry.” She practically chokes that last word out.

“You’re only apologizing because you got caught,” I mutter, grabbing her by her naked shoulders and gently pushing her out of my way so I can walk past her.

“Rhett, please!” she calls after me.

“I don’t want to hear it!” I yell over my shoulder, picking up my stride as I head back toward the table. I fall into the seat next to Chad and he claps me on the back, a goofy grin on his face.

“You’re just in time for the next act,” he says, his gaze hazy and unfocused. He is so fucking drunk.

But then again, so am I.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome…”

The lights go dark and the stage is lit with a single spotlight. A woman in a black slinky dress is on stage, sitting on a chair. The entire crowd is quiet, rapt with attention as the music starts, and the woman slowly rises from the chair and begins to move.

Minutes pass as I watch her, already bored, my mind filled with thoughts of Jensen. How sad she looked only a few minutes ago, her eyes filling with tears, that bullshit apology falling from her pouty lips. I don’t know what to believe. I don’t know what to think. I want to hate her, but sitting here just thinking about her, I can feel it taking over me.

The wanting.

Damn it. I scrub a hand across my face, annoyed. I still want her. I’m still attracted to her. It’s ridiculous, but it’s there, staring me right in the face.

And I don’t know what to do about it.

Glancing up, I find her leaning against the wall not too far from our table. She’s watching me. And there’s a hunger in her eyes that matches mine. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, and my gaze drops to her chest. Her breasts. I swear her nipples harden just from me staring at them. And when my gaze lifts to meet hers once more, I can see her hunger has intensified.

So has mine.

Without thought I rise from my chair, my gaze still never leaving hers.

“Where you going?” Chad asks, his words slurred from too much alcohol.

“I’ll be right back,” I answer, not even looking at him.

I’m too busy looking at Jensen.

I walk toward her slowly, the sensual beat of the music driving me on. I send her a knowing look, a quick flick of my head to indicate where I want her to go. Chancing a glance over my shoulder, I see she follows me, until we’re both back in that darkened hallway we just vacated, tucked away in the deepest, darkest corner.

Where no one can find us.

“Did you want to talk to me?” she asks breathlessly as she turns to face me.

Without a word I grab hold of her slender waist and press her back against the wall. A gasp escapes her, her mouth curling into a small, satisfied smile just before she opens it to say something.

I rest the palm of my hand over her blood-red lips, shutting her up. “Don’t talk,” I whisper. “I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

Her eyes are wide as my hand continues to cover half of her face. She slowly nods, a little whimper escaping her when I lean in and nuzzle the side of her neck.

Christ, she smells so good. I run my lips across her skin, lightly, just a tease, and a jolt moves through her, as if I electrified her. I keep my hand in place, and I can feel her lips moving, her damp breaths against my fingers. I nudge my hips against hers, letting her feel what she does to me, and she moans, an agonized sound contained by my hand.

That sound goes straight to my dick.

“I shouldn’t do this,” I murmur close to her ear. She shivers and I kiss her there, just below her lobe, my mouth lingering as I breathe her in.

I know I shouldn’t do this. Touch her. Kiss her. I said it out loud in the hopes I’d convince myself this is wrong. I fucking know it’s wrong.

But right now, at this moment, I don’t care. I’m too caught up.

Caught up in her.

My hand drops from her mouth and she takes a deep breath, her lips parting, mine crashing down on hers to shut her up before she says something to ruin the moment. I kiss her fiercely, thrusting my tongue in her mouth, my hands wandering along her waist, her hips. She returns the kiss with equal, hungry force, a whimper escaping her when I cup her left tit, my thumb strumming the already hard tip. My mouth waters, and I tear my lips from hers to bend over her chest and suck and lick her nipple.

She thrusts her hands in my hair, holding me there, keeping me there, like she never wants me to leave. I cup her ass and break away from tasting her skin to lift her up. She automatically wraps her legs around me, her skirt riding up her thighs as she presses her heels into my ass. Wincing from the pain, I hold her against the wall, my erection nudging her right between her legs, and I swear I can feel her panties and her hot pussy beneath.

I’m losing control. Right here in the hallway by the bathrooms in a seedy strip club. I want to fuck Jensen against the wall, thrust deep inside her welcoming body, and damn the consequences.

“Rhett,” she whispers, her hands greedy as they reach for me. She grabs hold of my face and brings my head down so our mouths are mere inches away from each other. “Please. Kiss me.”

I do as she asks, drowning in her taste, in the swirl of our tongues, our bodies straining against each other. I’m drunk as hell and messed up in the head over this woman.

This has to stop.

I break the kiss and she clutches my hair tighter. “No,” she whispers against my lips, her tongue darting out for a lick. “Don’t stop. Please.”

It takes everything I’ve got to lower her back to her feet. Tug her skirt back into place. Release my hold on her and step away.

I’m shaking. She’s quivering. Our panting breaths fill the tiny space. Her nipple is still wet from my mouth and my cock presses against the fly of my jeans, horny and ready to slip inside her.

But I can’t. Not like this. Not here.

Maybe never again.

“You still want me,” she says, sounding surprised.

Her statement pisses me off. What does she think, that I’m inhuman? I can’t turn my feelings on and off like a light switch. I cared about her. I told her that.

Yet she’s still surprised I want her.

“Of course I do. I mean, look at you.” I wave a careless hand in her direction, trying to play this off. Trying my damnedest to be as callous and unfeeling as she seems. “Who wouldn’t want you? You’re walking around with hardly any clothes on, with your tits hanging out. They all want you.” I run a hand through my hair, trying to fix the mess she made with her fingers, trying to play this entire thing off.

Though deep down, I know what I just said was my way to try and hurt her.

The look Jensen gives me is full of so much pain, that I immediately feel like an asshole.

But by the time I can find my voice to correct my wrongs, she’s already gone.

“You missed the performance of the night,” Chad tells me when I return to the table.

I say nothing, reaching for the first semi-full glass I see. I down the liquid in one long swallow, grimacing when I feel the burn of alcohol slide down my throat like fire. That tasted like absolute shit. “She was that good, huh?” I ask, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

My thoughts immediately go to Jensen, and how good she felt in my arms.

But then I remember what I said to her, and I banish her from my brain.

“You just finished my drink, asshole,” Chad says incredulously.

I shrug. “I’ll buy you another one.”

“Yeah, you will,” Chad mutters just before he raises his hand. “Hey, sweetheart, get your fine ass over here. I need a drink, stat.”

I want to growl in irritation at the way Chad just commanded Jensen. Calling her sweetheart and talking about her fine ass isn’t sitting well with me, but what the hell can I say? I can’t expose our so-called relationship to him.

Jensen approaches us, her expression unreadable. She’s mad. At me. I don’t look at her as she asks in the fakest, sweetest voice I’ve ever heard, “Sir, what would you like?”

“Another scotch. Neat,” he tells Jensen with a cocky smile. Then he reaches out and actually palms her ass, like he owns her. “What time you off the clock, babe? Wanna come dance for us?”

“Leave her alone,” I mutter, hating how he’s treating her, how he’s talked about all the women in this club since we got here. I clench my hands into fists and watch with satisfaction as Chad does what I asked, his hand dropping from Jensen as if she’d suddenly turned into a dead body. Now is my time to say something, but how can I? He has no idea I dated this girl, since he’s never seen me with her before. And maybe that’s for the best.

So I say nothing else. I’m mad at myself. I’m still mad at her too. And I feel like shit for talking to her like I just did, for mauling her in the hallway like a crazed pervert.

“Rhett.” Her voice saying my name startles me, and I glance up to find both Chad and Jensen watching me closely. “You’re really going to let your friend talk to me like this?”

Didn’t she hear me tell him to leave her alone? Or is she trying to call me out in front of Chad?

Chad’s eyes practically bug out of his head. “How does she know you, bro? You been keeping secrets or what?”

“I don’t know—” I start, but Jensen cuts me off.

“We’ve fucked a couple of times.” She shrugs those pretty bare shoulders, the light catching on the flecks of glitter on her skin, making her sparkle. Like an angel. “No big deal.”

I glower at her. This girl is the complete opposite of an angel, I swear.

Chad starts to laugh, so hard that everyone else sitting at the table focuses their attention on us. “Are you serious right now? You’ve actually fucked this chick, Montgomery? And you never told us? You’ve been holding out.”

“Guess he wanted to keep the good pussy all to himself.” Her smile is brittle as she tosses her dark blonde hair over her shoulder and walks away. I can’t believe she just said that. And if she was trying to humiliate me or make me feel like a fool, then...

Mission accomplished.