Page 12 of The Promises We Break

Thank god.

My fists relax, although I was unaware that they wereclenched until after the relief of tightness spreads through my knuckles.

Spinning the bride to face away from him, he pushes her upper back forward, bending her at the waist. Kilo’s fingers latch onto her hips as he grinds her from behind. One of the girls whoops loudly, putting a few bills in his waistband as he continues to knead his groin into the bride.

I can only see Ember’s shadow, her hand is covering her mouth, and I can imagine a blush unavoidably gracing her cheeks.

Pulling the bride back up gently by her hair, he flips her around, nipping her chin with his thumb and forefinger, as he helps her step back to her seat.

In a move so goddamn fast I barely register it, he shotguns his arm out, wrapping it around the back of Ember’s neck, pulling her close to him as he nuzzles into her neckline. His tongue traces an invisible line from the base of her throat to the shell of her ear.

“Fucking...” I step forward, but Seamus steps in front of me.

“It’s a goddamn strip club, Hudson. It’s a bachelorette party. What the hell did you expect?” His hand presses into my chest. “You’ve never been like this before. What has gotten into you?”

Fuck, he’s right. Goddammit. I don’t even know what I’m doing. And I’ve never responded so possessively to a woman. She has a hold on me—over me—and I have no idea why I’m acting like this. I came here just to talk to her. Actually, let’s be honest with myself here. I paid a lot of money for a VIP table at a strip club in Vegas to talk to her. But all that has gotten me is a view of her getting groped by male strippers.

What the hell was I thinking? I just need to get her number and get out of here.

Or grab her and carry her to my bed.

Dane steps toward the front of the stage waving a handful of bills while Jake laughs because Dane is clearly happy andexcited about our change of plans. But also, knowing Dane, he’s trying to create a diversion, which seems to be working because Kilo changes course and releases Ember.

The spotlight shifts as he heads our way. The disco ball comes back on, providing us some flickers of light, and Dane comes into view of the spotlight as he stuffs the bills into Kilo’s too tight boxers. In true male entertainment fashion, Kilo grabs Dane’s head and presses his crotch straight into his face. The crowd goes wild again. Bills are flying to the stage and all the guys are cheering for Dane, who looks like he’s living his best life. Kilo releases Dane then pushes himself back toward the middle of the stage. He slides his body onto the floor. The radius of the light in the room spreads and she comes into view again.

A genuine happiness exudes from her as she laughs with the girls, and they toast before taking back a shot. At the same time, the guys hand me a shot, which I shoot back without turning my eyes away from her.

Grimacing, she hands the shot glass back to her friend and peers past the stage. Her eyes land straight on mine. And just like when I first saw her on the plane and a few minutes ago outside, the fireworks explode behind my ribcage. Her smile slips for a brief moment, but then she bites her lip and her shy smile beams back at me. I can’t help mine either as it broadcasts across the stage like an invisible airwave, and for a moment, it’s just us again.

Until Kilo takes her hand and pulls her onto the stage.

7

EMBER

Holy. Shit.

He’s pulling me on the stage. He ispullingmeonthe stage.

Wide-eyed, I glance back at Suzy and the girls, void of an external freak out, conflicting what is actually happening inside my head. Unsure if it’s because the dancer, known as Kilo, is pulling me on stage or the fact that Hudson is here?

Why is he here?

My head is already fuzzy, and I’m confused as to why a group of guys would be watching male strippers. Unless his bachelor party is for a gay groom? Maybe that’s the case.

The guy with the dirty blonde hair and huge smile is certainly happy to be here. Maybe that’s the groom. Two other guys are toasting a shot to each other, and they are far too handsome for their own good, as well. Although the area is dim, I can see one of them, with his razor sharp jawline and gorgeous smile that would make any woman’s ovaries scream. The other is some kind of an exotic mix and absolutely breathtaking.

Jesus. Hudson travels in a pack of hunky men.

Regardless, none of this should be happening. Hudson should, most definitely, not be on the opposite side of this stripper stage, and I, most definitely, should not be in the middle of it.

Somewhere between the vodka shot and my shocked, hypnotic gaze at Hudson, a chair was placed in the middle of the stage, which I’m now sitting at.

The dancer, with his chest of steel and washboard abs, circles the chair like a vulture. If eye fucking was a real thing, that is happening right now.

I steal a glance at Hudson. His jaw is clenched, and he looks angry. Nothing like the easygoing, playful man I met on the plane.

Another shadow appears in my periphery as a second chair scraps along the stage, the legs screeching over the music. I look down at the empty chair and my eyes slowly roam up to see a second dancer, larger—much larger than the first—staring down at me.

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