Page 148 of Now and Forever

Chloe

“That was delicious. Thank you.”

Dream. It felt like a total dream to be sitting across from this fun, dirty talking, devilishly sexy, roughened man who had no reservations over detailing how he would explicitly seduce me from start to finish.

Starved, that was what I would call myself because nothing seemed to offend me when he referred to stripping me slowly during enjoying the appetizer. The entrée was so graphic it left me blushing, and if it weren’t for the wine to help me relax, I probably would have fainted when he went for an encore. By the time I finished with my tiramisu, I had one thing on my brain.

“Ready to take this elsewhere?” He asked.

Letting out a nervous laugh, I licked my lips and took a careful sip of my water. As much as I was attracted to him, I needed more time to adjust before diving into sweet disaster.

“Sure, but I was hoping we could stop by to say hi to my friend you met last night. He’s a bartender, so I figured, you know, we can have a few more drinks before … um … taking it elsewhere.”

Cori hid back a smile, pressing his lips while he toyed with his Red Bull vodka. “If you think that’ll make this more comfortable for you, Chloe, then I’ll go wherever you want. As long as you end up where I need you to be, I have no problem waiting.”

Holy crap! Talk about a man on a mission. Hopefully Manolo’s wit would help me loosen up.

While Cori took care of the bill, I decided to text Chuey to meet us. Those two were a great distraction and a needed breath from Cori’s relentless pursuit. Yes, he was fucking hot, but a girl could only take so much flirting.

Arriving at the bar, I saw Chuey was there with his date, a guy named Jordy. Since they had met last night, it wasn’t difficult to slip back to easy conversation. So while they grilled him, I had a moment to gather my bearings, resume my love for Jack and Coke, and simply enjoy the company and surroundings.

“Come here,” Cori growled into my ear before planting both of his hands on my hips, synchronizing with my rhythm on the dance floor. “I want you,” he uttered, swiftly spinning me around so we were face to face. His eyes penetrated mine before they dropped to my lips then lowered to my chest.

“Do you like what you see?” I raised my brow, emboldened by the dimmed lightning and the alcohol in my system.

“Fuck. Yeah. Baby.” He smirked. “Hell fucking yeah.”

This was pure flirtation—the game—not much else. Sexual tension kept building up, and I was almost drunk with it.

Seeing I was getting lost in euphoria, he encouraged it by grinding his hard length against my stomach. When I felt it, I gasped from shock and excitement. That thing surely wouldn’t disappoint. But before I could make a move, someone tapped my shoulder.

Frowning, I cocked my head to the side to find a smiling Chuey.

“Sorry, but I have to borrow her. We’ll be back really quick.” He pulled me away without giving Cori a chance to protest.

A little annoyed at his interruption, I glared at him, my scowl apparent. “What’s the problem? You said juice. Isn’t he juicy enough?”

He gave a nervous laugh before looking like he’d just eaten a Sour Patch candy. “Eh, well, you know, boyfriend es right behind you.” That nervous laugh again. “He asked me to come get you. Forgive me.”

“What boyfriend?”I shrilled before checking out the person behind me who sat facing the bar. Sure enough, the bastard was there, casually sipping his beer.

Manolo was right in front of us, seeming speechless, as well. Both men seemed to have lost their tongues.

Without preamble, I marched toward him and almost screamed into his face, “You have no fucking business being here! Stop stalking me.”

“Outside,” he gritted out without looking at me before he finished his drink, slamming the glass down on the counter. “Now!”

I almost jumped at his angered tone. What was he furious for? I had done everything he asked with that stupid app idea. I was the one with grounds to be pissed off.

Warily, I watched him get up from his seat then stride past me and toward the exit without checking to see if I was following him. I was, which made me feel weak, but his tone had petrified me, enslaving me.

Upon reaching the balmy air of the city, I held my breath, anticipating him bombarding me with his anger. Instead, I got complete silence while he walked on.

No. This wasn’t happening again. No!

I fumed, halting my steps. “Will you stop? Where are you going? If you want to talk, let’s talk. Fuck, let’s have at it. You’re angry, so fucking what?” I yelled at him, fed up with the stupid games.

He did eventually halt his pace, but he didn’t face me. Instead, he nonchalantly took something out of his pocket, pulling out a cigarette before disinterestedly lighting it, as if he found this tedious, nothing but fucking background noise.

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