Page 15 of Coming Home

As I struggle to pull away, I see movement out of the corner of my eye, and all of a sudden, someone grabs the guy and is pulling him away from me. Confused, I look up to see him get a punch to the jaw, causing him to fall to the ground, out cold. Security grabs him and walks him to the door before I even understand what has happened. I look up in a panic not sure who my savior is, and my eyes land on him. The man who has taken over my thoughts these past weeks… Shaun Marshall.

19

Shaun

The events of last night’s gala continue to filter through my head. I need to schedule a meeting with Stephen so I can learn more about Scarlett and the role she is taking in the business, now that she is part of “the family”. I really just want to see her again. While I would never normally wait around for a woman, something about Scarlett makes me want to take it a little slower and build trust with her. I haven’t been with any other woman since I first laid eyes on her on the plane, and my balls are beyond blue. I don’t think I have ever gone this long without sex. Needless to say, I haven’t jerked off this much since my teenage years.

With a sigh, I finally close my laptop, and it is nearly 11pm. Work has been busy these past few weeks, so I have worked all day today, even though it is a Saturday, and now I need to get out. I need a glass of hard liquor, and I need to relax. I have never been so frustrated and jacked up in all my life. I call my driver, grab my jacket, and go downstairs.

I have been in my Hugo Boss suit all day, and since it fits me so well, it is still perfect to head out in. My plan is to people watch from the safety and seclusion of my private room at Club Nitro—one of the many businesses I own.

The drive is short, and in less than ten minutes, my car pulls up at the back door. I step out and nod to my security team who lead me through to my private entrance. It is really pumping tonight, which is good. This club is a sound investment and makes a decent profit. It is one of Boston’s “places to be seen” and always has a line a block long out the door, especially on the weekends. It is a nice little side business I have just to myself.

I am planning to open a few more along the eastern seaboard and build up a nice collection. I have just purchased a property in New York which is going to be home to my next one. But I need someone to manage it all—it is getting harder to do everything myself, and I need to delegate.

I usually spend time meeting and greeting some of the people in the VIP booths, but not tonight. I walk straight up to my private bar and have the bartender pour me a whiskey, and I sit back in my chesterfield lounge, looking down at the club through the one-way windows.

I like this space. I can still feel the music thumping through my body, but it is muffled in here, making it easier to talk if required. It is dark and mysterious and fits my mood tonight. I have a fully stocked bar and personal bar staff, a cigar humidifier with thousands of dollars-worth of cigars. It is roomy enough to fit 20-30 people, but I usually kept it to myself. Marco occasionally uses it as well—but this club is not really his scene. He is more a dinner date kind of man.

As I nurse my drink, I look over the crowd. It takes me less than a minute before I see her; my eyes hone in on her like a bee to honey. She is dancing and appears to be having a good time with another girl and two guys. Is she on a double date?!

“Fuck,” I mutter, perhaps I waited too long. Even though she is some distance away, I can see her. Her long hair running down her back, she looks fucking sexy in a tight black dress that covers her but hugs her in all the right places. My cock twitches just watching her move, she is such a good dancer… my fingers itch to touch her, just a little.

Like moths to a flame, I can see the men from around the dance floor all coming closer to her and her friend. I notice that the girl was also at the Business Summit, I remember seeing her sitting next to Scarlett during Marco’s keynote presentation.

I down my drink, lean forward, and watch. It is like my own private show; what I wouldn’t give to have her dance just for me. She can really dance and the way her hips move… I groan at the thought of her hips.

I see a group of guys, obviously intoxicated, push their way through the crowd to where she is dancing, and I immediately sit up. I don’t like the look of them, not one bit. Perhaps it is the years of being a club owner, but I can spot drunk or drugged men looking for a fuck anywhere. They keep watching Scarlett and her friend as they inch closer and closer to Scarlett, to my Scarlett.

I put my glass down as my blood boils; no way is any one of those fuckers going to put a hand on her. I make my way to the door and run down the stairs, my security following me closely. I start to walk toward the dance floor, knowing that this isn’t going to end well for those drunk bastards because tonight I am wound tight and in need of release. I don’t know exactly what I will do when I get there, but they better not have their fucking hands on her, because the closer I get to them, the hotter my blood boils.

I step out onto the floor and push my way through the people until I see her, struggling against the arms of the man who I was about to kill. He is three seconds away from taking his last breath, because he has her so tight against him and is grinding his dick into her back while it is obvious that she doesn’t want to be anywhere near him. Don’t get me wrong, I like to grind up on sexy women, but not without their consent and always with their participation.

I am like a bull in a Spanish bull fighting ring. I see red and walk straight over, grab him by his collar, and l punch him right in the jaw, causing him to fall backwards, out cold. I am seething. I want to punch him some more, that dirty fucker, but my security team lifts him up and drags him and his friends to the door to throw them out. Unfortunately for them, they will now be banned from my club and will never return again. My security team will make sure of it.

I turn and look at Scarlett, she is shaken and startled, her eyes wide as she looks up at me. “It’s all right, Princess, come with me.” I reach out for her hand and wait to see if she follows my lead. Her hand comes to mine, and I grasp it tightly, not wanting to let her go. Her hands are shaking, so I do what I have done the last two times we have met, I bring her hand up to my lips to kiss her knuckles and caress her hand with my thumb. It appears to help calm her and get her focused on me. It calms me too, as I start to come down from my angry high and look at the beauty that stands in front of me.

The music is thumping, and everyone starts dancing around us again. With my other hand, I gently skim her jawline. My eyes asking the question, are you okay? She seems to know what I am asking and simply nods in reply, our eyes not wavering from each other’s the entire time we stand here. With a brisk nod to her friends, who are staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed, I hold her hand firmly and pull her along as I walk her through the crowd and back up the stairs to my private bar.

20

Scarlett

Shaun grabs my hand and kisses it. I can’t speak; I am not sure what is happening, and everyone is looking at us. I feel exposed and embarrassed as heat flows through my body in places it hasn’t for a very long time. I don’t want to let go of his hand, in fact, I just want to melt into him, to feel protected and secure.

Without letting go of my hand, he walks me to a secret staircase, up some stairs and into a room on the first floor of the club. He is walking with such purpose it takes all my energy not to trip up the steps. He is a tall man, well over six feet, and for every one of his strides, I have to do two or three to keep up. I am shaking and can’t control my breathing, something that hasn’t happened to me since I moved to America, but often happened there when I got scared. I feel the onset of a mild panic attack. My palms are sweaty, I start to feel dizzy, and lose my vision, not able to catch my breath.

We reach what appears to be a private bar, and he turns to look at me. The door closes, and it is quiet. I can still hear the faint bass beats of the music, but I am sure my heartbeats are louder.

He looks at me with such concern. “It’s all right, Princess, take deep breaths,” Shaun says as he pulls me close and cradles my body into his. With my head leaning against his chest, I can now feel the rhythm of his heartbeat pounding in his chest, just as fast as mine is beating. He kisses the top of my head and rubs my back with one hand, trying to help me calm me. He still hasn’t let go of my other hand, holding it with his fingers while his thumbs caress small circles on the top of my palm. It is like an anchor; I don’t want to let it go.

As we stand here, I can’t help but notice how perfect we fit together. I am short, so my head only reaches up to his shoulders, but the way I fit into him, it is like his body is meant for me.

As my breathing calms, I begin to feel normal, and I try to focus on my surroundings. I notice little sparks of electricity running through my back where he is caressing me, and I start to flush. I can feel his muscles across his torso and back, clear indications that he works out, and damn I feel like running my hands underneath his shirt right now. His arms are so strong and protective around me. My heart starts to race again, albeit for an entirely different reason. The way we are holding each other feels intimate, and I need to get away before I totally lose my self-control around this man. I need to pull myself together.

I start to pull away, looking at our environment, and I take in the room. There are floor to ceiling one-way windows completely running the length of the room, a long bar opposite, and chesterfield lounges scattered around. It’s all very masculine. It is a large room, but yet we are the only people in it.

As I pull away, I jump at the sound of my phone ringing. His grip on my hand tightens, and he eventually lets it go when he sees me quickly trying to grab my bag to get the phone out. It is Uncle Ray.

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