Page 47 of City of Salvation

Where the hell had that thought come from?

A tug on my hair drew my attention down toward whereshe was plastered to my front, despite the space I was trying to force between her ass cheeks and my cock. The thin layer of her dress and my jeans wasnotenough.

I let out another groan, chiding myself for thinking about her ass cheeks and my dick in the same sentence because now I had some veryunfriendlythoughts playing in my mind.

She wrapped her arms up around my neck, and my stomach did a weird fucking flip. “Thank you,” Nikki shouted over the music, playing with the ends of my hair.

“For what?” I leaned down so it would be easier for her to hear me, but I hadn’t anticipated her turning around. Our faces were inches apart, close enough that I could see the specks of glitter in the lip gloss she was wearing.

“For forcing me to come have some fun. It’s been a long fucking time since I’ve done that.” She looked off into the crowd, but I could tell she wasn’t actuallyseeinganyone out there. Her mind had drifted off somewhere. As quickly as it happened, it was over, and her blue eyes were back on mine with a glint of mischief that had me smiling. “Wanna do something else fun?”

Nerves bubbled up under my skin, a feeling which was completely foreign to me.

“Naked fun?” I asked, my voice hitching. “Because if that’s what you’re thinking, it’s going to be a hard pass, spitfire.” The frown she gave me had me rushing out an explanation. “I think you would cut off my balls in the morning and lecture me about how we are supposed to be friends and not fuck buddies.”

The crease between her brows softened, and the rock on my chest lightened.

“That’s a weirdly sweet thing to say. But also, aren’t we acouplenow? ” she said. My cock didn’t get the memo thatshe was messing around. “It doesn’t have to be in a bed, either.”

I groaned and let my forehead fall forward against hers.

“Don’t say those things, Niks. I am not a good man. My self-restraint against fucking you is abysmal.”

Something wet and warm traced the shell of my ear, and I nearly came.

“It could be right here. Or in the bathroom if you’re shy,” she teased, dropping back down off the balls of her feet. She did not realize how fucking close I was to bending her over and letting everyone watch.

I threaded my hand in her hair, yanking it back so she was forced to look up at me, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “That what you want, Nikki? Want me to take care of that greedy fucking cunt of yours right here?” I asked against her lips, shoving my thigh between her legs and pressing it against her clit. “Your panties are soaked, spitfire. I can feel it through my jeans. Did grinding your ass on yourboyfriend’scock make you wet?”

She nodded her head, her lips slightly parted, pupils blown.

This was going too far, and I was reaching the point of no return. I closed my eyes, releasing the hold I had on her hair. “Niks, you gotta help me out here,” I said in a pained groan. “I won’t be able to say no. Tell me to back off, spitfire.”

“You’re right.” Disappointment mixed with relief when she slowly extracted herself from my grip, adding space between us. “What I wasgoingto say was, wanna learn how to pole dance?”

There was so much eagerness and hope in her voice I couldn’t tell her no, even if I’d wanted to.

I smiled at her, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, my fingers brushing across her cheek. “Fuck, yes, I want to geton a stripper pole. Can I take my clothes off, too?” She frowned at the question, making me chuckle. “Come on? Just my shirt, then.”

“Fine.” She looped a finger into the front of my jeans, pulling me behind her from the hold, which was hot for reasons my brain couldn’t comprehend.

I readjusted myself as I trailed behind her because I was hard as a fucking rock, and now I had to endure watching her dance on a pole.

Thank god I tucked up to the other side, or she’d see exactly what her touches were doing.

“Mom. Dad,” Robert called out as we approached the larger corner booth where the bachelorette party was at. Of course, he’d inserted himself there—I would have, too, under normal circumstances. The weirdest part of this whole situation was IknewI was going to bed with blue balls. Well, not really, because I’d take care of it, but the job wasn’t going to be done by a woman, and I was strangely okay with that.

“I amnotqualified to be a mom.” Nikki looked over at me as I plopped down in a chair away from the hungry vultures disguised as a bachelorette party. The way she was looking at me made me realize how guarded she normally kept her expression. “He’d be a good dad. Dex is observant as hell. And he’s nice to me,” she said matter-of-factly, the alcohol making her more open than usual.

Her words hit me in the solar plexus, and I was glad I’d sat down because they probably would have caused me to stagger. Robert arched an eyebrow at me, but all I could respond with was a shrug of my shoulder.

I truly didn’t know where that comment came from.

“She’s tipsy,” I called out, miming drinking with my hand in case Robert couldn’t hear me over the woman plastered tohis side, who was either whispering in his ear or shoving her tongue into it.

A flash of blonde obstructed my view as Nikki popped into my line of sight. She clearly was not overthinking her statement the way I was. Seeing her so relaxed had the corners of my mouth tipping upward until I saw what she had in her hand.

“Woah there, spitfire.” I yanked the drink out of her hand, chuckling at the look of irritation she gave me as she protested. “Where did you even get this, huh? I didn’t get it for you. You need water.” I made sure to enunciate the last word.

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