She eyed the card that he extended toward her held between his two fingers like it might bite. They just spent the last few hours naked, sweating and swapping fluids and suddenly she was suspicious of him?
He shifted until he was sitting up and leaning against the headboard.
If she wanted it, she was going to have to come to him. Otherwise, fuck her. He wasn’t begging. He’d already done more for her than most women who landed in his bed.
He gave her band a chance when he didn’t have to. She also told him shit that he was damn sure she didn’t freely share. More importantly, he shared shit with her he never talked about.
If she didn’t trust him after all of that, then that was her issue, not his.
Even so, he didn’t understand the sudden turn-around. But then, when had he ever understood women? He should know better than to even try because it never worked out well for him.
They continued to stare at each other through the dark. He was not dropping his hand until she approached him and took the card. “Ain’t gonna bite.”
Did her lips curl slightly?
Huh. “Unless you want me to.”
Fuck yeah, they did.
She finally unstuck herself from where she’d been standing and moved closer. She snagged the card from his fingers and glanced at it. “You had your personal cell phone number printed on the card?”
“Yeah, ‘cause I’m the manager and I don’t give those out like candy. Plus, now that Stella’s pregnant, don’t want anyone buggin’ her. Neither does her ol’ man.”
She began to flip the card over and over within her fingers.
She wasn’t turning and running so that was a good sign. Maybe she’d seriously consider coming back to play.
Not just on stage. But with him.
He rarely did repeat business with the women he took upstairs, but for some reason, tonight with Syn wasn’t enough. Like her band, he’d like to put her in regular rotation, too. A first for him.
If she was down for that.
“Stella. She’s the owner?”
“Half. The other half’s officially owned by the club. Well, now that she’s legally married to the prez, guessin’ unofficially the club owns the whole thing.”
Her dark eyebrows knitted together. “What if they get divorced?”
He snorted. “They ain’t gettin’ divorced.” They were a forever type of couple. Just like the tattoos they had on their ring fingers.
“No one plans on getting divorced. But it happens.”
“True. If that happens, then I don’t fuckin’ know. Ain’t my worry as long as I got scratch comin’ in, a roof over my head, a real bed to sleep in and my door can be unlocked from both sides.”
That last part was the most important. This time he was doing his fucking best to hold onto his freedom.
She flicked the business card with her fingernail. “So… If we come back… Is it only for the band to play?”
“Think you know that answer. You didn’t need to ask it.”
“If I didn’t need to ask it, I wouldn’t have asked it,” she said with a touch of attitude.
One he was tempted to change with a palm on those ghost-white cheeks.
With the way his bed had turned into a revolving door, he rarely had a chance to play like that. Would she like it, or knee him in the nuts for it?
He stifled his grin and the urge to grab his dick. Even with how many times they fucked throughout the night, he still was left wanting.
For more. Of her. The woman who tucked his business card into her back pocket and then hit his gaze with hers, holding it. Almost as if she had read his dirty-assed mind.
Even in the limited light, her eyes held a gleam that made him brace for what she was about to say next. “You’re expecting me to come play, too? With you?”
Well, damn. “Anythin’ wrong with that arrangement?” He saw no problem with it but he needed her to be willing, too. He’d also love to take things further than he had. Push her limits a bit. See what would make her squirm.
His dead dick actually perked up a little at that thought.
“Is that the only reason you want to book my band again?”
“What d’you think?”
“I’d like an answer, that’s what I think.”
Fuck. That attitude. It both aggravated him and also made him want her even more. “Why you askin’ questions you already know the answers to?”
“Because I’m not going to assume anything. Assuming shit can screw you over. I don’t like to be screwed over. Just as I’m sure you don’t, either.”
Point taken.
He took a deep inhale and blew out any remaining annoyance with it. “No, it ain’t only ‘cause I want you in my bed. Though, ain’t gonna lie about that. Bookin’ your band’s also good business. The sex would be a bonus. I think if we get you comin’ in once a month or so, then the locals will spread the word on how good you guys are. I could see you bringin’ in a good crowd on a regular basis.”