Bound to the Crime Lord (Dark Mafia Tales #2)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Juliette POV

S ex. Sweat. And booze.

Those were the three scents that wafted into the air. They mixed into the area as the music bound off my sweat-clad body on the dance floor.

I threw my hands in the air and moved my hips like I was living la vida loca . The alcohol surged through my blood, lifting my dull mood for the first time in two weeks. I ran my hands through my messy hair, loving the buzz I was on.

I had been trying for weeks now to forget that damn kiss, but it had been burned into my mind like a branding. The color of whiskey and chocolate had plagued me, and my heart could no longer take it.

Avoiding him wasn’t helping. I still saw him when I closed my eyes. So, the next best thing was to find someone else to quell the fire that Manuel had ignited inside of me.

The Vortex seemed like the perfect place to come and unwind and let my hair down. Everyone raved about this club, and now I understood why. The atmosphere was electric. You were pulled in from the moment you walked inside. I was almost certain I had seen a guy snort cocaine off of someone’s boobs. But tonight, I would put down my goodie two shoes hat and just live. I was 28 years old, and I was yet to have a night of free clubbing. I had been deputized as a parent long before I was ready to be one. But I took on the responsibility without a second thought. Ethan needed me, and I would be there for him until the last breath I took on this earth.

I felt a strong pair of hands come on my hips. The man pulled me to his front and I felt his very obvious bulge in his pants. Without looking at him, I leaned into his body and ground my ass into his hard cock.

The little mini dress I had opted to wear tonight was doing exactly what I needed it to in garnering people's attention. It was a tight little red number that hugged my figure perfectly. The sweetheart neckline pushed my breasts up just enough to show the right amount of cleavage without being too much.

I felt so out of my element, but I also had never felt so free in my entire life.

“Oh, baby, you’re so hot.” He leaned his head down and whispered those words into my ear. “So fucking hot.”

His scent was strong and overpowering. It was one of those aftershave kind of smells that gave people an all-too-clean air. Some women found that enticing, but I found myself yearning for something a little sultrier and captivating. Something like expensive leather and spice.

No. No . I refused to think about that man while I was in the arms of another. The goal tonight was to get under one man to get over another.

The logic behind that was not sound, but it would at least free me from the torment that was Manuel Gomez.

Who would have thought a month ago that I would be pining after a murderer Drug Lord? I should be repulsed and turned off by the amount of blood on his hands. And yet, I had never found another man so attractive before in my entire life. There was something about his jagged edges that drew me closer to him.

I turned to face the mystery man and came face to face with a good-looking one. He was an average-looking 30 something year old man, and that was good enough for tonight.

The bar was clearly in hell. Or at least that was where the desperation had taken it.

“You coming home with me tonight or not, sweet cheeks?” He smiled a boyish grin that should have turned my panties wet, but it did the exact opposite.

Sweet cheeks? The word almost made me hurl in disgust. I guess if this was what was on offer, then it would have to do. He was not here for me to like; he was simply here to serve a purpose.

“Depends on how well you dance.” I winked and turned in his hold again. I pressed my ass into his hardening cock and guided his hands to my waist. We moved to the rhythm of the music, getting lost in the night.

I wanted to forget the whiskey-colored eyes and calloused hands. I wanted to forget the way he made me feel with his touch, and how he scorched my skin with that kiss. Manuel Gomez was a poison I needed to find an antidote to.

The music changed to something darker and sultry. The craving poured into my system, filling my veins with its desire. I tilted my head back and allowed the music to take me.

I felt the guy kiss up the side of my neck, and I moaned into the humid room. The dance floor was completely packed, and all I could feel was this man’s hands on my body.

One minute I was surrounded by body heat, and the next I felt the cold draft of an absent person behind me. I heard a few squeals of shock and numerous gasps around me.

I looked back to see what the hell had happened and found the mystery man on the floor. He was clutching his bleeding nose, groaning in agony. My eyes then moved to the shiny black dress shoes beside him. My eyes followed the long legs attached to them until I came up to the face and stilled.

The loud music around us faded into nothingness as I stood only a few feet away from the man I had been so desperately trying to forget tonight.

Manuel’s nostrils were flared, and his eyes raged with an anger I had never seen in them before. His gaze was so intense I had to look away after holding it for no longer than ten seconds.

Well, I guess this night of passion had come to an early close.

Manuel’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. My eyes shot back to meet his heated stare. His jaw was locked in place, and his grip on my wrist was even harder.

“We’re leaving, Juliette.” His voice left no room for argument.

The logical thing would have been to leave without a fight. The last thing I needed was to make him even angrier. Unfortunately, the liquor inside my bones was the one running the show.

I tugged at my wrist, but he held onto me even tighter. The grip was so tight I could feel my skin pinching beneath his hold.

“Let me go, Manny.”

He stepped over the mystery guy who was still groaning in pain on the floor. Manuel then pulled me toward him, the distance between us eradicated in a matter of seconds.

“Are you really going to fight me, Juliette? Right here? In my club?”

Wait a second… “Your club?”

“ The Vortex is one of twenty clubs that I own in the state, amor . Did you really not think that I wouldn’t find out you were here?”

I felt so stupid. But if we were being honest here, how was I supposed to know the man was in the nightlife business? It seemed like too honest a living to be in. But I guess one had to clean his drug money one way or another.

“It doesn’t matter, Manuel. Just let me go, you’re ruining my fun.”

If I had thought the man was enraged before, he was positively furious now.

“ Fun ? You call dry humping a twat like him fun ?” He jutted his chin down to my previous dance partner. “What kind of fun were you looking for tonight, amor ? Were you looking to fuck someone tonight?”

My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “Tha… that’s none of your business what I choose to do in my free time! I can fuck who I want, whenever I want.”

His nostrils flared in anger. “Really… and him is who you wanted to fuck?”

“And what if I did?”

His hold on me tightened, and I hissed out in pain. Thankfully, he loosened his grip only a fraction, so I didn’t feel the burn of his hold, but the grip was still ironclad.

“Is that what you want, amor ? To be fucked?”

“Yes.” I lifted my chin, the alcohol driving my emotions at this point. “I want to be fucked so good that all I can think about is his dick. I want to be fucked so good that I will be feeling it for days to come. I want to be fucked so good that all I will think about is him. I want that man to ruin me for any other man so that I will never think of another or want another after him.”

My words surprised even me.

“Come.” He bit out his warning. “Come with me freely, or I will carry you out myself.”

“No,” I said in defiance. “You cannot control me, Manuel.”

He stood still as stone, his hand still over my wrist, waiting. His eyes searched mine for something I wasn’t quite sure of. When he had found whatever he was looking for, he dropped his gaze and looked to the side of the room somewhere. I followed his line of sight and saw Rodrigo in the corner of the room, looking like the ever-brooding villain he was.

So that’s how he knew I was here. His watchdog told him.

Manuel turned back to face me. “If you won’t leave on your own, so be it.”

In one fluid motion, he threw me over his shoulder and began walking toward the exit of the club while everyone stared at us.

“Put me down!” I hit his back but I knew that the impact caused little to no harm at all to him. “Do you hear me, Manuel?”

I felt the heavy hand of his palm hit my ass hard, shocking me into silence.

“Unless you want me to fuck you the exact way you want right here, right now, amor , I suggest you keep quiet and let me take you to the car. You’ve had your fill tonight.”

I opened my mouth to speak again, but I thought better of it.

Damn him .