Taming Lo: A You and I Novel (10 page)

I have never been one for facial hair, typically
preferring a clean shaved man over a hairy one. But here recently, I
have a new found love for a man that sports just the right amount of
scruff. I wish I could say that Dax had nothing to do with it but
truth be told, he absolutely does.

The elevator pings open just as Mike drops his face
lower, nipping at my collarbone, causing me to laugh out. I push
against his frame, amused by his eagerness to explore my body. “Up
we go.” He says smiling, kissing me one last time before
turning towards the open elevator doors.

I laugh and turn at the same time, but immediately
freeze when I see Dax exiting the elevator car, a look I can't quite
pinpoint tightening the features of his entire face. I knew he had
moved into this building. I knew he was living here. I don't know why
I'm so unprepared to see him here, but I am.

“
Sorry
dude.” Mike laughs, grabbing my hand and pulling me past him.
As Dax steps out of the elevator, we step on, but he makes no attempt
to speak to me. Then again, I make no attempt to speak to him either.

My stomach twists tightly when I turn back and lock eyes
with Dax just as the door slides closed between us. I take a shaky
inhale, not prepared for the way his iced over glare pierces right
through me.

“
Where
were we?” Mike nips at my earlobe and then spins me back around
to face him, before shoving his tongue into my mouth once more and
pushing me roughly against the elevator wall.

Suddenly I don't want this anymore. I don't want to be
here with Mike. I want someone else entirely. Someone I can never
have again. Suddenly everything comes back. The way his eyes burned
my flesh. The way his hands slid down my body. The way he moved
inside of me so tame and yet so wild at the same time. I try to
convince myself it's the wine talking but I know that is not entirely
true. I have thought about sleeping with Dax again more times than I
care to admit.

I have never really had the desire to sleep with someone
a second time but with Dax, I just can't stop thinking about how much
more I want to experience with him, explore. The thought sends my
panic skyrocketing and I immediately pull Mike flush with my body.

“
Right
about here.” I moan against his lips, sliding my hand inside
his pants to grip his rock hard erection. He lets out a deep groan
and then kisses me harder.

This is what I need. Uncomplicated, meaningless sex.
This is who I am.

Or at least, that's what I tell myself as I pull Mike
into my apartment and let him fuck me like an animal for the next
twenty minutes. I try to focus on the feeling of him sliding in and
out of me, on his labored breathing and the pleasure that I know my
body is giving him, but it's not enough. It's not enough to shake the
cloud that has settled over me and it certainly is not enough to even
get me close to getting off.

Mike groans loudly and then collapses his weight down on
top of me the moment he finds his release. I can smell the alcohol on
his breath as he drops his lips to mine. I shift under his weight,
just wanting him to get off of me already. I don't know why I am so
agitated right now. He's a sweet enough guy, so why am I so eager to
get away from him?

“
You
want to go grab a bite to eat or something? There's an all night
diner not far from here.” Mike asks, rolling to his side and
removing the used condom from his softening erection.

“
No.
I'm good.” I say, sitting up and slipping my sweater back over
my head. “I have an early day tomorrow.” I lie. Grabbing
my panties from the floor next to me, I shimmy them up my legs and
then stand to pull them the rest of the way up.

“
Well
can I get your number? I would love to hang out again sometime soon.”
He says, standing to buckle his jeans.

“
That's
not how this works.” I say, shaking him off when he makes an
attempt to pull me into his arms. “This was fun.” I tack
on, when his face falls slightly. “But I don't date.” I
say, leaning over to retrieve his shirt from the floor. Dropping it
in his hands, I make my way towards the front door.

Peeling the door open, he looks from me to the open
door, clearly shocked that I expect him to leave so quickly after we
finished. The truth is, I am completely unsatisfied and a bit annoyed
at this point.

Don't
get me wrong, Mike has a lot to offer a woman and for the most part,
knows how to use it. But all I could think the whole time he was
moving above me was
I
wish he was Dax
.
Shaking my head, I try to push aside my mental meltdown and get rid
of my current company, who quickly slips on his shoes and stumbles
towards me.

“
I
take it you know the way back to the bar?” I ask, handing him
his jacket as soon as he reaches me.

“
I
think I can manage.” He gives me a forced smile and then steps
past me into the hallway.

“
Have
a good night.” I try to be as friendly and perky as I can
muster.

“
Yeah,
yeah. You too.” He says, meeting my eyes with a small smile
before turning and disappearing down the hall without another word.

Closing the door, I drop back against the cool wood and
let out a deep exhale, pushing my knotted wavy hair away from my
face. What the fuck is wrong with me? Sex is my answer. My solution
when anything is bothering me. But the run in with Dax earlier has
left me with a sick feeling of guilt and as such, prevented me from
being able to use sex the way I normally do.

Why do I feel guilty?

I think that is the thing that is eating at me the most.
Me and Dax are nothing. Hell, he has made it perfectly clear that he
wants nothing to do with me. So why did I suddenly feel like I was
betraying him when his eyes landed on mine in the split second before
the door closed between us?

There was something in his gaze. Something that told me
Dax Riley is a hell of a lot more complicated than I had originally
suspected. This realization only makes me that much more curious
about him and what he hides behind that cocky smile and do-not-care
attitude.

Pushing away from the door, I quickly cross the space of
my living room and grab my jeans from the floor. Dipping into the
back pocket, I pull out my cell phone and immediately bring up Dax's
contact information.

I
am seconds away from pushing the
call
button
when I chicken out. What the hell would I even say? Locking my phone,
I drop it onto the coffee table in front of me. As much as I want to
cross the invisible line he seems to have drawn between us and force
him to tell me what the fuck his problem is with me, I also refuse to
chase a man, no matter what the reason.

I feel restless, irritated. I need to take a shower, get
into bed and try to get some sleep but honestly, even with this late
hour, I am so wired I can't even imagine laying down right now.

I can't get my mind off of Dax.

Where was he off to so late at night?

Why did he look at me the way he did?

Why do I fucking care about any of this?

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I
wish I had the answer to even one of these questions. I wish I could
figure out why I cannot shake this infuriating man. I wish I knew why
my stomach knots and my heart ends up in my throat every time I see
him or even think about seeing him for that matter.
I
wish I could go back and never sleep with him in the first place.
Then
none of this would even be an issue.

****

“
Did you have
fun last night?” My skin immediately prickles as Dax's voice
washes over me from behind. Spinning around from the vanity mirror, I
find him leaning casually against the frame of my dressing room door,
his arms crossed in front of his broad chest, his suit jacket
straining against the curve of his muscle.

“
So you're
talking to me now?” I quip, sliding my feet into my heels one
at a time, trying to act completely unphased by his unexpected
appearance.

“
I never stopped
talking to you.” A cocky grin pulls up the corners of his
mouth.

“
Well clearly we
have different views on that.” I sigh, looking back up at him.
“And to answer your question, yes, I did have fun last night.
Not that it's any of your business. What about you?” I tack on,
having the feeling that he was doing the same thing as I was last
night; fucking a stranger.

“
Oh I did
.
Thank you for asking.” He laughs lightly, clearly trying to get
me riled up. I hate to tell him, it's not going to work. I promised
myself last night that come hell or high water, I am going to cleanse
this man from my system.

“
Did you need
something Dax?” I sigh out, trying to make my annoyance over
this little performance clearly known.

“
I need you to
pick up Friday and Saturday night this weekend.” He says, his
demeanor changing the moment the topic turns to work.

“
This is my
only
weekend
off this month. Why would I pick it up?” I push myself into a
stand, preparing to hit the stage for my first dance of the night.

“
Because
we need someone and I figured if anyone had extra time on her hands,
it was you.” He keeps his voice even, despite the fact that I
know he's taking a jab at me.

“
What
is that supposed to mean?” I can't help but be offended by the
comment because I am one hundred percent certain he's referring to
last night.

“
I
am simply making an observation.”

“
An
observation about what? Me being a slut?” I bite, pushing my
chair towards the vanity, the wooden legs scratching loudly against
the floor as I do. “You think you can just throw shifts at me
that I don't want because I have nothing better to do than fuck
random men?”

“
I
am asking as your boss Lauren. I need you to cover a shift. As your
boss, I couldn't care less where you go during your time off or who
you spend it with for that matter. All I care about is making sure I
have enough dancers to cover the club. So, I will ask again. Are you
able to pick up this weekend or do I need to find someone else more
willing to help out?” He asks, his professional tone causing a
rage to flare through my veins.

He's doing this on purpose.

“
You
can find someone else. I have plans.” I say, dropping my silk
robe onto the back of the chair, not missing the way his eyes skirt
across my body which is barely covered by a tight white corset and
matching panties, white garters and heels completing the look.

He sucks in a sharp inhale and I can't tell if it's
because of what he sees or because he's aggravated by my refusal to
pick up shifts. Either way, I don't care. This man is so all over the
place, it's hard to tell which way is up and which way is down when
in his company.

One day we are ripping each others clothes off. The
next, we are agreeing to be friends. Then the next thing I know, he's
avoiding me at every turn, barely speaks a word to me in over a week,
and now is clearly taking personal jabs at me, which in my opinion
are completely unprovoked.

“
Do
you really have plans or are you just saying no because
I
asked
you to do it?” I ignore his question at first, crossing the
room towards the door. He takes a step back into the hallway to let
me pass by him.

“
What
do you think?” I drop my voice low as I squeeze past him.

“
Mature
Lo.” He shakes his head and then spins, walking away without
another word. I can't help but do a small victory dance in my head.
Serves him right. What the fuck is his problem anyways? If I didn't
know any better, I would venture to say that he's jealous about Mike
and what he saw last night. But then again, that kind of emotion
would require him to care. And honestly, I am pretty certain that
caring is the last thing a man like Dax Riley does.

Chapter
Fifteen

Dax

I'm an ass
.
The ass of all asses.

What was I thinking throwing insults at Lo like that? Of
course I hated seeing her with that other man. But that gave me no
right to take my shit out on her. So, at the risk of letting this
situation spiral out of control, I've decided to call a truce. I told
her, not that long ago, that I wanted to be her friend. I've decided
to make good on that statement.