Ceaseless Chains Copyright © 2020 xXMopelXx All Rights Reserved.

Chapter posted - August 7, 2020

Double update on CC and EB! My bday gift to y'all <3 I'm so happy you babes are enjoying this story as much as I am. Writing Oli and Tee's dynamics...as well as their later dirty, nasty chapters is just *insert fire and squirting emojis lol* Leave me a vote if you enjoyed and your thoughts <3 I love to read them. x

Playlist Song: Sabrina Claudio - Problem With You (Accoustic Video)

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C H A P T E R  6

Oliver

"You excited for tonight?" Elliott asked as he placed handfuls of glassware on the counter next to me.

We had an hour before opening and I was counting the cash in the till to ensure we had the right amount for the night.

"What for?" I replied without looking up from the bills in my hands.

"Mickey called your friend Teagan. She's coming for a trial night."

Mickey hadn't told me that so I didn't know. Or he did and I just wasn't paying attention. "Cool."

Elliott polished beer glasses with a rag. "Yeah. If she can win the crowd, the gig is hers."

Mickey walked by, his intentions to go outside for a smoke.

"Hey, Mick!" Elliott hollered. "You think this new chick can replace Ava?"

Mickey's glare could have frozen over hell. Elliott chilled beside me, and then our boss went down the stairs without a word.

Maria watched this exchange from the platform, where she adjusted a stool and a mic for Teagan's arrival. "Guys, don't bring up Ava to him. You know he's still angry about that."

"What?" Elliott scoffed beside me. "That she disappeared without saying a word? I'd be angry, too. Thought we were all friends over here."

Maria waggled her finger at him. "Behave, mi amor."

Alessandro didn't say anything, choosing to observe us with mild interest. He stayed in a pensive mood as he deposited tables and chairs around the platform where Teagan would sing.

I found it interesting that he had nothing to add – even though he was usually a reserved guy by nature. Afterall, Sandro and Ava had been close friends during her tenure as 1001 Nights headlining singer.

I wondered if he knew something the rest of us didn't.

Alessandro didn't meet my gaze.

A thought struck me, reminding me of the similarities between Ava and Inga. Both appeared saccharinely sweet on the outside. Yet when push came to shove, they suddenly vanished without a single trace.

For the first time in weeks, the thought of my ex-girlfriend didn't hold for more than a few seconds. Thank fuck for that.

* * *

It was past ten pm and the lounge filled up nicely. The music was low as an elder gentleman played the piano, and so was the lighting, adding a touch of debauchery to the night. Patrons laughed loudly and crowded the bar where Elliott and Maria worked fast to serve drinks. There was a lot of college girls taking pictures of themselves along the ornate mirrors with inflated pouts and fluttering eyelashes.

Alessandro had somehow gotten roped into taking pictures for the groups, and they laughed flirtatiously with him. One was trying so hard to lay the charm thick, but he was either uninterest or downright dense to their advances.

He shot me a look that screamed 'kill-me-now'. I smirked and saluted him from my position, where I leaned languidly against the adjacent wall facing the stage.

Alessandro and I worked the floor for Mickey tonight to stop any potential brawls, while the latter exuded stress as he wrestled with the equipment by the platform.

The tables surrounded the raised platform had been filled. I kept my gaze bouncing around the room to notice for anything out of the ordinary.

...And even for Teagan.

I couldn't deny that some part of me was looking forward to her presence tonight, to seeing her perform. In fact, that feeling had been increasing ever since we'd all hung out last time at Trent's place for game night. I didn't dive too much into that thought.

Hushed whispered echoed, followed by low gasps. I tilted my head just in time to catch a beacon of light illuminating the stage, where Teagan sat perched comfortably on a stool with a gold mic poised at her mouth.

The crowd went wild.

A feeling immersed in the pit of my stomach... Something close to trepidation. It only heightened when Teagan's brown gaze collided with mine, threatening to break my well-composed mask.

Two heartbeats in and I cracked, giving her a flitting smile that barely grazed my lips.

Teagan winked back at me, boldly.

Then she opened her mouth to greet the exuberant audience and show them what she was made of.

* * *

Teagan had the lulling voice of a siren, her range effortless.

She sang a slow, sensual jazz number I'd never heard. I honestly didn't even care for the lyrics when I felt so enamored with her and her stage presence.

Tonight, she looked like a Middle Eastern princess. She was a lethal combination of impossibly long, wavy hair, dark rimmed eyes, lips painted the shade of deep red wine, gold jewelry and a tight black dress that hugged her mouth-watering curves – now fuller than her teen years – and flared out at the knees like a mermaid's tail.

It wasn't a secret. Height didn't matter to me, but I loved curves on a woman. I was a strong guy and I could take it.

Teagan was a vision to behold and everyone was mesmerized by the notes leaving her formidable mouth, including me. Her lips chased the words sensually, her body swaying with the music in a way that wasn't exactly provocative but enticed your full attention. Every line in her body oozed lust, but it was her sharp eyes and the fluttering of her eyelashes that resonated man-eater. In this moment, she embodied everything carnal under God's holy sun and I found myself grappling with something fierce in my chest.

She reminded me of an enchantress, a dark fairy. Parisa.

The men and women in her surrounding were utterly enthralled by her essence, buzzing with energy because of Teagan's raspy, near-moaning reverberations.

The way the sinful beat swayed through her body made you wish you were sitting beside her, murmuring hushed words that only she could hear. The kind of words that invited her jezebel smile to spread further, made her breathe a little deeply and even stumble on the next note. The kind of words that made flush rise on a woman's skin. The kind of words that made a woman squeeze her thighs just to get that much pleasure, that much fucking pressure where she needed it.

She was downright fucking sexy in this moment.

I echoed the name one more time – Parisa. Teagan's real middle name, the one she never went along with.

Parisa. I used to call her that all the time. The memories, countless of them, came rushing back.

I remembered the nights when I'd call her phone and she'd sing for me, while I gently strummed my guitar or played the piano on the other side. Or how she'd come over and we'd spent afternoons doing just that.

As I gazed at her, like a magnetic force, Teagan's eyes sought mine and we crashed just as she sang the bridge. I thought of how. if the past had been different, maybe right now, I'd be sitting there beside her, playing my instrument to her melody.

But the past could never be rewritten. The future was the only opening we had.

A half an hour passed before Teagan concluded her set. Rows of final applause ensued. Teagan blushed in the cozy intimate setting from the flourish of her many admirers.

Without thinking, my feet carried me to the edge of the platform, and I offered her a hand. Surprise droned within her, before she took it. "Thank you, Oliver."

I ignored how small and perfect and feminine it felt against my rough calluses. I kept my focus on making sure she didn't trip on her dress's train as she descended.

Before I could get in another word, Mickey materialized next to me and stole her hand. "You were stunning. Come. Let me get you a drink and we can talk in my office."

Teagan gave me a half-apologetic-half-giddy expression as she wandered off with my boss.

There was no doubt in my mind that the gig was hers. The other performers we'd had at the speakeasy just weren't at her level.

She was in her own category.

Teagan Parisa Manning was a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

The night went on as most did and then finally the crowd thinned. I joined Elliott and Maria behind the bar, while Alessandro covered the remainder of the floor.

My co-workers were talking in quiet voices.

"What's happening?" I asked them, sliding closer like we were playing broken telephone and I wanted in on the secret.

Elliott set aside a dirty grappa wine glass. "You think your friend will get the gig? I mean, she's no Ava but still."

"No, she's better," Maria chimed in with awe. "She blew me away. Her voice is so smoky, smooth and...exotic? I'm not making sense, I'm aware. But you get the gist of it."

"I'll be damn surprise myself if she doesn't get it," I heard myself saying.

We carried onto a new conversation about Elliott's latest conquest and how he was trying to learn Spanish for her sake, therefore asking Maria for pointers. She laughed, called him a hopeless shitbag. Then she proceeded with a basic lesson on how to say certain keywords to woo his love interest.

From my peripheral sight, I caught Teagan slipping out of Mickey's office. Like a shadow, she sidled along the wall and avoided the main floor altogether. Now that the show had ended, so had her façade and she just wanted to disappear within the crowd, blend in.

Teagan failed to grasp that, with a voice and charisma like hers, she was meant to stand out and shine like a fucking star.

Her head snapped up when she felt me eyeing her, like she could hear my internal thoughts shouting at her, begging her to understand what was simply the truth.

An odd, awakening sensation crawled over my body – similar to goosebumps, but not exactly – as we were made aware of the fact that, once again, we threaded in each other's orbits. Not matter how far we strayed, we found ourselves in the same vicinity, soaking in the presence of one another. Right now, something was altering, something prominent shifting in the space between us.

It was as if I could reach forward and grasp the intangible string tying us and forge it into something tangible with the power of my bare hands.

An opportunity presented itself in front of me and I had to seize it.

Anticipation thrummed through my veins. I walked towards my window of opportunity – Teagan – as she gave me a final wave and left the speakeasy through the stairs.

My pace morphed into a run.

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A/N: He's chasinggggg her. What do you think he'll ask? ;) The sexual tension is getting bad starting next chapter. What did you think of Oli watching Teagan? I'm having so much fun writing him - he's nothing like Jared or Trent (It's always the quiet ones, right?). What do you think of Ava...the previous speakeasy singer disappearing? I'm writing mystery ish for the first time so let's see how that goes lol. 

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Chapter goal: 330? x