THIRTEEN

The spot was none other than Nolan's strip club. Or Lucian's. It was all the same. Nolan led the way through the club, the lights dimmed but still illuminating the vast expanse. There were a few girls loitering around, some practicing some moves whilst the others were chatting away. The minute they caught a glance of Nolan, they all carried on dancing, some going above and beyond.

Not much had changed since I last walked through these days. Except one thing. The seemed to have expanded the main room and all across the side were private rooms with velvet curtains the shade of burned mahogany.

A part of me wanted to walk over there and just peak inside the private room and see what was so special about it. But I carried on walking after Nolan who had already reached the set of grand stairs. Another addition.

Lexie trailed right behind me, a smiling Thomas right next to her.

"I should take you inside those rooms one day," he said to Lexie. "Or both of you actually."

I rolled my eyes. "Not going to happen."

"What exactly happens in there?" Lexie asked, not swatting the idea of being taken in there away. I shot her a look. She threw an what? look back.

Thomas threw his long arm over her shoulders. "You don't want to know that sweetheart."

Soon after that we reached the room Nolan was waiting inside, a bulky man with buzz cut and emerald eyes holding the door open for us.

I muttered a small "thanks," and sat down at the empty spot next to Nolan. He handed me a cold bottle of water.

I gladly took a sip of the drink, enjoy the cold liquid falling down my throat. I was hungry and I knew water couldn't fill me up.

Once everyone was seated, Nolan went straight to the chase. "We're playing a game of telling and giving."

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "What's that?"

He shrugged. "Think of it as a game I made up. You tell us something and we give you something. Simple really." He took a slurp of his cold water as well. "Nothing too draining because it's only the morning." He quickly added.

Thomas sat up. "I'll start. Ori, breakfast on me if you tell me how you got that killer body."

I laughed at him. Seriously? I could have him pay for my breakfast so I answered him easily. "Pregnancy weight that never left me. Got some curves from it."

Thomas nodded, giving my body one glance over before smirking. "That you got alright."

It was harmless teasing, one I didn't think to put an end to. It was refreshing and fun, and a part of me knew that it was just Thomas and there were no other feelings going to be breading between us.

"I don't know what I can give but Nolan, do tell if you ever fell for one of the strippers."

"You can give me a kiss and I'll happily tell you."

Lexie burst out in laughter. "This game is so childish I love it! One kiss handsome and it's going to be on the cheek."

"There's one." He replied quickly although there was a slight strain to his voice.

"Is? Or was?" I asked him, not sure if a follow up question was allowed in this game.

"Is or was they're both the same to me." He beckoned Lexie over with a crock of his finger. "Now kiss."

She rolled her eyes but made a move to stand up. Just as that happened, Lucian came barging in the room, his eyes soaring across the couches until they landed on Lexie. She visibly took in a breath.

As I did as well. Lucian was as close to being perfectly breathtaking as one man could be. And he was all man. He was wearing a skin tight black sweater, the bulks of his muscles contouring the material. His hair was down in loose waves, framing his tanned skin.

"What's going on here?"

"It's a simple game of telling and giving. Want to join, Boss?" Nolan said, his playful tone changed to a much drawn tone.

His eyes stayed on Lexie's before he gave a swift nod. "My turn."

We all stared at him. The power and authority that oozed out of him was almost suffocating.

"Lexie." The way her name rolled of his tongue, filled with something that shouldn't be heard by any of us expect the girl who had that name. "I'll give you one favour, free of charge and anything you want if you tell me why you never pressed charges against your ex fiancé."

Lexie shank down in her seat, the question momentarily causing her to lose her balance. It threw her off because no one in this room knew about Adam, excluding me.

Lucian's give was too good to pass on when answering such a simple question. And she must have known that too because once she managed to recover, she answered him. "His dad is in the police force. Pressing charges wouldn't have done anything nor get me my money back."

"Not on that. The other thing he had done to you."

What other thing? My gaze snapped to Lexie's just as I saw her face pale.

"I-ther- there's no other thing. It was just the money thing and you don't press charges on cheating."

"Not what I meant either."

"And I answered your question so I get the favour." The finality in her voice rang loudly. Lucian took note of it, a small twitch in his lips indicating he found that amusing. Alas he didn't press on and gave her a stiff nod.

"You can cash in on that favour anytime." He said before motioning to Nolan with a jerk of his head. "Got to talk to you."

Nolan stood up and walked out after Lucian. They were outside for a good while. The rest of us in the room carried on conversing, catching up, talking about anything and everything until they walked back in the room.

This time Link came in with them.

His gaze fell on mine instantly and my insides started to heat up. It took all of me not to start fanning my face. This hot flush that somehow washed all over me was quite embarrassing but something about Link, his pulsing vibe and his alluring pull was starting to overcome me.

He shouldn't have this much of an effect on me when he was all the way across the room!

"Have you had lunch?" He asked pointedly, not giving anyone else a second of his attention.

On the word hunger, my stomach let out a painful growl. "Not yet." I answered casually but was feeling nothing close to that.

He reached for my arm and lifted me up. "Let's go." He pulled me towards the door, but I furiously yanked my arm out of his grip.

The moment he lost his hold on me, he snapped his head back to glare at me.

I pushed out my chest. "Let's get this straight. You don't boss me around like that."

He stepped way too close in my space, his heat coating me like a warm fuzzy blanket even though he was anything but those things. Warm and fuzzy? Not something I would associate with Link.

"I'm just going to feed you. So stop nagging and let's go."

Nagging? I sputtered out the word after him, but he ignored me and grabbed my hand. His long fingers clasped through mine and this skin-to-skin contact was welcoming. It clouded my mind and I found myself being dragged out the room.

He bounded down the steps quickly, making me work my legs much harder than I anticipated. "Slow down please." I said but it fell on deaf ears.

We got out the strip club and he walked towards a nice Audi TT parked on the side curb. "Is that yours?" I gasped out.

"Amongst others." He replied. He unlocked his car for the both of us and held the door open for me.

A smart retort was ready to roll down my tongue but I kept it classy. "Thank you."

He nodded in acknowledgment and slammed the door. I hadn't even put my seatbelt on properly before Link got in the car and drove off.

****

We got to nice block of apartments. Scratch that. Nice was an understatement. This was a part of London where the richest of rich stayed and it was foreign terrority for me. It was a long time since I dabbled with the upper class and I was glad I didn't have to ever again.

And was Link rich now? Did he dabble with those sort of people?

He parked by the front, throwing his keys at the doorman. Like any other doorman, this lanky man looked friendly yet straight. He wasn't going to let anyone just in. The greeting that was exchanged between Link and the doorman was quick and I didn't catch any of it.

Once I stepped out the car I sauntered to Link's extended hand. I took it without realising it, welcoming the clasp of his fingers once again. Ahh.

"Where are we?" I asked even though I guessed that this was probably his place.

"My place." He answered. The main reception of the building was magnificent. White and black tiles ran the whole floor with a shining polish. The ceiling was high with a crystal clear chandelier the size of an airplane dangling down.

There was no one at the desk that was in the middle of the way.

"Why we having lunch at your place?" I asked him as we came to lifts.

He pushed the button and waited patiently without answering my question.

"Hello?"

He sighed. "I'm cooking."

I shot him a stunned look, my mouth gaping open. "You can cook?"

He peered down at me with his hooded eyes. "Why do you sound surprised?"

The lift doors open and he pulled us both inside. Once the doors snapped shut, Link pushed into me causing me to back into the wall. He carried on walking into me until his big chest was pressed into mine. Until I felt every grain of his body being pressed against mine.

My breath hitched up in my lungs. This was not good! I wasn't prepared for this and to be quite frank, this was so uncalled for! He still had his promise to bed me to fulfil but I had decided that such thing was simply not going to happen.

Link and I mixed together spelt nothing but disaster. It was always going to be like that between us. And what with how my emotions were these days, I couldn't risk anything. I had to think of Joy.

All of that reasoning was good enough.

Yet my body reacted like a kitten being petted, purring as the pleasure ranked up. Link lowered his head until we were nose to nose, our lips a shy distance away from each other. One move and they would touch. His kisses were always a tease before he touched me and I wasn't so sure I could take it anymore.

"You've become so hard to resist." Link said in a low voice, a growl emitting from it. My heart fluttered at the revelation.

The few words that came out of his mouth caused a slight brush of our lips and I almost lost my feet. Why was this having so much impact on me? I thought I had buried all things Link years ago. Yet what had happened in the bedroom, in Palmer's back room and now this contradicted everything.

Fighting this would be almost pointless because the control I had over my body was slipping out of me. My body wanted his touch, craved the electric buzz his contact left behind. My lower self started heating up, to a point where if it carried on being ignored it would combust.

But my mind knew that it just wasn't a good thing.

Stand your ground! I shouted in my head.

His hands went under my shirt, his cold fingers meeting my warm skin. I was drugged with that simplest of touch, arching my whole body onto his without losing his burning gaze.

His lips met mine.

A soft moan back from the back of my throat and my hands tangled through his soft hair, pulling him closer in. His own hands traveled up the side of my body, until they came to chest and he rounded them to my breast.

The doors of the lift pinged open and Link's hands froze. What was he about to do?

He pulled back from me, severing all contact as his eyes filled with pumped up desire and a burning need. He stepped and I glanced down, instantly spotting a bulge in his pants.

My cheeks heated up and I quickly glanced away, pretending that I didn't see such a thing.

He grabbed my hand again, pulling me out the lift and towards his door. He walked us in after unlocking the door.

"Eat. Then we're going to my room."

////

> You lot probably want to destroy me for keeping you in the dark for years! I'll give you an explanation!! The past year and a half have been the busiest for me. I welcomed two little girls (not twins no lol) so they've been keeping me so busy and I found myself with no time to write and no motivation. If I got some sleep I would be happy af. But yeah, they're my little bundles of Joy so I can relate to Ori with the whole motherhood thing because that shit is hard as it can get. And I'm so possessive over them so I for sure know how Ori feels! But I love every second of it. And now hopefully, I can get back to writing and enjoy myself a little bit more.

> if you guys want to be more updated and get to know me you can always add me on snap naja_xo and insta: najaxo

> hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm working more and more on this! I promise you!! <33