I felt my cheeks lifting, my lips tipping up at the corners, and I realized I was looking forward to it. Damn, that woman entertained me. This was actually going to be fun.
I shook my head, realizing that I had had very little going on in my world that gave me any kind of pleasure in recent months, with the singular exception of Sienna. So, pain in the ass or not, I figured it was probably also going to be great for me, having her as an outlet. And not just a sexual one, because I also thrived on our verbal play. Hell, every interaction. She gave me a serious boost in energy that I could use, first to revenge Manny’s death, and then either to extract myself from Storm, or to lead a full-on mutiny against Clav’s inept leadership. Fuck my life, this shit was unreal. You couldn’t write this stuff.
My biggest concern with regard to Sienna was keeping her compartmentalized, keeping my focus on the MC issues and on taking care of business with that ass-hat boss of Hardcore, Joey Ronn, that murdering motherfucker. With Sienna in the picture, I’d now also have to worry about making sure she was safe from any ramifications from my actions. Fuck. It was a really fine line I’d have to walk, on all sides. I felt like a spider balancing on my own web. I’d have to navigate carefully on all fronts, or risk getting myself—and her—entangled in the complexities, even putting our lives on the line.
But there was no other option. She’d proven to be a danger to herself tonight, with the boss-prick Ronn pimping her out, the asshat Fielding going grabby, and her own antics getting too close to Loco. It didn’t add up, and she clearly had needed, and then really wanted, my protection, my body. Me.
That was something.
Too tired at this point to process anything further, I bailed and went to bed.
Chapter Five
Sienna
I woke up unhurriedly, my body sore and relaxed, my muscles needing to stretch. As a dancer, this was a daily recurrence, but this time there was something more to it. I felt warm and relaxed in a way I hadn’t in months, and then I remembered why.
Dom. Damn, that man could fuck. It was brilliant. I felt used, in the best way possible, and taken and beautiful. I felt like I could fly.
Still lying in bed, I stretched out for several minutes, taking each leg over my head, to the side, to the back. I twisted and turned, stretching my arms and my waist and my hips and my spine, breathing into each position, allowing the blood to flow freely again.
The sun streamed in through the open blinds at the sliding door to my balcony, and I smiled at the blue in the sky. What a fucking beautiful morning. Mid-May in the Midwest was awesome. I lay there a few more minutes, thinking about Dom and sex and just feeling generally good all around. Then I thought of coffee, and I was up.
It was only in the kitchen, as I was putting together my morning salvation, that I remembered the earlier parts of the night: the threat of Mr. F, and my thwarted plan to finally get to Mr. Ronn and be done with the whole scene. Shit. Dom had really fucked that up for me.
Fuck.
I couldn’t let that happen again. I mean, yes, I was so glad that Dom and I had finally breached that wall, that we had crossed all lines and were finally getting it on. But the cost was too high, and I needed to get my focus back. I needed to take care of business. For Tania, and for myself. The time had come—obviously, with Mr. F now looming ominously over my shoulder, and him being a favorite buddy or something to Joey fucking Ronn, I couldn’t afford to play Hamlet anymore. Action was required, and the sooner the better.
By the time I got into work late in the afternoon, I was sorted. Focused. Determined. Energized. Tonight was the night, and I would be done. The worst part about it was that I’d have to leave town right away. A girl can’t plan to take out a man and expect no one to come after her. Not that I thought anyone would miss him, pond-sucking scum that he was. Actually, I’d be doing the world a favor. I should get a fucking reward for it.
In any case, reality was that I’d have to go somewhere, and fast, and incognito. I had packed a bag for my run and had already loosened the screws on my license plate, snagging another plate off one of the cars that looked kind of like mine in a nearby apartment complex parking lot. I felt kind of bad about that, but luckily nobody had caught me doing it, and I figured it would buy me some time as I got myself to union Station in Chicago, which was only a couple of hours away.
After that, it was Amtrak all the way, baby. I had already found online that there were three trains heading to three different cities, each going out within a short time frame. I figured I’d buy the three tickets from three different ticket booths, dressed in three different wigs and styles. I’d pick one at random then, and be on my way. That should be enough to get me out safely and fast enough. Fingers crossed.