Slow Burn(85)

    “Too bad.” He worked on perfecting his lines of blow. “So, how long do you need to stay with me?”

    I chewed on my lip. That was a good question. I really had no idea. Until the guys from Op Wraith found us and killed Axel as well as me? I needed a plan. “I guess I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

    He offered me the mirror. “Sounds like you’re in trouble, babe. Do a line. It’ll make it all better.”

    “No thanks,” I said. I remembered the way I’d reacted to it before. It was too much. I couldn’t risk it ever again.

    He shrugged. “Fine. More for me, then.” He sucked up the white powder through a rolled up bill. He leaned back, his eyes closed. “Leigh, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

    I did know, though. And I was afraid of feeling it again. I liked it too much. I clasped my hands together in front of me.

    Axel grinned a Cheshire Cat smile at me. “Are you in trouble?”

    I nodded. “Yeah, I think I am.”

    “And you need me to help?”

    “Yes.”

    He laughed. “I’m like Prince Charming, then.” He bent down for another line.

    Prince Charming? I surveyed him, his cocky smile as he wiped his nose. His expensive clothes, his well-groomed fingernails. Maybe he was a kind of prince, but he was a spoiled one. Still, he was the only thing I had right now. I did my best to smile. “I guess you are.”

    He leaned across the table. “Do I save you with a kiss?”

    God. Why was he still harping on that? Axel and I had messed around a lot, but we’d never been serious. I didn’t think he actually liked me. Besides, he was in a room full of half-naked chicks, and he was a rich guy. Certainly, he could find someone else to kiss him.

    But what would he do if I didn’t acquiesce?

    “Axel,” said a male voice behind me.

    I turned. It was a man I’d never seen before, probably in his thirties.

    “Hello Daniel,” said Axel. To me, “Daniel’s the manager here.”

    “Got a minute?” said Daniel. “I want to run a few things by you.”

    Axel got out of the booth. “Sure thing.”

* * *

    I giggled, flopping down on a plush couch. “What’s this place?” The room was covered in mirrors. It had a thick, red shag carpet.

    “It’s a VIP lounge,” said Axel, shutting the door after us. He handed me the champagne bottle.

    I took a long drink, the fizzy liquid making fizz of my brain as well. I was a little drunk. “Does that mean I’m a VIP?”

    “Definitely,” said Axel, settling down next to me. He threw an arm over my shoulder.

    I gave him the champagne. “Well, good. Because I feel very important.”

    He drank. “And well you should, Leigh Thorn. Well you should.”

    I leaned back against one of the mirrors. “Oh, Axel, I missed you. I really did.”

    He nuzzled my neck. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

    I pulled away from him, annoyed. If I hadn’t been so drunk, I might not have done it so abruptly, but all the champagne I’d poured down my throat had completely annihilated my inhibitions. “Why do you have to do that? Like you’re trying to put moves on me?”

    He took a thoughtful drink of champagne. “Well, I suppose because I want you.”

    “Oh,” I said.

    He set the champagne down. “You don’t want me?”

    “Not really,” I said. It was true. Even though I was drunk and lonely, I had no desire to have sex with Axel. It used to be that the combination of those two things was all I needed to be ready to go with any likely partner—as long as he was relatively attractive and easy to get along with. But for some reason, I didn’t feel like that right now.

    “Ouch,” he said.

    “Sorry,” I said. “It’s not because of you or anything. I mean, you’re exactly the same. But I’m—”

    “Right. You’re not doing coke, and you’re still hung up on that dude you were crying over last time.” Axel sucked in breath through his nose. “You’re different.”