The Sweetest Fling Ch. 10

It would be so easy to slip into old habits again and dive on her, but even if Meg never found out, he'd know. And he didn't want Anna. Not really. She looked good, and she was standing here offering herself to him. It didn't go any deeper than that.

Before his erection could start making the decisions for him, he strode over to her, physically turned her around, and shoved her out into the corridor to stop himself from ruining what he'd started with Meg and hoped very much to continue.

It took some serious self-control not to slam the door behind her when she was gone, and he needed a few minutes to calm down after that--physically and mentally.

He didn't want to think about her anymore. He wanted to find Meg.

Jack combed his fingers through his damp hair and slipped on his shoes. He grabbed his wallet from the dressing table and managed a couple of steps across the room before he stopped short. His eyes closed as the pieces suddenly clicked into place, and it all made perfect sense. He didn't know why it hadn't occurred to him before.

The damn timing. Meg's taxi would have brought her back to the hotel around the same time he was leaving the pool this afternoon.

If she'd stopped by his room when he was pushing Anna out, that would explain the silent treatment.

It also did a great job of showcasing her complete lack of faith in him.

~ * ~

After he'd checked their usual haunts with no sign of her, Jack shifted his search to the clubs on the off chance he might find her there. They hadn't been to one together, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try something new tonight, especially if she thought he'd done a shitty thing like cheat on her the first time he had a day to himself.

God, he couldn't get past that. Jack hoped he'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, and she'd disappeared for some other reason, one that they could settle with a simple conversation if she'd just answer her damn phone.

He'd been to two nightclubs with no luck, then went into the third expecting the same result.

Jack walked through a wide, open doorway into a dimly lit interior, where a crowd lined the bar on the left and dozens of people filled the dance floor on the right.

Music thumped from the speakers and a DJ worked the small stage, smiling at a woman who wore a tiara and appeared to be shouting a song request up to him.

He scanned the crowd hoping to see Meg but came up empty. Again. Optimism had fueled his search in the beginning, but as the night wore on and she remained elusive, his concern and irritation grew.

Jack grabbed a beer and turned to survey the crowd once more. The dancefloor was so thick with people it was possible he'd missed her on the first pass, but he couldn't picture her out there on her own unless she was hammered, or she'd met someone new.

He sipped his beer and watched some of the moves out there. A reluctant smile came soon after as a drunk guy tried to impress a cluster of women with his breakdancing skills.

The slender legs of a woman standing beside the group caught Jack's eye. She swayed to the music in a way that hypnotized him right from the start, and his body reacted before his mind had the chance to switch on to the fact that he'd found her.

If he'd been involved in a conversation right then, the sight of her would have struck him dumb. Her bare arms and back, the tight dress that only just covered her sweet, sweet ass. When his gaze lifted to the auburn hair hanging in a silky sheet down her back, a feeling of longing came over him so intense it was like a physical pain.

Jack stayed where he was and drank some more, watching her while he worked out the best way to handle the situation. As much as it hurt to admit, seeing her safe and well with no apparent problems other than the lack of a dance partner, his initial guess appeared to have been right.

She thought he'd cheated on her, and as far as she was concerned, they were done.

No questions, no chance to explain.

He wanted to stride over there and wrap his arms around her. Shake some sense into her. He did neither.

Instead, he watched another guy move in behind her and rest his hands on her hips like they belonged there. The impulse to yank the asshole off her and take his place was so strong Jack almost moved in that direction, but the way Meg reacted made him wonder if they'd already established a connection.

She didn't push his hands off her or move out of reach. She stood there as if she welcomed the attention.

When she turned her head to look at the man, her expression gave Jack his first glimmer of hope.

No recognition, just pure shock, as if she'd expected someone else instead of him. She stepped away from the guy and turned to face him.

Her dress draped low in the front, revealing freckled skin and the inner curve of her breasts. She'd done something to her eyes to make them smoky and seductive, and her legs looked temptingly long in her high heels.

She would have been a standout in a sea of sameness even if he hadn't already known her intimately. The other guy must have thought it was fucking Christmas finding her alone on the dancefloor.

The two of them exchanged words Jack had no chance of hearing, but when the blonde guy tried to grab her hand, Meg pulled back and moved past him, apparently unimpressed.

Her overreaction to what she thought she'd seen back at the hotel disappointed Jack, and he probably couldn't have carried on a conversation with her without raising his voice, but his feelings for her hadn't changed. He wanted to protect her from sleezeballs only too willing to take advantage of women who were out on their own at night.

While Meg headed for the other end of the bar oblivious to his presence, Jack considered his options. She didn't want to see him or talk to him, but he couldn't just head back to the hotel and leave her to fend for herself, not when she'd drawn the attention of a guy who put Jack's senses on alert.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the dancefloor dickhead coming up behind her, his expression hard as he closed in on her. Meg claimed the single vacant stool at the bar and settled in, likely thinking she'd found a safe spot to ride out the awkwardness.

With her back facing the rest of the club, she had no idea of the trouble headed her way.

Jack's gaze narrowed as he slid his beer on the counter.

It looked like the time had come to make a move.