His eyes were glued to hers. She stared back at him with a knowing grin. Three seconds later when the part came where the song shifted beats, she let go of the bar with the other hand and let her entire upper body fall backward.
And for the remaining three-and-a-half minutes, of the song, shewasMiss Ginger.
Olly couldn’t tearhis eyes from the stage if his life depended on it. Or rather, the woman on it.
Miss Ginger.
When she’d first appeared from behind the curtain, he’d damn near spit out the drink of soda he’d just taken. Between her top, that damn see-through skirt, and those fuck-me heels, it was like she’d become someone else entirely. And yet, she was still there.
Still his Scarlett.
Hot for Teacher?
Hell yes, he was hot for her. Olly felt like he was on fuckingfirewatching her climb higher and higher up that shiny goldpole. And when she’d looked over at him and did that thing with her hair…
Fuck. Me.
A second later, she sent his heart into a frenzy when she’d let herself fall backward. The strength of her legs the only thing keeping her from falling and breaking her damn neck.
That move had scared the shit out of him, and he’d instinctively started to rise. To go to her. Tohelpher. But thankfully his help wasn’t needed.
It had taken his heart a moment to recover, but lucky for him, it had. His throbbing, swollen dick, however… that greedy bastard was a whole other story.
You wouldn’t be sitting here with a set of aching blue balls if you hadn’t ran back to your room last night like a little bitch.
Olly shook the thought off. He hadn’t run. He’d done the responsible thing by Scarlett. Therightthing. And he’d avoided becoming something she’d live to regret in the process.
Watching her now, though, he had to admit he may have been a touch hasty with his turn-tail retreat. There was just something about her. Something that brought to the surface every last protective instinct he possessed.
But just as she’d already shown him over and over again, there was a whole lot more to his sweet, girl-next-door kindergarten teacher.
Not yours, remember?
He forced himself to look away from Scarlett’s impressive moves to scan the growing crowd. Several men who’d been sitting toward the back had moved closer to the stage. It seemed as if every new move she made, more money was tossed her way.
She spun on the pole, more cash. She crawled across the stage in that slow, prowling way she was doing now, the bills went flying. And when Scarlett laid down on her back, archedher hips, and spread her legs wide, that same group of guys went hog fucking wild.
Olly’s fists clenched beneath the table, the thin edges of his trimmed fingernails digging into the skin of his palms. So help him, if any of those assholes tried to reach out and touch her…
I’ll smash their heads into the goddamn stage.
He pulled in a breath and picked up his glass. Taking a slow sip of the carbonated beverage, he considered the unfamiliar jealousy rolling through his system.
It was the same feeling he’d gotten last night when he’d been trying to talk her out of this crazy, hairbrained plan. He wanted her safe, absolutely. But just as strongly as his need to protect was the need to keep her all to himself.
The mere thought of her dancing for anyone else drove him mad. But why? He had no real claim on the woman. It wasn’t like she was his actual girlfriend…or anything else.
Sure, he’d gotten her off last night. If he closed his eyes, he could still feel the soft, wet heat of her body around his fingers. Every time he licked his lips, he could swear the woman’s addictive, salty arousal was still on the tip of his tongue.
And yeah, if her old man hadn’t called, things definitely would have gone much,muchfarther. But for him to bejealous…
Olly found himself scanning the crowd again. He didn’t get jealous. That wasn’t the kind of man he was. Just like he wasn’t the type to believe instant connections like the one he felt with Scarlett were real.
But as he studied those men—strange men who’d probably give their left nut for an hour alone with Scarlett—he realizedhewanted to be the only man looking at her. The only man fantasizing about her.
Ah, hell. Who was he kidding? As Olly sat there, watching the most amazing, interesting, incredible woman he’d ever knowncommand the attention of every person in the building, he realized all he really wanted was…
Her.