Chapter 4

He'd refused to go inside at first; apparently it went against his morals. That alone makes me laugh, since when did Tony have morals? But now, after downing several shots of raspberry sambuca, he was on the dance floor and flirting with anyone who came into the vicinity. It helped that he was high as a kite of course. Thing is, I wanted him to be flirting with me and me alone, not every guy in the place who had a pulse.

I've been sat at the bar for the best twenty minutes, simply watching him. At least he's not looking to run off with the next unsuspecting blonde this evening. In fact, Tony looks as though he's set for the night.

I down one last shot, placing the glass in the small stack we'd made earlier and then hop up off my stool so that I can join him. As soon as I'm within a metre of him, he grabs hold of the front of my shirt, pulling me tight against him and slipping a hand up into my hair. He leans in, delectably close to my ear and whispers, 'Thank you.'

I'm about to ask him what for, but it suddenly becomes quite obvious when several girls start dancing with us as well. They may very well be more interested in each other than they are him, but if there are females involved it doesn't make Tony's behaviour quite as gay as it seems. It wouldn't surprise me if he tries to talk them into coming back to the hotel with us as well. And if that's the case, I don't want anything more to do with it.

My eyes narrow over at him, but I stay where I am because Tony's dancing right up against me and it's fucking fantastic. He's doing it for entertainment purposes, purely for show. I don't care though, because my heart's racing and my skin's tingling and the feel of him pressing up against me outweighs everything that's happened over the last few weeks. Right now, in this very moment, everything feels right.

His fingers are tangled in my hair again and he yanks my head to the side, his lips brushing my skin as he leans in closer. It hurts actually. Pain equals pleasure though and I can't get enough. He's breathing hard into my ear, his free hand sliding up my thigh as he continues to grind against me from behind. 'Mmm, down boy,' he murmurs, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. He's drunk, I know that. This would never happen in public if he were sober.

Sighing softly, I lean back into him, quite happily sliding my arm around his neck. I could stay here all night like this actually.

'Do you mind if the girls join us later?'

Shit, I knew it, I fucking knew it.

Everything comes crashing down around me and I pull away from him, my arm falling away and I'm suddenly feeling incredibly vulnerable. Turning on him sharply, I look him in the eye (resisting the urge to just kick him in the balls and have at it) and then mutter, 'Fuck you, Tony, fuck you.' Taking a step back from him, I rake my hands up into my hair, all the while fighting tears. Why does he keep doing this to me? Why can't he make up his mind?

I stare at him for a moment, and then after drawing in a shaky breath, march off toward the bar wanting nothing more than to get away from him.

'Maxxie?' His voice is almost drowned out by the music and that makes it easier to ignore him. 'What the hell is your problem?!' he shouts, and for once there is actually some form of desperation in his words. Good, it's about time he realised he'd done something wrong without me having to tell him.

Hoping he'd come after me was clearly expecting too much, so I'm left to down the shots until I knock myself unconscious. I'll do anything to get Tony out of my head right now. As I stare down at my fifth empty shot glass, I'm beginning to numb to the pain. The tequila's making me feel queasy, but it's doing its job. After every mouthful thoughts of him are being pushed further to the back of my mind.

Maybe I will end up going home with a local again.

Knocking back shot number seven, the room is spinning and someone's talking to me, laughing softly and touching my arm every so often. Do I know this person? I glance over through thin, hazy eyes and find myself face-to-face with Ryan from last night. Great, now I've got a stalker. He's cuter than I remember though, with jet black hair, big brown eyes and a dimple that appears on his left cheek whenever he smiles.

But I don't want him… I want Tony.

God, this is hell.

Ryan takes a seat beside me, smiling all the while and yammering away about something. I'm unsure what; I can't hear him very well over the Madonna record that's playing. He keeps lowering his eyes and touching my hand. It's kind of annoying really.

I'm waiting for him to ask if I want to join him at his apartment again, and if he does, I'm a mere second away from saying yes. He may not be Tony, but he's not bad in the sack.

'Can I get you a drink?' asks Ryan after finishing the contents of his glass. He's smiling at me, his eyes alight and his fingers stroking up and down my arm. Yeah, he clearly wants to fuck me again. Thank God for small miracles.

I find myself returning his smile and I open my mouth to reply, only to be cut off abruptly as someone steps in front of me and announces, 'No, you can't get him a drink.'

Momentarily looking upwards I find myself staring at the back of Tony's head. Where did he come from? Ryan seems just as confused as I am, as well as a little pissed off. Tony's a stranger to him though, a stranger who's stepping on his toes and worming his way in on the territory he thinks he's marked.

Ryan's eyebrows shoot up and he's quick to question, 'Excuse me?'

'You heard me. Now fuck off, Maxxie's with me tonight,' Tony says, reaching one of his arms back slightly so that he can lay his hand on my knee. A tiny surge of tingles course through my leg at the contact and I have to bite down on my lip to stop myself from whimpering.

Ryan hasn't moved, but Tony's not giving up yet. He turns on me, a genuine smile on his face (almost as though he's asking permission) and then leans down to claim my lips for his own. This is unlike anything I've experienced before and it's delicious. I sigh, reaching my hand up to his face and raking my nails against his cheek, returning the kiss.

Well, how could I not?

His mouth is warm and he tastes like raspberries and peppermint. I think he's forgotten about our audience and the purpose of his show, his hands are roaming and his actions seem hungrier as the seconds pass. I slowly slide down off my stool, giving myself some extra height and allowing myself to get closer to him. After everything that's happened I shouldn't be giving in to him so freely, but I can't help myself where Tony's concerned. All I really want is to take him back to the hotel and shag him senseless.

He pulls away and I involuntarily find myself moaning his name in disappointment, moving to close the gap between us again and clawing at his skin. I'm not letting him go so easy this time. To my surprise he doesn't protest and gladly engages in another kiss, his fingertips slowly walking down my chest.

It doesn't last too much longer and before I really realise what's going on, Tony's dragging me outside and pinning me against the wall. I give in, knotting my hands into his hair and biting down on his lower lip when he leans into me. We're hidden in the shadows of the neighbouring buildings here and out of sight from everyone. I'm not so sure that Tony cares; I don't think he'd mind where we were right now.

He's muttering something; I can't quite make out what, but his hands are moving feverishly towards my belt and he's trying to manoeuvre me further into the darkness. I may want him but when we have a perfectly good hotel room several streets away going to waste, this is fucking ridiculous. He's made quick work of my belt and he's fumbling with the buttons on my fly now. The kind of need that he has when we are together is what makes it so hard to say no to him. He's always so panicked and so rushed about it, almost as though I'm going to disappear any second.

Tilting my head as he begins to nibble his way down my throat, I fleetingly glance up to the sky, battling with the groan building in my throat. And shit, when did his hand find its way there? My gaze moves back to him suddenly, one of my hands now gripping onto his arm tightly, as I stop myself from collapsing against him.

'Fucking hell, Tone… when did you get so good at that?' The words leave my mouth before I get the chance to stop them and I can feel him grinning against my neck.

Christ, this needs to end. The thought of coming in Tony's hand in a darkened alleyway amongst the rubbish bins isn't exactly a turn on. And if I don't put a stop to this soon that's exactly what's going to happen. But, fuck, telling him to stop is way too much effort. I give up, dropping my head down onto his shoulder and slipping my free hand beneath his shirt to slowly trace my fingertips over his skin. He moans into my ear and I take that as a good sign.

Not that it matters, my attentions elsewhere now, mainly on what he's doing to me and how close I am.

Tony latches onto my ear with his teeth, yanking playfully, and then whispers, 'I think your friend might have wanted to join in.'

With that thought in mind, my body gives a small shudder and I come, breathing hard against his shoulder and my fingers digging into his flesh. Fuck, had I needed that.

He steps away from me and I place my hand against the wall behind me to steady myself, looking up at his face with what I hope is a mischievous smile. He's smiling back at me, thankfully, his thumbs hooked casually into the pockets of his jeans as he observes me.

Once I'm done straightening myself out, Tony reaches out so that he can pull me out of the alleyway and begins to walk back toward the hotel. Tossing the keys for our room from hand to hand, he glances over, his words confident as he says, 'It's my turn when we get back.'