Chapter 4 - Jagger Bolton

Jagger POV

As soon as I arrive at Dash’s club, I take a deep breath, preparing myself for the big show Grace has planned. Don’t get me wrong, I love the girl. She is the most amazing little thing, and I know she does this out of love, but she should know by now that I don’t like to celebrate my birthday. I like to stay home, reading, forgetting the world exists, and dealing with the pain of having lost everything that mattered to me.

“Hey man,” Ghost says as soon as I leave my car and walk to the door, handing the keys to the valet. “Careful with it,” I say, and he nods. Ghost is standing next to the bouncer. I nod at him and the bouncer as he moves the rope, allowing us in without even asking for identification. Not that I would need to show it; I look exactly the same as his boss just a little bulkier, more handsome.

“Happy birthday,” Ghost says, patting me on the back before the double doors to the dance floor open, and the music engulfs us. I don’t reply to his wishes. He knows how I feel about my birthday, and he sure as fuck knows I am here for Grace, not for me or for my brother.

As we walk past the sea of people already gathered in the middle of the dance floor, I start regretting coming here. Couples grinding their bodies against each other, single women trying to get the attention of men standing by the bar…

Dinner was quiet and more like a family affair. Wyatt and his wife, Dash, and his wife, and then me. I don’t like people pitying me, but when people see me surrounded by couples, and I stand alone, I know that’s what people think. “Poor Jagger, alone,” “Poor Jagger, no one wants him.” I hear people say that constantly but I ignore them

My relationship with Bella wasn’t public knowledge. I kept her hidden from the press because of how we met. I didn’t want people slandering her because we hooked up once, and she got pregnant, not to mention she was in a long-term relationship at the time. Yes, I ended up falling for her, fast and hard. She was the most beautiful woman I had laid eyes on.

Shaking my head, pushing away those thoughts, I walk straight to the bar and empty two glasses of whiskey before I even consider greeting people. This is my personal nightmare, and when I turn to see Grace dancing with Dash, I can’t help but smile. My brother is happy, and he has found the right woman for him.

“Someday, you will find someone that will make you feel the way we do,” I hear Wyatt say as he rests one hand on my shoulder, and I stand still. I don’t even answer him. What’s the point?

Wyatt walks away, offering Blake, his beautiful wife, a champagne glass. Dash always messed with her, telling her that if Wyatt ever left her, he would take her home and make her his. I know he used to say that to annoy Wyatt, and oh boy, how he did. Wyatt is super overprotective of his wife and kids. The man lives for his family.

Watching my family and friends having fun is starting to get old. “Can I get you another drink?” A blonde woman with huge tits asks as she stands in front of me. She is wearing the shortest dress known to man. I move my eyes from her legs and up her body, stopping for a few seconds on her huge fake tits, and then look into her eyes. They are dull and full of makeup as it is her entire face. I don’t understand women’s need to cover themselves in makeup.

“No,” I reply and her smile disappears as I move my eyes from her to the window in front of me as I watch the people on the dance floor on the floor above. The VIP area is surrounded by glass, allowing us to see the people downstairs in the common area but stopping them from seeing us. Dash made it like this on purpose. Apparently, he has a thing to fuck Grace while watching people.

I will never understand how he can expose her like that. I would never allow anyone to watch my women being fucked, touched, or even kissed. The way they conduct themselves sexually is beyond me. I could never understand his appeal for public display of affection.

“Maybe I can give you something else,” the girl says as she positions herself between my open legs. I raise an eyebrow as she crouches, resting her hands with long red nails on my legs, licking her lips. Her hands move up and down my legs, trying to do it in a seductive way, but all she manages to do is make me angry.

I grab her wrists and stand up, forcing her to stand up with me. Her eyes widen as she bites her lower lip. I spin her around and pull her against me, pressing my front against her back as I keep her wrists restricted behind her back. “I don’t think you would like what I would do to you,” I whisper in her ear, and her entire body trembles. How she thinks this is sex talk is astonishing to me. She rests her head back against my shoulder, and I press my mouth against her ear once more.

“Don’t go offering yourself to men you’ve never met before; you might end up dead somewhere,” I say, and her body immediately stiffens, and she tries to pull away from me, but I keep my grip on her. “Scared now?” I whisper, and she nods frantically before I let go of her. She turns to face me with her eyes widening before she moves away from me. I look around the room to find Dash shaking his head.

Grabbing a new drink from the bar, I walk to the window, shielding us from the crowd, and start scanning the dancing bodies. I was never a good dancer, and that’s okay because dancing is not something a man like me should be seen doing anyway. Couples rubbing their bodies against each other, women trying to provoke men to spend their money on them, and then I see her.

Calliope is wearing a revealing red dress and holding a drink in her right hand. She is talking to a group of guys, and something in me shifts. The calm I was once feeling is long gone as one of the guys' hands rests on her hip. Her eyes move from his face to his hand as she shifts on her feet uncomfortably. Her smile disappears, and my grip tightens around the glass I am holding.

Without thinking about the consequences of my actions I walk out of the VIP area towards her, towards the only woman in the world I should keep my distance from. I move as fast as I can, pushing people out of the way until I reach her. Immediately I snatch the glass out of her hand, throwing it on the floor and placing my body between her and the three guys she was talking to. I ignore her protest and focus on the guy looking directly into my eyes.

“Who the fuck are you man?” One of them says, and I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to restrain myself. Killing someone in the middle of a dance floor would end my career and would end my life, not to mention it would probably traumatize Calliope more than she is already.

“I saw what you did. Maybe I should call the cops?” I say between greeted teeth, and the three guys look at each other and then at me as one of them smiles.

“Do you even know who we are?” the blonde guy says, and that’s when I decide to end this now once and for all.

“Maybe I should ask you the same question, do you know who he is?” Grace says, and I frown, looking at her as she crosses her arms in front of her chest. “I’ll tell you before your little brains explode, his name is Dash Bolton. He is the owner of this club, and if you don’t want to have your names on the ban list, you will apologize to him and the girl behind him,” Grace says, and I am speechless. Why is she saying I am Dash? Yes, we are twins, but everyone can tell us apart. It’s not like we wear the same clothes, besides I am bigger than him.

“Oh, Sorry man, my bad,” the guy that put the drugs in Calliope’s glass says as he moves his hands to touch my shoulder. I immediately move gripping his wrist and shaking my head as Calliope moves behind me to stand next to me. Her eyes widen as she looks at me and then at the guys.

“Fuck off,” I say, and they all nod, scattering fast. Grace immediately starts laughing as she turns to face me and Calliope.

“Hi, my name is Grace Bolton; I am the owner’s wife,” Grace says, and Calliope forces a smile as she looks at me and then at Grace. She knows who I am. Of course, she does; I am the guy representing the man who assaulted her. I immediately wrap an arm around Grace’s waist pulling her close and kissing her to the top of the head.

“I am Dash, her husband,” I say, offering my hand for Calliope to shake. Her eyes widen as she looks at me. Her mouth is slightly open, and as she starts to speak, a man and a woman approach her, laughing.