Not wanting him to get the final jab I call out, “Oh, come on, we can work it out!” to which his response is a simple extension of his middle finger above his head without even looking back.
Kelley, Kinsley, and I are left behind to laugh our asses off.
Kinsley
“What about this?” Kelley holds up a hot pink lycra mini dress and waggles it on the hanger in front of me.
I snatch it away from her and hold it up to my body. It looks like it would barely cover my ass . . . or my boobs. “Yeah, I’m sure this is the perfect choice for a fancy work dinner.” I giggle while rolling my eyes and hang the blindingly bright fabric back on the rack it came from.
“We’ve been at this mall for hours and so far everything is either too casual or too fancy or too slutty. You gotta pick out something, Goldilocks, or you’re going to end up going to this thing naked.” She stops shuffling through another clothing rack to wiggle her eyebrows at me. “Although I’m sure Lucas wouldn’t mind that.”
“At least that would cut down on my getting ready time.” I shrug as Kell gives me an intrigued look. I roll my eyes. “Kidding. I’m just very . . . particular. You know that. Lucas said this was an important dinner with the people from DSGN and some other impressive company that wants to buy them or something. I want to make sure I make a good impression and don’t make a fool of myself.”
Kelley stops rifling through the rack and rests her hands on top. “And you don’t find it odd that he asked you to go?”
I shrug and continue flipping through hangers filled with assorted tulle and chiffon. “No. He asked me, as his friend, so he wouldn’t have to go alone. No big deal.”
She eyes me suspiciously. “Riight.”
“What?”
She stands up straight and focuses back on the clothes. “Nothing. I just find it interesting is all.”
I let my curiosity get the better of me. “Interesting how?”
She looks back at me. “Just from my experience, a casual fuck buddy is not someone that gets invited to important work dinners. They might be on the late night snack menu, but they’re certainly not appropriate for the main course. Catch my drift?”
I stare back at her, trying not to give myself away. “I mean it, Kell. It’s not like that. Yes, we might be fuck buddies, as you so eloquently put it, but we’re also friends. We can hold an actual conversation, so tonight is nothing special. Not for us, anyway.” I move down another aisle, pretending to find something I like.
Truth is, I’m nervous as all hell. I haven’t seen much of Lucas since last week and we haven’t had any alone time. We were both catching up on work, and since GS Ventures launched the DSGN site and this big potential deal happened, Luc has been really busy fielding calls and going over numbers and spreadsheets. He called last night and asked me to come to dinner, and while I’m afraid I’ll do or say something completely ridiculous being around all these smart business types (let alone just by being around him), I don’t want to disappoint Lucas . . . or his dad. Ever since I talked to Eli, I feel like they’re both counting on me.
Plus, I don’t want to miss another opportunity to see Lucas looking all sorts of delicious in a suit. I’ve missed being around him, and so have my lady parts.
I continue to make my way around the racks and racks of dresses, waiting for something to jump out at me. I want to look and feel confident. I round the corner of one of the aisles, when suddenly I see it: the most perfect dress. It’s a simple yet elegant deep lavender chiffon gown that hugs tight at the top and flows down to mid-calf, with light gold beaded straps crisscrossing against the back.
Kelley must simultaneously notice the beautiful garment draped on the center mannequin, because she walks right over to stand next to it. She looks once at the dress, then once at me before crossing her arms and saying matter-of-factly, “If this isn’t the one, then you really are going to have to go naked.”
Lucas
Hot. Damn.
I can barely pick my jaw up off the floor as Kinsley stands in her doorway looking more amazing than I ever thought possible. She’s wearing some type of purple dress that is hugging her in all the right places and these sexy, strappy heels that I’d like to see her in nothing but. Visions of her bent over her kitchen counter wearing just the heels as I pound into her from behind flash through my mind.
What? It’s been a long week . . .
Seriously, she’s beautiful. Fully clothed and all. I mean this girl looks incredible in baggy jeans and no makeup, but tonight she’s fucking radiant. I realize for the first time I can’t wait to go out with a girl. With this girl.
And after dinner, finally tell her I love her. It’s not going to be easy, but I like a challenge.
I figure if I can make my living risking millions of dollars on people I barely know, then I sure as shit can risk my heart if it means I get to be with Kinsley—as more than just a friend.
“Wow. You’re killing me, Kins,” seem to be the only words I can get to move from my mind to my mouth.
“You’re not so bad yourself, there, handsome.” The way she beams at me with genuine happiness thankfully makes my brain start to function properly. “Ready for tonight?”
Her smile clouds with a hint of concern and I can tell she’s nervous. I’ll have to do my best to keep her at ease. I know it’s going to be a stuffy, tense business thing, but I don’t want Kinsley to feel like she can’t be herself. It might not be an ideal night, but I really want her to be with me.
“If by ready you mean ready for dinner to be over so I can bring you home and do all sorts of dirty things to you, then yes, I am so fucking ready.” I move closer to grab her hips and kiss her long and hard.
She relaxes as she melts into me. She then pulls back and grins devilishly before grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the front porch steps. “Then let’s go and do this thing.”
It’s going to be torture trying to keep my hands off her through dinner. Thankfully Logan is going to handle most of the negotiations. I prefer the more technical side of things, whereas he’s all about the charm and the show. It’s going to be a long night, but it at least boosts my ego to know Kinsley’s just as impatient as me.
We arrive at Luxe, the fanciest, most expensive restaurant in town, a few minutes later. I’m typically not into the whole wine and dine bullshit, but I’ve learned it’s part of the job. Rich guys like Jack Parker and Theo Peterman—of Parker + Peterman Industries, the largest tech company on the East Coast—spend obscene amounts of money like it’s nothing. I’m not going to pretend I, myself, am not well off, but I work hard for every penny I earn. And while I may have been immature in the past, now I know better than to make a big deal out of it or try to flaunt it. For these guys, though, it’s like the price of our meal directly correlates to how important we are or some shit. It’s all just a big pissing contest. They try to schmooze us so we’ll sell them DSGN, and we try to impress them enough to buy it. It’d be much faster and easier to just whip our dicks out and measure.
I toss my keys to the valet and spread my hand against the small of Kinsley’s back in a possessive gesture as I lead her toward the door. I noticed the way he let his eyes feast on her when she stepped out of the car, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone think she isn’t already taken.
As I feel the silkiness of her dress and the slightest hint of her skin beneath my fingers, I realize I’m not going to be able to control myself through dinner. I’ve waited all week for this woman, important meeting be damned.
We enter through the heavy front door and I quickly scan the entryway. Before she has a chance to react, I grab Kinsley’s arm and quickly lead her down the side hallway I know leads to the restrooms. She starts to say something, but I’m ducking us both into the closest women’s bathroom—which, thankfully, is unoccupied—and have her back up against the door within a few seconds flat. This woman drives me to do some crazy things, but I love that it’s her. No apologies, no regrets.
I click the lock closed and push myself against Kinsley’s body. She obviously gets where this is going, because she drops her purse and just as excitedly clings to me before our lips meet in a rough kiss. Our hands and mouths are everywhere at once, neither of us able to get enough. Her fingers move to my waist as she expertly has my belt unhooked, button undone, zipper unzipped, and pants pushed halfway down my legs in an elegantly choreographed manner.
I go to reach my hands under her dress, but the next thing I know she’s taking control by pushing me backward. I let her lead me, our lips still joined, over to a small couch—Wait, they get fucking couches in here?—where she shoves me down to a sitting position and kneels before me.
She grabs my cock in one hand and pumps up and down a few times before I feel her perfect mouth encompass me. I tangle my hands in her hair as she continues to bob up and down with the perfect pressure from her delicate hand and the best sucking sensation coming from her incredible lips. I already know she’s an amazing kisser, but it seems like she is amazing at all things concerning her mouth, flirty banter and blowjobs included.
I feel like a horny teenager with how fast I could probably come, but I want that to happen buried within my gorgeous girl. I desperately pant, “I need to be inside you, babe,” before she has mercy on me and eases off. I grab a condom from my wallet as she stands up and moves to straddle me. I help her gather her dress around her hips, easing myself deep inside her.
She isn’t wearing any underwear and I just about blow my load yet again.
She must read the realization on my face because she leans in to whisper “I knew they would be wet all night, and I told you I hate wearing wet underwear.”
I grin and grab her ass tighter as she rides me faster and harder, letting out these insanely sexy moans. It’s then we hear a knock at the door, to which Kinsley breathlessly calls out “Mmmbusy!”
I wrap my arms around her back to pull her as close as I can—which still isn’t close enough—and bury my face in her neck. “Come with me, Kins,” I whisper, and we both explode with a final, hard thrust.
I continue to hold her close to me for a beat, feeling her inhale and exhale as she holds onto my neck.
Goddamn she feels so perfect, so right, here in my arms.
I gently push her hair back from her face and run my hand down her cheek. “Ready for dinner now?”
She laughs and nods as I stand us both up, gently lowering her to her feet. She smooths her dress back over her legs and touches up her lip gloss in the mirror as I pull my pants back up and secure them around my waist. She unlocks the door and goes to open it before I put my hand up to stop it.
I lean down close to her ear and whisper, “And that’s just a preview of tonight,” before sliding my arm away and allowing us to walk out, gaining an open-mouthed stare from an elderly woman waiting outside.
I wink at the flabbergasted woman as we walk past, leading Kinsley back to the front of the restaurant. As I give the maître d’ my name and wait for him to lead us to our table, Kinsley runs her fingers down my arm before settling her hand in mine. I never knew holding a girl’s hand could be so . . . intimate. Well, holding Kinsley’s hand is anyway. I give her palm a gentle squeeze, assuring both of us that we’re in this together.
The maître d’ motions for us to follow him and we make our way to the back of the restaurant to a private, secluded table. As we approach, I see Logan, Erik, Jack, and Theo already talking amongst themselves. Then I notice a fifth person at the end of the table. I didn’t know Chelsea would be here tonight, but from the look of her revealing attire and the way Jack’s eyes keep slipping toward her overexposed cleavage, I can guess why Erik brought her along. I nod to Logan and Erik as they each stand up to greet me, and I am just about to introduce Kinsley to the table when Chelsea narrows her eyes toward the pretty girl next to me.
“And who’s this, Lucas?” she says, genuinely curious.
“This is Kinsley, my uh, friend.” I didn’t really think about how to introduce her, but she seems comfortable enough as I then introduce everyone at the table. I don’t miss how Kinsley blushes when she hears Erik’s name. I give her a knowing grin as if to say Yup, it was his desk as I move to pull out her chair and take my own seat to her right.
We all peruse the menu and make small talk before ordering.
“So, Kinsley, what is it you do?” Theo Peterman fixes his eyes on Kinsley and leans toward her.
“Nothing quite as interesting as all of you, I suppose, but I design floral arrangements.”
I hate to hear her try to sell herself short. It’s no easy task starting and running a small business. We all have to start somewhere, and it takes guts to even take that first step. “Don’t let her modesty fool you. She runs a very successful business and does it all on her own. I have to say it’s pretty impressive to watch her work.” I keep my eyes trained on Kinsley. I mean what I say. This girl impresses the shit out of me. When I think back to having my dad and Logan and Ryan there to launch GS Ventures, I can’t imagine doing it by myself. My dad was our first investor, so from the very start we had a generous financial backing and were able to delegate tasks out to others. I’ve gathered enough info from our conversations together to know Kinsley built her business literally from nothing, and did it herself. It’s seeing dedicated people like her that reminds me why I wanted to invest in companies in the first place—to help turn passionate ideas into real, profitable businesses.
“I always like to see someone with that genuine entrepreneurial spirit. Not everyone is cut out for it, but the way I see it, running a business is running a business, big or small. Hell, the small business owners I meet tend to work ten times harder than most of the wealthy CEOs I know. Good for you, darlin’.” Theo raises his glass of whiskey toward Kinsley before taking a long swig and turning back to Erik to talk shop.
I cast a sideways glance at Kinsley and squeeze her knee under the table. I leave my hand resting there for a few seconds, before letting it slowly glide further and further up her thigh. I feel her react subtly, but she’s trying to act as if it’s not affecting her. Erik and Logan include me in their conversation with Jack and Theo, looking for me to confirm some facts and figures while Logan handles the real sell. I continue to let my fingers explore Kinsley’s upper thighs, feeling pretty smug, when suddenly I feel a gentle hand cup my balls.
I chance a quick peek at Kinsley’s face, but she pretends to be interested in the boring conversation about turnover rates and target markets.
I thought our quickie would have taken the edge off but, according to my dick, apparently not.
I try to focus my energy on the conversation happening between the four men beside me. A. It will hopefully be a distraction so I won’t throw Kinsley down and have her right here during dinner, and B. Maybe if I help Logan out a bit more we can close this deal faster and get home to an encore presentation of what Kinsley and I started in the bathroom.
Kinsley
Lucas amazes me with how smart he is about business and numbers. I knew he had to be smart to do what he does but I’ve never really seen him in action before.
Turns out it’s a major turn-on. Listening to him confidently talk about financial forecasts and streams of revenue is downright mesmerizing. I drown out everyone and everything around me to focus solely on him. For a minute I even forget about the blonde sitting across from me. Why does she have to be so pretty? And she seems genuinely nice, which makes it even worse.
Ooh, a strong hand on my thigh is a nice distraction . . .
As Lucas’ hand slides further and further up my leg I can’t help but grab him right back. It’s not fair that only one of us should suffer with want. He needs to know he can’t get to me, that I can handle him.
Except this plan sort of backfires, because as soon as I feel him start to get hard again, I only get wetter. And he’s doing a really good job of pretending we’re not groping each other under the table as he talks about the potential of DSGN.
I can only take so much, and just as his fingers graze dangerously close to my girly bits, I decide it’s probably best for me to excuse myself to the bathroom. It’s either that or let him finger me with an audience. I’m willing to be pretty adventurous—especially when it comes to Luc—but even that might be crossing the line during a business dinner. I grasp his hand—just in time—and drop it back in his own lap as I clear my throat and quietly excuse myself. He grins at me devilishly, knowing the exact effect he’s having on me. Sexy bastard.
I make my way to the familiar hallway, recalling the particulars of my last trip this way.
There is a small line outside the door so I lean back against the wall trying not to spontaneously combust from all my recent pent up sexual frustration. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so turned on, despite having that amazing orgasm less than an hour ago—it’s as if I didn’t just suck and ride Lucas like an insane, depraved sex-addict in the very bathroom I’m now waiting to use. I was going to behave until after dinner, but Luc clearly had other plans. I wasn’t expecting him to pull me into the bathroom, or for me to need him so badly. Taking control is the only way I could think to get through tonight. The plan is to show him I know what I want—and am not afraid to take it—in the hopes that he trusts I know what I’m doing.
But the thing is, I’m not sure I do know exactly what I want, or how to get it for that matter. I think I’ve underestimated just how much I’ve come to depend on Luc, and I can’t help but wonder if we might have a chance at something real. I want so badly to believe in a future I never thought could exist for me, but I’m too certain—and terrified—it will all just blow up in my face.
I sense someone right behind me, so I glance over my shoulder. Chelsea. Grreeat.
“Kinsley, right?” The blonde tilts her head and looks at me as if she really doesn’t remember my name.
Crazy Beautiful (Crazy Beautiful #1) Page 12