Now Lara went dead still.
Gage glanced at her. “That was years ago. Back when we were starting out. I don’t do it anymore.”
“Oh I’m sure we can convince you. Everyone has his price.” Alexandra’s lips curved into a smile that made Lara’s skin crawl.
“Not me.”
Jeff, of course, showed up then. “Ah, come on, Tomlinson. Let’s get a preview of this ‘viable business that’ll bring revenue to the town and revitalize urban blight.’ You can’t ask for better advertising than a rapt audience with money to invest.”
There were undertones to Jeff’s speech that Lara didn’t understand, but she did understand that he was trying to embarrass Gage.
“You can come to the grand opening and see it then, McCullough.” Gage hadn’t moved a muscle. Well, except for his fingers. They were now curled into fists.
“No confidence in your product? How do you expect to sell it if you don’t, well, sell it?” Jeff’s grin was worse than Alexandra’s. The two of them were perfect for each other.
“Fine. You want a sneak peek?” Gage ripped the hat off his head. “I’ll give you a sneak peek.”
He yanked his cell from his back pocket. “Lara, find the playlist and have him hook it up to the sound system. I need a few minutes to get prepared.”
The playlist. How well she remembered the playlist.
Gage stormed off toward his truck while Cara stormed to her feet.
“You, McMonster, are the world’s biggest prick. I can’t believe you put him on the spot like that. You’re going to pay double his normal rate for this stunt.”
“Can it, Cara, or I’m kicking you out. And don’t think I won’t relish every minute of it. I wanted to do it every time you visited Lara.”
“And I wanted to throw up on you every time I did, but apparently I was the only one who loved Lara enough not to dump all over her.”
Lara tugged Cara’s curls. “Please, don’t engage him, Cara. Just let it go. He can’t hurt me anymore.”
“But what about what he’s doing to Gage?”
Lara bit her lip and lowered her voice. “He thinks he’s embarrassing Gage, but what do you think is going to happen once Gage starts dancing? Who’s going to be embarrassed then?”
A smile spread across Cara’s face. “Oooh, I like it.”
She’d like it even more when Lara pulled off what she was about to pull off, too…
Chapter 36
The electronic lead-in started to Simply Irresistible and all eyes turned toward Jeff’s “terrace.”
Gage had his back to the audience, arms outstretched, the chef coat still on, and one leg shaking just enough to make his buns move beneath it.
Just as before, the women were the first ones to move closer.
The downbeat hit and Gage spun around, ripping the coat open.
Nothing but skin and those black pants beneath it.
His hips gyrated, his muscles contracted, and Gage worked the crowd with his sexy look, each and every woman treated to his utmost concentration for the few seconds he made eye contact with her.
The catcalls started.
“Mother of God, he’s hot.” Cara fluttered her hands in front of her face. “I dunno, Lar. I think he’s your payback for the shit you put up with from asshole over there.” She nudged Lara. “Get a load of his face.”
Lara didn’t even glance in Jeff’s direction. Not when she could be looking at Gage.
“Do me a favor, Car? Stay here and man the table. I’ll be back.”
She didn’t wait for Cara’s agreement, but kept her eyes on Gage and walked—sauntered—through the crowd, the music moving through her as it had that other time he’d played this song.
Up on stage, his coat slithered down one arm. It was a thing of beauty the way his sculpted arm was revealed inch by sexy, mouth-watering inch. His pec flexed as he shrugged out of it, then he repeated the whole enticing slow-mo movement with the other side.
The women were now three deep at the steps.
Lara joined them.
Gage spun around again and rubbed the coat across his back, sliding it down lower… lower…
There, against his butt, and the women started cheering. Single, married, young, old, partner, intern, it didn’t matter; they were all enjoying the show.
Gage worked their interest. He worked that coat, too. Lara would never look at a chef coat the same way again.
She unbuttoned hers. It was getting a little warm amid the crowd of aroused women. Especially since she was one of them.
He brushed the bunched-up coat over his abs, teasing his audience with that deliciousness that Lara had first-hand—and tongue—knowledge of.
She moved in time to the music, remembering shaking her booty at this point when she’d danced for him.
She did it again where she stood. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alexandra move closer. And she saw Jeff scowl. That only reinforced what she was about to do.
The music paused for the two heartbeats before the downbeat hit hard again. Gage paused, too, his hip poised to swivel down, and when the music started, it did, and oh was it a thing of beauty. His abs contracted, his pecs flexed, and his buns—oh God, his buns—shook with perfect rhythm.
And then he ripped off his pants.
He wore those tiny, tight, silky black shorts he’d had on before, and they hugged his thighs like her hands wanted to.
The women went wild.
The men looked like they wanted to be anywhere but here.
Lara wanted to be up there with Gage.
So she pushed through the crowd. She climbed the stairs in rhythm with the music.
She unbuttoned the coat.
And when Gage turned around, she gave him the sexiest smile ever.
***
For the first time he could remember, Gage missed a step in his performance. But Christ, it was understandable. Lara was coming toward him unbuttoning her coat. With a swivel in her hips. And a look on her face he’d seen the night she’d danced for him.
Like she was doing now.
He licked his lips because his mouth had gone dry.
She licked hers just to drive him insane.
Then she shimmied the coat off for added insanity.
“What are you doing?” he whispered as she shimmied up beside him, her hips moving in time with his and much too close for these shorts to hide the effect.
“I’m dancing. What does it look like?”
He raised his hands over his head to please the crowd, knowing what it did to his stomach, but the truth of it was, this was rote. He was trying to wrap his brain around the fact that Lara—his Lara—was dancing in front of the crowd, and if she was doing what it looked like she was doing, she was stripping with him.
Her fingers unbuttoned the buttons on her shirt.
Gage’s mouth went dry, and for the second time, he missed a step.
“Lara?”
“Dance, Gage. Just like you taught me.” Her smile was wickedly sexy. “Jeff wanted a show? We’re going to give him one.”
And then Gage laughed. He couldn’t help it. She was priceless.
He danced in front of her, working the crowd. Interesting that the men were now engaged, and for a moment—or six—a red flag flourished before him like a bull fight. He didn’t want these men looking at her. She was his.
Then he recognized the hypocrisy and let himself enjoy the moment. She could dance all night for these guys, but she was going home with him.
He looked at Prick. The guy’s expression was hysterical. His plan to embarrass Gage had utterly and completely backfired. Everyone in his office would definitely be talking about this party for years to come, but not for the reason Prick wanted.
He looked over his shoulder at Lara. Her short-sleeve button-down was un-tucked and she was working those buttons every bit as effectively as his guys did theirs. She’d paid attention at that bachelorette party. Either that or she was a natural.
&n
bsp; He looked at the way her hips moved. Yeah, she was a natural.
Addicted to Love came on and he saw the tempo pick up in the crowd. Hips were gyrating, booties bumping, some minor grinding going on that would be worse if it were later in the evening after the alcohol had been flowing, but it was all good. Everyone was in a party mood. Everyone except Prick.
He was in a decidedly unparty mood and looked like he’d like to cut off the music any second. But even he was smart enough to realize the mutiny he’d have, so he had to put up with it.
Gage danced over to Lara. “You’re not really going to take it off, are you?”
She did a peek-a-boo of her shoulder with the shirt. “Why not? I’ve got pretty underwear on. No different from your shorts.”
Except that he didn’t care if anyone saw him in these shorts, but Lara’s underwear should be for his eyes alone.
He smiled. “Go for it, babe.”
She smiled back. “I intend to.”
And she did. Lord, did she.
Gage gave up trying to hide his erection because he couldn’t. The shorts were tight enough that he wasn’t at full mast but anyone looking at him would know immediately that he was turned on. Which, ironically, only turned him on more. All those people were out there watching him and Lara do a dance that was as old as time. Seduction, desire, they were universal. And every single person out there wanted what he and Lara had.
She shimmied her shirt down her arms, and good God, her blue lace bra barely covered her nipples, pushing her breasts up with mouth-watering goodness. She hadn’t turned around to the crowd yet, and he could feel the expectation humming with the music.
He stood behind her, his ass to the crowd—gave it a shake for good measure—and drew her shirt down her arms.
She turned slowly, her smile for him alone, and Gage wanted to kiss her. He didn’t, because he’d never stop if he started, but he looked. Oh, yes, he definitely looked.
“Nice cupcakes,” he said.
She threw back her head and laughed, her curls falling around her shoulders, and he’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life.
She put her right arm against his and danced her way around him, her beauty now on display for everyone to see.
Gage felt himself harden. Shit. Talk about unprofessional.
He danced behind her—not close enough to rub up against her. That was the border of public lewdness and he didn’t want to give Prick any reason to throw them out. This was Lara’s moment and he wanted her to revel in it.
She slipped her fingers beneath the waistband of her pants.
Shit, he’d forgotten those would come off, too.
She wiggled and the pants moved lower.
She had a thong on.
Gage groaned. A thong. What happened to granny panties? Even boycuts? But a thong?
She was trying to kill him.
He looked at Prick. He wanted to kill him.
Gage hid his smile and worked his hips behind Lara.
The crowd had mingled again, the men with their women. There was a lot more bumping and grinding going on.
Hmmm, maybe Lara was onto something. Integrated stripping. They could double the possible patrons if couples made it a date night. They might need a bigger venue.
Her pants slipped below her ass. Her sweet, perfect, round, temptingly tasty, naked ass.
He had to turn around. Keep his back to the crowd. He shook his ass, giving them that show because he couldn’t give them the other one. The shorts had too much spandex in them.
Lara, however, got her own private show.
Her eyes widened, and she licked her lips. Which only made him harder. He jerked inside his shorts—so he wiggled his butt some more.
She slid her pants down and managed, somehow, to keep time with the music and slip them off one long, luscious, curvy leg at a time.
Then she stood and raised her arms, undulating them like a harem girl, but looking nothing at all like one in her skimpy scraps of sexy fabric that left nothing to anyone’s imagination.
He heard the collective gasp of the crowd. What the two of them were doing was so far beyond stripping that it’d be illegal if they were touching.
Lara pivoted around slowly, her hips circling as she gave everyone way too much of a show.
And she was loving every minute of it if the smile on her face was anything to go by.
God, he loved her. She was so in the moment, so utterly and perfectly there with him, as natural as breathing, and she took his breath away.
He didn’t care what he had to do, but Lara had to be in his life. Forever.
The song ended and Lara was all ready to keep going when the next one started, but Gage was finished. He could only keep it together for so long—especially so publicly—and he needed to get her alone. Now.
He grabbed her hand—the only part of her he permitted himself to touch—and held it up. “Bow,” he whispered, leading her down with him.
The crowd went insane. The catcalls were shrill, the cries of “encore” loud and boisterous—and tinged with more than a little frustration—but Gage ended the dance. Neighbors that hadn’t been invited might end up calling the cops and the last thing either he or Lara needed was to get caught with their pants down.
Especially since he planned to be that way all night long. With her. In her bed.
He scooped up their clothes and led her into Jeff’s house, locking the French doors behind them the minute they were inside.
Then he dragged her to the laundry room on the right, locked that door, and kissed her senseless.
***
“What on earth possessed you to do that?” he asked when they finally came up for air.
“You didn’t like it?”
“Sweetheart, I liked it too much.” He thrust out his hips. “I’ve been hard the entire time and everyone in the audience knew it.”
She gave him that grin. “Good.”
It was good. Just not appropriate. “Seriously, Lara, what made you do that?”
She stepped into her pants and pulled them up. A damn shame, in his book. “Jeff. He was such an ass, putting you on the spot like that, trying to embarrass you.”
“He didn’t embarrass me. I’m not embarrassed by what I do.” And he wasn’t. He realized that now. It was a legit business and one he was damn good at.
“I’m just so tired of him thinking he can call all the shots. That it’s his way or the highway. So I decided to turn the tables on him. Most of the people here were upset at what he did to me. I wanted to show them I was okay. That it was Jeff’s mistake, not mine, and I’ve moved on. And yeah, maybe I wanted him to know I wasn’t who he thought I was, and that he had no say in how I live my life anymore. It was my choice, Gage. My choice. Do you know how freeing that was?” She shrugged into her shirt but left it unbuttoned and grasped his arms. “And I wanted to dance with you. I wanted all those women to know you were mine. They can look, but at the end of the day, you’re going home with me.”
“Forever?” he asked.
She stilled. “Forever? What… what do you mean?”
It was his turn to grip her arms. “I mean forever, Lara. I want to go home with you forever. I want you in my home forever. I want you to be my home forever.”
He took hold of her shirt and started to button it from the top down. His fingers made short work of the first button, but the second—the one that was right over her heart—made him stop. “I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you spend yours with me?” He slid the button home. “Will you marry me, Lara?”
He would never forget the look that came into her eyes at that moment. Never, in a million years, for as long as he lived, would he forget the love that filled her eyes.
Right before she threw her arms around him and hugged him harder than anyone ever had.
“Oh, Gage, I love you, too! Yes! Yes! I’d love to marry you!”
Then he didn’t care who walked in on them. He kissed
her and let himself get lost in the feeling.
But he had too much regard for her and their love to seal it with a quickie in her ex-husband’s laundry room, so after a few minutes, he set her away from him with one last lingering kiss. “I know it’ll be tough for a while. We’re both so busy and the money… It’ll be tight, Lara. I can’t give you all that Jeff could—”
She cut him off with a finger to his lips. “I don’t want what Jeff could give me. If you remember, I had it. And I walked away from it. Because the one thing he couldn’t give me is what you can. And it’s something I prize above everything: your heart. I don’t care what we have to do to make it work. I’m not afraid of hard work. But if I have you to come home to, it’ll be pure heaven.”
He couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat, but he tried. “And the dancing? You’re okay with that?”
She arched an eyebrow and it was a sinfully sexy look on her. “I didn’t just prove that?”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. “What you proved, woman, is that you are the sexiest woman alive and I’m lucky to have you in my life.”
“We’re both lucky, Gage. We’ve found each other.”
“And we’re never letting go.”
“Nope. We’re not.” She kissed him again, all tongue and heat, and he felt his resolve to make their first official time something memorable—and not a quickie in the laundry room.
“Come on, sweetheart, let’s get back to the party, finish up, and get the hell out of here. I can’t wait to get you alone.”
“Um, about that.”
He stopped. “About what?”
“Being alone. You have that big house you’re paying upkeep on and I have my condo. What would you say if we were to sell my condo and put the money into, oh, I don’t know, say, a night club? You know, one with strippers.” She mimicked the Prick.
“You’d do that?”
“For partial ownership, sure.”
“Ownership, huh?”
“Well, sure. A well-diversified portfolio is a good thing. And what I don’t invest with you and Bryan, we could use for Connor’s medical bills.”
Beefcake & Cupcakes Page 23