Craving Lucy

by Terri Anne Browning

  Heart racing, my teeth sank into my bottom lip. I wanted to beg him to take me to his apartment. I didn’t need food if I could spend a few hours completely alone with this yummy guy. But I knew I wasn’t ready for things to go that far. I wasn’t going to give it up to him on our first real date.

  Sucking in a deep breath and opening his eyes, Harris finally reached for the gearshift and backed out of the driveway. Out on the street, he shifted gears and reached for my hand, being careful since it was the injured one. Jaw clenched, he drove in silence for almost ten minutes before blowing out a frustrated breath. “Sorry, baby.”

  A small grin teased at my lips. “Don’t call me baby.”

  Laughing, he shook his head and released my hand long enough to turn on the radio. When he took my hand back in his again, he lifted our linked fingers and brushed a kiss over the back of my knuckles, his tongue lingering on the abused skin from where I’d punched that douchebag the night before. I shivered, and from what little I could see of his eyes, they darkened. “Whatever you say, Lu.”

  By the time we got to the restaurant he was back to being my same old Harris. Pulling up in front of a place we’d never been to before, a valet opened my door while another one took the keys from Harris. I stepped out of the Maserati and he was beside me in a flash. Having his hand at the small of my back wasn’t something new, he always did that when we were out together, as if he were daring the world to mess with me. Yet now, it felt different. Now it felt as if he wasn’t daring the world, he was simply staking his claim.

  I liked it.

  There was a small crowd already waiting to be seated when we entered the restaurant. I’d never heard of the place, but then again I didn’t keep up with new eateries. This one was fairly new, though, and still had a waitlist out the ass. I also knew, just from the looks of the place, that it was an outrageously expensive kind of place. Harris approached the hostess and gave his name. When the beautiful woman in her late forties gave him a beaming smile and told us to follow her, six different couples gave us ugly glares.

  I rolled my eyes as I met Harris’s amused gaze. “Nat?”

  He shrugged and I knew that his stepmother had used her mojo to get him a table. I snickered as I turned back to follow the hostess. The snicker faded when I got a better look at the dining room. This place was…Whoa. Each table offered privacy since they were all booths and boxed in to the point that someone had to be looking really hard to find out who was sitting where.

  When we reached our table, all the way in the back of the restaurant away from everyone else, I realized that this place was also extremely romantic. There was dim lighting, with two little lanterns on the table offering the kind of atmosphere that screamed seduction. My heart started pounding when the hostess stepped away from our little opening and Harris slid into the booth right beside me. His thigh brushed against mine and he turned to face me.

  “What do you think? If the food is good we could come here every week.” He lifted a hand to tuck a few locks of hair behind my ear, as if he couldn’t help himself. As if he couldn’t keep from touching me. “We don’t have to worry about paps bothering us, or the rest of the world messing up our meal.”

  “I-it seems really nice,” I murmured and reached for the menu with fingers that trembled. I wasn’t going to be able to eat tonight. No way. Not when all I could think about was tastingHarris’s lips again. Or what it would feel like if he touched me—really,truly touched me—in all the places that were aching to be touched.

  His hand on top of my thigh had me jerking in a mixture of surprise and need and I lifted my head to find him smiling at me, but his eyes were full of concern. “What’s wrong, Lu? Are you not comfortable with me like this?”

  I swallowed hard and shook my head. “It’s not that. I would be comfortable with you anywhere. You know that. Its just that now…” I blew out a long breath and shook my head again. “I guess I’m feeling shy. We’re together now, and I want to do things—”

  Anything else I might have said was cut off when he caught my hair in his hands and lowered his head to seal his lips against mine. This kiss was different than our other kisses. It wasn’t fast and didn’t feel desperate. Our first few kisses had seemed to feel that way, as if we were afraid that at any second we would lose the connection we had if we didn’t get our fill as quickly as possible.

  No, this kiss was definitely not like that. Harris took his time. He was patient with me as he slowly increased the pressure of his lips against mine. When I opened my mouth for him and his tongue dived in to play with my own, we both moaned as we got the full taste of each other. His hand dropped from my hair to cup my neck, his thumb caressing over the pulse pounding away at the base of my throat.

  I was burning. Melting. Aching.

  I felt his other hand grasp my waist, urging me closer and I shifted until we were pressed against each other from thigh to chest. My heart was going crazy in my chest and all I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears and our heavy breathing as he continued to slowly deepen the kiss.

  His thumb moved under the hem of my shirt. When I felt his hot flesh against my bare skin, I whimpered softly in pleasure. How could something so innocent as touching my side like that feel so damn good?

  Harris lifted his head, breaking our kiss, and pressed his damp lips to my forehead. “Don’t ever feel shy with me, Lu. You want to touch me, then you touch me. You want a kiss, then kiss me. I’m yours, baby. Take what you fucking want.”

  That thumb was still touching me. Rubbing slow, soft little circles on my flesh. I leaned into him, wanting closer, wondering if we would ever get close enough to assuage the ache I had burning deep inside of me. “Don’t call me baby,” I whispered.

  When he chuckled I felt the rumble in his chest. “I’ll work on that, I swear.” His lips pressed into my hair, brushing a butterfly kiss over my temple. “What can I call you, then?”

  “How about Lucy?” I stole a quick kiss before pulling back.

  Aquamarine eyes darkened. “You won’t let me call you anything else?” His hand dropped from my side, but didn’t go far when it landed on my thigh, keeping me in place. “Come on, Lu. Give me something. I want something that is mine and only mine.”

  I lowered my eyes to the table, biting the inside of my cheek. Could he be any more swoon-worthy tonight? I didn’t like endearments from guys. Sure, my parents had cute little names for each other. Hell, everyone in my family seemed to have something sweet to call their significant other. Baby girl. Angel. Beautiful. It was adorable when it came from one of them. But I didn’t want a guy using them with me. Guys overused them when they weren’t in a committed relationship. Everyone they wanted to have sex with became baby, or some other cutesy name that made me want to vomit every time I heard it.

  This thing with Harris was different, though. We were different. I knew him and I knew that to him this wasn’t just him looking for a hookup. Using an endearment that was ours alone would be nothing short of…perfect.

  “Okay, then.” I lifted my eyes back to him, smiling. “What would you prefer?”

  “I prefer baby, but you seem hell bent on that not happening.” He leaned in as he spoke, his eyes lowering to my lips. “If I called you sweet lips, your dad would probably bury me in the middle of the desert.” His hold tightened on my thigh. “Kitten is overused, and seriously I couldn’t call you that without thinking of that beautiful pussy between your amazing thighs.”

  My breath hitched when his nose skimmed down my throat. “I think we will go with something simple, yet fitting. Sweetness. Your lips, the feel of your skin under my hand, having your soft little hands on me—those are the sweetest things on Earth. Now kiss me, sweetness. Kiss me just one more time before that fucking waiter comes and I have to be good.”

  Chapter 6

  Harris

  I was a walking hard-on.

  There was no other way to describe it. I was walking around First Bass, trying to do all the shit that
needed my attention in a pair of jeans that were too tight around the crotch. It hurt to move; walking was excruciating.

  And I loved every second of it.

  Dinner had taken longer than expected because I’d spent more time kissing Lucy than I had actually eating. I couldn’t help myself. She tasted so much better than anything that had been on the menu. We hadn’t lingered over dessert. By then it had been past time to get to the club. I’d reluctantly handed my girl over to her bodyguard and her best friend before rushing off to get to work.

  Now the place was packed to capacity, Tainted Knights was rocking the place, and my girl was out there front and center watching while I had to deal with one thing after another. I tried to hurry, wanting to get out there with her, hold her while our friend and his band performed. Maybe dance with her. Anything, as long as she was against me and I got to touch her.

  Muttering a frustrated curse, I lifted a case of beer onto the VIP’s bar top and lifted a brow at Nate. “Anything else you need?”

  Nate lifted a brow at my abrupt tone but shook his head as he continued to mix drinks for the three blondes in front of him. “Nope, we’re good, boss. Thanks.”

  I nodded and pushed away from the bar, not wanting to think about what I might do to my best bartender if he mentioned Lucy. Nate had a crush on her, but he knew that if he made a move on my girl, that would be the end of him at First Bass. Didn’t matter that he was the best damn bartender in a two-state radius. He touched Lucy, he was as good as dead.

  The guy who normally stocked the two bars when we started running low during opening hours was out sick tonight and with everyone else busy, I was the only one left to get Nate and the other bartenders what they needed. I was done now, though, and I only had one place I wanted to be.

  As I turned away, the three blondes tried to call after me, wanting me to keep them company. I’d only vaguely recognized them as the trio on some new reality show, but I didn’t care. None of them were the chick I wanted to be with and I wasn’t about to give them so much as a second of my time when I could be spending it with Lucy.

  I didn’t glance back at them as I headed for the stairs. At the bottom, I spoke to Tiny for a moment, making sure that everything was good with security. Thursdays got crazy at First Bass with everyone wanting in to see the band. Tainted Knights was good for business, but my security team had to be doubled to keep everyone in line.

  “We’re all good, boss. How’s Miss Thornton’s hand?”

  I raked my hands through my hair. “She says she feels okay. I can tell her hand is hurting, though. She’s too stubborn to take the meds they gave her.” Lucy had been cradling her sprained hand against her for most of the night. When I’d asked her if she wanted me to take her home instead of First Bass, she’d gotten that stubborn look on her beautiful face that told me to shut the hell up.

  Selfish bastard that I was, I’d shut up and taken her to work with me. If I’d been a gentleman—like my stepmother had tried to beat into me to be—I would have taken her home. Unfortunately for Natalie, I was never going to be a gentleman. I wanted to spend as much time as humanly possible with Lucy.

  Fuck, I was becoming obsessed.

  Mentally shrugging, I left Tiny to his job as a few VIPs stopped behind me. The first floor was packed to capacity, meaning I was going to be making bank tonight, but I had to push through the crowd to reach the front. I saw Marcus’s wide shoulders before I saw her. The closer I got, the more I could make out the redhead standing beside her…

  And a blonde with eighties-style teased hair and an outfit that I wasn’t sure was legally decent or not. Even from behind, I could tell that this chick was trying way too hard. When my gaze landed on Lucy, standing between Kin and the slutty-looking blonde, I forgot about everything other than my girl.

  Her shoulders were stiff, but she was swaying to the music as Jace and the rest of the Tainted Knights finished up a slower song. Walking faster, pushing people out of my way when they didn’t move quickly enough for my tastes, I finally got to do what I’d been aching to do since I’d left Lucy with Kin and Marcus earlier.

  Wrapping my arms around her small waist from behind, I buried my face in her neck and kissed her just below her left ear. She melted back against me and my jeans got even tighter when her still swaying hips rubbed back and forth across my hardness. My arms tightened around her waist. “Killing me, sweetness.”

  I felt rather than heard her giggle and damned the band playing for drowning out the sweet sound of her musical laugh.

  A well-manicured hand touched my arm, making me jerk back. Reluctantly, I lifted my head as Lucy went still in my arms. The slutty blonde was standing right beside me, her eyes raking over me like I was a piece of meat and she was a hungry lioness. Who the fuck was this chick? Didn’t she see that I was with my girl?

  “You’re Harris Cutter.” She made it sound like I didn’t know who the hell I was. Great, she was one of those types of blondes. The type that gave all blondes a bad name because of her flaky, idiotic nonsense.

  Lifting a brow, I glanced around, just to make sure she wasn’t speaking to someone behind me. When I caught Kin’s eye, I nearly took a step back. The redhead was obviously pissed. Her nose was flaring, her blue eyes bright with anger, and her hands were balled into fists. Yeah, pissed.

  Glancing down at Lucy, I saw that she didn’t look much happier than her friend. She leaned into me, as if she were staking her claim and I pulled her against me, letting her know that she had me. Not this stupid bitch.

  “Yup, that’s me,” I finally told her.

  She gave me a big, toothy smile and fluttered her fake eyelashes at me. “I’m Georgia,” she said loudly enough to be heard over the band with enough flirt in her voice to grab the attention of half the guys standing around us.

  I looked down at Lucy again, silently asking her who the fuck this chick was. She rolled her eyes at me and lifted onto her tiptoes. “Kin’s stepsister. Total bitch. Kin couldn’t drop her ass tonight and had to bring her. Her mom wants her on TMZ and with a guy who will make her famous.”

  With Lucy leaning into me the way she was and her lower stomach brushing against my raging hard-on, I could barely concentrate on what she was saying. I caught hold of her hips and pulled her roughly against me, keeping her trapped against me where I wanted her most. I felt her shiver, but she didn’t pull away.

  “So am I on her list of something?” I murmured at her ear.

  “Yeah,” she breathed and my jeans zipper became public enemy number one for my aching body. “You, and I think she mentioned something about Jace about ten minutes ago. That’s when I had to get between her and Kin.”

  “You mean I missed a cat fight?” I teased, moving my head back enough to wink down at her. She pinched my side, making me laugh and I finally glanced back at Georgia who was eye-fucking me in a way that made me want to vomit all over her. I didn’t know what her deal was, but she wasn’t getting a shot at me. I had everything that I wanted or would ever need, in my arms where she belonged. “What do you want me to do about that?” I whispered in Lucy’s ear.

  “Nothing. I want you to stand here holding me and do nothing.” Lucy fluttered her naturally long lashes at me, making my body respond in a way the blonde would never be able to produce. “She wants attention, Harris. Don’t feed her addiction.”

  Lowering my head, I skimmed my lips over hers—not giving a shit if Marcus saw and told his employer or not—before turning her back around so she was facing the stage. “Done,” I breathed in her ear as I tightened my arms around her slim waist. Feeling her shiver again put my pain on a whole new level and I grinned as I buried my face in her hair, swaying with her from side to side as Tainted Knights rocked my club.

  Beside me, Kin bumped my shoulder just hard enough to grab my attention. When I turned my head, she was grinning at me. With a wink she turned her attention back to the stage and I watched her for a moment. The way her eyes stay glued to Jace and the mixture o
f emotions that crossed her face screamed at me that she wasn’t over my friend any more than he was over her.

  Grimacing, I glanced up at the band. Jace was working the stage like he always did, but every few seconds his gaze went straight to Kin. As if he were making sure she was still there or maybe making sure no one was bothering her. He didn’t need to worry. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to the redhead.

  One song ended and they went straight into another without pausing. This song was faster, harder. Everyone around us pushed closer to the stage and I locked my arms around my girl while Marcus stepped closer to Lucy and Kin, keeping everyone at least a foot away from them.

  After that I lost focus on everything but Lucy and the sound of the music. The new song ended and they continued to play through yet another fast-paced song. Lucy was throwing up horns, banging her head as much as possible with me still holding her, and screaming along with everyone else.

  The moment was paradise for me.

  I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t notice the chick climbing up on the stage until it was too late. Georgia had to have done some kind of acrobatic shit to get up there. Now she was right in front of Jace who stopped singing when she grabbed his shirt and jerked him against her. His eyes got huge when she jerked him down and kissed him.

  I let go of Lucy just as my security staff that was in charge of keeping people from going backstage or charging the stage rushed forward. Jace was stiff as a statue, his hands thrown up in an ‘I surrender’ kind of pose while Georgia continued to rape his mouth. One of my security guys grabbed hold of the blonde and pulled her away from the rocker.

  Around me the crowd was going crazy, some cheering the chick while others booed her for interrupting the show. I was about to have a madhouse on my hands if things didn’t get dealt with soon. Deciding I was going to have to go up there and settle everyone down, Jace surprised me when he scrubbed his hand over his mouth and called after the guard carting Georgia away, “Yo, bitch, the eighties called. The porn stars want their wardrobe back.” The club became one huge roar of laughter and I couldn’t help but join in.