Not bounced. More like strutted. Clad in a silky silver number that hugged her every dip and peak, she looked better than any medal or figurine that the award ceremony could ever give us. Her skin still slightly damp from her shower, her hair still wet even after a quick blow-dry, she gazed at me through a face of natural-looking makeup, her pink lips full and glossy. I could have dropped my liquor glass just at the sight of her.
“Done!” she sighed happily, reaching towards me.
“Not quite…” I placed my glass back on the bar, grabbing her waist and kissing her. Mmm. She tasted like cherries. I pulled back. “Now, you’re done. Let’s go.”
***
We hauled ass towards the venue, jumping into my Audi and doing twenty above the speed limit the entire way. Unlike Chris and Griff and the rest of the attendees, we didn’t arrive in a town car.
There was no pretense, no ostentatiousness. Frankly, I didn’t give a damn about being seen. The recognition was all I was looking for. Winning a Publishers Digest Award would launch Tripping Out! into a separate stratosphere. We ran into Chris outside of the main hall.
“Where have you guys been?” He started shouting. “You missed the red carpet!” As usual, he was a nervous wreck. I slapped a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
“Little Miss Lexington here is the reason.” I winked at her and shook his hand.
Kat waved us off impatiently. “Hey guys. Relax! Perfection takes time.”
I leaned in closely to her, whispering. “There’s nothing about you that isn’t perfect.” She blushed fiercely, kissing my lips before biting them briefly. Chris groaned. “Good God, you guys are sickening.” He slapped a hand into my chest. “Let’s just try to get our perfect asses in there before the proceedings actually start.”
I clutched Kat’s hand, and we all hurried into the grand hall where the ceremony was being held. We sat down beside Griff as the host took the stage. We settled in, waiting for our category to arrive. Award after award was bestowed. I could feel Kat’s legs shaking under the table. I placed my hand on her thigh to ease her agitation. I keep it there because she felt so good.
I watched Griff stiffen out of my periphery, and I pulled my own back straight. Here it comes. Best new travel publication.
I didn’t hear anything. Just a humdrum of voices as the presenters announced the nominees. I clutched Kat’s thigh tighter. I didn’t realize we’d won until Chris and Griff jumped out of their seats suddenly, grabbing each other in a huge bear hug. Kat turned to me, grazing my cheek with her lips. “You did it,” she whispered.
I stood up from the table, leading her to her feet. “No, Kat, we did it.”
We joined Chris and Griff around the table, hugging each other and shaking hands for so long that I swore one of the presenters cleared her throat just to get our attention. When we looked up at the stage, we saw…
The cover of our first edition.
We finally hopped up the steps to the stage. I stopped just shy of where the microphone stood when I realized that the entire Tripping Out! gang was standing behind me, the three most important people in the world, to me, all motioning to me from the perimeter, encouraging me to take the platform.
I stepped up to the mic.
“Hi. My name is Brendon Foxx, formerly of Foxxhole Publishing. I’ve, uh… I’ve been to these awards before.” I gazed out into the crowd. “Met many of you… time and time again. And yet, I feel as if I’m looking out from behind the podium with new eyes.” I let my gaze take it all in. “Tripping Out! has been a journey—a long, arduous journey. It’s been much harder than anything I’ve ever experienced with Foxxhole. Much more strenuous… and I wouldn’t trade a second of it.” I stared behind me. “To Christopher Johnson and Lukas Griffin, thank you for standing beside me on this journey. You are the greatest partners anyone could have ever asked for. And to Kat Lexington… thank you for being the risk I never regretted taking.”
I looked back at her, winking conspiratorially.
“And to the Publishers Digest Awards, thank you for this magnificent recognition. We are truly honored.”
At that, I exited the stage with my Tripping Out! team to the sound of joyous applause. With the award in my hands, I sat back down at our table, floating through the rest of the ceremony in a lightheaded haze. Dozens of well-wishers shook my hand after the ceremony was over, congratulating Tripping Out! on our success. I didn’t remember any of their names; I recalled about half of their faces. Many of them wanted to collaborate, and a few pitched their proposals. I was nothing but indifferent.
Only one proposal mattered to me at the moment.
When it was time to leave, I stumbled towards the car, thinking about exactly what I was going to do as soon as I got Kat alone. Unaware, she strapped herself into the Audi, smiling widely at me. I grinned back at her, feeling the ring’s box in my pocket, noticing that she had never been more beautiful than she was at that very second.
Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous. Just eerily calm. Probably because I knew, with everything in me, that for the first time in my life, this was exactly where I wanted to be… with whom I wanted to be.
“You ready?” she asked me, excitedly. Her eyes were bright, shining beacons of blue out of the darkness.
I was serene when I responded. “Never been more ready…”
Read on for a “Sneak Peek” of the next book in the “Revenge series”…
Perfect Revenge (Available Now on Amazon)
SNEAK PEEK OF “PERFECT REVENGE”
Lukas Griffin
I take another sip of my scotch, scanning the crowd for tonight’s lucky lady: my next lay.
Blondes, redheads, brunettes. All decked out in sultry cocktail dresses. All good-looking… and pleasantly drunk. But my eyes keep straying back to one person.
You can’t miss her in that dark red get-up: that deep, plunging dress with the skin-tight wrap. Her legs are unusually long, especially considering her height. She’s only got a few inches on Kat, and every extra inch seems to have fallen from the waist down.
Miles of slim calves and toned thighs, shooting up from these sky-high heels, cross my line of sight from fifty feet away.
Elena.
Son-of-a-fucking-bitch.
I hate to say it, but it’s true. Kat’s sister is a certified bombshell… and has been plucking my last fucking nerve all night.
She’s mouthy. She’s uptight. And she’s so goddamned arrogant…
I am definitely going to fuck her tonight.
An additional note
To my family, my friends, my readers, my beloved bloggers, my favorite Facebook ladies: thank you for taking a chance on me and waiting for the next story and the next… and the next…
You keep me going!
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Riske and Revenge: A Second Chance, Enemies Romance (Revenge series Book 1) Page 21