The smiles slowly slid off our faces as the air between us began to sizzle with sexual tension. I watched as his eyes darted between my eyes and my mouth. “I should get going.” I pointed my thumb at the door behind me as I slowly backed away. “Thanks for the ride.”
Turning away from him, I heard the kickstand of the bike go down. Squeezing my eyes shut, I silently prayed that he was not coming after me, but I hesitated just long enough for Evan’s hand to wrap around my arm. “Wait,” he said.
When I turned slowly to face him, I was surprised to see a furrowed brow on his gorgeous face. “Ember,” he said softly, stepping closer to me. My heart rate spiked at his nearness. “I know we got off on the wrong foot at the club that one night.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “And I know what kind of man you think I am based solely on that.” I smirked at how right he was. “But you’re wrong,” he said adamantly.
I raised my brows at him. “I’m wrong?” I asked incredulously. “I saw three girls hanging off you with their lipstick smeared on your cheeks. Tell me exactly how I’m wrong.” I tried to pull my arm out of his grasp, but he only held on tighter.
“I didn’t arrive with them and I didn’t leave with them either, Ember,” he said vehemently. “Those girls were on set of the Ralph Mahoney cologne campaign that I did. I was out with some friends when they approached us and decided to tag along uninvited. They are nothing but gold-digging whores.”
“But….I saw you…when Jake and I left. I saw you wrap your arms around them and walk away as if our little exchange never happened.”
He gave me a half smile. “I was hoping you saw that.” My eyes widened. “I felt something the moment I saw you and I know you felt it too. I wanted you to turn around and see that. I wanted to spike your jealousy, because I wanted you to want me so badly that you’d fight for me.”
My mouth dropped open as my breath huffed out. He bent down so his eyes were level with mine. His spicy scent enveloped me as those emerald eyes held me captive. “You’re different from all the girls I’ve ever met.” I scoffed. That was such a line. He clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at me, but then his face suddenly softened. “I look at you and my heart starts pounding in my chest. I lose my breath when you smile at me. A shock runs through me every time you touch me.” He lifted his hand and gently closed my mouth, giving me a small smile.
Cradling my face in his hands, he brought his within inches of mine. “Give me a chance, Ember,” he softly begged. His warm breath, which smelled liked spicy cinnamon, brushed across my face. “That’s all I ask. Just give me the chance to prove to you that I’m not the man whore you think I am. Please,” he pleaded.
I stood before him too stunned for words. Maybe he was different from David. Maybe I did have him pegged all wrong. Look at what happened with Daniel and here I thought he was a decent guy. How wrong was I?
He continued to stare into my eyes as hope flared within the depths of his emerald greens. There was definitely something between us. I could not deny that, and it was something that I’ve never felt before. Frankly, it scared the hell out of me. Could I trust him? Could I trust what he was telling me now? Shit. I don’t know. I need time. I need to think. I need to talk to Jake.
I started shaking my head back and forth and watched as Evan’s face fall. His hands dropped away from my face as he straightened to his full height.
As soon as I was free from his touch, I started backing away, continuing to shake my head. “I need some time, Evan. I need to think about this. Please, just give me some time.”
His eyes dropped to the pavement for a moment, his shoulders slumped. When he brought those beautiful greens back up to my face, they were glistening in the soft streetlight. It broke my heart. I fought the urge to rush over and hold him to comfort him.
Before I could do that or anything else equally stupid, I turned and dashed into the lobby of my apartment building. Standing at the elevator, frantically mashing the button for it to open, I heard the rumble of Evan’s bike. The elevator dinged its arrival as the doors slid open. I stepped inside and hit the button for the top floor. Before the doors slid shut, I heard his bike rev and the tires squeal as he peeled away. The growl of the engine faded into the distance as the doors of the elevator slowly slid shut.
As soon as I reached my floor, I dashed down the hall and ran into the apartment. Jake was standing there in the kitchen leaning against the island holding out a glass full of my favorite Zinfandel. He knew. Somehow he knew I was going to need this. Somehow he knew I was going to need him. The knowledge of that, and the sight of him standing there giving me a sympathetic look, had me smiling at my best friend.
“Daniel sent me a text. He told me what happened at the restaurant.”
“Thank you for this,” I said, taking the glass from him and easily chugging half of it.
“I’m sorry, Em. I thought he was a good guy,” he said, leading me over to the couch. “I saw you with Evan,” he said softly.
Surprised, my eyes snapped up to his. “What? Just now?”
“Yeah. After I got that text from Daniel, I headed downstairs. He said he didn’t know how you were getting home, but you were already gone by the time he made it out of the restaurant.” He paused for a moment, seeming a bit embarrassed. “I saw the way Evan looked at you,” he said softly. “I felt like such an intruder so I headed back up here.” He turned to face me on the couch. “Listen, Em. I think I might’ve been wrong about Evan. Lord only knows how wrong I was about Daniel.”
I snorted before polishing off the rest of the wine. “It doesn’t really matter. I don’t have any contact information for him.”
He reached over and took the now empty glass from my hand. “Somehow I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” He gave me a wink and headed into the kitchen. “He brought you home tonight, didn’t he? So he knows where you live now.”
It took a moment for what Jake just said to sink in. Holy crap! What a crazy ass night this was and it just ended in a way I never thought it would. My stomach fluttered just thinking about seeing Evan again.
The week following my show was a crazy one. Every day Jake looked frazzled as he sat at the desk in the corner of the living room, fielding calls from places that were interested in my work. But Jake had an excellent head for business, and I knew he would not jeopardize my career in any way as he sat trying to determine what jobs would give us the best exposure.
One campaign that I was really excited about was for See Seattle, a private nonprofit marketing organization that was put together to boost tourism for local businesses. Being fairly new to the area, it gave Jake and I the opportunity to go and explore some of the sights that Seattle had to offer.
But with as busy and happy as the week had been there was a black cloud hanging over me, spoiling my mood every chance it got. Evan. My heart ached every time I thought about him, which was often, and I had not heard from him at all. Every time Jake and I went out, I kept expecting to run into him but nothing. Despite the fact that he knew where I lived, he made no attempts to come and see me. Every time the doorbell rang, I jumped. Hope sparked within me as I silently prayed that it would be Evan or a flower delivery guy or something. Anything. But there was nothing. No Evan. No flowers. No nothing. Nada, zero, zip, zilch.
Panic started to set in. I had told him I needed some time, but I did not think he would actually give it to me. What guy ever does? He wanted me. I know he did. I saw it in his eyes and felt it in his reverent touch. But then like a complete idiot, I turned and ran away from him. I remembered how his face fell as I started backing away. Maybe he has given up on me. Deemed me as hopeless or not worth the effort. Shit. The thought of losing him for good made my stomach turn.
Jake pounded his fist on the desk, snapping me back to reality. “What?” I hollered at him, frowning. The bastard scared me half to death.
“I’ve been talking to you for the last five minutes, Em. You’re in the room with me physically but mentally you’ve flown the coop. W
hat the fuck? Where were you just now?” he asked, clearly sounding annoyed.
“I’m sorry. I was just thinking-”
“About Evan,” Jake finished for me, giving me a knowing look. I just nodded at him. There was no sense in lying. He knew me far too well. “Well,” he said, smirking at me. “Go put on that little black dress of yours, because we are going out.”
“Where to?” I huffed, not sounding enthusiastic at all.
“It’s rocker night at Club Vixen and we, my dear, have something huge to celebrate.”
Huge and celebrate were the two words that caught my attention along with the look of excitement on Jake’s face. But it was the thought of possibly running into Evan again that had me springing up off the couch.
“That’s my girl.” I heard him say as I dashed down the hall to get ready.
***
When we arrived at the club, the same bouncer was working the door as last time. Jake grabbed my hand and sauntered right up to the door, passing several people who were waiting to get in. Without even stopping, the bouncer nodded at him and waved us in.
As soon as we got into the club, I pulled on Jake’s hand. Leading us around the busy dance floor, he shot a look over his shoulder at me. I widened my eyes at him. Spinning around, he took both of my hands in his and continued walking backwards heading deeper into the club.
“You think how we got in here was great, just wait until you see where we’re going.” He winked at me before turning back around, pulling me behind him.
As the butterflies assaulted my stomach, I glanced in the direction of the bar and eyed everyone sitting there. No Evan. Checking out all of the tables by the bar and everyone I could see on the dance floor and still no Evan. I let out a heavy sigh, trying not to be too disappointed.
We approached a secluded area toward the back that was blocked off with red velvet ropes. Three tall and very huge men dressed in black jeans and tight black t-shirts were standing guard in front of the ropes. They were all standing with their legs slightly spread and their huge arms crossed over their broad chests. The sleeves of their t-shirts were straining at the seams as their biceps bulged.
Jake approached the man in the middle. He was so tall he had to bend slightly so Jake could talk into his ear. He straightened back up, clicked on a black earpiece that I hadn’t noticed before and spoke. Within seconds, the guard stepped off to the side, unhooked one of the ropes, and ushered us into the VIP area.
A cute little redhead wearing a red leather bodice, black leather mini skirt, fishnet stockings, and black stilettos approached us. Greeting Jake by name, she led us over to a plush red velvet couch and a low slung black lacquer table.
“Hi, I’m Candy. What can I get you two?” she kindly asked, giving Jake a winning smile.
“A bottle of Dom. Make it a rosé.”
“You got it.” She winked at him before she headed over to the bar.
I stared at Jake with my mouth agape, but he refused to look my way. “Jake!” I hollered, pushing lightly at his shoulder. He turned to look at me with raised brows as I waited for some kind of explanation from him, but he remained mute with a small smirk on his face. “Jake, that’s a very expensive bottle of champagne.”
“I know,” he said. With a slight shrug of his shoulders, he was acting as if ordering an eight hundred dollar bottle of champagne was no different than asking for a bottle of Bud.
When Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me started to pump through the speakers, Jake started singing along as he swayed to the beat in his seat. It was obvious I was not going to get any answers from him, at least not until our champagne arrived, so I joined him in the singing and swaying as I scanned the crowd once more.
Minutes later, I saw Candy making her way through the crowd with a black bucket filled with ice and an opened bottle of Dom and two champagne flutes. She placed them down on the table with a flourish before she turned and sashayed off.
Jake expertly poured us each a glass of the pink bubbly. He was smiling like a loon when he turned to hand me a glass. Smiling in return, I took the glass from him and waited for him to speak.
“Congratulations, Em,” he said, clinking his glass to mine. He took a sip and I followed, frowning the whole time. He set his glass down on the table and then reached over for mine, placing it on the table next to his.
Taking my hands in his, he turned so he was completely facing me and said, “You just landed yourself an exclusive contract with Soft Caress Jeans. They’re looking to shoot their fall collection. Since they are a Seattle-based company, the shoot will happen right here in town at the Fairmont Olympic this Tuesday,” he calmly said, topping it all off with an ear-to-ear smile.
I sat stunned for a few minutes, allowing what he just said to sink in. He squeezed my hands and gave me a little nod. Launching myself at him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed. A laugh rumbled his chest as he squeezed me back.
“Jake,” I said, pulling back to look at him. “This is huge!”
“I know. Congratulations, sis.” I smiled, always loving it when he called me sis. “They were looking for a local up and coming photographer and apparently there was a representative who saw your work at the gallery.”
“This is so incredible!” I shouted, grabbing my glass of champagne and polishing it off. Jake reached for his glass, but I grabbed his hand, pulled him off the couch, and headed out to the dance floor.
It did not take long before a cute little blonde caught his eye. She was dancing with two other girls, which I assumed were friends, who were staring at Jake the entire time. Her blonde hair was in a cute pixie cut. The black jeans looked painted onto her slim body, and her silver, embellished tank top glittered under the colorful lights.
“Go on,” I said, urging him in her direction.
“No way. I’m here to celebrate with you,” he insisted, but he couldn’t hide the disappointment in his eyes.
“We did celebrate. Now go on, Jake. You deserve to find your happiness too,” I said, winking at him. Before he could argue, I turned to make my way back to the VIP section, but I didn’t get very far.
A strong, warm hand clamped down on the back of my neck. I froze as a tingle of recognition ran through me. Any doubts as to who this was quickly vanished the minute I caught a whiff of that familiar spicy scent that I was seriously starting to become addicted to.
As he sidled up behind me, his right hand left the back of my neck. Slowly, he ran his hand over my shoulder, down my arm, and around my hip before he casually slid it across my abdomen. He stopped and splayed his fingers out, holding me firmly up against him. Relaxing into his hold, I relished the feel of his hand on me.
The sounds of Nickelback’s Follow You Home started to play and he wrapped his left hand low around my hip. Swaying his hips to the sultry beat, he encouraged me to move with him.
The heat from his hard body seeped into my back. I brought my hands behind me and wrapped them around the back of his thighs and held on tightly. The feel of his thigh muscles tightening and releasing as he moved us up and down was surprisingly erotic.
Letting my head fall back onto his chest, I tilted my neck off to the side. As I knew he would, his head dipped down so his nose could run along the length of my neck, causing a shiver to rack my entire body.
When his lips started running up and down my neck, kissing and nipping my sensitive skin, goose bumps burst across my flesh. A moan, that I had no hopes of stopping, escaped me. His chest rumbled my back as he growled in response.
“I’d follow you home,” he rasped in my ear.
I squeezed my hands on his thighs a little tighter, and rubbed my backside into him a little harder, grinding up against the hard ridge of his growing arousal.
Spinning me around suddenly, his hands dove for my hair. Fisting clumps of it in his hands, he pulled my head back and firmly held me in place as his lips crashed down on mine violently. We both stopped moving as we consumed each other right there on the dance fl
oor of Club Vixen.
When we finally broke apart, my eyes ran up and down him greedily. He was wearing a pair of light blue jeans that fit him snugly in all the right places, making the bulge in his crouch look more prominent. The man filled out his jeans nicely. A baby blue button-down shirt was tucked into his jeans. Unlike the first time I saw him here, he only had the top button undone and I longed to see more of that chiseled chest.
There was a playful smirk on his plump lips with one dimple on display. Those beautiful green eyes were dark and dilated, emanating a raw sexual energy, and they were currently bouncing between my eyes and my lips. My breath quickened as my heart pounded within my chest. The blood rushing through my veins was roaring in my ears.
The hard-driving beat of Judas Priest’s Love Bites pounded through the speakers, making us both suddenly aware of our surroundings. I tried to pull away from him, but his hands gripped my hips tightly as a lascivious smile slowly spread across his beautiful face.
Shoving his leg between mine, I grabbed onto his muscular biceps and straddled his thigh. He began to move us to the beat in a way that should have been illegal for a public place.
Feeling a little out of control, I ran my hands over his sculptured chest and started to unbutton his shirt. His eyes snapped down to my hands and watched with rapt attention as I undid the first three buttons, putting that glorious chest on display. Getting up onto my tiptoes to get close to his ear, I said, “I really like you like this.”
His darkened eyes darted between my hands, which were now firmly planted on his bare pecs, and my eyes.
Slowly, he moved his hands from my hips to my backside. My eyes grew wide as he pulled me up against him roughly with a jerk. With his hands gripping my ass tightly, causing me to gasp, he bent down and positioned his mouth close to my ear. “I like you like this,” he said huskily. When he pulled away, he flashed those dimples at me.
Drunk off his nearness and seduced by the music, I pressed down and rubbed myself on his thigh as I fisted his shirt tightly in my hands. Did I care that other bodies were all around us? Hell no. Did I care that I probably looked like a sex-craved slut humping his leg like a bitch in heat? Fuck no. Most of those surrounding us on the dance floor were moving just as provocatively, bordering on obscene. Besides, I could not help it. The man just made me feel wild, uninhibited, and totally alive.
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