“My girl, Jay?” he asked him, but then looked at me. “Are you my girl?”
Okay, so I wasn’t anyone’s girl, but for whatever reason glee took on a new form as Niko bumped his fist with the blond, Jay, then retreated over to the coffee table. Niko quickly moved it out the way before sinking himself down in a lounge chair near the friendly couple. He tipped his chin back, getting all settled in, and I about said something about that before hands came to my arms again.
“Now, just relax,” Blond, Jay, said, rubbing on me and fogging my brain like a hot car’s windows in the middle of a snowstorm. I didn’t know what it was about this guy’s touch, but for whatever reason, it knocked me stupid at a mere feel of his rough palms. He smiled his beautiful lips. “We just want a little show. We won’t touch you. Not unless you want that too.”
A curled finger beneath my chin and he was letting me go. He took a seat on the arm of Niko’s chair, but when I still didn’t do anything, Jay shook his head. “I’m paying you by the hour, lovely,” he said, then displayed the space in front of the couch. “Now, give my friends and me my money’s worth.” A look and he peered at Niko. “What’s with this stripper you hired?”
Holy shit.
“Stripper?” I asked, but then it all came together, them sitting back for a show, this room filled with so much weed I thought I’d choke where I stood. Then there was the smooth music and the touchy-feely couple. What the hell? I frowned. “I’m not a stripper.”
“Right.” Blond chuckled, instantly grating me. Especially when his friends joined in for a round. Taking the weed back from Niko, he pointed it toward me. “Now, please. If you would take off your clothes. I’m starting to lose my buzz.”
On fire now, I growled in his direction. “I said I’m not a stripper, asshole. You take off your clothes.”
Up in an instant, in my face in an instant and all humor in the room left. His friends and everything stopped. Like a record had been scratched except for the fact the hip hop beats still played. It bumped with the heat in my chest, my body chest to chest with this guy, Jay’s, muscled abdomen. Blond eyebrows narrowed hard. “You’re not a stripper?”
“No.”
He stepped back, a smoke trail wafting as he waved a S shape in front of me. “Dressed like that? Your wet tits all pink and popping out and you’re not a stripper?”
Fire hot as I reared back. I had every intention of slapping this asshole right in his goddamn face. If anything, to teach him some manners, but he stopped the assault full stop when he caught my hand and tugged me hard to his firm body…
And kissed me right on the mouth.
His lips fell down on mine with heat, aggression as if to prove a point, and rendered speechless, my limbs submitted to his strong hands. He gathered me up, the growl low in his throat as he tasted my tongue and altered my senses. He tasted like weed, sin and sex, and every other mind-dizzying thing. My nipples dragging down the hard panes of his chest, it took me a second to get my thoughts back, but the moment I had, I gut checked him so hard in his abs, he growled.
I backed away, falling into another set of hands. Turned out, they’d been my boyfriend’s because when I looked up, I saw nothing but shock in Sinclair’s eyes. He had his coat on, obviously ready to go and looking for me, and swiping up my fleece from the floor, I covered myself. “Sinclair—”
“What’s going on?” So much tension in his eyes, the majority of it on this guy Jay. Sinclair forced my arms through my fleece even though it was wet with wine and beer. “You kiss my girl?”
Jay just stood there, and all humor, once again, had left the room. It was like he commanded it, his hands shoved in his lounge pants. “I guess I did.” He shrugged. “Though I will say, I thought she was the stripper.”
More chuckles and clearly at Sinclair’s and my expense. My fleece on, Sinclair’s hands stayed at my shoulders. “So a misunderstanding then?”
“Yes, and apologies.” Jay put out a hand. “I’m Lance. Friends call me LJ since the last name is Johnson.”
“I know who you are,” Sinclair stated, surprising the hell out of me. His expression deadpan, he tucked his own hands under his arms. “I went to undergrad, then law school at the university. Heard about you around campus during my law program. I guess your reputation precedes you.”
So they went to the same school, my school as of last fall. But still, the campus was big enough where Sinclair knowing about this guy might be unusual. But then again, maybe not. They might travel in the same circles.
But judging by LJ’s sex and party den, I found that hard to believe. Sinclair and I both traveled in a bit higher circles, ones with class and not all this.
All LJ did was chuckle upon being presented with his past. He cuffed his thick arms. “I guess so.”
At this point, I thought the guys would start clubbing each other with the looks exchanged, but by then, Niko had stood and appeared at LJ’s side. He rested an arm on his shoulder. “They came over tonight talking about the noise. I invited them in to apologize. They said they’re our new neighbors. At least, she is. I got kind of confused at the whole stripper thing when that happened.”
Obviously, but he ran with it. A tried and true guy, and sneering, I hugged my wet fleece.
LJ nodded at what Niko said with a smile. “Wish you’d told us sooner…”
“Billie,” I cut, but he grinned.
“Billie. Could have avoided some confusion there,” he said to me despite the fact I totally had told him. His smile hiked. “Apologies to you and double about the noise. My roommate and I had no idea you’d already moved in. We would have thought about that.”
“Would you have?” I eyed him, my mouth still burning annoyingly from his kiss. I hated it and even more so at the jump in my throat when he canceled all the space between us.
He peered down at me with that stupid grin. “Of course. I’m nothing if not mindful. You gotta give respect to get it.”
“And I agree.” Sinclair put space between us both. He squeezed my arm. “And now that everybody knows who everybody is, there’s no problems here.”
He’d said that like it was some kind of negotiation, like he was in the boardroom dealing with clients and not my boyfriend standing across from a complete and utter asshole.
LJ wet his lips in response but, in the end, nodded. “No problems from me.”
Rubbing my arm, Sinclair looked at me. “You ready to go?”
More than, hugging into my boyfriend as he guided me toward the door.
“Sorry for the misunderstanding, new neighbor,” LJ said behind my back, a noticeable lightness dancing in his voice. “And welcome to the neighborhood.”
Chapter Three
Billie
I basically shot out of Starbucks like a horse out of the starting gate, running late that morning and lacking sleep. I’d finally fallen into it around three-ish, but still woke up pissed and cranky. Sinclair had gratefully had an early morning meeting so we hadn’t had to juggle over shower time and working our way around my room. I hadn’t much to say to him at all that morning anyway, more than annoyed by how quite a few things were handled last night.