I felt my stomach tighten with excitement, looking at the sexiest man I’d ever seen. It was hard to believe he was the man who’d assaulted me months ago, took me captive by choking me out. Now, he was everything to me.
I got to my feet because anything less than a deep kiss wasn’t good enough to greet him—according to him.
He looked me up and down subtly, liking the tightness of my red dress, his blue eyes flashing in approval. When he reached the table, he set his drink down without taking his gaze off me. Then his arm hooked around my waist, his hand flattening against the arch in my back. He looked down at me as he pulled me close, giving me a much different expression than he gave to that admirer at the bar. He held his lips there as he stared at me, like he expected me to do the rest.
I was in high heels, so it was easy for me to move into him, to plant my lips against his, to smear a drop of lipstick against the corner of his mouth. My hand slid to his chest, and I almost forgot he still had injuries under those clothes. I kept my touch gentle but my kiss hard.
He kissed me like we were alone, even though we were in public. His hand squeezed my ass as he gave me a little tongue. His deep voice whispered to me. “So sexy in that dress.” He lowered himself into the chair I’d just been occupying then patted his thigh, as if he expected me to sit there.
I wasn’t sure if he could handle it, but I didn’t want to ask in front of Tracy, so I lowered myself across his lap, my feet dangling above the floor.
His arm hooked around my waist, and he supported me like the back of the chair, his eyes all over me like his hands in the bedroom.
Tracy stared at us, like she didn’t know what to say.
I looked at my friend and tried to ignore the way Heath looked at me, with a gaze so hot, it burned my skin like a tanning bed. I grabbed my drink and sipped it, letting the fruity tang splash across my tongue along with the tequila.
Tracy continued to stare. “So…do you have any friends you could set me up with?”
Heath directed his gaze to her. “All my friends are assholes.”
“Like, assholes like you or…”
He smiled slightly. “No. As in, bad assholes.”
She sighed. “Oh damn.” She sipped her drink until it was empty then headed to the bar to get another. “I can’t watch this fine piece of man be all over you. I need to go find me a man.” She walked off.
With my arm around his shoulders, I turned to him. “Thanks for chasing off my friend.”
“I’m not the problem. You are.”
“Me?” I asked incredulously.
“Yeah. She’s jealous of you. Not me.” He grabbed his glass off the table and took a drink, not showing a wince or any sign of discomfort. When he was done, he set it down and placed his hand on my thigh. “How was the show?”
“Good. Nothing new.”
“Every time I watch you, it feels new.” He looked at me, his fingers lightly touching the soft skin of my thigh. “In any capacity.” He stared at me, his blue eyes taking in my expression like I was prey he was able to take home to his cave.
I loved the way he stared at me. I loved the way he was eager to claim me in front of everyone in the room, even though he was the more desirable one. I loved the way he needed to touch me with both hands, to make me feel worshiped in every way imaginable, with his look, his touch, and his words. “How’s work been?”
“Fine.” He’d never said much about his job before, so his silence wasn’t that odd.
“Was it difficult to adjust?”
“Balto brought me up to speed.”
“And no one figured out it was Balto for the last month?”
He shook his head. “A bit insulting, isn’t it?”
“Or maybe your brother just knows you really well.”
“Maybe.” His fingers traced a circle around my knee over and over, his callused fingertips slightly abrasive against my softness.
“You’re feeling okay?”
“Yes,” he said with confidence. “I’m getting better every single day.”
“Just don’t want you to have a setback…”
He shook his head. “No. I’m practically brand-new at this point. I’m young and healthy—I heal fast.”
“Thank god for that.”
His arm tugged me a little closer, bringing my lips to his so he could kiss me as he stared into my eyes, his coarse hair rubbing against me just like his fingertips did. “Anything new with you?” He released me, talking to me like we were home alone, not in the middle of a crowded bar.
A few things had happened that I hadn’t mentioned. “My brother asked Anna to marry him.”
He had no reaction to that. “And did she say yes?”
“Of course she did. Why wouldn’t she?”
He shrugged. “She could do better.”
I knew he was joking, so all I did was narrow my eyes in response. “We went shopping for a wedding dress this afternoon.”
“Did she find anything?”
“No, actually. My dad came along and was very opinionated about everything.”
He grinned. “Your dad is passionate about wedding dresses?”
“He’s trying to stand in for my mom, and in his defense, that’s exactly how she’d act.”
He chuckled. “That’s kinda cute, actually.”
“Yeah, he’s adorable.” Now that I’d forgiven Heath for what he did, I didn’t always think about his actions whenever I mentioned my father. I gave Heath a clean slate, saw him as a different man.
“I’m sure he’ll do the same for you.”
“Yeah, and we’ll scream at each other.”
“You think he won’t like your dress?”
“Not sure. I know I want something more scandalous, so I’m not sure how he’ll feel about it.”
He gave a slight nod in approval. “Yeah…that’s what I want to hear.”
I rolled my eyes playfully, but I felt the smile move into my lips. “Well, we chased my friends away, so I guess there’s no point in sticking around.”
“We didn’t chase them away. They’d watch us have sex if they could.”
“Whoa. What did you say?”
He grinned. “Come on, they would. I’d do it too, but I don’t need to.”
I rose to my feet and smoothed out my dress so my ass wouldn’t hang out.
He gave it a playful spank as he stood up. “What are you wearing underneath?” He grabbed his glass and finished it off before he wiped his mouth with his thumb.
“Nosy, aren’t you?”
His arm curled around my waist, and he walked me out. “Want to be prepared when we get home.” He opened the door for me, and once we were outside in the cold air, he wrapped his arms tighter around me, keeping me warm in the fog. “Black thong? Red panties?” His truck was up ahead, so he fished out his keys and hit the button so the engine would start and the interior would warm up for me.
“No.”
“Hmm…” He cocked an eyebrow as he opened the passenger door for me. “Pink? Purple?” He had my panties memorized pretty well, because he seemed to be thinking of pairs he’d specifically seen on his bedroom floor.