“Sounds like fun.”
“I love it. It’s important for me to give back.”
I nod at her, finding myself lost in her chestnut eyes as she stares back at me.
She coughs, clearing her throat and breaking the tension between us after a few seconds, and I’m forced to look away.
“So what is it you do?”
“Harlow, there you are. I thought you were coming to talk to the birthday boy,” a high-pitched voice says from behind me before a blonde wrapped in the smallest dress I’ve ever seen stands so close to me that I have to take a step back.
“Yeah… I… uh…”
“Oh, are you still embarrassed about that? I’m sure Colton’s already forgotten.” She waves her friend off with a swish of her hand, and my eyes widen in shock. “Who’s your new friend?” She turns to me, her eyes running over my face as what I guess is supposed to be a sexy pout appears on her lips. She falls a little too far from the mark for me. That and all the effort she’s putting in to look so good.
“Corey,” I say politely, holding my hand out for her.
“Oh, my Brit.” My Brit? My eyebrows rise at her assumption. “Austin didn’t say you were here yet.” Ignoring my hand, she steps right into my body, pressing her breasts into my chest and stretching to drop a kiss to my cheek. “I’ve been so looking forward to meeting you.”
“Oh really?” I ask, placing my hands on her shoulders and trying to remove her from me. “I’m not sure Austin’s ever mentioned you.”
Harlow snorts a laugh and when I look up, I find the most breathtaking smile lighting up her face.
“Oh, that can’t be true. I’m sure you’ve just forgotten. I can only imagine that you’ve met so many new people since you arrived. I’m Bailey. I work with your cousin. He’s told me all about you.”
“Is that right?”
“Sure is. So tell me about yourself, I can’t wait to get to know you better.”
“Well, actually, I was in the middle of a conversation with your friend here.”
Bailey stands back and looks over her shoulder. “Oh, okay, well…” She sounds dejected, making me wonder how many guys turn her down. Not a lot, I’m guessing.
“Would you like a drink, B?”
“I’d love one, thanks.” I stand and watch both of them as Harlow orders Bailey a sauvignon blanc. They’re both stunning, Bailey more so now I don’t have everything thrust in my face, but to me, Harlow stands out by a mile. Her soft red hair, her large dark eyes that just ooze innocence… I bite down on my bottom lip as I study her while she talks to her friend. She must sense my stare, because her eyes flick to mine and she startles when she finds me looking back. Colour hits her cheeks, and it only makes her more alluring. It looks like coming here tonight was more than worth it.
My cock stirs behind the fabric of my jeans, desperate to end the evening with a little action.
Bailey lifts her drink from the bar and takes a sip while looking between the two of us suspiciously.
“So… I’m just going to go…” she trails off before disappearing off into the crowd.
“Good friend of yours?” I ask once I’m confident she’s well out of earshot.
Harlow laughs and excitement shoots through me. She is exactly what I need tonight.
I take a step closer, her perfume filling my nose and making my mouth water.
“Yeah, actually. My best friend.”
“Really? You seem so…”
“Different?”
“Yeah,” I say, relieved that I’m not the only one who sees how opposite they are.
“Don’t let her front fool you. She’s a great person. She just comes across a little—”
“Desperate?”
She laughs. “I was going to say full-on, but desperate works too. Everyone around us seems to be coupling up. Austin, Colton,” she says flicking a look over to where they’re standing with their girls. “She’s just feeling left behind.”
“And she thought I might get her up to speed.”
I watch her lips, enthralled as she purses them to take a sip of her drink. “You’ve no idea. She’s been going on and on about meeting you since Austin told her you’d first moved here.”
“Why? She’s never met me. I could be a right arsehole.” A smile curls at her lips.
“The accent,” she says like it should be obvious. “She was hoping you’d talk all sexy to her.” Harlow rolls her eyes at her friend's insanity. “So, are you?”
“Am I what? Going to talk all sexy to her?” I drop the tone of my voice and delight when the roughness of it makes her pupils dilate. My brows pull together as I cast my mind back over our previous conversation, trying to figure out what she’s asking me.
“No. An arsehole,” she says, adorably trying to mimic my accent.
“Some would probably say I was. Others not so much.”
“Cryptic.”
Closing more of the space between us, I reach out and tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Maybe you’ll just have to find out for yourself.”
Her lips part but no words come out as my fingertip brushes the shell of her ear. “I… um…” I search her eyes, trying to read her. She seems reluctant, yet there’s something in her eyes. Something wild that I know is screaming to get out.
Our connection holds before she sucks her bottom lip into her mouth and my gaze drops to watch.
“Harlow,” that familiar voice calls from somewhere. “We’re going to dance. You coming?”
My eyes jump back up to hers. I want to ask her to stay here with me, but I’ve just met her; I’ve got no right to even suggest keeping her away from her friends and colleagues.
After another second, she rips her eyes from mine and looks at Bailey, who holds her hand out.
“Yeah, just coming.”
I stand back, allowing her some space. She downs her drink before giving me a small smile and walking towards her friend.
Her arse sways as she makes her way over, and my trousers suddenly seem a little too tight as I imagine what, if any, underwear she’s got on beneath. When I look up, I find Bailey watching me. Her eyes are narrowed, and I’m not sure if it’s jealousy or a warning.
Chapter Three
Harlow
“Have you just stolen my Brit?” Bailey asks after pulling me into the middle of the packed dance floor. Along with a group of other Corporate Cares employees, we left the VIP section in favor of bumping and grinding with the rest of the club.
“We were just talking,” I say innocently, trying to forget the tingles that erupted within me every time he looked at me, or the way my temperature spiked when he touched me.
“Oh yeah, just talking,” she mocks. “You didn’t see the way he watched your ass as we walked away from him. I told you that dress was pure gold.”
“I’m not interested, B. You know I don’t need a man.”
“Who said anything about needing one? No one needs a man, we’re all perfectly capable without one. But that doesn’t mean that every so often we couldn’t do with one to help us let our hair down… before he pulls on it as we scream his name.”