Boycotts and Barflies (43 page)

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Laughing, Grace rolled her eyes and started searching  her room for the shoes they had bought earlier at the store. Her eyes lingered on the dress Michael bought, which was hanging on her closet door, waiting for midnight.

Grace could hardly wait to come back and slip into that dress for their date. Just a few more hours, she told herself as she crouched on her hands and knees to look under her bed for the shoe box. Out of nowhere, she heard a husky voice behind her.

“Nice view,” he said, followed by a whistle.

“Michael!” Grace squeaked. Oh God, was my butt hanging out? “You’re early,”she sputtered as she scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping.

His stunning, muscular form filled the doorway as she turned around.

Michael pushed himself off the door jamb he had been leaning against and walked over to Grace, his eyes taking in every inch of her body. The more he looked, the wider his smile grew. By the time she was in his arms, his eyes were on fire with desire.

“You look spectacular, Grace. You are downright irresistible in this dress.

How am I going to control myself around you tonight?” He ran a single finger

slowly along her jaw line as her mouth hung open.

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“Michael … four hours … please.” She was barely able to whisper the words as  he brushed her long black curls over her shoulder and began kissing the newly  exposed section of her neck. “Two hundred forty minutes. Just a little bit  longer.”

Goosebumps covered her body, and when Grace felt him start gently sucking  on her neck, her legs buckled. He quickly wrapped his arms around her waist,  holding her in place. She felt his warm laughter against her skin. “Grace, you’re  trembling.”

“Hey, you two—oops. Never mind, I was never here.” The sound of Bianca’s  voice snapped Grace out of her Michael-induced haze.

She gave him a small shove and looked around his chest to see her friend. “What do you need, Bianca?” Grace leaned forward so Michael couldn’t see her  face as she mouthed the word “Help!” behind his back.

Being the good friend she was, all Bianca did was flick her long red locks over her shoulder and laugh. “I thought you might be looking for these.” In her hand was the box with Grace’s shoes in it.

She escaped from Michael and scooted to the door to retrieve the footwear. “Thanks, Bianca,” she said loudly, grabbing her wrist so she couldn’t leave.  “Help, he’s being super sexy,” she whispered, “don’t leave me alone with him.  Help me resist him!” All her pleading got her nowhere; Bianca rolled her eyes, and Grace knew she was on her own. “Traitor,” Grace hissed as Bianca wrenched her wrist free and left the room, giggling.

“Let me see the shoes you picked out.” Michael had sat down on the edge of her bed and was holding out his hand.

It was impossible to not notice the defined muscles of his arms or the way his shirt clung across his chest, reminding her of his most delicious body underneath.

Grace became distracted imagining him without a shirt, hovering over her body.

Instead of walking over to him, she tossed the box, trying to keep herself a safe distance away. Grace bit her lip when he let out a low whistle as he opened the box. “Nice.” He patted the bed beside him. “Sit down and put them on.” Cautiously she approached the bed, keeping a suspicious eye on him at all times. He handed her the right shoe, which she quickly slipped onto her foot. She bent over to fasten the strap around her ankle and after a few seconds of wrestling with it, she was finally successful. As she reached for the other shoe,  Michael tightened his grip on it.

“Here, let me help you with this one, sweetheart.” He slid off the edge of the bed and knelt down on the floor at her feet. He gently lifted Grace’s foot off 334

the ground and placed it into the shoe. She expected him to just fasten the

strap around her ankle and be done with it, but instead, he surprised her by  hoisting her foot higher onto his upper chest.

She let out a yelp as her foot went up into the air. Grace felt his fingertips linger  on her calf before sliding down to her ankle and begin  working on the strap. He  took his time, slyly glancing from the buckle up to her face and back again. Grace started losing her balance, so she leaned back onto the bed and braced  herself back on her arms, waiting for him to finish and trying not to think about  how good his fingers felt as they ghosted over her skin. She thought about  telling him to hurry up, but was afraid the only thing that would come out of  her mouth was a desperate moan, so she pressed her lips together tightly and

tried to focus her attention on the bedroom door over his shoulder rather than  how delicious he looked kneeling between her legs.

“There you go. Perfect.” She tried to move her foot, but Michael was holding it  in place, the tip of her shoe wedged under his chin. His blue eyes  ran up the  length of her long, bare leg before finally locking one her brown ones. He  paused as if collecting himself, and then let out a huge sigh. “Black lace?”

Grace slid her foot off his shoulder and tugged her skirt lower over her thighs.  “What are you talking about?”

“Your panties, they’re black lace, right?” He ran his fingers slowly through his  hair as he wedged his body further between Grace’s legs. His hands settled on  her knees before they started to make the tortuously slow climb up her thighs.  His fingertips had just dipped under the hem of her dress when they were  summoned.

“Michael, Grace, let’s get a move on!” Jack hollered from the other room. Springing to her feet, Grace was desperate to put some small distance between  them before things got out of hand, but she couldn’t move from the bedside  because Michael was still on his knees, at her feet, completely blocking the exit. “And where do you think you are running off to?” Michael asked as he stood up,  his hands running up the sides of her legs before coming to settle on her hips.  “I’m not quite finished with you yet …” He clasped his hands behind her back  and started kissing a fiery trail up her neck, carefully working his way toward  her plump, red lips. His pace was agonizingly slow, each touch of his lips  making her that much closer to losing the bet.

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She needed to put a stop to all of the temptation that Michael was literally putting in front of her. He’d started with the text messages earlier in the day and now this erotic assault on her body … Grace knew she was only human and wasn’t going to make it much longer if she didn’t put the brakes on.

She decided to try and bluff by pretending that his advances weren’t affecting her in the least. “Listen here,  Mikey-boy, I only have two hundred thirty-four minutes left in this stupid bet, and I’m not about to lose now. So you can try and seduce me as many ways as you want, but I’m winning those damn shoes tonight.” Grace made every effort to look self-assured and slightly annoyed, but he saw right through her and gave her a dimpled smirk.

“I can try to seduce you?” he asked, exuding sensuality with every word. “I accept your challenge.” He took her hand and slowly lifted it to his lips, kissing the top of her hand, his blue eyes sparkling.

Well, that backfired. How stupid am I? I just dared the man I can’t keep

my hands off of to entice me into his bed before midnight. What the hell was I

thinking?

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Chapter 27

The gang pulled up to The Vault where they found a long line of people waiting outside. Michael parked the car around back so they could use the employee entrance, avoiding the wait and the crowd. Ryan and Jack were pulling into the lot as Grace climbed out of the car. Michael held out his hand to her, her teeth already chattering in the cold December air.

“I knew I should have worn more clothes,” Grace grumbled as Michael led her toward the building, her free hand buried deep inside her coat pocket, the

other tingling from the contact with Michael’s hand.

“I think you still have a few too many clothes on for my liking,” Michael said as  he pulled her closer and walked through the doorway.

“Yeah, I had a feeling you were going to say that.” Grace laughed and  threw her  coat at him. “I’m watching you, mister.” They piled their coats on the couch in  the break room before heading out to the bar, hand in hand.

The club had truly been transformed for the evening. Black and white fabric  was draped everywhere: along the bar, across the ceiling, and down the walls. Even the napkins were all black and white. Every table had been removed from  the upstairs section and instead, black and white leather couches and chairs  created cozy seating areas away from the crowds on the dance floor. The music  was so loud you could feel it pulsing throughout the place.

“Wow.” Bianca stopped in her tracks to admire all the decorations. “This must  have taken you guys forever.” She and Grace were both staring up at the

ceiling, trying to figure out exactly how they got the yards of fabric draped so  elegantly in a perfect checkerboard pattern.

“You don’t even want to know.” Jack shuddered at the memory. “It took us until  six-fifteen this morning. Ryan nearly broke his neck somewhere around four  a.m., didn’t you?” Jack smirked.

“It might have had something to do with the fact that you were snoring instead  of holding the ladder steady, Jack.” Ryan glared at his friend as he took a  generous sip of the gin and tonic  the bartender had just set on the bar next to  him.

“Ladies!” they heard someone shout from behind them. Out of nowhere, Vicki  came marching over, dragging a huge, burly, and extensively tattooed man  behind her, who Grace instantly knew had to be Steve.

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“Vicki!” They squealed and ran over, wrapping her up in their arms. The girls

were so excited to see her that without thinking, they stood on their tip toes

and kissed Steve on the cheek. The public display of affection by three

gorgeous strangers took him completely by surprise. Vicki laughed at seeing

her big, strong man flustered by a flock of girls.

“Oh, by the way, I’m Meg. The redhead that just kissed you, her name is Bianca,

and the raven here is Grace. We probably should have introduced ourselves

before we slobbered on you. Sorry!” Her eyes fixated on his arms.

“So how many tattoos do you have, Steve?” Meg asked as she grabbed one of

his arms and began counting. “I bet this one hurt like a mother.” She cringed

pointing to the snake tattoo that ran along his elbow.

“I see what you mean about them, Vic. I like them. And they are perfect for

those guys. They’ll definitely keep them on their toes.” Steve winked at Vicki

before heading over to the bar to join Michael and the guys. He shook hands

with them and whatever he said had all of them cracking up.

Vicki looked great tonight. She was wearing a black tube top and white jeans

that were neatly tucked into the sexy black leather boots they’d given her for

Christmas.

Steve was in a white button- down shirt with the sleeves cut off and a pair of black jeans with a giant silver Jack Daniels belt buckle. Both of his arms were covered with colorful tattoos, but the most prominent one was Vicki’s name in bold black letters on his right forearm.

“So, your boycott ends tonight, ladies? Any exciting plans?” Vicki asked, a knowing smirk on her face. “I hope you’re able to find some decent guys in town 338

now.” She looked from the girls over to the bar, where the guys and Steve were  deep in conversation, an occasional laugh coming from one of them.

“Hey, don’t look at me. I already found my man, and that girl over there better  stop looking at his ass or I will be knocking her down onto hers.” Bianca glared  at a tall bleached blonde who was chewing on her straw while batting her fake

eyelashes in Jack’s direction.

Feeling the need to mark her territory, Bianca marched straight over to the  unaware Jack, spun him around, and planted one hell of a kiss on him before  smugly looking over her sho ulder to make sure the other girl caught the show. She rolled her eyes at Bianca and headed onto the dance floor. Jack, not caring  what the reason for the kiss was, gave Bianca a playful swat on the rear in  thanks and possessively wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“I knew they’d be perfect together,” Vicki laughed as she watched Jack and  Bianca tease one another. She nudged Grace and tilted her head in Meg’s  direction. “And those two fell in love the first night she was here.” They  watched as Meg stood next to them, completely lost in Ryan as he leaned back  against the bar, simply smiling at her. “The idiot forgot how to speak when he  saw her.” After a few seconds, he held out his hand, and Meg instinctively  rushed to his side.

“They do make cute couples, don’t they?” Grace laughed.

“And look at you. This dress is very sexy, my dear. You wouldn’t be trying to

get the attention of anyone in particular this evening like, say, a hunky guy

with unbelievable ice blue eyes?” Vicki grinned as Grace looked away, trying to  hide her embarrassment. “Yeah, from the looks of it, I’d say you definitely got  his attention.”

Grace peeked over her shoulder to the bar and found Michael standing a few  feet away with his arms folded across his chest, his hair slightly in his eyes,  dimples blazing, and a gorgeous smile on his face. When their eyes met, he  winked and Grace immediately looked away and spun back to face Vicki, who  was simply shaking her head from side to side.

“Yeah, I hope you slept in this morning, because from the look on his face, he’s  got big plans for the two of you tonight.” Vicki teased her, making Grace’s heart  beat faster in anticipation of her night with Michael. “And I doubt you’ll be  doing much sleeping.”

Dumbfounded, Grace felt a hand settle on the small of her back as Vicki grinne d  and quipped, “Speak of the devil. Hello there, Michael. I was just telling Grace  how cute she looks tonight.”

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“She looks beyond cute, Vicki. I think she looks absolutely delicious. And did  you know that she gave me permission to try and seduce her this evening? Speaking of which, I think I need to get busy.” Before Grace knew what was  happening, Michael was gathering her black waves into a ponytail that he held  in place with one if his hands as he started gently kissing the sensitive skin  along the back of her exposed neck. His free hand slid down Grace’s back and  settled on her curvaceous rear.

Vicki’s eyes grew huge as she and Grace stared at each other in disbelief. Instead of helping Grace, though, all Vicki did was  stand there and mouth “Oh my God …” and then fan herself as she walked back to Steve and the rest of their friends at the bar.

“Michael?” Grace said breathlessly, feeling his hand make its way up her side. “Mm-hmm?” he mumbled as he continued kissing the s ensitive skin along her  collarbone.

“I think I’m going to have a heart attack if you don’t stop that …” His lips were  now skimming up the side of her neck and moved near her ear. “I said you  could try to seduce me, not stop my heart.”

“Aren’t you enjoying  yourself?” he asked softly as he took a small break from  nuzzling his nose against her cheek.

“Oh, I’m enjoying this more than you can imagine.” Grace grabbed his hand and  placed it over her heart so he could feel the thundering in her chest.

“But this is  what it’s doing to me. I really need to breathe for a second there,  lover boy.” Having his hand half on her breast made her heart race even faster. “You are rather excited right now, aren’t you?” He laughed.

“You have no idea.”

“Well, I think you better sit down. Come with me, sweetheart. I know just the  place for us.” He slowly slid his hand down from the center of her chest and  reached for her hand, leading her through the crowd.

With their fingers laced together, they climbed the staircase that led to the  table Vicki had reserved for them. The regular furniture had been replaced by a  black leather loveseat and two oversized white chairs. The reserved sign was  sitting on the small table in the middle.

“I guess it pays to have connections here tonight, does n’t it?” Grace glanced  around the rest of the area to see wall to wall people packing all the other sofas  and chairs. And in the middle of all of that chaos was a tiny section all for them,  an oasis set away from the crowds. Grace noticed there were even l ong 340

black panels of fabric hanging from the ceiling on either side of their seats to

give them more privacy.

“You guys really thought of everything.”

“I assure you, we’ve been planning this evening for a very long time now.”

Michael said teasingly, pulling Grace onto the loveseat with him.

While they sat there alone in relative quiet, she felt her body being drawn to

him as if by some sort of magnetic attraction. In no time at all, Grace was

pressed against his chest while she played with the little black buttons that ran

down the front of his shirt. His hand was skimming up her side, his thumb

barely grazing along her breast, making her jump.

“Have I told you just how handsome you look tonight?” His snug black button - down shirt hugged him in all the right places. Grace could feel the outlines of  his muscles through the thin fabric as she eagerly ran her hands over his chest. “No, you haven’t, but come a little closer and you can show me just how  attractive you find me.” He reached his hands around her waist and pulled her  on top of him. Instinctively her legs spread and Grace found herself straddling  his lap.

She let out a loud gasp when she realized the precarious position she placed  herself in with him. “This is such a bad idea,” Grace said, trying to pull the sides  of her dress down lower on her thighs before her underwear was on display  for the entire upper level of the club, not to mention Michael.

He leaned forward, pressing his chest to hers and whispering into her ear.

“I’m sorry; the music’s very loud. You’re going to have to get really close to me  tonight so I can hear you.” His hot breath swept across her cheek as his hands  came to rest very, very low on her back.

“I said, I think sitting like this is a very bad idea.” Grace was nearly gasping for  breath as the words came out. That’s the understatement of the century ! “Actually, I think having you straddle me like this is a very good idea and I  wouldn’t mind doing this again, a little later tonight, without so many clo  ”— Not wanting to hear him actually utter the words that were about to come  across his lips, for fear of undressing him right there on the couch, Grace tried  to move off his lap, but he wouldn’t let her. His strong hands locked her in  place with absolutely no chance of escape.

“If you keep wiggling around like that, sweetheart, we might have a little  situation on our hands soon,” he whispered as his hands moved a few 341

inches lower down her back. He slid her farther up his lap, their chests now  touching. There was no missing the way his pants were beginning to tent out  toward her body.

If that’s the ‘situation’ he’s referring to, there is nothing little about it, Grace  thought to herself, blushing. She tried to settle down, but then he moved his  hands to her upper back and began running his fingertips through her long  mane of hair, wrapping his fists in it. Grace’s head tippe d to the side in delight,  allowing him better access to her neck. “Michael,” she sighed, gripping onto his  shoulders for dear life.

I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

“Hey, guys, do you mind if we join you, or do you want to some ‘alone time’?”

Jack’s voice boomed from the side. Grace didn’t have to turn to know there was

a smug grin on his bearded face. She felt Michael’s hands slide to her rear, to

block any view her hiked- up dress might be flashing to their friends at the

moment.

“Sit down,”  Grace said loudly, happy for any distraction. Save me …

from myself.

“Go away,” Michael said at the same time, grinning.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s just mad he hasn’t been able to seduce me yet.”

Grace gave Michael a playful swat and gracefully attempted to detach herself  from his lap, trying not to completely expose herself to everyone.

“Yet …” he added as he ran his hand up the curve of her thigh, inching higher,  as she sat beside him. “The night is still young, Grace, don’t forget that.” A  round of cat calls came from the gang as Michael’s fingers continued to feather  along her thigh.

Thankfully, over the next few minutes, the conversation moved away from  Grace and onto Meg and Bianca. More specifically, they talked about the crazy  clients they’d dealt with in the past and the amazing fits people would throw  over the interior finishes of their homes. Some of the stories sounded so far-

fetched that if Grace hadn’t been there when they came home fro m work, she

might not have believed them.

Twenty minutes later, Meg got antsy. “I love this song!” she squealed. “Come

on, girls, let’s go dance.” She grabbed their hands and scurried down the stairs

while the guys stayed behind.

y

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Hundreds of people were packed onto the floor; the heat from all the bodies made the temperature at least fifteen degrees higher there than in the rest of the club. Meg led them through the tight crowd, looking for a less congested area to dance. They found a small haven close to the bar and began dancing, laughing, and having a great time. Vicki even came and joined them for a while.  Steve, however, just watched from his position at the bar.

From the second floor railing, Michael, Ryan, and J ack watched the trio dance.  When Bianca tried to wave them down, they shook their heads no and laughed, preferring instead to simply enjoy the view. The ladies even got a good laugh when a couple of pathetic barflies planted themselves next to the guys at  the rail, flipping their hair and giggling, desperately trying to get their attention, only to be ignored. When their more subtle attempts failed, they became more

brazen in their advances, but with a wave of a hand, Jack dismissed them and  sent them stomping away.

Vicki watched the whole thing go down, grinning like a proud mother.

“Wow. I guess they don’t need my fly-swatting services any more. They did just  fine on their own. Maybe my boys are finally growing up.” She wiped a pretend  tear away from the corner of her eye. Glancing over to the bar, she saw Steve  waving his thumb towards the door. “You ladies have fun; Steve and I are going  to split. Happy New Year!” Vicki threw her arms around them to say goodbye;  then the girls all turned to wave furiously at Steve. He returned their silliness  with a smile and salute.