How to Love (16 page)

The way she used sex to distract and deflect him pissed him off, but also made him ache for her.

“All I ask is that you be honest,” he said, shifting them so they were lying again. He pulled the covers back up over them. “That’s all.”

“That’s another thing I’m not that good at,” she whispered.

“Will you try?”

She gave a little nod. “I’ll try.”

“Okay. Now tell me about having sex with other women.”

She choked on a laugh.

“I know what you were doing when you said that.” He smiled. “You were totally trying to distract me. I’m on to you, you know.”

“Um. Yeah. Apparently.”

“It almost worked. Hearing about a little girl on girl action—hey, I’m a guy.”

“I may have experimented a little.”

Satisfaction swelled inside him. This was good. Someone who was open to different choices, different lifestyles…it was good.

“That doesn’t…disgust you?”

He snorted. “Uh. No.” He thought of the things he could tell her. The things he
should
tell her. Guilt nudged him. He was going on about being honest and yet he wasn’t being honest with her, not entirely. He wanted to try and build a base for an honest relationship, but how the hell was that supposed to work when he was keeping something so important and fundamental to who he was hidden from her?

He clicked off the light and closed his eyes, Jules curled into him, so small and delicate. Was he doing the right thing? He sure as hell hoped so.

Mike, Jules and Carlos walked into Aura on Friday night after a fun dinner with lots of laughing and a little flirting. Now they were there to help Neve celebrate her birthday. “And you can meet more of my friends,” Jules said.

Mike watched her search the crowded bar for her friends. Even in her spiky high heels she had to go on her toes to see over heads.

“There they are!” She lifted a hand and waved and then started leading the way to a back corner. She was easy to keep in sight, the black sequined tank top she wore catching all the lights, flashing and sparkling. Music from the dance floor throbbed around them, mingling with the hum of voices and the clink of glasses. Mike noted the looks Jules got from men as she passed by, the way their heads swiveled to watch her, checking out her rear view, no doubt, which he had to admit was exceptional in a pair of low-rise skinny jeans that hugged her butt.

Jules finally arrived where Neve sat on a stool at a high table with a few other people. They hugged. “Happy birthday! Here. I brought you this.” She handed over the small gift wrapped in glossy fuchsia paper with a sheer pale pink bow.

“Oh, thank you!” Neve held it up. “What, oh what, could it be?”

Jules laughed. The flat, rectangular package was obviously a framed photograph. “I hope you like it.”

“I’ll open it later, if that’s okay. When not so many people are around.”

“That’s fine.”

Neve tucked the package safely beneath the table.

Jules turned to Mike and Carlos. “Hey, guys. You remember Neve.”

“Yeah. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks!”

“And these are my friends, Paloma and Beth.”

Mike and Carlos shook hands as she introduced a few other people.

Mike smiled as he watched her, standing at the high table, moving a little to the music as she talked to people. A waitress came and took their drink orders. Jules turned to him and smiled back, still grooving a little. “I can’t wait to dance.”

“I’m not much of a dancer,” he said.

Her bottom lip pushed out a little, very cutely.

“But Carlos is.”

She brightened and turned to Carlos. “Really?”

“Sure.” He did some moves with his hands, bending a little to move their faces together, moving his body to the music. She laughed with delight.

“Okay. Let’s have a drink and then we can dance.”

Mike’s attention was caught by Paloma and Beth, sitting side by side, very close. Beth leaned in even closer so Paloma could say something into her ear. Then she nodded, turned her face to Paloma and they exchanged a long, heated kiss.

Mike kept his face expressionless, but turned to see if Carlos had noticed that. He lifted one eyebrow. Carlos nodded.

Jules had noticed too. She went on her toes to speak into his ear so only he could hear. “I guess you noticed Beth and Paloma are a couple.”

“Figured.”

“You don’t have issues with lesbians, do you?”

Once again, guilt struck him a blow to the back of the head. “No, of course not,” he said.

“Good. ’Cause they’re my friends and they’re really nice.”

He smiled reassuringly at her, reassured himself by the fact that she apparently had no issues with it.

This past week, he’d made an effort to include Carlos when he’d seen Jules. She’d come on a climbing trip with both of them, and a bunch of other people, of course, into the hills. Although she hadn’t climbed, she’d brought her camera, shaking her head and laughing at Carlos’s crazy fearlessness as he scaled the rock face, seemingly hanging on to nothing. They’d had dinner together a couple of nights, Thai food ordered in one night, barbecued hamburgers another night.

He was happy that she’d stuck around after their conversation Sunday night. Not that she’d really opened up a lot about anything in particular, but she was there, with him, with both of them, seemingly happy and having fun. And she seemed to like Carlos, so that was good.

She greeted more friends who arrived, male and female, with hugs and kisses and smiles. Some of them they’d met at the beach party, some were strangers to them, but all were friendly. Mike struck up a conversation with one guy, Jeremy somebody, an accountant who apparently made a lot of money.

“Must be great to have a business that lets you get outside,” Jeremy said. “I seem to spend all my time in my office, but that’s what it takes to make well into six figures.”

“Uh huh. Sounds like business is going well for you then.”

“Pretty good. Still manage to fit in a workout though at the club. It’s important to stay in shape. Not that I have to tell you that, being a jock and all.” Jeremy grinned.

“Well, I’m not exactly a jock.”

“Oh. I thought since you do adventure tours…what did you say you do? Bike tours? Kayaking?”

“Yeah. Rock climbing, high ropes, hiking, biking. But I don’t actually do many of the trips, I’m the business manager.”

“Oh.” Jeremy frowned. “Luckily it doesn’t take much business knowledge to run that kind of operation.”

Mike resisted the urge to drive his fist into the guy’s face. “I have an MBA from San Diego State.”

He enjoyed the look on Jeremy’s face. “No shit.”

“No shit. Hey, I need another drink. Nice talking to you. Catch you later.” He gave Jeremy a heavy thump on the back as he moved away. Douche.

Luckily most of Jules’s other friends were more fun to talk to.

“Dance, Carlos?” Jules stood in front of him, swaying to the music.

“You bet, doll.” Carlos set down his empty beer bottle. With a grin at Mike, he let Jules take his hands and lead him through the crowd to the dance floor. Mike ordered another beer, then turned and watched them.

The music of Daft Punk buzzed and pulsed around them. Carlos was athletic and unselfconscious and moved easily to the music. Jules was a good match, equally comfortable, lifting her arms, swinging her hips, smiling up into his face. Carlos set his hands on her hips and they moved together, graceful and sexy. Mike leaned on a post and took in the show with a smile on his face.

Carlos let the music fill him up, the lights on the dance floor flashing in brilliant colors in front of his eyes, and pulled Jules up against him as they moved together. He set his hands on her hips, matching her rhythm with his own, pulling her closer, until her ass was pressed against his groin.

Against his erection.

He sucked briefly on his bottom lip. She’d notice. There was no way she wasn’t going to. Fuck it. What could he do about it? She was the one who’d wanted to dance. How could he help how his body reacted to her?

She moved smoothly to the music. Her little tank top sparkled in the lights, revealing slender arms and a hint of cleavage. She tossed her hair, tousling it even more than usual, and her dark jeans hugged her curves from hip to ankle. He could smell her scent as she got warmer dancing, a light flowery scent that worked its way inside him. And now he was touching her and her sweet little ass was grinding against him, well, it was no wonder he got hard.

She paused slightly in her movements and glanced at him over her shoulder. Yeah, she knew. “It’s okay, doll,” he said in her ear. “Just dance.”

And they did. The beat of the music shifted into a new song and they adjusted their rhythm. Having a woman, this woman, up against him, in his arms, moving with him like they were having sex on the dance floor was making him hot, so hot. He wanted to touch her everywhere, not just her hips, her waist. He wanted to put his mouth on her and taste her.

Knowing Mike was watching them made it even hotter.

Her hair tickled his face as her head fell back onto his shoulder, and he bent his knees a little to shape his body to hers. Other bodies moved around them on the dance floor, illuminated in flashes of light, the bass of the music vibrating deep inside him. Dark. Light. Sound. Heat.

Then the tempo shifted again, a slower, softer beat emerging from the dance song. Holding her hips, he turned Jules so she faced him. She draped her arms over his shoulders and looked up at him. Her eyes smoldered as their gazes connected and held.

Their bodies moved together to the slower beat as Lil Wayne sang about figuring out how to love. And a faint ache materialized in Carlos’s chest. Yeah, he was hot for Jules, but it was more than that. He liked her, a lot, liked her spirit, her energy, her independence. He could fall in love with her. That thought both terrified him and thrilled him. Mike was so right. She could be the one.

“I really do want to photograph you,” she said.

“You really do, huh?”

She nodded. Her fingers played with the hair on the back of his neck and he shivered a little. “Would you do it?”

He had no issues with taking his clothes off. In front of her…it would be possibly the hottest thing he’d ever done, but also the scariest. More than hang gliding or bungee jumping, maybe even conducting combat operations near Baghdad. “Yeah,” he finally said. “I’d do it.”

The music wrapped around them in ribbons of sound, drum and guitar, growing louder, holding them together, hip to hip, and his dick swelled even more, pressing against her softness. He knew he should draw back from her, but it was as if the music had hypnotized them into a trance-like state where they were locked together, alone on the crowded dance floor. Lil Wayne sang “you’re beautiful” and he echoed the words in his head, looking down at her face. She
was
beautiful, with glowing eyes and full lips curved into a smile. He smiled back at her and as their gazes held, a connection stretched out between them, tugging them together, coiling around them.

When the song ended, he said, “Maybe we should take a break.”

She nodded, blinking dazed eyes, and they left the dance floor together. Back at the table, she picked up a drink and took a big gulp.

“Hey,” Neve said. “That’s mine.”

“I know.” Jules kissed her cheek. “Order us both another one. I have to go to the bathroom.”

Carlos watched her weave through the crowd. He looked at Neve. “Aren’t you supposed to go with her?”

Neve laughed. “Yeah. But she’s a big girl.” She signaled to a passing waitress and ordered two lemon drops.

Mike was talking to another guy. Carlos took a second look and saw it was their neighbor Matt, who they’d talked to a few times since meeting him at the Surf Sisters’ party. And oh yeah, he was Neve’s brother. He shifted over and joined in. Matt owned his own business too, and he and Mike were in a deep discussion about payroll taxes or some such shit. Thank God he had Mike to look after that stuff.

He did the same as Jules had and picked up Mike’s beer, downing what was left of it, but unlike Neve, Mike didn’t complain, just shot him an amused glance as he talked.

Then Matt moved away and Mike turned to him. “You look a little hot and bothered,” he said.

“No shit.” Carlos shook his head. “Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.”

“She looked a little hot too.”

“Yeah. Fuck.” Now frustration edged his mood. “This is making me nuts.”

“I know.” Mike laid a hand on Carlos’s shoulder. “Believe me, I know.” He sighed. “Look. Maybe it’s time to tell her.”

Carlos eyed him. “Really?”

“Hell. I don’t know. But I saw you two together out there. You were practically doing her, right there on the dance floor.”

“Not close enough,” Carlos muttered, resisting the urge to grab his crotch. He was still hard. Horny. Frustrated. Impatient.

“Yeah. I think we should tell her. Later. Tonight. I’ll talk to her. I’ll tell her.”