Ink Spots (10 page)

They both looked up and found Vinter standing at the end of the hall. He was shirtless and his jeans rode indiscreetly low on his hips. He wore a pair of black boots, and had Jaz not been holding her up against the wall, she’d have certainly melted into the floor.

She’d known Vinter had tats but she never knew they covered him everywhere. At least everywhere she could see at the moment. They were so brightly colored and so detailed. Both his nipples were pierced and the man was nothing but pure walking sex.

No wonder Elise blushed the color of a fire engine when Mandi had asked what Vinter did. She’d meant for work though, but maybe that didn’t really matter given the man’s…magnetism.

Vinter winked at her, shot a look of knowing and a scowl at Jaz and walked away.

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“Is it true what they say?”

“About what?”

“You know, about him. About all the piercings up and down his…penis.” She whispered the last word, and it made her feel kind of naughty thinking about it, however brief and fleeting the thought.

“I am not discussing some other man’s dick with you.”

Vinter was out of sight, but she was still looking at the spot he’d vacated. “I was just curious. It’s not like I can ask Elise about it.”

“Oh, but you can ask the man you’re sleeping with about it? Shit. And stop staring after him. Remember, girlie, he’s taken.”

Mandi could barely contain the smile threatening to spill over her lips at the grousing from Jaz. As if he could doubt her lust for him. “I know he is.”

“Well, then put your tongue back in your mouth.”

She turned her head to look back at Jaz. There was laughter and heat in his eyes and not a bit of censure. “Why don’t I put it back in your mouth?”

* * * * *

She tried to look as casual as possible when she walked back to the table. She wasn’t quite sure she’d pulled it off, what with readjusting her top and bending over to tug the legs of her jeans back down over her boots. Most things were a little out of focus, and for a few seconds, all she could stare at with any sense of clarity was the backside of Jaz walking away from her.

“So, you get manhandled too?”

Mandi looked at Carrie and nodded. Was that the word for it? Did he just manhandle her? Because if that’s what it was… She’d like for him to do a lot more of it.

“It appears so.”

“They seem to like doing that at the most inappropriate of times,” Elise muttered.

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“Speak for yourself. Anytime Dallon manhandles me is an appropriate time.”

“You’re as bad as they are.”

Carried just smiled. Her face had that angelic look, but her eyes were full of wicked intent. “It’s that church upbringing and all.”

Elise snorted. “I’m sure it’s more than that.”

“I’ll never tell.”

Mandi watched the two women banter back and forth and laughed. It was good to be among friends, even though she didn’t know they’d be friends, even though she had only met them a short while ago.

Jackie stopped at the high table they’d taken over and pulled up a chair. She nudged Mandi. “You having fun?”

“I am. Thank you.”

“I’m not all to blame. Jaz helped. I called your brothers but they couldn’t get away this weekend. Something about a car show.”

“Yeah. It always falls on my birthday or on the weekend of. I don’t get to see them unless I go to them. Besides, I’m not sure they’re ready to meet Jaz.”

Jackie looked her square in the face and Mandi fought not to squirm under the stare. “Are you ready for them to meet him?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow.”

“You’re both like blood to me.”

“I know. I—”

And she was gone. Mandi followed Jackie’s movement toward the front door of the building where she now stood toe to toe with a tall man in uniform. Cop uniform.

Jackie’s chin jutted out when the cop got in her face, the tip of his nose touching hers.

When he stepped around her and walked away, Jackie stayed where she was, her hand covering her chest. Mandi started to get up and go to her, but that’s when her friend came back to their table, more flushed and flustered than Mandi had ever seen her.

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“You okay? Who was that? I’ve not seen him in here before.”

“That’s Mac.”

“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say and followed Jackie’s gaze toward the stage. Mac had stepped up and was shaking hands with Jaz. He said something that made Jaz look up and right at her. Had Mac seen them in the tattoo shop after all?

“He plays rhythm guitar in their little band,” Jackie informed her.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine. Mac and I have been at each other since I opened up.”

“Then why haven’t I ever seen him?”

“He usually comes in the back and we meet in my office. The dancers don’t like cops hanging around.”

“I can understand that.”

“I’m good. I promise.” She squeezed Mandi’s hand and stood up. “Who wants a drink? On the house since it’s my girl Mandi’s birthday?”

* * * * *

A collective gasp went up through the ladies in the small crowd and an equally collective groan went down through the men when Vinter stepped up to a microphone.

A small smile played about Elise’s mouth. Carrie’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Jackie was glaring daggers at Mac. And Mandi just couldn’t stop staring between the man center stage and the one directly behind him sitting at a drum set.

Vinter was still shirtless, and the ink covering his body just took her breath away.

Jaz had shucked his shirt as well, and the muscles of his chest and those traveling his arms, his own inked skin… Her mouth was dry despite the glass of water in front of her. She didn’t drink alcohol and she didn’t have a taste for soda at the moment, so water was her friend.

At least until she’d looked up at the men onstage.

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“Now, for those of you who don’t know me and, well, if you don’t, you should. My name is Vinter.” He spoke with a huge grin on his face that was open and welcoming and entirely mischievous. People laughed and the men still groaned.

Elise leaned toward the center of the table. “The man’s ego and sex appeal knows no bounds.”

“Maybe you should put a leash on him,” Carrie whispered, loud enough to be heard over Vinter talking into the mic.

“What fun would that be?”

“Hey, girls.” He was speaking and pointing in their direction. “Got something you want to share with the rest of us?”

Three of the four women shook their heads. Jackie did nothing as she was still glaring at Mac.

Mandi hadn’t been so embarrassed or had so much fun in years. It had been so very long since she’d had close female friends who were local rather than long distance. And the long distance one was Jackie. Most of her friends were actually business contacts and not people she’d had dinner with or a drink outside of a tradeshow hotel.

However… Elise and Carrie, yeah she could see going out for pizza and a movie with them or just having them over for wine and girls’ nights. She and Jackie had done that a couple of times, but Jackie was most often at Katz, so those girls’ nights were far and few between.

At the same time, she didn’t know how awkward it would be hanging out with Jaz’s friends’ girlfriends if the two of them weren’t seeing one another.

“I think our birthday girl is off in space.”

Mandi blinked and focused at the mention of birthday girl to find that everyone was looking at her. Okay, this was probably the most embarrassed she’d ever been.

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“Ah, she’s back with us. Missed ya, girl. Were you someplace fun?” Vinter was teasing her and it actually made the humiliation easier to take, what with his wicked smile and his even more wicked body half visible.

“Back to what I was saying… Mandi has been in our little community for a few months now and I think this plan was hatched the minute she got to town. Jackie had come to us, asking if we’d play for this shindig and, well, we optimistically said yes.

We’ve not played in public for anyone before, but we don’t sound like a bunch of screeching cats either. And who knew our man Jaz up here would take a fancy to the guest of honor.”

Oh god, he didn’t. Mandi buried her face in her hands, both cringing and laughing.

“Then again, who knew she’d take a shine to Jaz, but man oh man, if y’all had seen what I saw earlier between these two, you’d know they were meant to be.”

“Remind me to kick your ass after the party.”

Vinter laughed at the grouchiness in Jaz’s voice and turned his head to look at his drummer. “Remind me to let you try.” He looked back at the small crowd of people gathered. “He actually could kick my ass. Okay, so we have it on Jackie’s authority that one of Mandi’s favorite groups is Nickelback. And yeah, they kick ass too. We do a pretty decent job at covering them and Mac here doesn’t sound half-bad so, without further rambling from me… Mandi, we wish you a very happy birthday.”

* * * * *

“You okay?” Jaz wasn’t sure about the look on Mandi’s face at the moment. He didn’t know if she was ready to cry, laugh or jump his bones. He brushed the hair from the side of her face and curled it behind her ear. “Mandi?”

She crooked her finger and he leaned down, thinking she wanted to whisper something in his ear. He was wrong. She wrapped her arms around his neck and took his mouth in a plundering kiss. She flicked the tip of her tongue between his lips until he opened.

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The ravishing had him leaking in his jeans.

He stood up to his full height but she didn’t let go. That was fine with him. He liked the way she unabashedly, unashamedly, openly clung to him and wrapped her legs around him when he lifted her. Damn, but he’d been holding her a lot the last twenty hours or so—from behind, from the front, against the door, against the wall.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew people were watching, and from somewhere far away he could hear the whistles and cat calls and whooping from the people left inside Katz. He didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything but Mandi and getting inside her, sleeping with her, getting through the night and starting fresh with her tomorrow.

He bit her tongue lightly. She retreated and raised her head. He understood the look on her face all too well right then. He knew exactly how she felt. “I need you. Right now. I want you real bad, so unless you want an audience, we need to get the hell out of here.”

Her gaze roamed over his face, as though searching for something before she smiled and asked, “Can you walk?”

“Brat. I could walk with my dick buried so deep inside your cunt you felt it in your throat.”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna try me?”

She seemed to contemplate it, the little wench. He squeezed her ass and pulled her even closer, both of them completely uncaring about their captive audience. He’d take her on the bar if Mac wasn’t still there. He had no interest in getting them arrested for indecent exposure and lewd acts in a public place.

“Yes, but not here.”

He feigned disappointment. “Damn. Okay. Wave to all your well-wishers.” Instead she buried her head in his neck and squeezed her arms tight around him, shaking her 81

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head. He just smiled. She was seductive and naughty and gave as good as she got, but evidently being confronted by her own very public display of affection brought out her shyness.

He tossed a good night over his shoulder and kissed Jackie on the cheek as she opened the door for him and his embarrassed piece of birthday goodness to walk through. “How the hell are you ever gonna go back in there to work after that little performance if you wouldn’t even grin and tell them good night?”

“I don’t know,” she mumbled.

“You know they know exactly what we are going to do once we leave here.”

“Yes.”

“And you couldn’t contain yourself long enough to get back to the car?”

“Obviously not. Complaining?”

He set her on the hood of his car and bracketed her between his hands as he leaned down, face level with hers. “Not a bit. You can jump me like that anytime the urge strikes you.”

“Even after tonight?”

The second the words were out of her mouth, she looked down and clamped a hand over her lips. He licked at her fingers, sliding his tongue between each one until he could kiss her and she was once again looking at him. “Yes. Especially after tonight.”

He pushed into the space separating them until she was flat against the metal. “I’m all about wanting to see you a lot. I want you, Mandi. I want to get so deep under your skin, just like you’ve gotten under mine.”

Her legs slid up along his, slow, sensual, until they were wrapped around his lower back and her hips were tilted upward, open and welcoming him between her thighs.

“You are. I just didn’t want to hope for more. I mean, come on… I’m, well, I don’t know what I am, but, you’re hot and…well, you’re you. God, Jaz, what would you want with 82

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me for anything longer than a night and a day and another night of really damn good sex?”

“Oh, I can’t think of a lot of things I want with you that have nothing to do with really damn good sex.”

“You can’t?”

Why did she look so sad at that comment? “Yeah, but every one of those things begins and ends with really damn good sex. Sometimes some of those things would contain really damn good sex in the middle too.”

“You’re teasing me.”

The pout was adorable and oh so fake. “Yeah. I am. Baby, there are so many reasons for me to want you. I’ll be glad to spell them all out in great detail for you later, but right now is not the time.” He kissed the tip of her nose and sadly tugged at her legs until they dropped down. He stood and pulled her up and off the car. “Now let’s get to a bed. I still have a few hours of being the best goddamn birthday present ever.”

“Oh yeah, you are definitely that.”

She sashayed her way to the passenger side of the car and he could do nothing more than watch with his mouth hanging open as she untied the halter part of her top.