PartyStarter (11 page)

Move!
her brain shrieked at her.
Just do
something!

With an inhuman force of sheer willpower, Julia thrust her
hips forward, turning her shaking limbs into something resembling a shimmy.

A cry of excitement that held a touch of relief swelled in
the crowd. Strengthened by the sound, Julia continued to move, her motions
jerky and awkward. She couldn’t find the rhythm of the song, couldn’t get her
brain to command her limbs. The usual sway and roll of her hips and rear had
vanished. She knew she performed horribly, but thankfully most of the guests
were well on their way to intoxication at this point and likely couldn’t even
see straight.

Sweat beaded her upper lip and the back of her neck as Julia
forced her body to go through the motions. She just had to get through this
song and she could have a quick word with Nelson about a short no-play list.
Then things would be better.

A familiar silhouette caught her eye, deep in the crowd, and
she stumbled, losing her footing for the briefest of moments. Julia craned her
neck, peering into the darkness. It couldn’t be…could it?

There! Those shoulders. That stance. It had to be. But what
in the hell was he doing here? Either some dumb fuck was gas lighting her, or
Jack was actually at the party. Julia tripped over her own feet again, too
distracted to pay any attention to what her appendages were doing.

Jesus! She was going to have to shape up. At this rate, she
was going to end up getting booed off the stage—and that had never, ever
happened before. She certainly wasn’t going to let it happen now.

But that green. She knew that color, knew it like she knew
her own name. The tiniest bubble of hope formed in her chest. If Jack was here,
she could talk to him. Explain things. Maybe make him understand. She had to at
least try.

Without warning, the music ended and a surprised gasp echoed
through the ballroom. The spotlight brightened and Julia glanced around the
room, baffled. Exclamations of surprise sounded from various points around the
ballroom.

“No, no, no,” Mick Sweetham’s voice boomed through the
speaker system. Julia turned toward the sound of Sweetham’s heavy boots
thumping on the floor, and watched him approach the platform again, shaking his
head.

The bubble of hope in Julia’s chest popped, her heart
plummeting to the very pit of her stomach.

Oh, hell.

Sweetham climbed up to join her, draping a long, wiry arm
over her shoulders. A low, confused murmur of conversation rippled through the
crowd, punctuated by the occasional drunken shout.

Julia pasted what she hoped was a sexy smile on her face.
“What’s the matter, Mick?”

“Well, y’see, luv,” he said, the words languid and low,
“that was just all wrong. It wasn’t right at all.”

Panic bubbled in Julia’s chest. Oh, sweet God, he hated her
and she was about to get fired. Ricky would kill her. And then she’d kill
herself. Her reputation would go down the toilet. Goodbye, career.

Cries of disagreement came from the partiers, and Julia
clung to those sounds like a drowning woman holding fast to a life raft. At
least they didn’t all hate her.

She forced a happy tone into her voice. “What do you mean,
baby?” She turned to the crowd. “You guys were digging it, weren’t you?”
Oh,
God, please say yes.

A bellow of approval came from the masses.

Thank you, sweet baby Jesus.

“See, Mick?” She mentally crossed all of her fingers and
toes.

Sweetham nodded approvingly. “Well, yeah, that lot liked you
well enough, but the truth is, something’s missing, luv.”

Julia blinked. “Missing?”

Sweetham grinned at her, his face contorting into a mask of
ecstatic pleasure. “Yeah. See, we heard all about your last couple of events.
Especially about some bloke named Stone.”

The crowd whooped at an eardrum-shattering level.

Julia choked on her intake of air, as though her heart had
just rebounded back up into her throat. She coughed before turning to Mick’s
mic.

“Uh, yeah. Stone was my partner for a couple of gigs.” Her
voice broke and she coughed again. “He was pretty amazing.”

Sweetham chuckled. “Ah. That he was, luv. That he was. And
because Mick Sweetham knows all, I also know that despite the fact that you two
started apart, you’re meant to be together.” He gave Julia an exaggerated,
enigmatic wink.

Julia’s thoughts whirled as though caught up in a cyclone.
All of this mysterious nonsense was making her crazy. What in the hell was
Sweetham talking about?

“Well, luv? Are you meant to be together?”

Julia took a deep breath, swallowing past the enormous lump
in her throat. What the hell, time to lay it all out on the line. “I think so.
Yes.”

The throng screamed its approval.

“But,” Julia continued softly, “I’m not sure if he would
agree with me or not.”

“Well,” Sweetham laughed roughly, his voice seasoned by
years of cigarettes and heavy drinking, “why don’t we ask him?” He made a
motion with his free hand and the DJ started a classic rock track heavy with
guitars and drums. A secondary spotlight flickered on, illuminating a group of
people near the front of the platform.

As one voice, the crowd let out a gasp of astonishment,
bodies shifting and shuffling, necks craning to get a better view of just what
was happening. As the knot of revelers in the limelight loosened, the sound
evolved into cries of delight.

Jack.

Jack.

Julia stood speechless on the platform as Jack stepped
forward, looking like something out of one of her kinkiest dreams.

His longish hair was slicked wetly back, and a couple of
days’ worth of stubble darkened his face. Black leather covered his chest and
encased his legs, gleaming as though the garments had been painted on. He was
sin personified, dark and rough, the embodiment of rock-’n-roll. His expression
was dangerous and intent, his eyes glowing with green fire.

And he looked at Julia as though she were a bedtime snack.

A hot flush traveled over Julia’s body, her bones feeling as
though they were liquefying inside of her limbs. Dark spots appeared in her
vision, and she forced herself to take a deep breath before she passed out,
trying to remember how to breathe properly.

Beside her, Mick Sweetham crowed with self-congratulatory
laughter. “Stone Ridge!” He bellowed into the microphone. “Fuck me,” he
repeated, “I can feel the fire between these two from here. Can’t you? C’mere,
mate.”

The crowd shouted its approval.

Jack moved wordlessly toward the platform, his steps slow,
deliberate. Predatory.

Julia gulped in another breath, not knowing whether to be
frightened, aroused or a combination of the two. Heat pooled low in her belly,
her pussy aching with need even as her legs trembled.

Jack’s gaze remained on her, never faltering, until he stood
directly before her.

“Jack…” The word slipped out of Julia on a breath.

“Don’t talk,” Jack murmured. “Just dance.”

He grabbed her hips, pulling Julia tight against his pelvis.
His body was rock hard against her, and she let out a squeak of surprise before
the rush of adrenaline rocketed its way through her body. Jack ground his hips
against her, sliding his arms around her back.

Julia melted faster than an ice cube in the summer sun.
Surrendering to Jack’s control she allowed herself to be directed and moved
wherever he led.

The atmosphere in the ballroom exploded with rocketing
excitement. Bodies writhed and gyrated on the dance floor, infected with Jack’s
energy and power, but Julia was only peripherally aware of anything else going
on in the room. And even that awareness was fading further away every second
that Jack touched her, leaving only the two of them and the music that
thundered around them.

His mouth landed on her throat, his lips hot against her
skin. Julia’s eyes fluttered shut and she focused solely on the sensation of
Jack’s touch, the tongues of flame he trailed over her flesh. The beat of the
drum and the scream of the guitar reverberated through her body, primal,
wicked, relentless.

This was all that mattered. Nothing else.

Julia ran her hands over his superheated skin, slightly
slick with perspiration, tracing the curves of his muscles, the taut flesh of
his hard body. She needed him again, craved him. Felt his need and desire in
his touch, in each caress.

Fingers slipped dangerously close to her breast and her
painfully aroused nipple and Julia let out a soft squeak. She reached in to
find his hand and slid it fully onto her breast.

Fire ignited in her pussy, heat both wet and hot singeing
her sensitive skin.

The frenzied mass shrieked its approval, the temperature in
the room rocketing up what had to be another ten degrees.

Jack’s hand vanished from her breast, and he arched her
backward before clamping his lips around her nipple. The friction of the lace
and his tongue against her skin sent waves of dizzying pleasure through her
core and Julia’s breath caught in her lungs.

Suddenly she was upright again, Jack’s mouth rough against
hers, his kisses demanding and invasive. Julia answered his unspoken questions,
her own kisses hungry and needful. Time slowed, each second an eternity, each
heartbeat an eon.

One hedonistic melody blended into the next and Jack and
Julia danced on, the platform their own carnal show.

Slowly, the world returned to normal. Julia had no idea how
many songs had played but the mood of the room changed, mellowed. The driving
rock beats ended and a slow, sexy dance track played, sensuous and hypnotic.
Julia nestled closer to Jack, inhaling the scent of raw, sexual man, becoming
intoxicated by his essence, the rapid staccato beat of his heart in tune with
hers. They swayed gently back and forth to the beat, euphoric and dreamlike.
She forced her eyelids open, glancing briefly around the platform. Sweetham stood
at the center of a tight circle of people, all deep in enthusiastic
conversation. The guests were focused on each other now, a tangle of arms and
bodies lethargically grinding against each other.

Julia took a deep breath.

“Jack?” Her voice sounded hoarse, unused.

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry about the other day.”

“I’m sorry, too.” Jack’s voice rumbled in his chest. “I
thought you were having a good time with me.”

“I was. It was more than that, though.”

“Was it only Ricky and his damned contest?”

“Not entirely. I thought you only ever wanted to win.” She
knew her tone was slightly accusatory, but she needed some answers.

Jack shrugged. “I did. In the beginning. But then the more I
performed with you I realized that didn’t matter as much to me. I just wanted
to keep seeing you. Keep watching you dance.”

A dizzying thrill rippled through Julia’s belly. She gave a
soft, wry laugh.

“At first I only wanted to win, too. But then I wanted to be
with you all of the time.”

Jack’s arms tightened around her, and Julia felt a tremor
run through his limbs.

She hesitated for a brief moment, the slow-moving synapses
of her brain finally allowing random thoughts to jell. “I didn’t actually win
this gig tonight, did I?”

“Does it really matter, either way?”

Julia thought about his question for several heartbeats.
“No. I guess it doesn’t.” She leaned back to look into his eyes. “How did you
end up here tonight, anyway?”

The corner of Jack’s mouth quirked upward. “Take a guess.”

Inspiration struck, sending a number of puzzle pieces clicking
into place and Julia chuckled softly. “Jordan. Damn that sneaky little
bastard.”

They swayed languidly for a lifetime of slow, easy breaths.

“You aren’t going to run away on me this time, are you?”

She shook her head, a tiny wave of embarrassment washing
over her. “No.”

“Why, Julia? Can you tell me why?”

She exhaled softly. “I got scared, Jack. You scared me to
death. You made me open my eyes and look at things differently. I was so
certain that I needed to be on my own to be successful and have my career and
you showed me life didn’t have to be that way. It’d been me, myself and I for
so long I didn’t know any other way. All of my preconceived notions and ideas
were blown away.” She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “Did Ricky
tell you about Jeremy?”

“No.”

“Before the whole party starter thing I was trying to get
into acting. This guy named Jeremy and I decided to partner up to make an indie
film on our own. Well, not long after we made the decision his ego swelled with
all of the attention he was getting from very eager wannabe starlets. He
decided that he wanted to make a porn film instead of the script I wrote.”
Threads of anger wove their way into her voice and she tore them away. “I told
him I refused to make porn and he fired me. Told me he was in charge now, he
was doing things his way, that the film was no longer my baby and that I could
take a hike.”

Jack kissed the top of her head. “Wow. Sounds like a great
guy.”

Julia let out a snort. “Great’s not the word I’d use.
Anyway, he came in, took over, and kicked me out. And I trusted him, Jack. We
were supposed to be a team. It was several months after that that I was
introduced to Ricky and we came up with the Party Starter idea. He promised me
it would be my baby, so you can imagine how I felt when he dropped that
bombshell about having you as my partner.”

“I can clearly imagine. I’m sorry you went through that
stress. I’m certain he didn’t mean it, and I absolutely didn’t.” He pressed his
lips to her temple. “And do you still want to be alone?”

Julia closed her eyes and reveled in the warmth and strength
of Jack’s arms. The stress she’d been carrying had vanished, the knot of
anxiety in her stomach gone. She felt better than she had in as long as she
could remember. Hell, nobody could predict the future, but it was time to take
chances.