The Bad Ass Brigade (9 page)

The roar of approval from the assembled gang confirmed that Annika had won that round.

Sam waited until all the others at their shared tables had a chance to crowd around the new arrivals, shouting one boisterous, off-color greeting after another. Nate and Erin got their share of attention, but the big attraction was unquestionably Annika. No fewer than a dozen hands went up offering to buy her a beer. Most were from the single guys but a few bold married men braved their wives’ ire and joined the stampede.

Annika laughed and reached up and pinched Charlie’ cheek.

“Nope. Charlie owes me big time. And I didn’t work in a bar for more years than I can count without knowing the good stuff. Hope you have lots of money Charlie, because I only go first class when it comes to booze.”

In the resounding laughter as Charlie good-naturedly signaled for the waitress, Sam came up behind her. He slipped his arm around her and let his hand rest on her belly several inches below her waist. Leaning down he said in a low murmur, “How about men? Do you only go first class with them, Princess?”

Annika’s full body shiver was his reward. As was the flush that started at her chest and made its way up her neck to her face. She hesitated then whispered, “I don’t know that I’ve ever had the opportunity—or the inclination.”

Sam chuckled. “Yet, Princess.”

Sam stepped back and leaned against the bar. For the next half hour he kept his distance and enjoyed watching her work the crowd of men that surrounded her. He wasn’t jealous or even concerned. If his raging cock had anything to say about it she’d be in his arms and in his bed before the night was over.

Annika seemed perfectly comfortable living up to her moniker. Like royalty she held court, showering attention on the men jockeying for her attention. Given that they were all cops or firefighters she was in her comfort zone. With a teasing remark or a soft demurral she focused on each of them until one got too close or made a presumptuous move. Then she turned to the next lucky guy. Her message was clear—especially to the man who planned to make love to her tonight. She was a Princess, for sure. But she wasn’t cold. She just wasn’t interested. At least, not in those other guys.

Every so often she’d sneak a glance his way, a muted question in her gaze. He just raised his glass and grinned at her, delighting in the flush that darkened her cheeks. She didn’t try to hide her annoyance. With a frown, she stiffened her shoulders and turned away. Her frustration added to his amusement, and to his arousal, which was getting damn near impossible to ignore. The tension between them was tangible. From the questioning looks of the men glancing from her to him, their ritual of faux avoidance wasn’t going unnoticed.

Although Annika refused every invitation to dance, Sam saw her tap her foot to the beat. The unconscious sway of her hips as the music heated up was enticing as hell. Glancing at his watch, he didn’t know how much longer he could keep his distance.

Annika had captured him from the moment she walked into that conference room a lifetime ago. And there’d never been any question that she had a body that wouldn’t quit. But tonight she’d taken off the wraps. She’d traded the long pants, tailored suit coats and work boots for an ensemble that had every guy in the place discreetly checking his front and rearranging his trousers.

The short flared skirt travelled a measly six inches below her ass and revealed showgirl legs that he’d only imagined. Four-inch platform heels brought her almost to his shoulder when he’d cozied up to her. Most surprising was her halter top. No attempt to hide the bounty tonight, no way. He’d been envisioning her breasts since the first time he saw her. But the form-fitting top, incongruously made of white lace, promised even more generous breasts than he dared to imagine. He planned to taste them tonight if he did nothing else. And he planned to do a hell of a lot more than that. Just thinking about touching her, tasting her, breathing in her heady fragrance, had his dick screaming for relief.

After Nate and Erin brought down the house with one of their outrageous dance expositions, Sam had had enough. Strolling over to the DJ, he put in his request then walked back to the table where Erin and Nate were basking in the attention of the onlookers. He strode up to Annika and said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“C’mon Princess, let’s show these wannabe’s how it’s done.”

Annika frowned and shook her head but Sam ignored her and nodded to the grinning DJ. In a moment Donna Summer’s sultry voice rang out through the bar. It didn’t take long for everyone to get the picture as the classic
Hot Stuff
stamped out its grinding beat.

Sam quirked his finger and motioned her toward him. Mouthing the words,
Lookin’ for some hot stuff, baby, gotta have some hot stuff tonight…
he pulled her forward onto the dance floor.

Annika tried to pull back, but he held her hand firmly in his. Stronger than his physical pull was the emotional hold he had on her. She’d spotted him the minute she walked into the bar. Her knees had buckled and she stumbled, but Nate caught her. Gripping her arm he’d chuckled and whispered just loud enough for her and Erin to hear.

“You’ve got that right, Lieutenant. He is one righteous-looking guy.”

Erin cooed in agreement.

And, God, was he ever. A silvery gray silk shirt open at the collar exposed a sprinkling of dark hair and hugged shoulders and arms that rippled with taut muscle. Tailored black slacks cut to perfection revealed the finest ass she’d seen on a man. It made her mouth water just looking at it. He was tall, lean, muscular, but not in an over-bound bulging way. Like a sleek elegant panther he radiated strength; a deeply sensual animal exuding sexual power. As much as she knew she needed to protect herself, she couldn’t fight her body’s response to this overwhelming man. She longed for his touch, ached to have his arms envelop her.

But, except for his suggestive whisper when she first entered, he hadn’t spoken to her. At least not in words. He’d casually leaned up against the bar, chatting politely with the various men who approached him, but his gaze never left her. Whenever she snuck a peek at him he was watching her, his gaze blatantly tracing the lines of her body, her face, her mouth. It was as though he was undressing her with his eyes. His brash smile confirmed that he liked what he saw beneath her skimpy clothes—a lot. Rather than being put off by his unapologetic perusal, Annika was swamped with fiery sensations that made her uneasy, off balance and excited. Two quick hits of Scotch helped her relax at least a little, but only heightened the abandoned response of her heated body to his unspoken invitation.

When he finally approached her, and motioned her to come to him, she should have refused. For a brief moment she tried to pull away. But the music and the man were more powerful than any paltry resistance her wayward body could have mounted. It was as though he’d turned a key and unlocked a part of her that had been straining to be free. She was powerless to resist.

Annika had always loved to dance. It was the one way through the years that she’d allowed her body to speak openly to the passion that ran deep beneath her hardened shell. But the beat of the music was stronger than her tight reserves. Sam must have sensed that because the moment they began to dance their bodies spoke to one another, making words unnecessary. With the explicit song pounding in the background, he moved in on her. His strong arms and legs captured the beat and sent it her way. His sinuous, skillful movements were an open invitation. Annika twitched her hips suggestively from side to side, beating out a time-honored response that was as old as mankind.

Sam threw back his head and laughed, murmuring, “Oh yeah, baby, do it like that. Just like
that
.”

The crowd ringed the dance floor giving them room and rowdy encouragement. They shouted “Oh yeah”, “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!, and “Hot damn, get it on!” echoing the sexy lyrics of the song. Annika gave into the beat and the powerful draw of the sexy man who was assaulting her faltering reservations. They moved together swaying, then backed away mimicking each other’s writhing motions. Sam was talented, and audacious. Placing his hands on her slender waist he turned her body so that her backside rested against his bulging erection. The crowd was wild now, egging them on, shouting out the chorus: “
gotta have some hot stuff, gotta have some love tonight
! Sam held her up against him. His suggestive driving movements left little to the imagination and brought down the house.

When the song ground to a halt, the applause was deafening. Sam picked Annika up easily and dipped her low, her head almost touching the floor. He placed a stealthy hand against her thighs holding her miniscule skirt in place. Setting her on her feet he leaned down and kissed her long and hard on her lips. Annika gasped trying to catch her breath. She knew it wasn’t only the dance that had her panting for air. It was this powerful, sensual man. If Sam hadn’t been holding her tight against his hip, she would have crumpled to the floor.

Nate saved her from having to respond to the shouts of the crowd.

“That does it. Thanks, Sam, my man. And Lieutenant, you are as righteous as that man beside you!”

The gang behind him roared in agreement. Nate winked at his buddies then shook his head in mock dismay.

“Like being with my sexy woman isn’t enough excitement. Don’t know about the rest of you, but I ain’t hanging around in this place with the likes of you. Not with the ideas those two put in my head. Uh, uh! C’mon, baby, we’re outta here!”

Nate tossed a shrieking Erin up over his shoulder and kept her in place with one big hand across her thighs, the other solidly on her upraised bottom. He marched to the door amid the rowdy cheers from the heated crowd.

A few couples moved bravely to the dance floor as Sam’s second song request pulsed from the speakers.

“I thought we needed a slow one after that, Princess,” Sam said pulling her into his arms.

Annika understood his chortle when Donna Summers began crooning her signature “
love to love you baby”.
The blatantly suggestive lyrics brought a chorus of groans from the audience.

Sam held her tightly against him, their joined bodies swaying in time to the driving, sensuous rhythm.

Nuzzling against her ear, he murmured, “I want you to know Annika, you are the sexiest goddamn woman I’ve ever known.”

When she shivered in response, he ran his hand over her bare thigh.

“Tell me, baby. What are you wearing under this outrageous skirt?” When she could only moan, he said, “I’m betting on a lacy thong. Am I right, Princess? Just one strip of lace riding between those hot cheeks of yours?” When she gasped, he whispered, “You don’t have to tell me, Princess. Before very long, I’m going to find out for myself.”

Two minutes later, it was obvious they weren’t going to make it to the end of the song.

Sam unwound her arms from around his neck and stepped back. He lifted her chin between his finger and his thumb, his erotic question gleaming in his eyes. Not waiting for her response, he asked, “Where’s your purse?”

She couldn’t grab enough air to answer. Instead she pointed at the table.

His voice was low, commanding. “Get it.”

Chapter 10

It took Annika a good five minutes plastered against the passenger side door to quiet her breathing and get control of her overloaded senses. It didn’t help that Sam was humming the tune to
Hot Stuff
as he expertly met the twists and turns of the country road. The closer they got to town, and to her apartment, the more her excitement turned to dread. A wave of emotion, close to panic, shook her as she envisioned what was to come. Oh God, why had she done this? Gone out tonight, knowing that Sam would be there? Worn this outrageous “come and get it” outfit? Looking like the tease they all thought she was? And with Sam, of all people. And now he’d know. Know what she was really like.

By the time he drove into the basement of the apartment complex and parked the car, Annika had managed to stifle her panic and make her decision.

“Sam?”

“Yes, Annika.”

“I… I can’t do this. Please understand. I really cannot do this.”

“Annika? Be quiet.”

His soft order sent a wave of heat through her so strong it shocked her into silence. Before she could protest, he was at her door, helping her out. When they got to the landing outside her apartment, he held out his hand.

“Your key?”

She shook her head. “No, Sam. I can’t. You don’t understand.”

Sam smiled at her and backed her up against the door. Placing his hands on either side of her head, he murmured, “What don’t I understand, Annika? How much I want to kiss you? And how much you want me to?”

He nuzzled against her neck, gently nipping at the sensitive skin. She couldn’t hold back the tiny whimper that rose in her throat. Oh God. He needed to stop. Her legs were starting to shake and her skin felt hot. He moved in and began nipping lower, closer to the top of her breasts. They were barely contained in the scanty top. Oh god, why had she worn this? Something so provocative? So easy for him to push down and free her breasts.

His voice was low, husky.

“Are you trying to tell me I’m wrong? That the Ice Princess isn’t meltable? That you don’t want me to do this to you?
With
you? “

She put her hand on his chest and tried to push him away but he was too strong, too big. He loomed over her, swamping her with his strength.

Struggling against him, she made her voice as firm as she could. “No, you’re wrong… or… you’re
not
wrong. I… I don’t know what you’re saying! All I know is that I don’t want you to do
this
.”

Sam’s smile widened. “You better tell that to these.”

He brushed his fingertips across her breasts pausing to tweak each of the hard taut tips that were pressing against the lacy material.

Annika startled at the wave of fire that flooded her at his slight touch.

She begged him, “Oh God. Sam. Please. Don’t. You don’t understand. You don’t know what I am like.”