I watched her, keeping my face blank. I thought that she was trying to piss me off.
"Answer me, James," she said.
"No," I told her.
"Dance with me," she told me.
"No."
"Fine. Somebody'll dance with me. Just you watch."
I gripped her arm when she tried to move away. "No, they won't. If you have to dance, it'll be by yourself tonight," I told her, leading her by the arm back into the main room of the bar.
"Whats 'appened to all the people?" she asked, looking at me.
I shrugged.
"Is it that late?" she asked, rifling through her handbag. "Where's ma phone?"
"You left it at the bar," I told her.
She started to move in that direction.
I held her back, holding her phone in front of her face. "I grabbed it for you."
She snatched it from me, giving me a glare that I found way too adorable. She glanced at it, checking the time. "'S only eight clock. Why d'ya spose everyone is leaving? Is something happening? Are they closing?"
I shrugged, saw that it infuriated her, then shrugged again, keeping my face carefully blank.
Her eyes narrowed on me. "You don't have to stay here," she told me. "I'm just fine."
I pulled her against me, pushing her cheek into my chest. The urge to touch her was overwhelming me. I couldn't remember a time when I'd fought so hard for control, both of my anger, and of my physical response. I buried my face in her soft hair. It felt like silk and smelled like heaven. "You're an infuriating woman," I murmured. She struggled a little at that, but I just held her tighter. "I would be happy to walk you back to your room, but I'm not leaving you here when you're acting like this."
"You don't know anything about me. I may act this way all the time," she said into my shirt.
She started nuzzling into my shirt, and I clenched my jaw hard to keep from touching her. I wouldn't so much as kiss her when she was this plastered, and I was shocked at myself for wanting to.
She pulled back to study me, focusing on my chest. She started running her hands over my chest, kneading at my skin. I had some vivid images flash through my mind of tying her to my bed and fucking her senseless.
"Someday soon I'm going to tie you up and tease you just the way you're teasing me right now," I told her, my voice pitched low, "with no hope for release for at least a night."
Her hands stilled, and she pulled back to give me wide eyes. Her expression changed in an instant into one of determination. She snapped her fingers at me. "I have a surprise for you," she told me darkly, swiveling around to stalk towards the karaoke stage.
The DJ sent me a questioning look as she spoke to him, and I nodded slightly, folding my arms across my chest and schooling my features into passivity.
When the first notes of S&M started to play, I just stared at her, a little shocked. I'm in trouble with this one, I thought. For the first time in my life, I had the thought that I was in over my head with a woman.
She started giggling and singing in her soft voice and my brain did a little short-circuiting. Fuck. I'm in trouble.
She was doing a distracting little wiggling dance when she stumbled, and I moved closer to catch her. I swore to myself that if she fell off the stage I was going to carry her straight out of there.
The trashy redhead approached me, getting way too close. I didn't want anything to do with this one, I thought.
She flashed a sultry smile at me. "Hi, I'm Melissa. Are you friends with Bianca?"
I nodded slightly, just wanting her to go away so I could focus on Bianca's performance. I had a feeling she wouldn't be doing this for me often, going by her usual reserve.
"I work with Bianca. She and I are real close," she said, showing a lot of teeth in a strangely feral grin that struck me as a little crazy. I ran into fortunehunters like her all the time. Fuck, I thought. I didn't want to have to hang out with this one all the time. Stephan I could take.
She leaned into me, pushing her silicone breasts into my arm as she craned up to speak into my ear. "Just so you know, if you want a wild time in bed, you should always go with a redhead. Blondes are on the cold side, if you know what I mean."
I looked at her. "Are you referring to Bianca?" I asked. If she was doling out information, I wanted all I could get.
She shrugged, still standing way too close. "Maybe. I can't say for sure about her, but you can find out for yourself about me."
I gave her very solid eye contact, trying my hardest not to be openly rude to one of Bianca's friends, though she seemed like a pretty shitty friend from where I was standing. "No, thank you," I said slowly and clearly. "I prefer blondes."
The music stopped, and I smiled at Bianca as she strode towards me with a purpose.
"Thank you for the surprise, Bianca," I told her, meaning it. "I won't forget that for as long as I live."
"Do you two know each other?" she asked, looking between Melissa and I suspiciously.
That baffled me. "We just met. She works with you, right?"
"So what were you talking about?" she asked.
"She said she was a good friend of yours," I said, beginning to suspect that Melissa had been lying when she'd said they were close. "I was asking her about you."
Bianca gave Melissa an inscrutable look.
Melissa did a quick one-eighty, grabbing Bianca's hand. "Come on, chicky," she said, leading Bianca back to the stage. I'd been right, I decided. The redhead is mental.
I folded my arms across my chest, just raising a brow as they started rapping a duet of a crude rap song. I didn't even spare Melissa a glance, just watching Bianca rapping with a silly smile on her face. Ah, now, there it is. I needed more of that smile. It affected me. She affected me.
Stephan was moving towards me, giving Bianca some intense best friend looks. I imagined they had their own language just with those looks they shared.
He approached me, his mouth tight. He spoke quietly, his tone serious. "This isn't her," he told me flatly. "She's drunk, and she never drinks. I don't want you to get the wrong impression of her."
I nodded, meeting his eyes. I'd known as much. The only impression I'd gotten that evening was that she was way too fucking drunk.
"I hope you aren't thinking she's someone that you can just play around with. She doesn't sleep around, not ever. If you aren't seriou—"
I interrupted. This part would be easy to put to rest, if he didn't object to me seeing her altogether. "I'm very serious, Stephan. Earnestly so. I want to take care of her. I'm not playing around. Not at all."
His brow furrowed. "If you don't treat her well, I will hurt you. I don't care how rich you are, I will kick your ass." He said it as though he honestly couldn't help it.
I nodded at him to show I understood. "I want you to trust me, Stephan. As I said, I want to take care of her. I swear to you that I'll treat her like a princess. I'm not in the habit of stalking women. This is all new to me, but I . . . just want to care for her."
Stephan cleared his throat, suddenly looking down at his feet. Even in the dim bar lighting, it looked like he was blushing. "She's a virgin," he said quietly.
My eyes went wide and shot to Bianca on the stage. My brain did another little short circuit. I was a little shocked at myself. My first response was one of overwhelming pleasure at the revelation. Mine, I thought. She was all mine. I couldn't help but relish the thought. I'd never felt so possessive of anyone or anything in my life.
"I'll see her home tonight," I told him quietly. "But I want you to know that I would never touch her in this condition. She's too drunk to make a decision like that, and I would never take advantage."
He studied me closely, then nodded.
Bianca stormed from the stage as the music ended, walking right into Stephan. She was clearly irate. It was a sight. They huddled together for a solid five minutes, obviously hashing something out. I shamelessly tried to eavesdrop on them, but I couldn't hear a thing.
Bianca pushed back from Stephan suddenly, pointing at the bar. "Go. Back. To. Your. Seat."
He went, looking dejected.
Bianca turned her wrath on me. "So, are you done yet?" she demanded. "You can see now that this is not going to happen. My V-card should be more than enough of a reason to make someone like you run screaming in the other direction."
I schooled my features into passivity. I wasn't feeling civilized. The things I wanted to do to her weren't civilized, and I didn't want to shock the poor girl any more than I had to.
"Come here," I ordered, watching her. Mine.
I gripped a hand into her hair very carefully. I pulled her head back slightly, leaning down to her. "I'm going to ruin you," I breathed into her ear. "I'll be your first, and I'll fuck you so thoroughly that I'll be your last, too. You won't want any other man after I've gotten my hands on you. Every last inch of you."
She shuddered deliciously against me, and I had to struggle for control. Mine.
She pulled back a little to look at me, her brow furrowed. "So you prefer virgins?" she whispered.
My brows shot up. She had the strangest notions. "I've never been with one, so no. But I can't say I'm displeased with the notion. In fact, I love it that I'll be your first."
SLEEPOVER
JAMES
"I'm ready to go," Bianca said.
About fucking time, I thought. "Good. Let's go tell Stephan."
We approached the slumped form of Stephan. Whatever Bianca had said to him had him in a state. "Bianca is calling it a night," I told him. "I'll see her to her room. What time should I set the alarm for?"
"Five," Bianca and Stephan said.
I nodded goodnight to Stephan, and he nodded back.
Bianca moved to Stephan, kissing him on the forehead. They had another quiet but intense exchange before we took our leave.
I gripped her arm as we left. "Stephan and I spoke at length. He knows I would never take advantage of you when you're impaired. If I didn't know otherwise, I would think he was your older brother. How long have you two been close?"
She gave me a sideways glance, her expression unreadable. "A long time," she said.
I changed the subject, since it was obvious she wasn't in a sharing mood. "You need to get on the pill," I told her. It was a polite order.
She sent me a cute little glare. "My body, my business," she said stiffly.
I felt a little thrill move through me when she said that, because I was going to show her beyond a shadow of a doubt that her body was mine. I would own every inch of it.
"When we're having sex, it will be my business, as well," I told her, trying to sound reasonable. "And you need to get started. It can take weeks to months before it becomes effective."
She glared. "For your information, I'm already on the pill. I have bad periods, and it helps make them milder. I've actually been on them since I was a teenager . . . for personal reasons. But you are outrageous, you know that? I've never agreed to have sex with you."
"What personal reasons?" I asked.
"I prefer to keep those reasons personal." She had the nerve to stick her tongue out at me.
I squeezed her arm, some very vivid images of what I wanted her to do with that tongue flashing through my mind. "You are exasperating."
"Let me bombard you with a bunch of personal questions and see how you like it."
The idea of that strangely wasn't troubling to me. "Give it a try. I think the tradeoff might just be worthwhile for me."
She got very quiet for the rest of the walk. She greeted the girl at the front desk as we walked by. That was it. No doorman. No security to speak of. We just walked right onto the elevator.
I shook my head, appalled.
"The security here is deplorable," I told her.
She giggled. "What did you expect? It's a crew hotel in downtown Manhattan. The security isn't deplorable. It's non-existent."
I stared at her. "It's terrifying. Anyone could come in here."
She just kept giggling. "That's what locks and police are for. If you think this is bad, you should see some of the places Stephan and I have stayed."
I searched her face, a strange feeling of alarm gripping my chest. "Where? What do you mean? Do you still stay in those places?"
She shrugged. "Um, not really. I guess this is our least secure crew hotel at the moment." She burst into another giggling fit. I held out my hand for her key, and she handed it to me.
"I would prefer if you stay at a more secure place when you visit the city. I'll arrange it," I told her.
She shook her head, her smile fading. "No. No. No. I don't know what you think is going on here, but you are not going to take control of my life. You can just rule out that scenario right now."
"We'll talk about it when you're sober."
"You can talk all you want. That is not happening." She sounded so sure of that. I could admit to myself that she scared me. She was about to make my life very difficult.
We stepped into the room, and I couldn't help but notice the open door of an adjoining room. I strode inside. A men's flight attendant uniform hung in the visible closet.
"Stephan's room?" I asked loudly.
"Yes."
I went back into her room, shutting and locking the door behind me.
I watched her flop onto her bed, still fully clothed. "I need to set my alarm," she said.
"I've got it," I told her, moving to her purse.
I plugged her phone in to charge and set her alarm.
"Thank you," she murmured. "You can go now. I'll wake up on time. I've never been late to work. I'm not gonna start the habit tomorrow. As soon as my head stops this spinning, I'll be falling asleep."
I moved to her suitcase, checking for something for her to sleep in. I wasn't sure if I wanted to curse or cheer when I found a tiny, sheer slip of a nightgown. A fucking virgin that looked like a playboy model and wore sexy lingerie to bed. Fuck.
I set it on top of her bag, going into the bathroom. I saw the package marked 'makeup remover wipes' and grabbed one.
I moved back to the bed, perching beside her. I gently wiped her face. Her skin was perfect, and as I wiped it clean, I realized that she barely wore any makeup. She was so lovely. I wanted so badly to kiss her that my hand shook with a fine tremor as I cleaned her eyelashes carefully.
"You hardly wear any makeup. You have a lovely complexion." It was an understatement. She was perfection.
She snorted. "Look who's talking, Mr. Beautiful."
I smiled. "Perhaps I'll just call you Mrs. Beautiful." I kissed just the tip of her nose.
I got up and turned out the lights, then moved to undress her. That was for my benefit as much as hers. I didn't completely trust myself. My reaction to this woman had become too volatile.
She moved her hands to block me as I began to unbutton her shorts. "What are you doing?" she asked. She didn't sound alarmed, which did nothing good for my self-control.
How wrong would be if I just used my mouth on her? I had become obsessed with making her come.
Not tonight, I told myself firmly. She was beyond my reach tonight.
I brushed her hands away, removing her shorts quickly. "Taking care of you," I told her, trying to shake off the images flashing through my mind of me really taking care of her. "I told you and Stephan that I would. I'm getting you ready for bed right now. And if you start throwing up all of that poison you drank tonight, I'll take you to the bathroom and hold your hair out of your face for you. Hold still. I'll have you changed faster if you don't fidget so much."
She submitted, which made my hands shake a little as I quickly stripped her and slipped her into that obscene slip that no virgin should have been wearing to bed.
I put her clothes away carefully, fighting hard for control. I tucked her in carefully.
I looked down at her when I'd finished, at a loss. I couldn't leave her, but I also didn't see how I could stay.
"You can sleep here," she told me in a dro
wsy voice. "If you can handle the lack of security."
I sucked in a breath. Fuck. I was lost. There was no way I could say no to that.
"Do you mind if I just sleep in my boxers? It's much more comfortable, and I swear I won't try a thing. Tonight."
"Okay," she said softly.
I stripped down to my boxers, wondering if she could see my obvious erection in the shadows. I got on the bed, staying as far from her as I could get. I stared at the ceiling, knowing that I wasn't going to get any rest that night, but I still didn't even consider leaving. She'd told me I could stay, and I couldn't resist, even if it was pure torment.
I could feel her watching me. "Go to sleep," I ordered.
"Are you tan like that everywhere?" she asked sleepily.
I smiled. Her breathing changed almost instantly, becoming deep and even with sleep.
I gave some serious thought to going into the bathroom and jacking myself off. There was no way I was going to rest with my cock so hard that it had taken on a life of its own.
I was a second away from doing just that when she rolled into me. I stiffened, but I could tell from her breathing that she was still sound asleep. I mentally cursed as she nuzzled her face into the side of my chest, her hand moving to rest on my sternum.
Fucking hell. She cuddled in her sleep. I didn't know how I was going to manage, but I didn't think I could bear to leave her touch.
"Stephan," she murmured contentedly.
I processed that. Stephan was gay. He had told me as much. And she had told me that they were purely platonic. I believed them both. Why does she seek him out in her sleep? Were they really so close? A part of me was insanely jealous at the thought that he was that important to her, but I knew instinctively that I couldn't indulge that jealousy. The two of them were too close to tolerate anyone coming between them, and I wouldn't be making that mistake.
She nuzzled against me, throwing a leg over mine. I could feel her sex moving flush with my thigh. I couldn't quite stifle a moan.
"James," she said softly in her sleep. That's more like it, I thought. That one little telling admission made the entire night worth it. I was getting under her skin, as well. It was only fair.