Chapter Two
Harper
“This place is wild!” I had to yell to be heard over the pulsing music and raised voices. “How did you find it?”
My friend and co-worker, Corey, leaned over to answer me. “Paul, the new sous chef, told me about it. He used to come here before he started working with us and, you know, no longer had time for a life. He said the drinks are strong and the music is hot.”
“Exactly what I need tonight.” I shook back my hair and ran one hand down my short silky dress. “The stronger and the louder, the better. I want to ... not think.”
“Then we’ve come to the right place.” The music changed from a thumping instrumental to the familiar beat of one of my favorite P!nk songs. Corey grinned at me as I jumped to my feet.
“We aresodancing.”
The dance floor was crowded, but I found a spot big enough for the two of us. We shimmied and gyrated, both of us grooving and wiggling our asses, happy to be young and healthy and away from the pressure cooker that was the kitchen at The Garden Board. A couple of other women joined us, and we all four sang along at the top of our lungs, not caring one single fuck about being in tune or knowing every word exactly.
A guy with black hair that hung nearly to his shoulders bounced over to stand behind Corey, grinning down her. She raised one eyebrow to me, and then giggled when he took hold of her hips, matching their movements so that he was basically grinding her ass. He murmured something into her ear, and she nodded before miming to me that they were going to get a drink.
“Hey.” The voice at my own ear was close and intimate. I felt the brush of warm breath down my neck and shivered.
Turning my head slightly, I took in the dude who stood behind me, his eyes boring into mine. He was a good head taller than me, and his shoulders were broad, filling out the dark dress shirt that stretched over his chest. The shirt was unbuttoned at the neck, but just so that it was sexy without being nasty.
His hair was short enough that I could guess his occupation, but what I saw of it seemed to be dark blond. His eyes were a deep and fathomless brown, and they were definitely interested in me.
To his credit, though, I noticed that his gaze didn’t dip down to take in the cleavage this dress showcased, or the curve of my ass, also highlighted, or length of my legs below the short hemline.
He bent his head to speak into my ear again. “Want to dance?”
I tilted my head and turned so that I could see him better. “I thought Iwasdancing.”
One side of that wide mouth curled up. “I mean, do you want to dance with me?”
I narrowed my eyes, checking him out and not making any attempt to hide it as my eyes roamed down his muscled arms and his flat abs to the fly of his jeans. I could tell three things right off the bat after my unapologetic perusal: one, he was definitely a soldier. Two, he had a body built for fun. And three, I could do some serious damage of the best kind tonight with what he had to offer me.
Yeah, he was exactly who and what I needed tonight.
With all of that in mind, I stepped closer to him, making sure the tips of my boobs pressed into that chiseled chest. I looped my hands up around his neck and lifted my eyes to his, letting my eyelids droop a little as I licked my lips and smiled.
“Is it reallyjusta dance you’re asking me for?”
He studied me for a moment without speaking. Something akin to desire flickered for a second in those brown eyes, but I couldn’t spot the insta-lust I’d anticipated. He circled my waist with his arms, but his hands didn’t stray down to my ass as I’d hoped.
Dipping his mouth close to my ear again, he murmured his answer in a soft, low voice.
“I’m not limiting any of our options, sugar. But let’s start with a dance and see where that leads.”
I raised one eyebrow. “I think that works for me. Show me what you got.”
This time, he gave me the full-on smolder, accompanied by a grin. “Honey, if I show you what I got here and now, you’d have to fight off the other women with a stick.”
Throwing back my head to laugh, I pressed a little closer to him. “I meant your dance moves, stud. It takes a strong man to get down to P!nk.”
“Nothing to it at all.” So saying, he slid his hands to my hips and began swinging his own in a move that somehow enhanced his obvious masculinity. Charmed, I started to really get into it, enjoying the simple pleasure of rocking out to music with a guy who showed tremendous promise.
The song ended, seguing into a slow number by Miranda Lampert, and he drew me closer, wrapping his arms around me. I stretched my neck back to smile up into his eyes.
“You’re pretty smooth.” I let my fingers play with the short hairs at the back of his neck. “Do you have a name, slick?”
He smiled, his lips curving up in a way that was somehow both sweet and sexy. “I do. I’m Jake Robinson. What about you?”
