“September.” She stares at me.
Lucas and Natalie exchange a glance.
I grin. “Dates aren’t my specialty. We’ve changed it a couple of times because of family issues. Also, my brother is getting married and we don’t want to upstage him.”
Natalie smiles. “Family. I get it. It has to be your special day.”
Lucas starts to say something but is interrupted by a woman with a clipboard ushering him aside.
“Sorry, time for my speech. See you in a minute.” He takes Natalie’s hand and they walk up to the main platform.
I should take my arm away from around Juni’s waist, but I can’t. Instead I stroke her back gently, luxuriating in the feel of her velvety soft skin. She doesn’t move away and looking down, her nipples poke at the silky material of her dress.
I reach over and brush my hand along her jaw as her eyes look up to meet mine. Her face is so beautiful. Of course, I’ve always known she’s a beautiful woman, but she looks like she’s lit from within tonight. I could stare at her for hours.
She moves her body forwards and stands on tiptoe, pressing her soft lips against mine. My cock is so damn hard it feels like it’s going to burst out of my pants. My tongue starts to explore her mouth as I breathe in her familiar vanilla scent and her hands cradle the back of my head, stroking my hair.
“Hello!” A voice booms.
There’s a whine of feedback from the main speaker and we spring apart.
“Sorry, folks. Problem with the electronics.” Lucas says. He taps the microphone a couple of times.
Juni’s eyes are wide and she’s breathing fast, her lipstick smudged. She points to the ladies room and walks quickly away.
Lucas’s voice is amplified at a more normal volume. “Welcome, everyone. I think we’ll all agree Pushing It has been a huge success.”
There’s a round of enthusiastic applause.
“As some of you may know, my passion is to find the most innovative and eco-friendly creators and invest in them. I don’t believe industry has to come at the cost of the planet. And this idea also applies to the fitness industry. We can all stay healthy without a huge carbon footprint. So it’s great to see so many of you on board and finding out about how you can make your businesses greener.” He holds up his hand.
“As part of my commitment to future development in the health and fitness industry, I’ve cherry-picked three companies from this expo for Slate Inc. to keep our eye on. Scinta Smoothies, for their use of homegrown local produce and bio-engineered herbs. Crossley Designs, who impressed me with their re-use of textiles to create eye-catching, statement gym wear. And finally, Langstones Gyms, who are a family business with an eye to innovate new equipment using repurposed materials.” He smiles and starts clapping.
The audience joins in and, after a second, I do too. I look round for Juni, but she must still be in the ladies room.
“I hope everyone enjoys their night. Take it away, Patty…” He gestures at a band who are suddenly spotlit in the corner.
The band launch into a slowed-down version of Rihanna’s Only Girl (In the World). I can’t believe Juni is missing this.
I look around and start to walk over to the ladies room when I spot a flash of gold to my left. Some idiot who’s almost as tall as I am is leaning over her with one hand against the wall. Juni’s being polite, but I can tell she’s annoyed.
Asshole.
I quicken my pace. I reach over and remove his arm from the wall.
“You’re crowding my fiancée.” I stare him down. He’s drunk, but he’s not as stupid as he looks.
He holds his hand up. “No foul, dude. Sorry.”
As he walks away, I put my arm around Juni. She’s so much smaller than me, I want to shield her from all these predatory losers.
But maybe I am one too?
ChapterFive
JUNI
I’m in the middle of the dancefloor, slow-dancing with Ivar.
