At the same time, his mind spun as he tried to understand what the hell was going on. Could he have subconsciously recognized his old friend’s scent? Okay, maybe. But that still didn’t explain why she smelled so good or why her fragrance had pulled him so frigging hard in her direction. He’d never felt anything like it in his life. The animalistic urge he’d had to track her down didn’t fit with any concept of friendship he recognized.
And neither did the erection he had going on in his jeans right then. That was definitely not the way people greeted old childhood friends. Crap, if he didn’t do something quick, this was going to get really frigging embarrassing.
He pulled away and gave her a smile. “We probably shouldn’t be wasting this music. You want to dance some before we go find a place where we can catch up on old times?”
* * *
Triana Bellamy didn’t mind when Remy’s big, strong hand glided down her back to tease the curve of her bottom as they danced. Nor did she complain when his muscular, jean-clad thigh occasionally slipped between her legs to press against her in the most delicious way through the little black dress she wore. Instead, she focused on the pounding rhythm of the music and enjoyed being with the sexiest man she’d ever seen.
Besides, it wasn’t like Triana wasn’t getting just as naughty as he was. In fact, she should have probably received an honorary police badge considering the way she’d been frisking his body the whole time. Not that there was a woman on the planet who would blame her for wanting to give Remy a pat down. The guy was seriously built.
Triana lived and worked in Houston but was back in town for the week visiting her mother and hanging out with old friends. When those same girlfriends had stopped dancing to stare at something over her shoulder a little while ago, Triana had feared the worst. She’d turned around terrified she’d find some drunk tourist with a facial tattoo and gumbo breath standing there. Instead, it had been the guy she’d crushed on all through high school looking better than any man had a right to.
Remy had always been fit and muscular as far back as she could remember, but now it looked like he’d grown four inches and added at least fifty pounds of pure muscle. But even more amazing than the physical changes was the whole animalistic-sex-appeal thing he had going on. He exuded it like a cologne.
Then there were his gorgeous hazel eyes. When the colored strobe lights reflected off them at just the right angle, it was like they were actually glowing. It made him seem like some kind of hungry predator. Damn, that gaze of his did all kinds of crazy things to her insides.
Truth be told, there had always been something about Remy that did it for her, even before she’d understood what the heck that meant. But now there was something about him that was impossible to resist. If she knew her friends, they’d been staring at him because they all wanted to jump him. Well, they were all going to have to get in line behind her.
As they danced to one song after another, Triana smiled as she remembered what it was like growing up with Remy. They’d been fourteen when their parents had met at her late father’s jazz club on Frenchmen Street. Even though they’d been from drastically different walks of life, they had formed an immediate friendship, and it wasn’t long before they were having dinner at each other’s houses all the time. She and Remy became close too. When they weren’t hanging out doing homework together, they were talking about what they wanted to do when they were older.
But even though she’d always had a crush on him, they’d never dated, partly because they had moved in different social circles. He liked sports, while she was into all kinds of science and math activities. However, the bigger issue was that they’d both been afraid getting involved would screw up their friendship.
After they’d both gone to college, she’d tried keeping in touch with Remy through her parents, but life had somehow gotten in the way and she’d lost track of him. She’d thought about him a lot since they’d both gone their separate ways though, and there were times when she’d daydreamed about what could have been if they actually had gotten together.
Now, as if to prove the world really was a small place, she’d bumped into him after all these years. Her mom—who believed in stuff like that—would probably tell her the spirits or her guardian angel or the fates had taken a hand in her life and guided Remy to her side. Triana didn’t buy any of that, but if she was lucky enough to run into a man this sinfully hot, she wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.
Flashing her a grin, Remy spun her around, so her back was to him, wrapping his muscular arms around her waist and pulling her close. They swayed in time to the music, and Triana rested her arms on his, letting her fingers tease the well-muscled biceps left exposed by his snug-fitting T-shirt. She couldn’t tell which was sexier: the way he rubbed up against her bottom, or the way he tilted his head and buried his face in the curve of her neck and breathed deep. Both were arousing, but she finally decided on him nuzzling her neck. It made her think he couldn’t get enough of her. What woman wouldn’t like that?
As he twirled her around to face him again, she realized that their friends weren’t on the dance floor anymore. Her girlfriends had been dancing and flirting with his friends outrageously ever since Remy and the other guys had gotten there. Triana looked around, wondering if they’d left without telling her and Remy.
“They slipped out onto the balcony a little while ago,” he said, leaning over to put his mouth close to her ear, making her quiver. “You want to head out there?”
Triana would have preferred to dance with him for the rest of the night, especially if it involved him wrapping his big arms around her and burying his face in her neck again. But she thought she should probably check on her friends. Besides, she had about a million questions for Remy, and she wouldn’t be able to ask him on the dance floor.
So she held his hand and let him lead her through the crowded club toward the doors. It was definitely nice having someone his size when it came to creating a path. Even though Remy was polite as could be, people naturally got out of his way.
Between the music coming from inside and the noise from the street below, it was still rather loud on the balcony, but the fresh air was a welcome relief. She hadn’t realized how hot it had been on the dance floor. Then again, that probably had more to do with whom she’d been dancing with.
Triana had no problem finding Remy’s three friends. Even when they were sitting at a table, as they were at that moment, they were easy to pick out of the crowd by their mere presence. Kim, Nora, Whitney, and Deanna, on the other hand, were nowhere to be found. She kept her curiosity at bay as Remy made introductions.
“Triana Bellamy, I’d like you to meet my friends and coworkers. Max Lowry,” he said, pointing out a hunky guy with brown hair, twinkling blue eyes, and one of those devious-little-boy smiles that made you think he was always up to something. “The one with the British accent is Zane Kendrick,” Remy added, pointing at a good-looking man with dark hair and eyes the color of chocolate. “He’s not really a stuck-up snob; he just sounds like one,” Remy said in a lower voice, as if he was trying to share a secret.
Zane chuckled and leaned forward to shake her hand. “Try to ignore Remy when he speaks. It’s not his strong suit.”
She laughed. Oh yeah, Zane had an accent for sure, and it was sexy as heck. No wonder Kim had taken an immediate liking to him. Those two had been slow dancing for most of the night, even when everyone else had been moving to a much faster beat. Triana worried about that for a second. Kim had recently broken up with her longtime boyfriend and it wasn’t a stretch to say that the girl was still in free fall. It was one of the reasons they’d gone out tonight—to make sure Kim didn’t sit at home and mope. Triana had always trusted her instincts about guys though, and right then, she wasn’t getting a bad vibe from Zane. Besides, she liked to think that Remy wouldn’t hang out with a guy who was a jerk.
“And this is Jayden Brooks,” Remy said, drawing her attention to a dark-skinned Adonis with the most amazing blue-gray eyes she’d ever seen. When he stood to shake her hand, she realized he was even bigger than Remy.
“Everyone calls me Brooks,” he said in a low, resonating voice she didn’t have any problem hearing over all the noise. “By the way, in case you were wondering, your friends made a run to the ladies’ room. They said they’d be right back.”
No doubt to figure out how they’re going to divide you three hunks between them, Triana thought—because Remy was definitely hers.
“I’m just taking a shot in the dark here,” Zane said as she and Remy sat, “but I’m guessing you guys know each other.”
Triana smiled. “Yeah, we do. We went to high school together here in New Orleans. I can’t believe we ran into each other.”
“Huh.” Zane’s mouth curved. “I never realized Remy went to school. We all just assumed he grew up in the swamps and learned how to read and write from talking with the animals.”
