“Come with me.” Placing my hand on the small of her back, I guide her toward the bar. The moment my fingers touch the bare skin exposed by the cutout in her dress, my dick gets hard.
Jesus.
Sasha follows behind us, but when we reach the bar, her eyes snag on something across the room. “I think I’m going to explore,” she announces. “You two kids catch up.”
Noia’s friend disappears into the crowd, leaving us alone in our little bubble amidst the chaos.
“Your friend is...” I search for the right word.
“An incorrigible smart ass?” Noia grins.
“Something like that.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
I glance over Noia’s head to see Sasha making a beeline straight for Jax, who’s leaning against the wall near the DJ booth scrolling through his phone. She flips her red hair over her shoulder, and even from where I’m standing, when he glances up, I can see his eyes widen with sudden interest.
“Well, would you look at that,” I murmur, nodding in their direction. “Your best friend just found mine.”
Noia turns to follow my gaze, her eyes widening slightly. “Oh shit. That’s your best friend? Sasha’s going to eat him alive.”
“Jax can more than handle himself,” I chuckle, signaling the bartender. “Two whiskeys, neat.” I glance at her. “Unless you’d like something else?”
“No, whiskey’s perfect, thanks.”
The bartender pours our drinks, and I shift closer. I let my fingers drift in slow, deliberate circles against her spine, loving how she shivers beneath my touch.
“You wore this dress on purpose, didn’t you, kitten?” I ask, my voice dropping to a low rumble only she can hear. “To drive me crazy.”
I feel more than hear her breath catch, smirking when she tries her best to maintain her composure. “You’re reading too much into it. It’s a party, so I dressed up.”
I smile against her hair, keeping the slow torturous circles swirling over her lower back before dipping my fingers just slightly beneath the fabric. “Liar.”
The bartender slides our drinks across the counter. I hand one to Noia, making sure our fingers brush as she takes the glass.
“To slow-burns,” I wink, clinking my glass against hers.
“And whoever gives in first,” she says before taking a sip.
“That’s gonna be you, kitten.”
With a snort, she takes another sip, eyes locking with mine over the rim. When she lowers the glass, there’s a perfect imprint of her red lips on the edge and all I can do is imagine the same imprint smudging the base of my cock.
It’s at that moment Claire chooses to appear. “This must be the famous Noia!”
Reluctantly, I drop my hand from Noia’s back. “Noia, this is Claire. Manager, mentor and a royal pain in my ass.”
“Charmed,” Claire says, looking Noia up and down withopen approval. “Well done, Ride. This one’s definitely way out of your league.”
Noia laughs, extending her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Ryder’s told me a lot about you.”
“All petty little lies, I’m sure,” Claire winks. “We’ve all been dying to meet the woman who’s got our boy here walking around with his head in the clouds.”
“I do not have my head in the clouds,” I growl.
“Sure, buddy.” Claire pats my shoulder. “It’s not like you haven’t been spacing out for days, checking your phone every five minutes.”
