Chapter Eleven
Lauren took a deep breath and pushed through the heavy timber doors at Jovi’s. The blast of music and voices slapped at her as she entered the dim bar, a totally different atmosphere than the subdued Tuesday nights. Fridays brought in the ready-to-party-hard weekend crowd.
Pausing in the doorway, Lauren scanned the pub for Jack but couldn’t see him amongst the crowd. She decided to wait for him at the bar and made her way in that direction, pushing through a wall of packed bodies. Soon she found a crack in the crowd and squeezed through to get out of the crush.
A guy with a purple Mohawk and piercings running up both his ears bumped into her and ‘accidently’ brushed a hand across her butt. She threw him her deadliest look. The one she reserved for guys who got too touchy-feely. He put his palms up and backed away.
Lauren shook her head; Jack was going to be paying double for his damn new office. Not only did he give her no choice but to meet him tonight, she also had to deal with bodysurfing through a sea of sweaty, over-stimulated guys with wandering hands.
Finally finding a small break, she started to make her way through when a firm hold on her hip stopped her from going any further. She was about to turn around and tell the frisky Mohawk dude he’d better take his filthy fingers off her or she would find somewhere to shove them. But her name, whispered on a sexy, warm breath that teased the sensitive skin below her ear, stopped her in her tracks. She knew exactly who that dreamy voice belonged to.
Turning slowly to face Jack, her gaze dropped to his sexy, white smile. They stood close enough for her to see he had a slightly crooked tooth which only made his smile more devilish and tempting. The desire to taste those lips was a no-go zone, so she flicked her gaze away.
“I didn’t know it was going to be so crowded here tonight.” He leaned toward her so their chests touched and his lips brushed against her ear as he spoke.
“Yes, it’s very crowded,” she managed to say as she tried to step away from the penetrating heat of his body only to bump into someone behind her.
“I have a table waiting for us away from the dance floor, but we can leave if you want to go somewhere…quieter?” His breath fanned along her face and neck.
She squirmed from a sudden rush of desire that hit all her good places, and nibbled her
bottom lip. The devil tempted her with his smooth-as-sin words.
He pulled back to look at her; his intentions clear in his lusty, emerald eyes.
Why didn’t herMr. Prettyaversion work on Jack? If it did, she wouldn’t have to worry about going somewhere quieter for their meeting. Because lusty intentions or not, she’d shut it down fast. But when Jack suggested going somewhere quieter, rumpled sheets, white underwear, and come-and-have-sex-with-me eyes filled her mind. Damn Jade for sending those pictures!
Now all she could think about was Jack looking hotter than hell.
They definitely were not leaving Jovi’s. The more people around, the better. “Here will be great,” she said with a little too much enthusiasm.
He chuckled. The bastard knew he’d rattled her.
She wanted to get this meeting over with so she could go home, open a tub of ice-cream, and forget this day ever happened.
Jack kept a firm hold on her hip, the warmth of his hand searing through the thin fabric of the skirt, as he led them to the same table Lauren and her friends had sat at on Tuesday night. They took a seat at the table. The Corona sign on the wall above their heads buzzed like a bug catcher, and as Jack reached up to tap the sign, his shirt rode up, giving Lauren a peek at a hard stomach. A darkhappy traildisappeared below the waist of his jeans. Lauren swallowed hard.
The buzzing sign stopped, but the buzzing down inherhappy place had sprang to life.
She crossed her legs and fanned her face with the drinks menu.
When Jack slid back onto the cracked, vinyl seat a waitress seemed to appear from thin air. Hair bleached the whitest of whites showed black roots, and her makeup had been applied with a heavy hand. A small frame supported a very large chest, and a name-tag, which read Candii with two I’s, had been pinned strategically on her double D’s. She didn’t need the nametag to draw attention to her ample breasts. The tight top and plunging V-neck had them practically spilling out onto the table.
Candii with two I’s had her body turned slightly away from Lauren, but she could see the smoldering gaze she gave Jack as she took his order. After ordering a Corona, he asked Lauren what she’d like to drink. Candii turned to Lauren, and the dazzling smile she’d been shining upon Jack dropped like a led balloon. Jealously radiated off the other woman as she trailed a critical gaze up and down Lauren. Sneering at Lauren like she was no competition, Candii waited for her order. Lauren smiled back sweetly, letting her know that the perusal hadn’t affected her, and ordered her usual margarita. Giving Jack another flirty smile, Candii promised to be back very soon.
They’d only been sitting there a few minutes when some football fans approached Jack. The guys were excited to see a legend in their bar and wanted to tell him how much they loved watching him play. The girls flirted, ignoring Lauren, and posed for photos. He smiled and laughed with them, took photos, signed autographs, and answered questions about the upcoming season.
When Candii arrived with their drinks, Jack excused himself so he could have a drink with his date.Date?This was a business meeting, not a date! Lauren would have said something, but she got distracted by Candii making a production of serving Jack his drink. Slowly bending from the waist, giving Jack a bird’s eye view of her abundant breasts, Candii placed a napkin then the Corona on the table. She told Jack if there was anything,anythingmore he wanted to let her know. Lauren was certain she wasn’t referring to getting him another drink. Candii went on to serve Lauren’s drink with a lot less poise, then she reluctantly left them alone.
Lauren’s lips twitched, her annoyance with Jack calling this a ‘date’ momentarily forgotten.
He watched her over the top of his beer with a raised eyebrow. “What’s so funny?”
“Candii, serving you your beer with her boobs.” She couldn’t hold back the laughter bubbling inside any longer.
Jack swung his head around and glanced over his shoulder in the direction their waitress had gone. “She was? Dammit, I didn’t notice,” he said, feigning innocence.
Lauren laughed again. Jack couldn’t have missed Candii’s X-rated attention, but he gave no sign of noticing it. His tongue hadn’t rolled out of his head and onto the table like some cartoon character. Nor did he give her ass a once-over when she sashayed away. In fact, most of the women who’d approached him earlier had given him the promise ofa great nightwith their eyes, uncaring that Lauren was sitting at the table looking like she could very well be his date; after all, they didn’t know it was only a business meeting. But not once had Jack flirted back like she thought he would. He kept the conversations friendly and polite.
