Excerpt:
Even
as Jamie walked into the bar, she couldn’t really reason why.
That
it was Friday night made no difference to her other than she didn’t have to get up early to teach aerobics. In fact,
she’d already dressed in her nightshirt and snuggled in her bed when the strange sensation descended into her like a
shower of shivering snowflakes. Immediate awareness sparked low in her stomach with a sexual urgency stronger than any she’d
felt before, bolting her upright in bed with the sudden force of it. It drew her. Called to her. While her rational mind had
tried to question it, nothing diminished that urgency. It compelled her to seek the source of the powerful call as though
it magnetized her blood.
Not
half an hour later, Jamie found herself drifting around the fringes of the overpopulated hotel bar, ignoring the lustful glances
from the tourists. The short, hot-pink, underwear-flasher skirt and plunging fluffy white sweater wasn’t anything she’d
normally wear. Except for the tugging desire in her gut that compelled her, she would never have come here wearing this “catch
me and do me” get-up.
And
she really wanted the “do me” part. Bad. Even still, it was not that sexual need alone that made her hands tremble.
An unfinished feeling welled inside. Like the acoustic throbbing of heavy metal music. The sensations were akin to being submerged
in the ocean when the power of the wave action rhythmically lifted and plunged her body ever farther from the safety of the
familiar shore into the dangerous unknown. Only this power surge she felt came from deep within, welling up and reaching for…something.
The
strange call whispered inarticulately over her skin with a static pull that urged her onward. As the tide of patrons parted
before her they revealed her destination, Jamie’s body jerked awake with want. An almost visible glow vibrated around
the two sexy men speaking to each other on the far side of the bar. That vibrancy rang through her soul like a dinner bell,
making her mouth water with hunger for them.
The
pair scoped out the ladies of the club, but so far they hadn’t cast a glance toward Jamie, so she stared openly at them.
As the one with his back to her shifted, Jamie admired the perfect curve of his ass sheathed in his black jeans. A silver
belt snaked around his narrow waist. Not even the loose cotton top in a deep shade of hunter green could disguise the sculpted
slope of his back. His gothic black hair dipped just over his collar, inviting her fingers to comb through it. So far, she’d
only caught his profile as he glanced around, but the line of his jaw appeared strong and his smooth cheek at once both masculine
and beautiful.
She
wanted to touch him. To embrace him from behind so her breasts flattened against his toned back and his rear curved into her
belly. To wrap her arms around his waist and learn the map of muscles on his abdomen through touch. To smell his hair as she
kissed his neck.
While
the dark one flashed his luscious backside toward her, his blond friend presented her with his full frontal beauty. The dimensions
of his gorgeous face were perfectly symmetrical and strongly drawn, accentuating the power of his azure eyes. He smiled as
he spoke, and the sexy curve of his mouth made her imagine biting gently on his lower lip and tugging until she had his undivided
attention. Leaning back against the wall, he hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his navy slacks and propped one foot against
the wall behind him. His build was similar to his buddy’s and she could visualize them both playing the endless array
of sports young men engaged in to exert their masculine competitiveness and keep their athletic figures.
Jamie
wanted them. Either or both. She smiled at her own lustful thoughts. She craved these men and the new fierce urge burning
in her heart compelled her to indulge.
Pressing
her lips together to even her lipstick, Jamie began to stalk them, her lovely prey. She knew exactly how she wanted to invite
their attention. Just a small gesture really, but suggestive and unmistakable in its intended meaning.
Gradually,
Jamie crossed the dance floor on her side of the bar and approached the jukebox that already played a slow song. The song
selection didn’t interest her as she skimmed the titles. Excitement quickened her heart at the thought of the move she
was going to make. Any other day, she would not waste time with such a mating dance on strangers. Jamie was hardly a prude,
but she was practical. Her fit body attracted all the male interest she’d ever need and then some. She was not above
using her body, one she worked hard for, to provide leverage when she needed it.
But
tonight was different.
Tonight
she was going to play the seduction game. She’d send an invitation of interest to the sexist men in the room. If they
weren’t interested, so be it. But if they were…
Jamie
drew in a deep breath. Her hands brushed up along her heated cheeks and back through her hair. The stale odors of people and
alcohol only skimmed her senses. Something else perfumed the air. As she smoothed down her clothing, the sliding touch charged
her skin with acute awareness. She perched on a dizzying cliff, like a skier poised to plunge forth on a dangerous ride. Jamie
couldn’t even begin to guess how she knew this. All she knew was that if she didn’t leap now that she never would
and the rest of her life would only be a consolation prize.
The
pair hadn’t noticed Jamie yet. She didn’t hear what the dark-haired one said, but both he and the blond chuckled
in low, warm voices that stroked her skin. While they looked away from her toward the bar, Jamie glided closer as if just
to walk past. Taking her time, she focused on doing her thing with grace while enjoying every millisecond of it.
Softly,
Jamie reached out and curved her palm over the thick muscles along the right side of the dark one’s back. With her thumb
indenting his shirt so she could stroke the dip of his spine, Jamie slid her hand downward. The firm heat of his body reached
her palm through the rough cotton fabric.
Even
without looking up, she saw him twist to glance down at her. Other than that, he didn’t move or speak, so Jamie finished
her motion, sliding her hand down over the lovely roundness of his rear end. As she continued to walk past, she dragged her
palm across his jean-clad bottom. Only when she’d stepped so far she couldn’t reach back to touch him anymore
did she risk meeting his eyes. She knew her gaze smoldered as she quirked a slight smile. His heated response telegraphed
from the stillness of his body and the unwavering, open interest in his Swiss chocolate eyes.
Mmm, she thought. Those eyes were a yummy chocolate to be savored.
Her
invitation delivered, her interest expressed, Jamie continued her slow stride to the bar. Pretending as though she waited
for the bartender as he served the other customers, Jamie watched them from the corner of her eye.
The
pair were definitely focused on her now as they talked to each other. The blond nodded to what the dark one said.
Breathe, girl, breathe. Jamie felt the building burn of her desire. She’d done
it and it had been nice. Really nice. Touching so delicious a man in even the casually sexual way left her hungry for more.
Her intention, to wait for them to make the next move, suddenly felt impossibly difficult.
The
throbbing demand deep inside her coiled like a serpent around her womb. Craving hardly began to describe her mounting agony.
Obsession was closer to the beast rumbling to life. What if they didn’t come for her? The disaster was hardly imaginable.
Jamie
stared hard at the polished surface of the bar, her hands clenched until her wrists protested. What madness could have possessed
her? No man, or rather two men, were worth insanity. More was at stake here. What it was, Jamie couldn’t guess, but
it consumed her. She refused to even consider leaving the bar tonight empty-handed, no matter what she had to do.
A
heavy stroke across her bottom fractured her thoughts and made Jamie jump. The warm palm moved over her left cheek as it traveled,
ruffling her short skirt before settling into a cupping squeeze over her right buttock. Jamie glanced up at the dark-haired
man. Standing so close to her, his body radiated a heat that made her skin prickle. The attraction he expressed wordlessly
with his intensely hungry gaze and playful smile stole her voice. While she’d caught a glimpse of him when she’d
walked past, the full force of his irresistibly handsome face captivated her. He possessed the clear, intense gaze of a cobra
that saw past her defenses and held her mesmerized.
She
would have remained stunned, lost in his dark eyes, if he hadn’t scooped her hand from where it rested on the bar, into
his easy grasp. With a brush of his fingers her fists unfolded, releasing the heavy layer of tension that had gripped her.
“Want to dance, Kitten?” The timbre of his voice dribbled over her like liquid sex and she wanted to drink it
from his mouth.