“Shake it,” Monica sang as I ground my ass against hers, the music flowing through me.
Going to clubs and dancing was a big part of our nightlife in Miami, so it only made sense that we would do the same while we were in Vegas. The best thing about doing it here was that this city was full of strangers. The chances of us running into someone we knew was beyond slim. We could dance however we wanted, dress however we liked. We could just let loose and not care and let the music take over.
At least, that was what I thought.
Until I looked up from the speaker we were dancing on and saw Jenner and his crew in the VIP area.
Oh God.
I was positive he hadn’t seen me because none of the guys were looking in our direction.
I wasn’t surprised he was here. This was one of the most well-known clubs on the Strip. Whenever I read about celebrities visiting Vegas, it was always mentioned that they made a stop here. I was sure they were seated in the same section as Jenner—an area my girls and I couldn’t enter, as we didn’t have the right passes. We hadn’t tried to get those passes because we only came here to dance.
“Monica …” I tugged her arm, getting her attention. “Look.” I pointed toward Jenner and watched her face as I said, “That’s him.”
She glanced back at me, almost spilling her drink. “Like him, him?”
I nodded. “Yes, that’s Jenner.”
“Daaamn, girl.” Her eyes widened as she took him in. “He’s like a much sexier, younger version of Ben Affleck. The J.Lo version, not the Jennifer Garner version.”
“Right?” I hadn’t made the connection, but she was dead accurate. “Man, he’s delicious.”
“Are those his brothers on either side of him?” She was practically meowing. “If they are, you need to hook me up. Like, I can’t even …”
“Yep, that’s Ford and Dominick, although I’m honestly not sure which is which. The guys across from them are their friends.”
They were all certainly good-looking.
But they weren’t Jenner.
His face was so sharp, edges that made him so manly and sexy, his scruff such a natural addition that I couldn’t imagine him without it.
And then there was his body.
Sigh.
“I don’t know if it’s all the liquor we’ve downed tonight or what, but, holy hell, you look like you’re in heat, woman.”
I giggled as I faced her. “He’s irresistible. I seriously can’t help it.”
And he was dangerous, but I didn’t add that description.
I kept that one to myself.
She touched my face, like she was taking my temperature. “He’s that good, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
She lifted my cup, forcing me to take a sip. “Did he know we were going to be here?”
I swallowed before I responded, “I never said a word about where we were going for dinner or after.”
“Then, it’s fate, baby.”
“What’s fate?” Courtney said from behind us, wrapping her arms around both our shoulders, as Lex moved to my other side.
“Jenner’s here,” I told her.
“Whaaa?”
“I know,” I agreed. “But it’s not like it matters. We’re just having fun, and he’s here with his boys, probably looking to pick up another girl—”
“It matters,” Lex said, cutting me off. “And he’s not picking up anyone. There isn’t a single girl at their table.”
She had a point.
From what I could see, it was just the guys and several bottles of booze.
Still, whatever this was, it couldn’t extend beyond Vegas.
We were different ages, living in much different worlds, and there were a million other reasons why we wouldn’t work.
“So?” Monica said.
I turned toward her. “So, what?”
She pushed my butt. “So … go talk to him.”
“You’re nuts.”
“She’s right. You need to go talk to him right now,” Lex said.
“And then score us access to the VIP area, so we can see if there are hotter boys up there than down here,” Courtney added.
I glanced at all three of them, not believing my ears. “You’re kidding, right?”
Monica laughed. “I think you know I’m positively not kidding.”
Courtney turned me around, so I faced Jenner, and said, “Go tease that boy,” in my ear.
“And hurry,” Monica added. “I need to get a better look at those brothers and see if they’re as juicy up close.”
I chuckled, but it was more out of nerves.
I wasn’t just teasing that boy. I was playing with fire.
I attempted to turn around, and the three of them said in unison, “Go!”
“All right, all right.”
The speakers that we were dancing on ran across this whole side of the club, leading past the VIP area, where Jenner was sitting. The problem was, my girls and I weren’t the only ones on them. They were packed full of people. If I was going to get Jenner’s attention, aside from texting him, this was the only way.
But I needed to be careful, or I would fall at least ten feet to the ground.
To keep my balance, I flattened my hands on the wall and apologized to everyone dancing in front of me as I weaved my way toward him. The closer I got, I saw that he was in deep conversation with one of the guys, his back still facing me.
When I was only a few feet away, I tiptoed the rest of the distance, making sure not to trip in these heels, and shouted, “Jenner!” When he didn’t respond, assuming he hadn’t heard me, I tried again, “Hey, Jenner!”
He turned, a smile warming his face when our eyes connected. He stood and leaned over the banister that separated the two sections, putting us closer together. “What are you doing here?”
I held the spot next to his fingers, clinging for dear life as two girls twerked behind me. “I came with my friends.” A grin moved to my face—I couldn’t help it. “How about you?”
“This is the best club in Vegas. We always find our way here.” His stare dipped down my body, a look of satisfaction filling his eyes. “Fuck, you look gorgeous”—he slowly made his way to my face—“but I still like having that dress on my floor.” A heat burst across my cheeks as he added, “Why aren’t you in the VIP area?”
The grittiness of his voice and the hunger in his gaze made me wet.
It had only taken seconds, and that was something that had never happened before.
“We have no way to get in,” I told him.
He pointed toward the front of the club. “The VIP entrance is near the door. Meet me there. I’ll get you in.”
“My friends too?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
I blew him a kiss, surely the result of all the vodka Monica had fed me tonight, and I retraced my steps, returning to the girls.
“He’s getting us in?” Lex asked once I reached them.
“Yep, come on.” I grabbed her hand, making sure Court and Monica were behind us, and I got us down from the speakers, hurrying through the dance floor toward the front of the club.
Jenner was standing at the access area with one of the bouncers, talking to him like they were best friends.
I wasn’t surprised.
Someone like him had connections everywhere, including the hottest club in Vegas.
“These are the girls?” the bouncer asked Jenner.
He smiled. “Yes, all four of them.”
“I need to see IDs,” the bouncer said to us. “Then, I’m going to place a bracelet on your wrist. Don’t take it off until you leave.”
My friends and I had our licenses ready, and once they were checked, the bouncer wrapped the paper bracelets around our wrists, and we went up the stairs. But not before Jenner slipped something into the bouncer’s hand, a quick flash of his grip showing me it was a hundred-dollar bill.
This club was so hard to get into. I assumed there was another hundred tucked behind it.
The moment I cleared the last stair, Jenner’s arm snaked around my waist, pulling me toward him.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” His hand lowered, squeezing my butt. “And this.”
“Trust me, I feel the same.” I quickly glanced at my girls, and Monica winked at me. “Thank you for getting us in.”
He gave me a kiss, and I could taste the whiskey on his lips, the desire in his movements, the lust that was dripping between us. “My pleasure.”
Those two simple words were the sexiest when they came from him.
Even though I’d been hesitant when the girls pushed for this, I was happy I’d listened.
The feel of his arms around me was something I could definitely get used to.
Because even when he was gone, his touch continued to consume me, and I hadn’t stopped thinking about him since I’d left his suite.
I placed my hands on his stomach, the hardness of his abs teasing me.
Taunting me.
Something was rushing through my body, and I couldn’t control it.
It wasn’t just the thought of getting him naked or his tongue or the naughty things he would do to me.
It was something more.
Oh God, Jo, what are you doing?
“There’s no way I’d have let you stay out there …”
His eyes told me he wanted to say more. That he was being protective. That he was stopping the vultures from scooping me up.
That he wanted me all to himself.
But he left it at that, voicing nothing more.
With our eyes locked, our bodies pressed together, I already felt like I belonged to him.
And when he leaned down, giving me his lips again, that feeling was only confirmed.
A tingle burst down my body, one that started in my throat and ended between my legs.
Even after he pulled his mouth away, it took a few seconds for my eyes to open. To realize we were still by the entrance. That my friends had found their way to the bar. That we were in an extremely busy, loud, dark section of the club.
Because it felt like it was only us.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”
I’d been so mesmerized that I’d completely forgotten.
How rude of me.
“I’m sorry.” I shook my head, pulling myself back into reality. “I see them at the bar. Come on.”
I linked our hands, an action that felt so natural that I didn’t realize the meaning behind it until we arrived at Monica’s side and his fingers slipped out of my hold, gripping my lower back instead.
“Ladies,” I said, clearing my throat, “meet Jenner.”
Monica’s face said it all—shock with a heavy dose of approval. I assumed she was surprised by how good-looking he was or the fact that I’d immediately fallen into his arms or that we couldn’t keep our eyes off each other.
The bartender set a round of drinks in front of her, and she handed me one and then reached for Jenner’s hand to shake. “It’s so fab to meet you. What can I get you to drink?”
“Likewise,” he replied. “And I appreciate the offer, but we have several bottles at our table. There’s no need for you girls to pay for anything tonight.”
I took a long, heavy gulp, and while he shook hands with Lex and Court, I stared at Monica, easily making my way into her thoughts. She was impressed and as smitten as me, and that was clear as day.
I had to stop myself from laughing.
When Jenner pulled his hand back, his arm returned to my backside, and he said, “Why don’t you all come sit with us? I’ll introduce you to my friends and brothers.”
The nervous energy was, for some reason, still there, and it increased at the thought of meeting his friends and family. Even though I’d seen them in the sportsbook, this felt different.
It felt more intimate.
Especially as we walked over with his hand on me, all of their eyes on mine as we approached the table.
“This is Jo,” Jenner said to the group.
As he voiced each of their names, I recited it in my head and shook their hand, trying to memorize who they were. And when I released Jack’s fingers, the last of the group, I said, “It’s nice to meet you all.” I gave them a wave and continued, “These are my girls. This is Monica, Lex, and Courtney.” I pointed at each one.
“Ladies, come sit,” Ford said, and he got up from his seat, calling the waitress over to get more chairs.
Dominick and Brett rose as well.
My friends were reluctant to take their places, but when the boys insisted, they caved.
Jenner sat in the only empty chair, the one he’d given up to meet us at the entrance, and he pulled me onto his lap. The second my butt landed, I felt his hardness, and he wasted no time pushing it into me.
If I’d thought I was wet before, nothing compared to this.
And when his lips pressed against the back of my neck, my body began to scream.
“Jo, where are you from?” I heard.
It took a moment for me to work my way out of this Jenner fog, but when I did, I realized Dominick was the one who had asked. While waiting for the waitress to return with chairs, he stood behind us.
“Miami,” I told him, and I pointed at the girls. “We all live there.”
“Do you come here for every March Madness?” he asked.
“Some of the girls aren’t even twenty-two yet,” I shyly admitted. “So, no, this is the first year we’ve been, now that we’re really able to enjoy Vegas.”
“You’re just babies,” he replied.
I laughed.
But he was right.
As I hung out with Jenner and his friends, dressed in sports coats with cuff links at the ends of their sleeves, having immediate access to the VIP area and not even blinking at the cost of bottle service, I certainly felt the difference between them and college guys.
But as Jenner’s lips moved down my shoulder, those thoughts dissolved.
And once again, I could think of nothing but him.
“You’re making it impossible for me to pay attention to this conversation with your brother,” I whispered.
His mouth moved to the back of my ear, where I felt a quick flick of his tongue. “And I haven’t even touched you yet.”
That was a warning.
Because seconds later, his fingers found me, pressing against the center of my stomach, his thumb rubbing circles, like he was threatening to go lower.
“You’re killing me,” I groaned only loud enough for him to hear.
“I’m not trying to …”
But he was.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
“Don’t you want me to make a good impression?”
As he exhaled, goose bumps lifted across my skin. “Jo, you already have.”