“Sorry I’m late,” Kathryn blurted to her friends when she arrived at the restaurant.
The foursome had met in nursing school years ago, and immediately bonded over a love of appetizers and their shared lifelong need to help others. Nothing beats a tough day better than a free-for-all vent session during half-priced happy hour.
As Kathryn plopped into the empty seat at the table, Dana and Laurie were elbow-deep in devouring their wings, while Julian was pushing around some scraps of lettuce on his plate, with the audacity to call it dinner.
Kathryn glared at him, grumbling. “Seriously, you’re giving me a complex. When are you going to eat something?”
“When you show up on time,” he said, pointing his fork at her. “If that day ever comes, I’ll eat a whole damn pizza in one sitting. Now sit your ass down, take a load off, and tell us what the hell happened. You were robbed?”
Laurie waved for the server, who promptly delivered the pre-ordered vodka tonic for Kathryn.
With more wings on the way, she let it all out. Nearly all. Okay, none of the really juicy details, but everything related to the robbery.
“Do you need a place to stay?” Laurie asked, handing over the basket of wings to share until the new order arrived.
Kathryn grabbed one and tore into it, shaking her head. “No, but thank you. I just can’t figure out what they were after,” she said, waving her chicken wing in the air as she muddled through her thoughts. “Or why they’d go to what seems to be a heck of a lot of trouble for hardly anything. But I promise you, I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
When she noticed the worry on her friends’ faces, Kathryn raised a hand. “I’m fine,” she said, but when Dana reached out to caress the back of Kathryn’s head, she winced. “Ow.”
Dana gave her a scolding look. “Fine, huh?”
The second basket, still steaming, was set before them.
Famished, Kathryn grabbed a fresh wing. “Nothing that a few more wings and a little of this heavenly tonic can’t cure. Cheers.”
She lifted her glass, and the others reached in to clink theirs.
“And the cherry on the hot fudge sundae is that since this afternoon, I’ve been getting a string of random calls from skittish guys, heavy breathers, and the grossest, most bizarre men. I couldn’t keep up with blocking them all. I had to shut off my phone.”
Smirking, Julian fixed his gaze over Kathryn’s shoulder. “Speaking of gross, bizarre men.”
“Drinks are on me,” a familiar and unwelcome voice said from behind her.
Kathryn slumped when she heard the voice. Turning to him, she forced a smile. “That’s sweet, Artie. It really is. But we’re good.”
“Hey, if you’re trying to save me money, no need to worry. I’ve got plenty of it.” He leaned so close to her ear, the moisture of his whisper made her skin crawl. “Besides, I thought you liked a take-charge guy. That’s what your ad said, right?”
Adrenaline shot through Kathryn, and she jumped to her feet and shoved the man out of earshot of her friends.
“Careful,” he said, scowling as he brushed at his chest. “The last thing I need is a stain on my brand-new shirt.” With his best seductive look—which captured all the charm of a man fully constipated—he arched a brow. “It’s Armani.”
Unamused, she planted her hands on her hips. “What are you talking about?”
“Giorgio Armani?”
With a swat to his arm, she huffed. “Not the goddamn shirt, Art. What ad?”
“Craigslist, baby. I mean, your name wasn’t on it, but I’d know those digits anywhere.” Grinning, he traced her shoulder with a finger.
Furious, she narrowed her eyes. “If your paw isn’t off me in one second, I’m ripping that finger off and shoving it up your ass.”
The initial fear in his eyes morphed to confusion. “Wait, did you want to be a Dominatrix? Not that I’m complaining. I must have misread the ad.”
He pulled out his phone and swiped at the screen. Finding the ad, he started reading it aloud before she snatched it from his hands.
No. This can’t be happening.
She’d placed the ad weeks ago, thinking that if worse came to worst, she was just going for it. And there would be plenty of time to cancel it if she changed her mind.
How could I forget to cancel the stupid ad?
Returning his cell, she put on her sternest, most serious game face. “Look, I’m only going to say this once. This ad might have my number, but it was an obvious mistake.”
In more ways than one.
“You’re a super-sweet guy, Artie. Our date was nice.”
And your tongue down my throat was just what I needed to keep you out of my condo, no matter how rich you are or how much you needed to pee.
“So,” she said as sweetly as she could manage, “I’m going to return to my friends, and you’re going to find a great girl worthy of your growing collection of restaurant franchises and miniature horses.”
“They’re quarter horses,” he called out to her back as she quickly returned to her table.
“He’s absolutely smitten. And super rich.” Laurie pointed out the facts with a suggestive song in her voice as Kathryn sat back down.
“Not rich enough,” she said flatly. “We went on one date weeks ago, and you’d think we were getting engaged. At least with my phone shut off, all the nutso romantic memes have stopped. Glass half full, I guess.”
Closing her eyes for a second, she realized the memes would now probably be taking a turn for the worse.
Desperate to shake off the vibe of the day, she took a quick swallow of her drink and let out an appreciative moan. Famished, she tore into the scrumptious bits of barbecue chicken, relaxing a bit after finishing one wing and then reaching for another. She glanced up to find Julian staring.
“Hey,” she said after quickly swallowing her mouthful. “No judging. I’m stress-starved, and I’ve had a long day.”
Julian’s smile spread wider. “Oh, honey. Trust me, you’re always in a judgment-free zone. I’m just a little jealous. I’ve been making eyes at a hot guy at the bar, but it’s clear he hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you since you came in.” When the ladies all turned, he whisper-shouted, “No! Don’t all turn at once. Dana and Laurie can casually take turns.”
“What about me?” Kathryn asked, with her back to the bar, and Dana handed her a mirror from her purse.
“Oh my God,” Laurie whispered. “If you pass, I definitely call dibs.”
“No way,” Julian said quickly. “I saw him first, and I definitely get a crack at that piñata.” He waggled his brows as he slid a martini olive off its spear with his teeth, following it with a tiger growl and a seductive chomp.
Kathryn held up the mirror. Jake’s face reflected back at her as he lifted his beer bottle at her in a toast. She swallowed and whirled around, as if this tiny mirror had totally hoodwinked her. Seeing him here in all his unbelievably hot glory brought on a rather loud gasp.
Like a dirty little deer stuck in the headlights, she froze, uncertain what to do. From across the room, he raised one brow as he mouthed the word breathe.
Without thinking, she blew out a breath.
He cracked a smile and hopped off his stool. As it was the only vacant seat at the bar, he patted it, offering it to her. Freaked out, she turned to her friends.
“Oh, son of a bitch. He’s totally into you,” Julian said with a pouty scowl.
“Well, maybe if you’d eat a wing every now and then,” Kathryn said to him, then asked the girls, “How do I look?”
Dana was already reaching out with a wet towelette to wipe down Kathryn’s face while Laurie cleaned up her hands like she was a toddler. Fresh as a baby’s bottom, Kathryn chugged down her drink and headed over to the bar.
Battling the inconvenience of a small dizzy spell, she focused on him as the music seemed to tick up louder. Climbing her butt on the stool was a little clumsy. Her sheepish grin erupted into a giggle as Jake grabbed her around the waist and deposited her onto the seat.
He leaned close to scold her quietly. “I can’t believe you ran away.”
Worried, she frowned, but he smiled.
“Running away and frowning at me in one night,” he said. “I might need to punish you right here and now.”
She giggled again, then sobered. Wait. Why am I giggling at that?
With a teasing expression, he leaned in. “Your friends missed a spot.”
Mortified, she reached for a cocktail napkin and swiped at her mouth, but he said, “I’ll get it.”
With an appreciative nod, she handed him the napkin, but he took it and tossed it aside. Cupping her face, he grazed her lower lip with the ball of his thumb. Instantly, her lips parted as her eyes fell shut.
“I’ve almost got it,” he said softly, then pressed his mouth to hers, slipping his tongue through. She suckled it with a loud moan.
At least the blaring music is drowning out my sex sounds. And what’s with me sucking whatever he sticks in my mouth?
Another moan carried her through the heavenly kiss. He pulled away, stroking her cheeks until her heavy lids lifted. “Barbecue?” he asked with a smirk, and she nodded.
“Yup.”
They both laughed, though Kathryn’s died down with another wave of dizziness.
“Are you hot in here, or is it just me?” Puzzled, she looked at him, and his smile widened at her flattery. “No, I mean the room. Is it hot?”
“I’ll get you some water.” Jake signaled the bartender and ordered a glass of ice water.
Stealing the opportunity, Kathryn looked back at her friends.
Dana and Laurie were all kinds of thumbs-up and fanning themselves. Julian had his phone held high, obviously filming. Kathryn swatted at them and turned her attention back to the hunk holding the glass.
“Here.”
She took the cold drink and sipped, but instantly set it down with a flash of nausea. Her focus was cloudy. “The music is so loud.”
“You look a little flushed. I can’t imagine why,” Jake said, joking. “Let’s get you some fresh air.”
Her weak nod invited him to help her off the stool, but when she slid off, she fell heavy into his arms.
“Kathryn?”
She couldn’t answer. Her knees gave out and she collapsed with the faintest echo of his voice in her ear.
“Stay with me, kitten.”