I only had one girl in mind, and the minutes ticked by agonisingly slowly without any sign of her anywhere. I needed an answer, and I needed it soon. The more time went on, the more I worried I’d scared her back into her shell and I’d never get to see that fire in her eyes when staring down at her again.
I tried to play it cool by not asking Andy and Jace whether they'd arranged to meet up with Bailey and Rhea or not. If I started asking questions, Andy would no doubt give me a lecture I had no intention of listening to anymore. Not when my body was ready to go, to set itself free on a woman who'd done nothing but command its attention at first sight, let alone touch.
Andy threw his head back, laughing at something a busty woman in a barely-there dress said. She leaned in closer to him, thinking she'd caught herself a nice little piece of meat for the night, when, as if by magic, Bailey walked up behind him, her eyes narrowed on Andy like he’d fucked up without knowing so.
It didn't take long for Rhea to appear beside her, her brow raised when she saw her precious Jace making conversation with a woman with pink hair. The moment he saw Rhea, though, the other woman ceased to exist. I had to give Jace propsfor that. He never double dipped. When he had his eyes on a woman, he kept them on her until he heard that definite ‘no’ fall from her mouth.
“Hey, look! It's my Ree-Ree!” he cried out, throwing his arm around Rhea’s shoulder and pulling her reluctant body against him. “Where've you been, girl?”
“None of your business,” Rhea said, pushing at his chest and stepping away from him. “I see you’ve been having fun without us.”
Bailey made a sarcastic comment to Andy, too, but I honestly didn't care what. My attention remained fixed on the empty space behind them, where no Phoebe waited for me.
I gripped my bottle of beer tighter, feeling stupid for having put so much expectation on seeing her. For thinking she’d accept my stupid proposal. But then, like a fucking angel stepping into a strobe light, she appeared a moment later, stealing the breath from my lungs.
Jesus.
Her eyes latched onto mine, and her small, shy smile grew as she sauntered closer, swaying her hips with the contradicting confidence of someone who held all the delicious secrets in the world. It took everything in me to keep my jaw tight and not let my mouth open as I looked her up and down, noticing the slinky, silver, shimmering mini dress she wore that clung to her every curve, showcasing bronze, lotioned legs that had me practically drooling. She had her hair scraped back into a tight ponytail, all black cat eyes and red lipstick, looking like a vixen ready to attack.
I devoured every fucking inch of it.
I swallowed as she approached, making sure she saw the way I puffed air into my cheeks and blew it all out as a sign of appreciation when I knew neither Jace or Andy were lookingmy way—they were too busy dealing with their own women problems to focus on Phoebe or me.
For just a second or two, she was all mine.
“Fuck,” I mouthed, making sure she noticed.
My dick stirred to life, and I had to concentrate like hell to force it down when she came to a stop beside me.
When Phoebe glanced up at me, her eyes twinkling, I struggled not to drop my beer, wrap her in my arms, and taste her everywhere in front of everybody, consequences be damned.
I had no idea how the hell she’d done this to me so quickly, but I knew for certain it was all her fault. She held magic in her aura, and she had no idea how powerful she could be yet.
“Hey,” she said, her naughty smile holding me hostage.
I cleared my throat. “That was quite an entrance.”
“Was it?” She batted her lashes. “I had no idea.”
“You certainly got my attention.”
Phoebe shrugged. “That seems to happen easily these days. You're not a hard man to please.”
My nostrils flared, and my heart raced faster at the need to bend her over and teach her a lesson or two in how to play this game. Instead, I glanced around to make sure Andy and Jace were still occupied dealing with their own shit rather than listening to either of us. Once I saw them engrossed in conversation, I stepped closer to Phoebe until my hips brushed against hers, rocking her body so she looked back up at me again with those eyes I was starting to think I could spend forever staring into.
“You should know I'm a very hard man to please, Phoebe Turner. You just happen to be exceptional at it.”
“Wait until I actually start trying.”
I raised a brow and tilted my head, saying so much without saying anything at all. Wherever she’d found this confidencefrom, I fucking loved it. The tension between us charged the air, making it impossible to think clearly amidst the blaze of it all.
Phoebe struggled to control her smile, and she looked down at my hand wrapped around my bottle of beer. “Look at that. Your hand is out of your pocket and you're managing to keep it to yourself. See? You do have some control.”
“This bottle is about to shatter in my hand if I squeeze it any tighter. It's itching to get to work on that dress of yours.”
“This dress?” She held out her arms, revealing it in all its glory.
I cast a quick glance to the guys again, thankful when I saw Andy with his back to us, his face buried in the neck of Bailey as he talked against her ear intimately, already clearly forgiven.
