Wicked: The Complete Series

by Lily Graison

  He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the sea of bodies.

  It didn't really matter if he found one attractive or not. It wasn't like he would be taking her back to the room with him, even if the card proved successful. Which he had no doubt it would be. When the woman he picked realized who he was, he was as good as laid.

  A brunette crossed in front of him and the scent of wild orchids filled the air. He turned his head, watching her walk away. The green dress she wore fit snuggly over rounded hips and was backless, giving him a glimpse of tanned skin and a thin waist. Her chestnut brown hair was pinned up. Small curls were left to dangle across her bare shoulders and he followed her without thought. When she stopped at the end of the bar, he hesitated a few moments before closing the distance between them.

  When he stopped behind her his eye was drawn to a tattoo on her back. A butterfly with wings of green and black hung low on her right side. He smiled while looking at it.

  Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed the card again and cringed when he read it. He should have taken the first one Mick read. It wasn't nearly as provocative as this one was, especially if he had to say it to her. Of every woman in the club, she was the only one who peeked his interest and he hadn't even seen her face.

  The thought made him cringe suddenly. God, what if she's ugly? She could be a complete butter-face. He looked her over from head to toe. It would be his luck to find a gorgeous woman who had a face of a bulldog. He'd seen his share, too. Beautiful women who men would kill to touch. only to realize everything was perfect but her face.

  He grinned while taking a leisurely look of her backside before shaking his head. There's no way this woman is ugly. Not with a body like that. She walked with confidence, her head held high and the dress she wore told him she knew how to draw attention. No, a woman like that was probably way out of his league. Rock star or not, he'd never have a snowballs chance in hell of hooking up with her.

  But what if you're wrong? He glanced back over his shoulder at the guys and Mick gave him a "thumbs up." He grinned before turning back to the girl. What if she didn't turn him down? What if she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen and he let her walk away without even trying? What if he did try and she laughed in his face?

  He pushed his last thought away and shoved the card back into his pocket. Clearing his throat, he opened his mouth to speak to her. Nothing came out. It felt as if his tongue grew three sizes in that moment. His pulse raced and a bead of sweat trickled down his spine.

  When she started to walk away, he reached out and touched her arm. "Excuse me."

  She turned and the look of surprise on her face when she looked up at him must have matched his own. He knew this girl. His racing heart skipped a beat, much like it did the first time he met her two months ago in New York. The same way it did anytime he thought of her, which was on a daily basis. Anytime he saw the promotional photos for the tour, he thought of her.

  She'd caught his attention the moment she walked into her photography studio. She was sassy, gorgeous and looked as if she had the world by the balls and he would have happily let her lead him around by his.

  How many days since meeting her had he spent wondering what she was doing? Where she was? If she even remembered him? And now, here she stood like a vision straight out of a fantasy.

  Neither of them said a word for long moments. She was the first to recover from the shock. She smiled and glanced around the club before looking back at him. "Hey."

  "Hey," he said. He felt his face flame and was grateful the room was dark. He cleared his throat and smiled. "I remember you. The photographer from New York, right?"

  "Yes. Jessi McClure," she said, holding her hand out. He took it, grasping her hand in his.

  The moment he touched her hand, heat traveled up his arm and exploded throughout his body. His muscles tensed and the perfume she was wearing washed over him in a wild rush. "Christian Palmer," he said, letting his fingers brush her skin before letting her hand go.

  "I remember." She smiled and glanced around the room again.

  He stared down at her, speechless. She was more beautiful than he remembered. She was nearly as tall as he was, the top of her head reaching his shoulders and her slight frame was round in all the right places. The dress she wore was cut low in the front, giving him a glimpse of high, pert breasts and he suppressed a moan at the sight of her.

  When he met her gaze again, he noticed her slightly wide eyes. She was fidgeting from foot to foot and looked ready to run. That wasn't a reaction he received from women often. It was always him ready to run. Was she nervous or just wanting to be somewhere else?

  He chanced a look over his shoulder. The guys were still watching and he wanted to kick their asses. By the look on their faces, they loved this. His humiliation was the price of their glee.

  Looking back over at Jessi, he ran a hand through his hair, wondering what to do now. The card was burning a hole in his pocket and he knew he couldn't actually read that damn thing to her and not die of embarrassment.

  But did he really have a choice? It was either her or someone else and a complete stranger would be worse. He knew that from experience. Maybe he didn't need to read it. He smiled as an idea came to him.

  "I'm in need of a favor," Christian said. "Care to help me out?"

  "If I can."

  Jessi smiled at him again and he forgot to breathe. How could any man look at this woman and not want her? She probably has a boyfriend, he told himself, taking in her features. The plump fullness of her lips, the small uplifted nose and her soft tawny brown eyes reminded him of a Hollywood starlet. She definitely has a boyfriend. No one that gorgeous is single.

  She shifted on her feet again and he knew she was getting ready to leave. The small hint of fear some girls got when he was speaking to them was shining brightly in her eyes. He wasn't sure if it was him or something else causing it but if he was going to do this, it had to be quick.

  He swallowed the humiliation his friends had thrown at him and cleared his throat again. "The guys have this game they like to play and I'm the unlucky participant of their fun tonight. I'll spare you the horrible details so if you have a few minutes, just pretend I said the most outrageous thing you've ever heard."

  She raised an eyebrow at him and glanced across the club. He followed her gaze and groaned when the guys waved back at them.

  "So, what's the game?" she asked.

  "It's a pick-up game."

  "A pick-up game?"

  "Yes," he said. "They have a deck of cards with the most humiliating pick-up lines known to man. They get to pick the card and I have to find someone to say it to."

  "And you picked me to hit on?"

  He grinned when she flashed him a devastating smile. It lit her entire face and made her eyes sparkle. It also made his already racing pulse nearly choke him as his blood pounded through his veins.

  He pulled the card from his pocket and discreetly handed it to her so the guys wouldn't see. When she looked down at it, reading the line, her soft, feminine giggle nearly brought him to his knees. It danced along his spine and caused visions of her wrapped in silk to caress his thoughts. For the first time ever, he wanted that damn card to actually do what it was supposed to. Entice someone to follow him back to his room.

  When she glanced up at him, he sucked in a quiet breath. The clubs colored lights reflected off her hair and cast a halo of blues and greens around her. Her eyes sparkled in the light and a rosy hue tinted her cheeks. Beautiful didn't even begin to describe her. She was the most glorious thing he'd ever seen.

  "So, you're supposed to read me the card and. what, exactly?"

  He blushed. He felt it like a living thing crawled over his features and stealing what little air he had in his lungs. "Well," he said. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and glanced over his shoulder. The guys were still watching him. When he faced Jessi, he noticed her staring at the guys as well. "Um, normally. I mean, when I read the car
d, whoever I've read it to, usually laughs. and then invites herself back to my hotel."

  "Really?" Jessi said. She smiled and leaned her hip on the bar. "And how many girls have you seduced with one of these lame cards?"

  "Me personally?" He grinned and felt his face burn hotter. "None. I don't play this game unless I'm forced."

  "And why don't I believe you?"

  "Because Luke's reputation rubs off on the rest of us?"

  She laughed. "You're probably right." Glancing back down at the card, she read it again, smiling before handing it back to him. "Well, you're still being watched," she said, glancing over his shoulder to where the guys sat. "I guess you better do your duty and read this to me."

  He stared at her in shock, watching an amused twinkle shine brightly in her eyes before taking the card and reading it again himself. He cringed. She wanted him to read this to her? Out loud? He'd rather be tied to an anthill butt ass naked and covered in honey than read this card to her.

  When she took a step closer to him and the scent of wild orchids filled the air, he suppressed a moan and licked his lips.

  She smiled up at him, silently encouraging him. "They're just words, Christian," she said. "Read me the card. I promise not to bite."

  Something in her eyes told him she wanted him to read the card. She was watching him too intently. Eager anticipation shined in her eyes and he knew in that moment, he'd do anything the girl wanted no matter what the outcome.

  Swallowing the nerves choking him, he glanced at the card and lifted his gaze to her face. "Fuck me if I’m wrong, but don’t you want to kiss me?"

  The tinkling laughter he'd heard earlier enveloped him in a blanket of warmth as he stared at her. The heat traveling his limbs intensified the moment she closed the distance between them and raised one arm, wrapping it around his neck.

  She molded her body against his, her soft curves fitting against him like plush velvet. Her fingers caught in his hair, forcing his head down. When she took his mouth against her own, he stopped breathing.

  At the first taste of her, his senses exploded. The warmth of her mouth, the gentle slide of her lips against his own and he was undone. Fire licked through his veins, stole every thought other than the way she felt against him and his entire body hardened in seconds.

  He reached for her, pulling her to him as her tongue probed his lips. He tilted his head and opened for her with a moan of pleasure. At first contact with the heat of her mouth, his hold on her tightened, his arms wrapping around the soft curve of her waist. His hands flattened on her bare back and the heat scorched his palms.

  The thrust and parry of open-mouthed kisses dulled everything but her. The music in the club was over run with the sound of his blood rushing through his veins. The scent of sweating bodies washed away as wild orchids overpowered his senses. The sweet taste of the fruity drink she'd had earlier filled his mouth and he couldn't get enough. He drank in her kiss, pulling her to him until nothing remained but her.

  When she pulled back, breaking the kiss with a gasp, he stared down at her, his own breath panted out in gulps. Her eyes were glazed, her lips swollen and red.

  Jessi stared up at him and took a deep breath. A shudder of pleasure rippled across her skin where his hands branded her flesh and a wave of goose bumps dotted her body an instant later.

  The dazed look on his face pleased her as much as the kiss had. She'd wanted to taste him since she first laid eyes on him back in New York two months earlier. He'd left after the photo shoot, glancing at her one last time before walking out the door and she'd been tempted to chase him down and give him her phone number. She hadn't had the balls enough to do it though. Thankfully a few drinks chased away any reservations she had tonight, especially after that card. He asked for the kiss, right? Besides, what were the chances of running into him again? They were eight hundred miles from New York. Running into him now was just pure, dumb luck and she knew if she were ever to get a taste of him, it had to be now.

  He still looked exactly as she remembered him. A dark blue collared shirt brought out the blue in his eyes. Jeans and white sneakers made him look like a frat boy. The dimple in his cheek giving him the appearance of an innocent lamb but she had to wonder if looks weren't deceiving. He was a rock star after all. How innocent could he be?

  She grinned while looking at his stunned face. He was staring down at her, his eyes glazed over. Dark hair fell over his forehead and the urge to reach up and push it away made her fingers itch. She resisted and lowered her arm, sliding her hand down his chest and resting it on his stomach.

  "I hope you're not disappointed."

  He blinked and looked at her as if he just noticed her standing there. He smiled and shook his head. "No," he said. "Why would I be disappointed?"

  Emboldened by his husky reply and way too many drinks, she said, "Because now that I've kissed you, I can't possibly let you have what the card offered as an alternative."

  The words on the card came back to Christian in a rush, floating through his head in whispered promises. Fuck me if I'm wrong, but don't you want to kiss me?

  He grinned when she did. He didn't know whether to be excited she had wanted to kiss him or disappointed in the fact she may have actually been willing to sleep with him and now she wouldn't.

  Looking at her though, he wasn't sure she still wasn't considering it. The look in her eyes nearly staggered him. It was hungry, almost predatory. Was this girl always so aggressive or was it the alcohol in the fruity drink he knew she'd consumed?

  Just thinking about taking her to his bed and an onslaught of visions assaulted his mind. Images of her splayed across the sheets with her hair fanned out around her head caused his blood to rush south. His body tightened painfully a moment later when his dream apparition of her smiled at him and beckoned him to her with a crook of one finger.

  She was still leaning against him, the heat from her body scorching his flesh and he wished she had refused the kiss.

  He smiled at the thought and wondered if she'd come back to the hotel with him anyway. Ask her and find out.

  He shifted on his feet and glanced around the bar. How many times had he been in this exact moment and lost all nerve? He wasn't Luke or Devin. He couldn't just flirt with a girl and get her into his bed. It didn't work that way for him. It never had for some reason. Looking back at Jessi though, he wondered if it would work with her.

  She was staring at him with a look that said she might. He averted his gaze and his skin tightened, his stomach clenching almost painfully and the throbbing sensation in his cock caused him to shift uncomfortably. He knew without looking he was sporting a hard on and he was grateful the light was so dim.

  How many times had he found himself in this very same situation? A pretty girl in his arms, her lips swollen delightfully from his kisses and a look of eager longing in her eyes?

  He glanced at her lovely face and wondered, if just this once, he could take her and forget about her the next day. The instant he thought it, he knew. She would be a girl he couldn't forget. He hadn't so far.

  She looked over his shoulder suddenly and pulled away from him, smiling to someone. He turned his head and gritted his teeth when he saw Mick walking toward them.

  "This guy bothering you?" Mick asked.

  "Define bother," Jessi said, throwing a saucy smile at Christian. "He's trying to hit on me but his pick up line could use some work."

  "He actually read the card?" Mick said, giving Christian a hard look.

  "Yes, he read it."

  Mick laughed. "Damn man, I didn't think you had it in you." He turned to Jessi and tilted his head, studying her. "I remember you. You're the photographer that did our shoot in New York, aren't you?"

  "Yes. Jessi McClure."

  "Thought so," Mick said, winking at her before looking back at Christian. He stared at him and crossed his arms over his chest before shaking his head. "Playing the card on someone you know isn't allowed, my friend. Technically you loose. You'll
have to play another one."

  "What?" Christian said, horrified. "I didn't know it was her until she turned around!"

  "That true?" Mick asked.

  Jessi grinned. "It's possible. He did look quite surprised when he saw my face."

  Mick stared at them both before smiling. "All right, since it's your birthday, I'll let you have it this time."

  "It's your birthday?"

  Christian smiled and said, "Yes. And my present from the guys was to humiliate myself, which I accomplished."

  "It wasn't that bad, was it?" Mick asked.

  "No," Christian said, blushing. "The kiss was worth it."

  "From where I was sitting, it looked like it was," Mick said, grinning.

  Christian gave him a look and hoped he wouldn't say what he thought he was going to. When Mick took a step closer to Jessi, he knew he was going to.

  "Well, I don't suppose you're going back to the hotel with him, then?"

  Jessi grinned and even in the low lighting, Christian could see her cheeks flush. She stepped away from him and the heat from her body was stolen with the small distance.

  Mick's question hung in the air and he waited to hear her answer. Part of him wanted her to say yes, and the other, the one that knew the guys would tease him endlessly, wanted her to decline. He waited silently and when she spoke, he remembered to breathe.

  "I can't," she said, turning her head to look at him. "I have a five a.m. flight to catch back to New York."

  "Got a boyfriend waiting for you back home?" Mick asked.

  If possible, her cheeks flushed brighter. "No."

  "All right then. Now we're getting somewhere," Mick said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "So, if the pup here gave you a call, you wouldn't turn down his offer, then?"

  "Depends on what he's offering," she said, turning to look at Christian. "Next time you're in New York, give me a call and we'll see what happens."

  She leaned toward him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, whispering, "Happy Birthday," to him before walking away. They watched her until she vanished in a sea of bodies and Christian knew it would be the last time he saw her. The tour had them hopping the globe for the next year and the closest they'd get to New York was still too far away for a casual visit.