by C. J. Thomas
I followed Trent in and was overwhelmed by the crush of bodies. But they weren’t dancing like normal, they were cheering for and trying to get to me. I was tonight’s star—along with Kim and Elyse. Tonight would have been a success without them, but as the trio, we’d been unstoppable.
They met me at the door and we hugged, squealing with delight. Even Elyse had left her normal reserve at home, giddy and exuberant at how well tonight had blasted her into her new career.
“You were amazing!” Kim hugged me and kissed my cheek. “Oh my god, Vi, that was unbelievable. And look who’s here!” She turned me toward the crowd and my gaze swept the proud faces eager to congratulate me.
I blinked, awe-struck at who’d come. I thought maybe one or two of CopperStone’s top buyers would pop in, but they were all here, from Geo to Leonard.
Oh my god.
My fingers tightened on Kim’s arm. “Is that really?”
“Yes!” She shout-whispered against my ear. “For you. They’ve all come to congratulate you. I’ve been working my way through the crowd and some of them were sorry that they couldn’t make the show, but they’ve already contacted Madrid about buying pieces. You’re the reason most of them have the collections they do and the artists who are here know that you put them on the map. Showing up in support for you was the least they could do. Revel in it, girl.”
The girls gave me one last hug and sent me toward the mass of people, all of whom echoed Kim’s sentiments. I was overwhelmed at the response and gave thanks back in return.
It took over an hour to chat with everyone at the bar, and by then I was half a dozen drinks in. But no matter who appeared as the crowd morphed and changed around me, I was still on the lookout for Gavin.
Where was he?
The bastard had better show up and finish what he’d started. I was still wet and in sore need of a fucking. Tonight was going to be the celebration of all my hard work and I wanted him to help me do it right.
I made my way through the bar, smiling and touching the arms of so many huge art world celebrities who’d come out on my behalf tonight. Madrid hadn’t made it to the party. She was probably back at the gallery already putting together the orders that Kim had mentioned. I didn’t even want to think about what kind of numbers we’d pulled in tonight, not wanting to get ahead of myself. I’d have to be sure to give Elyse a much bigger cut.
Trent had offered to cover all of her expenses, but if Kim and I had really sold that many pieces, we needed to do right by Elyse—and I sure as hell wanted that girl at every showing from now on.
I took an ice water from Trent who was working the bar and drank half of it. I was working on a sweet buzz, but the day was taking a bit of a toll on me. Not that I was ready to quit, just pacing myself for the rest of the night.
I turned to face the crowd, back to the bar, and watched the bodies move and dance and make deals. Tonight was my night and I was beyond pleased with how it had gone.
Now, where the fuck was Gavin?
I couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said about my painting. Why hadn’t I collided with him before now? Maybe he’d been out of the country? San Francisco was a huge art hub. Everyone passed through here at least once a year for one showing or another. We were the must-have stop on every tour and CopperStone was well-known in the industry. He’d have sought us out before now if he’d been around.
There was something magnetic about the two of us that couldn’t keep us apart.
I wanted to hear more about his insights. Wanted to talk about the latest Gi painting and the Mosman sculptures and Virat’s retirement.
After he rocked my world, of course.
I glanced at my phone, checking the time. It had been almost two hours since we’d parted. I’d plugged the directions into his phone, along with my number.
He hadn’t texted or arrived, so what the hell?
He better not have turned me on and stood me up, though with every minute that passed, it was starting to look like maybe he was all talk and no action.
The best ones always were.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t had that happen a million times, but before tonight, I'd never cared. Men were fish in a vast, vast sea, and even a few gay ones had been tempted by my seduction tactics. I knew how to work a man and I'd thought that Gavin had been in complete agreement about what was next. If he didn’t show, I was going to be pissed, because out of the crowd here, there were only a few men that I'd bother taking home and none of them promised to be as much of an orgasm as Gavin had.
“Hey pretty girl.”
I swiveled to my right and tried to rein in my disappointment, clinking glasses with Kim. “Hey, yourself.”
“Little surprised to see you standing over here by your lonesome. Where’s tonight’s conquest, or haven’t you decided yet?”
I drained the water and waved at Trent for a drink. He nodded and finished helping the customers at the other end of the bar as I turned to Kim. “I decided, but I think he’s chickened out on me.”
“What? Who wouldn’t die for a chance to spend a night in your bed?”
“Right? I’m about to get a little pissed about it.”
“As you should.”
Trent leaned over, martini in his hand. I took it from him, blew him a kiss and turned back to Kim.
She clinked her glass against mine. She’d known since the moment we’d met that I wasn’t about long relationships, and after the disaster of my last attempt at happily ever after had ended in a broken engagement and my broken heart, I wasn’t about to slide down that road again. I’d headed firmly back to one night stands and had slept with a record number of men that week to wash the taste of my failure from my mouth.
I’d been a fool to believe that he’d been any different than all the others. Trent—and Kim’s husband Jackson—were the exceptions as far as men were concerned, and I hadn’t planned on Jackson being anything more than a payday for Kim. Their marriage and happiness had worked out better than I’d ever imagined. And Trent more than deserved what he had.
I didn’t need any of that.
I needed more nights like tonight and an available dick. Relationships had never been a milestone for me, and other than my one mistake, they never would be again.
But I was still pissed that Gavin—
“Oh my.” Kim straightened and watched wide-eyed as the subject of my musings headed straight for me. “Please tell me that’s the one you’re waiting on because oh, my sweet wet panties.”
“That’s the one.” My heart thumped in my chest and sent a surge of desire through my limbs.
Gavin’s long legs ate up the distance between us as he moved from the tiles of the dance floor, not moving an inch for the dancers as they parted for him, recognizing a man who would not be swayed.
Kim was right about the panties, because mine were soaked. My heated gaze roamed his body. He’d shed the jacket, and the white button down accentuated his broad shoulders and trim waist. The jeans clung to his hard cock, already outlined against the front of the dark fabric.
“Don’t wait up.”
“Holy fuck you’d better be dishing in the morning.”
“Count on it.” I set my drink on the bar behind me and took a step forward out of the bodies pressing in on all sides.
Gavin didn’t bother to ask if I was busy, or to say hello to Kim. He grabbed my hand, spun us toward the back hallway and strode off, fully expecting my complete participation and willingness.
My breath caught in my throat. I loved a man who took charge, and the ones who didn’t barely got a second look from me.
I wanted men who could hold their own against me and didn’t cower when I told them what I wanted and how things were going to go down.
Gavin seemed like the kind of guy I’d been waiting on for a while.
He’d better not let me down.
55
Gavin
I didn’t care. Didn’t care who she’d been talking to, who she ha
d her eye on, who she was dating.
The woman was coming home with me and I wasn’t taking no for an answer.
I’d gotten stuck in traffic outside the Maroon 5 concert on the way over, pulled over for speeding through an intersection, and damn if I’d been able to find a place to park once I’d finally made it to the bar.
My desire for her had grown with every obstacle until I needed her in a way that made me nearly mad with wanting. My cock was so fucking hard I was about to explode and I wasn’t even sure that I could make coherent sentences if I didn’t get my lips on hers.
When I’d walked in, she’d been easy to spot, standing by the bar looking like a Greek goddess among her servants. My jealousy had reared its ugly head—something that never happened to me—and I’d wanted to be alone with her immediately.
When I’d spotted the long corridor that led to the back of the building, I knew that was where I was taking her and hoped she was still as pliable and as willing as she had been in the gallery. I should have offered to give her a ride so I wouldn’t have had to spend the last few hours without her.
She matched me stride for stride and I should have said something to her but I didn’t want her pulling away and giving me the boot. Her warm hand curled tightly into mine and she acted like she’d follow me anywhere.
I moved us through the crowd at a quick pace and, thankfully, the music was so fucking loud that I could use that as an excuse to get us somewhere more quiet. The shadows of the hallway extended into the room and I tugged her halfway toward the looming exit sign.
I’d thought we’d have enough privacy here, but there were more people—some in line for the restroom, others chatting and clogging up the space.
I kept going. I needed a spot where she wouldn’t be under scrutiny of all the eyes around us; people who’d come for her. People who had far more reason to be in her space than I did, but I didn’t care.
I needed her.
I pushed straight through the back door and heard her sharp intake of air. I glanced over my shoulder and she grinned at me, spurring me onward. I’d almost not looked, half-worried that she’d be angry or scared.
I’d pegged her right, back in the gallery—Violet was a woman who commanded legacies and not the kind of woman to shrink from a challenge.
She hadn’t lost a single ounce of her confidence.
The heavy door banged shut behind us and I pushed her against it. Her hands flew to link behind my neck.
I wasn’t exactly sure who initiated the kiss, but my lips met hers in an onslaught of desire. I moaned into her mouth and she bit my lip.
“Where the fuck were you?” She ground the words against my lips, feverishly twisting her tongue against mine like she couldn’t get enough of my taste.
“Shut up.” I sucked her tongue into my mouth and drew all the breath from her lungs. She twisted her calf around my leg and pulled me closer, pressing my cock into her hot pussy.
Oh, god damn, I was so hard I could come right now.
I wanted her like I hadn’t wanted a woman in years. She did things to me that I didn’t even want to question.
I grabbed a fistful of her hair and slanted her head to the side so I could take more of her. My other hand palmed her ass and lifted her the inches I needed to press more fully into her.
Like a good girl, she hiked her legs higher and wrapped them around my waist, holding herself tightly in position. I pumped against her and kissed her deeply, wishing we’d skipped the after party altogether. I needed to get her back inside before her brother came looking for her, but damn if I didn’t want to rip her panties off and bury myself in her.
With a moan, she bucked and squirmed against me, taking the friction against my dick to a painful level. I squeezed her hips, holding them tightly in place. “If we don’t stop right now, I won’t be able to.”
“We can’t stay out here.”
“Too many people watching?” I teased. Not that I’d have been surprised if she was up for public screwing, but I guess on the first time it was a little much.
I pulled away from her mouth and dragged my lips down her throat, sucking and biting her skin. She tasted so damn good.
“Hell no. You’ll ruin my new shoes.”
I laughed and lifted my head to stare at her. She was dead serious, making me laugh harder. “Damn, woman. What am I going to do with you?”
“Take me to your house, remove my shoes properly, and fuck me ‘til morning.”
I blinked, then regained my composure. Her confidence was something else. Everything about her was so unusual and I didn’t even know her.
I wanted to get to know everything about her and I wouldn’t even mind if it took us a couple of days to get to the bottom of what made Violet tick.
56
Violet
He lowered me to my shoes gently, still wavering between shock and laughter.
If I hadn’t had a bar full of people behind me, I’d have made him take care of my situation immediately. As it was, he could figure out what he wanted to do with me over the course of the next several hours. Trent would have my ass if I left before closing.
And the thought of teasing Gavin until he squirmed wasn’t an awful idea.
His fingers remained at my hips, then he stroked my jaw, tilting my face upward. “Ready when you are.”
I grabbed his hand and dragged him inside, lingering for a moment in the hallway to steal another kiss from him. He wasn’t going anywhere, not without me.
And going to my place wasn’t an option, which was why I’d invited myself to his.
I knew he wouldn’t say no; no one said no to me.
The stress of getting ready for the show was evident on every surface of my house; I’d left clothes and makeup and hair ties from one end to the other and that wasn’t the foot I wanted us getting off on. Not that I hadn’t brought guys home to a messy house before, but I had a feeling Gavin would mind and I didn’t want anything screwing up the fuck-fest we were going to have as soon as I got us out of here.
I pulled away, taking his lower lip between my teeth. “I’m ready. So ready.” My nails scratched down the front of his shirt. “As soon as we close down this party.”
He grinned. “You tell me when and I’ll whisk you,” he leaned over, making an exaggerated glance at my feet, “and your fuck-me shoes to my place.”
I turned and walked back through the door, down the hall, and into the crowded room. Trent was watching and his shoulders relaxed as he saw me pop out of the hallway. Ever the brother, that one.
Gavin must have walked out of the hallway just behind me because Trent’s shoulders returned to their tensed, protective posture I knew well. I’d already introduced him to Gavin back at the gallery.
I knew that would have thrown Gavin for a loop—no one ever stuck around long enough to get introduced, but I figured since I’d made out with Gavin in front of Trent that I might as well tell him the guy’s name. I wasn’t planning on keeping Gavin any longer than the others; it wasn’t worth the heartache or headache, no matter how good the lay.
Gavin’s hand rested against the small of my back and I slowed, letting him pull me alongside him. I walked us to the far end of the bar and Trent gave me a nod.
Trent kept his posturing to a minimum and shook Gavin’s hand again. “What can I get you to drink?”
Ian MacIlrood touched my arm and I beamed at him. “Wonderful show, my dear. You should be proud.” He kissed my cheek. “I wanted to talk to you about my upcoming show.”
“Of course.” I let him draw me away from the men as they easily fell into a conversation, peripherally aware that Gavin’s fingers lingered until the last second before he dropped them. I liked the possessiveness and reached behind me, brushing my palm against his arm before giving Ian my full attention. “I can’t wait to put your pieces together for this show. Do you have new ones for me?”
Ian laughed, humoring me. We both knew that a single piece could take him as long as thre
e years and there was no way that he’d have one done in time. “For you, darling, I would. Alas.”
I touched his shoulder and gave him my best smile. I liked doing his shows and liked his art. Not everyone at CopperStone took as much enjoyment from putting together other artists’ shows, feeling some kind of jealousy that it wasn’t their own, but I took pride in what I did.
And Ian drove me to do better work. He was hard to please, but always loved what I came up with. He had a fantastic way of pulling so much emotion from the patrons, and people clamored for his next one. I’d be able to double the attendance that I’d had at mine simply by putting his name on the invites.
“What I really want is that lovely woman who brought those delectable treats. I want people to experience my art on that level. I adored that addition tonight.”
“Absolutely. What if I call you next week and we’ll figure out all the details?” I couldn’t concentrate to the point I wanted to with Ian and I couldn’t even blame it on the alcohol tonight.
Gavin’s presence had knocked me askew and with him so close by, I was having trouble concentrating, which was new for me. Men didn’t affect me and I was still going to blame it on how oversexed he’d left me.
“Of course, dear, of course. I’ll leave you to your young man.” He grinned and gave a slight bow, then walked away with a wave at Trent before I could tell him that I didn’t have a young man, and certainly not one who was impeding my work.
But that wasn’t entirely true. Gavin was having quite the effect on me, and my body hummed with the vibration of his nearness. I watched Ian’s full departure, using the excuse to determine my next step.
Gavin turned, drinks in hand. I smiled and took the martini from him, giving him a nod of thanks. Trent took a step back and watched us. I didn’t bother giving him my attention. This wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for me. I’d picked up my fair share of guys in his bar.
