Funny, with other girls, it had always been me putting on the brakes. Not with Chloe. With her, I wanted to hit the gas pedal and keep on going.
But how Chloe felt, I still wasn't sure. I reminded myself that tonight was her birthday celebration, not mine. So I returned the ring to its box and moved it to my wall-safe.
While there, I pulled out the other box, the one with the diamond earrings that I'd purchased at the same time. Looking at them, I felt myself smile. Chloe had delicate ears with perfect earlobes, not too big, not too small. The earrings, I figured, would fit her just right – just like she fit me.
A few hours later, her birthday celebration was well under way. There was only one problem. The birthday girl, my girl, was missing.
Chapter 46
I looked around the packed nightclub. Where the hell was she? I scanned the crowd. After guiding Chloe toward the women's restroom, I'd been standing in the same spot, exactly where we were supposed to meet. She should be here by now.
It's not that I minded waiting. For a girl like Chloe, I'd wait forever. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if somehow I'd missed her.
Thanks to me and my plans for the evening – starting with a bottle of champagne in the limo – Chloe had been drinking more than I'd ever seen her. She'd been adorable, a little unsteady, but cute as hell.
I recalled how she looked in that little black dress. The image wasn't a comfort. I knew how I felt when I looked at her. How would it be for other guys? Guys who'd been drinking twice as much. Asshole guys with slick lines and fast hands.
If anyone laid a hand on her –.
A female voice interrupted my thoughts. "Hey! Lawon!"
I turned around and spotted Sasha, a girl I'd hung with for maybe a week or two. With Sasha, there was another girl, a curvy brunette who looked vaguely familiar. Maybe I knew her. Or maybe she just had one of those faces.
Sasha pushed her way through the crowd and sidled up next to me. "You wanna dance?"
Sasha was okay, but this wasn't a good time. Again, I glanced toward the restrooms. Where was Chloe?
I gave Sasha the quick brush off, trying to be nice about it. She was cool, but her friend wasn't. It didn't help that she was totally smashed.
"I know you," the friend slurred. "You're Lawton Rastor." She stared down at my crotch. "Can I see it?"
Oh for fuck's sake. "No."
"Aw come on," she said. "I'll lick it."
At this, Sasha burst out laughing. "She will, too. Right here. You just watch."
I didn't want to watch. And I sure as hell didn't want that skank's tongue anywhere near me. Another time, this might've been funny. Not now.
Wordlessly, I turned away, heading toward the restrooms. I was halfway there when I felt a tug on my elbow. I turned to see Brittney, of all people, smiling up at me.
I gave her an annoyed look. "What do you want?"
Her hips were moving in time with the music. "I wanna dance."
"Hey, don't let me stop you." Again, I glanced toward the restrooms.
"Aw come on," Brittney said. "I know you're mad, but that was ages ago."
No. It was earlier this month. But that wasn't the point. Brittney had gone out of her way to give Chloe a hard time. I wouldn't be forgetting that any time soon. I didn't bother answering.
Brittney gave me a pleading look. "Amber's really bummed you know." Brittney's lips formed a pout. "She's like no fun anymore."
I shrugged. Turning away, I glanced toward the V.I.P. section where Chloe and I had been sitting. Maybe she'd gone back to our table? No, the table was still empty. Damn it.
"Come on," Brittney saying. "Let's kiss and make up. Okay?" She stood on her tiptoes and moved her head toward mine.
I drew back, and surprisingly, so did she – but not by her own will. Behind her, Sasha's friend had grabbed a handful of Brittney's hair and was trying to tug her backward.
Screeching, Brittney yanked her head forward, and the hair slipped through the brunette's grasp. Brittney whirled to face her. "What's your problem?"
"I saw him first," the brunette slurred. She reached out a finger and poked Brittney in the center of her chest. "So back off."
My gaze shifted to the restrooms. If Chloe came out now, I was toast. I felt my shoulders tighten. Assuming Chloe was in there at all.
A couple feet away, Brittney and the brunette were locked in some sort of pushing-pulling thing.
"Hey!" Brittney was saying. "Have you ever seen his house?" She gave a toss of her hair. "No? I didn't think so."
"Yeah, but I've seen his dick," the brunette slurred. "Have you?"
"Yeah, me and a billion other people," Brittney said. "What's the big deal?"
Someday, I decided, I'd track down every stupid copy of that sex-tape and burn them in a big pile – except it wasn't possible, thanks to the internet.
The brunette gave a toss of her own hair, but then ruined the effect by stumbling backward. She caught her balance and said, "So what?" She gave Brittney a sloppy smile. "I've seen it in person."
I froze.
So did Brittney. "What?"
"That's right," the brunette slurred. "In his car. Last October. I gave him the best blowjob he ever had."
Oh, shit. No wonder she looked familiar. I should've figured it out sooner. Then again, it wasn't like I'd spent a lot of time looking at her face. What was her name? Laura? Lara? Who was I kidding? I had no idea.
Brittney whirled around to face me. "You let her go down on you? And not me?"
Technically, I had let her, for like two whole seconds at my birthday party. But that hardly seemed worth pointing out.
In some part of my mind, I realized this was probably every guy's fantasy – two hot girls arguing for blow-job privileges. But for me, right here, right now, it was a fucking nightmare.
This was my first night out with Chloe. This was her birthday celebration. So far, things had gone just like I'd planned. We'd had a great dinner at a place she'd obviously loved, and then, we'd spent a couple hours in Greektown, playing craps and blackjack at the casino.
Finally, we'd come here. We'd been here for maybe a couple of hours now. I'd held her. I'd danced with her. I'd kissed her while the crowd moved around us.
At midnight, I'd given her the earrings. They'd made her eyes sparkle and her face light up with one of those amazing smiles. She loved them. They'd made her happy. I could tell.
I glanced toward the restrooms. She wouldn’t be happy to find two girls – one she definitely hated – fighting over my privates while I just stood there like a dumb-ass.
They were still arguing.
"Hey," I called over the noise, "you like blackjack?"
Together, they turned to look.
The brunette said, "Who? Me?"
Brittney elbowed her aside. "No. He was talking to me."
"I've got a limo outside," I said. "You wanna hit Greektown?"
"Shit yeah!" the brunette said. She held up both her arms, victory style. "Whoooo!"
Brittney gave her an annoyed look. "He was talking to me, not you."
I spoke up. "I was talking to both of you."
They shared a look. The brunette gave a sloppy shrug. "Works for me."
A minute later, I was ushering both of them into the limo. Standing outside, I peeled off a wad of hundreds and handed a few to each girl.
Brittney eyed the money. "Wait a minute." She looked up. "Aren't you coming?"
I shrugged. "Hard to say."
Her gaze narrowed. "You're trying to trick us."
"No," I said. "I'm bribing you to leave."
The brunette was already slouched in the seat. "But I don't wanna leave." She glanced at Brittney. "Do I?"
"Oh shut up," Brittney said. She turned back to me. "You want us to go?" She paused. "Alright. I'll go. And I'll even take her with me." She gave me a calculating gaze. "But it'll cost you."
Fine. Whatever. I pulled out my wallet. "How much?"
"Not money," Brittn
ey said. "Amber."
I shook my head. "What?"
"Make up with her," Brittney said. "At least as friends, okay?"
I gave her a look. It wasn't what I expected, especially from Brittney. "Why?"
"Because she talks about it all the time," Brittney said. "The other day? I caught her crying in the bathroom. It's totally annoying."
Amber had been crying? As angry as I was, it wasn't what I wanted to hear. But I couldn't think about that now. I glanced toward the club. I needed to get back inside, like yesterday. I had to find Chloe.
"It's a deal," I said.
When the limo pulled away less than a minute later, I turned and strode back into the club, bypassing the long line of people waiting to get in. Once inside, I scanned the crowd.
I'd been away less than five minutes. It was five minutes too long.
Where was she?
Chapter 47
I moved through the crowd, searching and scanning faces. I saw no sign of her.
I told myself to not panic. Not yet. I knew from experience that it was easy to get lost in a crowd this size. One time, I'd lost two girls at a club opening in Vegas, only to find them passed out on some balcony two hours later.
But this was Chloe.
My heart was beating too fast and too hard. Not in a panic. Not yet. But with every minute, my sense of urgency was growing. If I didn't see her soon, things were going to get serious.
I started working my way back toward the restrooms. Halfway there, I stopped dead in my tracks. Through a gap in the crowd, I spotted her.
She was standing near a railing, talking to some slick-looking guy around my own age. He wore a dark shirt with no sleeves, showing off a decent set of muscles and an obvious fake-and-bake tan.
I couldn't see much of Chloe's face, but I could see the guy's. He was laughing like she'd just said something funny. The way it looked, he wasn't a stranger.
The crowd between us shifted, and I saw something new. His hand was on her elbow. He leaned closer and turned his cheek, as if waiting for a kiss.
I moved toward them, keeping my eyes firmly on Chloe until the crowd shifted again, blocking my view of her. I moved faster, pushing my way forward. Finally, I broke through the mass of bodies and caught sight of her again, standing in the same spot with the same guy.
As if sensing my movement, Chloe turned her head in my direction. Our eyes met. On her face, I saw the hint of panic and maybe a little fear. Because of him? Or because of me? Either way, I kept on moving.
Following Chloe's gaze, the guy turned to look. When he spotted me in motion, he froze. His mouth grew tight, and his eyes grew uncertain. A split-second later, he turned and tossed a few more words at Chloe before disappearing into the crowd.
A moment later, I was at her side. "You okay?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, sure."
I studied her face. It was a little too pale for my liking. I glanced behind her, seeking out the guy who'd just left. I didn't see him, but that didn't mean I couldn’t find him if I needed to.
"Who was the guy?" I asked.
She bit her lip as if giving it some thought.
I scanned the crowd. Funny, the answer should've been simple.
It was just some stranger.
It was a guy I used to date.
It was Bob from Accounting.
Finally, she said, "No one."
I wanted to believe her. But obviously, there was more to the story. I waited, hoping she'd tell it.
She flashed me a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Just some guy who's had too much to drink."
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "So you don't know him?"
She glanced away. "Not really."
Not really? What did that mean?
She leaned into me, a little unsteadily, and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I looked for you earlier." She gave me a smile, a real one this time. "You weren't trying to run off on me, were you?"
This was her birthday, and I didn't want to ruin it. I shoved aside my questions and pressed my lips to her forehead. "Never, baby."
"Then where'd you go?"
Now, it was my turn to dodge a question. "I ran into someone." At the thought of Brittney and what's-her-name, I felt myself frown. "No one you'd want to see."
Chloe leaned back to give me a look that told me she wasn't buying it.
Yeah, that made two of us.
But I wasn't going to be a dick about it. Tomorrow, I decided, I'd be getting some answers. Tonight, we had a birthday to celebrate. I pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "How's my birthday girl?"
She burrowed closer, and I felt her body relax. "Wonderful." Her voice was breathless, and she gave a warm shiver when I touched her face. "But you know," she added, "I still haven't shown you my birthday suit."
In spite of everything, I felt myself smile. "Yeah?"
At the thought of her naked, I closed my eyes and held her tight, feeling some of the tension drain away. I knew how guys were. Chloe was irresistible. Was it really so surprising that some guy would be crushing on her in a crowded club?
No. It wasn't.
Silently, I calculated how many minutes had passed since I'd sent the limo on its way. Ten? Fifteen? Before returning inside, I'd had the driver order a new one to take its place. If I were lucky, it was outside already, waiting at the curb. If I was even luckier, Chloe would never know the difference.
Still, better safe than sorry. Wanting to gain a few more minutes, I went for a distraction. "One more drink," I said. "And—" I gripped her hard and pulled her hips against mine. "One more dance."
She gave a happy nod. "One more dance here," she said, pressing herself against me. "Who knows what we'll do at home."
I almost groaned aloud. She was teasing me, and we both knew it. For fun, and maybe for some revenge too, I wrapped her in my arms and whispered naked promises in her ear. They were promises I intended to keep.
With her so close, all the other stuff – the questions, the mysteries, the guy she'd been talking to – faded to nothing. She downed one more daiquiri and gave me one more dance.
The delay felt like five minutes, but it was probably more like fifteen. Not too long afterward, we were heading out the door.
Sure enough, the new limo was waiting at the curb, looking exactly like the old one, complete with a new driver who looked a lot like the first.
It wasn't luck. It was planning. Sometimes, it was the little things that tripped you up. Tonight, I wasn't leaving anything to chance.
Inside the limo, Chloe tumbled back onto the leather seat, laughing as one of her shoes slipped off and fell somewhere on the floor.
I claimed the spot beside her and settled in for the ride home.
Her lips were full, and her eyes were sparkling. In a fit of giggles, she kicked off her other shoe and waved it goodbye.
I had never seen her like this, and I couldn't help but smile. She looked happy and carefree, and yeah, more than a little tipsy. Good or bad, I knew whose fault that was.
Mine, for insisting on that last daiquiri.
But I was also the guy who'd get her home safely, and, if it came down to it, hold her hair later on. I loved her. Drunk, sober, whatever – I couldn't get enough.
Next to me, she suddenly stopped laughing. "Oh my God." She turned to me with wide eyes. "I'm not one of those girls." She gripped me by my jacket. "I'm not, am I?"
She was so damn adorable, I could hardly stand it. "What kind of girl?"
"You know," she said. "The sloppy drunk kind who laughs too loud and isn't half as cute as she thinks she is." She frowned. "I hate those girls."
Funny, I hated those girls too. But Chloe wasn't one of them.
I raised an eyebrow. "Well, you do appear to be drunk." I smiled, and my gaze drifted lower, taking in her tight body and sweet curves. "But baby, you're anything but sloppy."
She glanced toward her fallen shoes. "I'm kind of sloppy," she said with a smile that turned into a giggle.
She gave me a playful shove to my chest. "Suffer through it? Just for that, I'm not picking up my shoe."
I glanced down. Actually, there were two shoes, not that I cared.
"Or," she continued with a tiny lick to her lips, "the rest of my clothes either." She glanced at the glass that separated us from the driver. She lowered her voice. "He can't see us, can he?"
I shook my head.
"Hear us?" she asked.
Again, I shook my head. "Not unless we press the intercom button."
"Good." She reached down and ran a hand over my thigh. Her touch was magic, and I felt my eyes drift shut. When her hand reached my hardness, I stifled a groan.
"Because," she continued, "I don't wanna wait."
"Yeah?" I leaned my head back against the seat and managed to say, "Waiting. Yeah, it's hard."
She gave my hardness a squeeze. "That's for sure."
I opened my eyes and gave her a long, hungry look. "You know," I said, "you're not like anyone I've ever met. One minute you're this, I dunno, upper-class neighbor girl, then it's like you're something else entirely. It's like you're two people, maybe three." I heard myself laugh. "But swear to God, I love 'em all."
Suddenly, she grew very still, and part of me wondered if I'd said too much. But, then, as if words weren't the thing she really wanted, she leaned into me and pressed her lips to mine.
From the way she was kissing me, I could tell what she did want, so I set out to give it to her. She was, after all, my birthday girl, and there was no way I could deny her anything.
Chapter 48
Her dress was strapless, and her skin was warm. She melted against me, trembling when I stroked her bare upper back. I reached for the zipper of her dress and pulled it downward as I kissed her, soft and then hard.
We were on the highway now, lit only with the stray headlights of passing cars. Light, dark, it didn't matter. The windows were tinted, and we were in motion.
Lawton Page 20
