by BJ Harvey
I can’t help the growl that escapes my mouth when she tells me she is going commando. It takes every ounce of strength I have to stop myself from lifting up her dress right there to check. I follow behind her as I lock the apartment door. She definitely has an extra spring in her step tonight, I can’t wait to get her on the dance floor and tease her till she breaks—then we can both enjoy the aftermath.
We catch a cab to the bar where the party is being held. It’s a small bar, twice as long as it is wide. It has exposed brown brick walls inside with a long wooden bar in one corner and brown leather booths lining one whole side of the room. To complete the ambiance there are low-hanging muted lights scattered around the bar, giving the room a dark seductive glow.
In the front corner of the bar, there is a small stage and dance floor. I can’t wait to get Elle dancing, although looking at her dress again, that is definitely not going to help the frustration. I scan the room and see at the end of the building, there is a small hallway leading to the bathrooms. I can see the photo booth Shay hired as well, positioned in the far corner of the bar. I grin as I think of the fun that could be had in the booth with Elle as we get our photo taken.
I see Shay at the bar and walk towards him.
“What’s with the photo booth, dude?” I ask him.
“Ha! Apparently it’s the big thing at parties these days so I thought, why not? The photos are instant so people can take their photos then pick them up as they leave the booth,” he explains. “By the way, you two are late.” He adds, raising an eyebrow as he looks at both of us.
“Hey,” I say, holding my hands up. “I’m innocent. Blame my sexy siren over here.” I turn to Elle with a huge grin on my face. She giggles and goes to take a seat at the bar next to Shay.
I hold my arms out to her, gesturing for her to remove her coat. She obliges and turns her back to me and I gently place my hands inside the shoulders of the coat to slowly remove it, making sure to softly drag my fingers against the bare skin on her arms as I guide it off her. I feel her shudder at the sensation. I grin when she turns her head around and gives me a knowing look. She is aware of my game and by the way her breathing has picked up, I can tell she is loving this as much as I am.
Since we’re at the bar, I order a Corona for me and a tall Vodka soda for Elle. We then make our way to a booth with Shay. Elle lets me go in the booth first then ever so slowly moves herself past me, grazing my lap and making sure to grind down in the place where I want her the most. She ends up sitting on my left side, looking at me with the most innocent smile on her face. Of course she could’ve gone round the other side but the grin on her face tells me that it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun for her.
“So what do you think of her surprise outfit, bro?” Shay asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, it’s definitely a lot better than your hooker suggestions,” I reply with grin.
He cracks up laughing. “Yeah, well I tried, man. I really did, but she had this strange idea stuck in her head that you’d prefer this little ensemble better,” he says, pointing at Elle. She’s laughing at our banter, making my smile even wider. I love how easily she laughs now, a lot has changed in the past six months.
Shay’s party is great. There are about forty people here and the place is buzzing. Shay, Brax and I are in a booth chatting and the boys are competing to see who can make me laugh the most. Shay is such a crack-up, and he loves winding Brax up about me.
I find myself watching Brax when he’s not looking. Never in a million years could I have dreamed of being this happy with another person. The chemistry we have is palpable and I would never have gone commando in a public before meeting him. This game of ours has stepped up tonight—all the sideways glances, the licking of lips and light caresses against each other have my whole body humming. I don’t think I’ve ever been this turned on. The combination of sexy lingerie, enticing looks from Brax, and the anticipation of what I know is going to happen the second we get home, has me wound up like a spring.
I hear one of my favorite songs, “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent, start playing and I decide to seize the moment. This will be a perfect opportunity to tease Brax just a little bit more. As if reading my mind Brax stands and takes my hand, pulling me up beside him as he brings his mouth close to my ear.
“We should go dance,” he whispers, gently nipping my earlobe as he waits for my response. I stifle a moan as desire jolts through my body.
“Let’s go before I drag you out of here and back to our bed,” he says through gritted teeth, letting me know he’s as on edge as I am. The tension between us is getting close to breaking point and now it’s just a question of who is going to give in to it first.
We reach the dance floor, heading towards the middle of the crowd. I realize I’m in trouble when Brax pulls me flush against his body. We’re stuck to each other, shoulder to pelvis and I can tell he’s making sure I feel every inch of the effect my teasing has had on him. He grinds up against me. I swear that everyone would be able to see the sparks raging between us if they looked close enough. I moan because dancing this close, in time with the beat, feels so damn good. He’s showing me exactly how he feels, and knowing that is making me want him even more. This game of ours is going to be the death of us, I can already tell.
The song changes to a slower one that I recognize as “Let Me Love You” by Neyo. I look up at Brax, his cheeky smirk has made an appearance and the look on his face tells me that he had something to do with the song choice. He moves his hands from around my neck, drawing them down my chest to my hips, increasing his grip on me as he grinds his body into mine in time with the music. Slow dancing with Brax is close to heaven. I wrap my hands around his neck, standing on my toes to kiss him softly, tracing his bottom lip with my tongue, knowing that will frustrate him by not deepening the kiss. I feel his whole body shudder against mine.
This gentle torture is burning us alive from the inside.
He dips his head. “You look so beautiful tonight, I’m so glad I found you,” he whispers in my ear as he starts showering my neck with soft wet kisses.
I scan the people around us, but it’s like we’re invisible. No one else is watching us. We’re in our own little bubble on the dance floor and all that matters is what is happening between us right now.
I move my hands from around his neck and start dragging my fingertips down his back as he continues to kiss my neck. Our bodies are rocking together in time with the music, amping our growing desire to have each other here and now. My whole body is tingling wherever Brax touches me and it’s like he is setting all of my nerve endings on fire. I’m struggling to retain control of my longing for him and know I won’t be able to hold back for much longer.
I find myself hanging off him as we dance, my legs threatening to buckle as he glides his hands down to my ass. I raise my leg against his, inching my silver clad heel up his calf and purposefully rubbing my knee across his strained groin. A groan rumbles through his chest as he realizes this battle of ours is all but over. I put my leg back down and lean up to his ear.
“I think we should find somewhere a little less public, babe,” I whisper. That’s all the push he needs as he suddenly grabs my hand, pulling us away from the crowd and towards a booth in the far back corner. With everyone focused on the bar and dance floor, we are afforded the desperately needed privacy we crave.
When we reach the booth, I carefully slide along the leather seat which makes my skirt move up with me, revealing my lace topped black stockings and silver garter belt. I watch Brax and his eyes remain fixed on my legs as each inch is revealed. His breathing is labored and after quickly looking round to see that we are truly alone at this end of the bar, he places a hand on the inside of my Louboutin clad foot and runs it up my calf until it rests on the bare skin at the top of my thighs. The heat of my body increasing the closer his hand gets to my centre.
“Damn, Elle, you are gorgeous,” he murmurs as he leans over to take my mouth in a feroci
ous kiss that tells me exactly what he wants to do.
“So fucking hot,” he says against my lips.
I moan as he gently bites my bottom lip before sucking it and invading mine with his tongue, engulfing my mouth with his. My hands are effectively bound behind me as I struggle to hold myself up. I’m craving him now—all I want to do is lie back and allow Brax take me here and now. His hand reaches the top of my thighs and he discovers that I wasn’t lying about my lack of underwear. I giggle to myself as his eyes widen. Did he really not believe me? He looks down at me with an amused grin on his face.
“You find my torture funny?”
“Mmm hmm,” I whimper as he drags his hand gently against my bare centre. He’s trying to take back the power and I freaking love it. We’ve been waiting all night for this and now that he’s finally touching me, I can’t get enough.
He starts stroking between my legs, my arousal evident upon his touch. I cry out into his mouth as he speeds up his movements, his kisses getting more feverish and desperate.
I can tell Brax is starting to lose his self-control, but I’m still shocked when he pulls me up out the booth seat and holds me close to him as he moves backwards, continuing to kiss me the whole time. He reaches behind his back to open the door to the photo booth. He rushes me inside and closes the door behind us, locking it quickly. Before I know what he’s doing, he falls to his knees in front of me, lifting my dress and putting his mouth against me. I arch my back at the first touch of his tongue on my skin.
This is the hottest thing we’ve ever done. I was already feeling sexy with my dress and the lingerie, but seeing the way Brax has come undone because of me is such a turn on. I feel warm all over, my breathing increasing until I’m panting and I can’t control the whimpers that are coming out of my mouth. He increases his tempo as he hooks my thigh around his shoulder, giving him access to go deeper. Without warning, I’m thrown head first over the edge. I bite into my hand to stifle the screams as I come apart around him. Before I’ve had a chance to recover from my release, Brax moves backwards, taking my body with him. He places my foot back on the ground and sits down on the booth seat, undoing his pants at the same time as he pulls my hips down towards his lap. With my back to his chest, my legs straddling his, he leans forward and impales me in one thrust.
“I can’t wait any longer to be inside you, baby,” he whispers huskily in my ear. We’ve never done it this way before, but god it feels good.
He runs his hands around my hips, delving between the garter and my skin, adding strokes to bring me closer and higher. I place my hand over his, strengthening his touch until I can barely take it anymore. I turn my head to the side just enough so that my mouth can meet his as our bodies rock together. With every thrust, I feel myself getting close to climax again.
“Come with me, baby,” he pants as I moan into his mouth, barely noticing the flashes of the booth going off as we collapse against each other, totally spent.
“I told you that you were a little minx,” he says, opening the door and leading me out, tapping my ass as I walk past him. He turns and shuts the booth door behind us, leaning down to grab the strip of photos lying in the slot. I look up at him in shock and he gives me one of his sexy smirks.
“Souvenirs for later.”
Chapter Eighteen
I wake up in next morning feeling a little worse for wear, but as I look over and see my gorgeous girl sleeping peacefully beside me my heart feels full. She amazed me last night, totally blew my socks off. She is so damn sexy and the fact that we got each other so worked up that we had to have each other right there and then in the bar, blows my mind. I was surprised that I was able to concentrate on anything other than her all night. She looked so fucking hot, I’m surprised I didn’t have to fend other guys off her.
We got home about 2 a.m., after Shay bundled us into a cab and sent us on our way. He had the biggest smirk on his face, like he knew what we’d gotten up to. . As he put me in the cab I heard him mutter, “lucky bastard,” and I cracked up laughing. I’m guessing he saw us come out of the photo booth.
When we finally got home, I made sure to take my time removing and inspecting every little scrap of clothing she had been wearing, paying close attention to the gorgeous corset set she bought. That is piece of lingerie that will definitely be used again—and soon. She gave me another treat when we got home, taking my breath away by standing at the end of the bed, wearing nothing but the corset, stockings and heels.
Even remembering it is making me hard.
I grab my phone to send Shay a text. I want to make sure he had a good night and got home safe.
Brax: Hey man, thanks for a great party last night. We had a good time. What time did you get home?
A few hours have now passed with no reply from Shay. I decide to call the bastard. If he’s ignoring me, it’ll make the call all the more enjoyable. I let it ring until the dial tone sounds and try again straight away, but still no answer. This is totally unlike him. It doesn’t matter what condition we’re in, we always answer the phone. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that I can’t ignore. I decide to give him a few more hours to get back to me before I start making calls and asking questions.
Elle wakes up to find me frowning at my phone in my hand. She rolls over towards me, propping her head up with her hand.
“What’s up, babe?” she asks.
“Shay’s not answering,” I reply, shaking my head. I can’t explain to her exactly why I’m getting worried, but she can tell I’m not happy.
“He’s probably just hung over, babe, give him some time to recover,” she muses with a laugh.
“Nope, it’s not what we do. He always answers,” I bite back. She looks shocked by my response.
“Well I’m sure he is okay. Let’s just relax until he calls back,” she replies quietly.
“I suppose.”
I know I’m not paying full attention to Elle and I’m aware how unfair that is, but Shay going offline is not what I need right now. We’ve got too many loose ends and questions hanging above our heads. Out of the corner of my eye I notice Elle looking at me, I smile down at her, trying to hide my concern. I don’t need her worrying too.
By 2 p.m. when I still haven’t heard from Shay, it dawns on me that something has happened. This is totally out of character for him. Shit. I was so distracted by Elle last night I didn’t even think about the job. For one night I wanted to feel normal, I wanted to have a great night out with the love of my life and my best friend.
I pull out my laptop and dial in to our secure server to check Shay’s GPS location. The one thing Shay and I are mindful of is the use of technology to make our jobs easier. Having GPS trackers on our cars and phones is just one of the things we use.
Checking the system, I see that his cell phone has not moved for over twelve hours. It is showing as being in the parking lot opposite Stages Bar. I quickly grab my phone and look up the bar’s phone number before dialing.
When the manager answers, I ask what time Shay left. He tells me that everybody was out at 3 a.m. when he locked up. Dammit, Shay! Rule number one is never put your phone out of reach, he knows that. I still don’t understand why his phone is still in the parking lot—maybe he fell asleep in his car.
I look back at my computer to trace Shay’s car. I stare at the screen in shock when I see his car is in Boston—that can’t be right. I remember when we left Shay at the bar, he told me he was heading back inside to rejoin the celebration. He seemed happy and slightly drunk, but still aware of where he was and what he was doing.
I’m busy looking up exactly where in Boston his car is when I hear the shrill of my phone, telling me that I have a new message.
I grab my phone, hoping its Shay texting me back to tell me he is fine.
Unknown: You lost track of your boy, Braxton. Silly thing to do.
Brax: Tell me where he is.
Unknown: Daddy thought you needed to be taught a lesson in respect.
Brax: Fuck respect, call me now!
My phone rings and I know who it is before I even answer.
“Braxton,” he says smugly.
“Where the fuck is Shay?” I yell down the phone.
Elle is in the shower so I know she can’t hear me, but right now I don’t care. Right now I’m lacking the patience to deal with this and cover my ass with her.
“Now, now, boy. He’s fine. He’s just sleeping off a rather hard night,” he replies with a chuckle.
Damn, I could throttle him right now!
“Like hell he is. Why is his car in Boston?” I demand. I’m seething and getting more and more annoyed as the seconds tick by.
“I see you’re using that smart mind of yours. Good to hear, my boy. I needed to send a message to you. I did tell you to keep your nose out of it, remember?”
“I’m not your boy and you know damn well that Shay has nothing to do with you and me. You better let him go before this shit starts getting serious,” I tell him.
“Brax, you listen to me,” he scolds. “This shit is already serious. You don’t know what or who you’re dealing with. I’ve been looking into what your friend Brimstone has been up to, and he is more dangerous that you think. You are too wrapped up in your girl and you dropped the ball. This is all on you.”
Dammit. How on earth am I related to this monster?
“What do you want?” I demand.
“I want you two to work for me, and I want you to stay out of the girl’s business. Even better, stay away from the girl,” he says, his voice low and serious now.
“Ain’t going to happen, pops. I’m not leaving her and I told you a long time ago, I’d rather die than work for you,” I reply, realizing that this was Evans game plan all along.
