I had to give Damien a second look. I’d have sworn he was blushing.
“Don’t think I haven’t tried,” Murphy gasped out, still laughing. “He’s just about the prettiest man I know. Prettier than at least half the women I’ve been with. But I can’t even get a cuddle when he’s drunk.”
Our laughter was loud enough that even in the boisterous bar, most of the people were staring our way.
That was about the time James strode back inside.
I was standing closest to Damien, though we were still a good two feet apart. And I couldn’t stop laughing, even seeing the storm that immediately overtook his lovely features at the sight of us standing near each other again.
I knew that he had a problem with Damien. He seemed to think there was something between us. I just didn’t understand why. I’d known Damien for years before I’d met James. If we had shared a real interest in each other, obviously something would have happened by now. I understood Damien’s appeal, but he just didn’t do it for me. I had more…exotic tastes. I thought that all should have been very obvious to James, so it was hard to humor his strange dislike for one of my good friends.
James strode to me, looking much too fine even in a pique.
I marveled, as I did much too often, at how beautiful he was. His longish, sandy brown hair fell artfully out of his face as he walked. The chiseled muscles of his arms and upper body were clearly defined by his thin shirt. His clenched jawline was perfection. His mouth was almost bow shaped but held too firm of an edge to be pouty, though it sure was pretty. His arched eyebrows and thick lashes were a shade darker than his hair, drawing attention to his vivid turquoise eyes. His nose was straight and flared appealingly at the tip, sitting just right in his unrivaled face. He was simply beautiful. He was in no way feminine, but the word handsome just couldn’t do those refined looks justice. He was long and lean, but in tight fitting clothing, it was clear that he was well muscled, rather than thin. He’s perfection, I thought absently. What is he doing with me? Was always my follow up question.
He moved in close beside me, but didn’t touch me.
“Looks like I missed all the fun,” he said quietly to me, his voice strangely empty.
My smile began to fade.
“The arrangements have been made,” he said shortly. “You’re all mine, whenever we finish up here.”
“What about you two? You look like you’re hot enough about each other to break out the ink. When are you going to tattoo your names on each other?” Marnie called out to James and I, smiling and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
I sent him a sidelong smile.
He gave me the tiniest smile in return. “It would be a waste to mar her perfect skin just for a little ink,”
James said. “But I would happily get a Bianca tattoo, if that’s what she wants.”
I arched a brow at him as the crowd erupted, shouting encouragement for the folly. I’d seen James’s body. He didn’t have one tattoo, so he was just messing with them, of course.
“You wouldn’t return the favor, Bianca?” Judith called out, sounding aghast.
I shrugged, giving James a narrow-eyed glare. “I guess if he got a tattoo for me, I’d let him pierce my nipples,” I said more to him than the crowd. But the crowd absolutely roared at the joke.
He ran his tongue over his teeth in that mouthwatering way of his. He held out a hand to me, as though to shake. “You have a deal, Love. Please, shake on it. Nothing would please me more.”
Someone sounded like they choked on their drink just behind me. I heard Stephan shouting something along the lines of, “What the fuck, Buttercup?”
I looked at his hand, wondering why he had to take the joke so far. But I shook his hand without giving it much thought, just going along with his over the top antics. One of Murphy’s favorite lines about telling jokes came to mind, for some reason. Always go with the bit, he liked to say. Can’t deny the bit.
“You first, though. I want to see that ink before I pierce anything,” I said, making sure I had insurance, just in case he really had gone crazy.
He smiled, and it was positively wicked. “Of course.”
“And I want to see those piercings, Bee!” someone called out. I couldn’t even tell who it was.
“We want to see, as proof that you both held up your end of the bargain!” I recognized Judith’s voice that time.
“You should put her name on your cock, in that case!” Marnie called out. She got enough of a shocked response to call out, “Too far? Was that one too far?”
James threw an arm around my shoulder, anchoring me close against his side. “No one gets to see her piercings, but I’ll show the tattoo. Bianca can even pick which part of my body she wants to mark.”
The joke had gone on long enough. I pulled back to give him a stern look, opening my mouth to speak.
He pressed his hot mouth against mine before I could get a word out. He kissed me, a hot, not fit for public, kind of kiss. His tongue swept deep into my mouth, just begging me to suck it. I pushed against his chest at first, having every intention of avoiding his need for PDA. His hand fisted in my hair, the other hand going to my lower back to press me firmly against him.
I struggled for only a moment before I was lost, softening against him, sucking at his tongue like my life depended on it. My hands fisted helplessly in his shirt, my wrists aching for the feel of the restraining pressure that I craved.
I forgot about my friends, forgot about the joke he’d taken too far. He could have taken me there, against the wall, if he’d wanted to. That was his power over me.
He was the one to pull back, smiling. He looked over my head, and I knew he was grinning at Damien, a cold, triumphant grin.