I grinned, hoping he could see me in the mirror. Yes, that accent was definitely from Boston. “Your turn.”
“With relish.”
When his mouth found my neck again, it was like touching a live wire. His tongue swirled over the salt like he was enjoying a lollipop, then he proceeded to suck hard enough that I moaned.Moments later, he released my skin with the pop of his mouth before grabbing the tequila and lime.
“Tell me something.” His voice was a bit hoarser when he returned the empty shot glass to the bar, the sucked lime tucked into it. His fingers tugged on the straps of my dress, tied around my neck. “Does a girl like you often wear dresses like this?”
I sucked in a breath as the tequila—or maybe it was just him—heated my belly. “What makes you think I’m any kind of girl?”
“You danced like you were surprising yourself. Like you were trying on someone else’s skin.” He gave a pull, undoing the knot. One more tug, and my top would fall down completely. “Am I wrong?”
I couldn’t move as the hand pulled the string just a little more.
I straightened my shoulders. He could dare all he wanted. My tequila-fueled bravery was fighting this battle for me. Not Laney was shameless. “Maybe I wanted to feel different. Just for one night.”
“How’s that working out for you?”
I turned my head slightly, just enough to catch a glimpse of him in profile again. Good God, that jaw could slice every lime in the place.
“Too soon to tell,” I whispered.
That seemed to mollify him. He quickly retied my dress, then settled his hands at my waist. He had big hands, so large they nearly touched.
His lips brushed the top of my ear as he pulled me so my back was flush against his front. “Shall I help you decide?”
Every retort I had died in my throat as one of those broad hands slid down over the silk, past my hip, and found the slit in my dress.
I bit back a gasp. “What?”
His fingertips traced the exposed skin of my thigh. “This was particularly unfair of you. Torture, in fact. I couldn’t stop watching it every time you moved, waiting to see what it might reveal. Would you let me find out now?”
Maybe I should have pushed his hand away. But I—or maybe it was Not Laney—simply didn’t want to. Instead, I allowed the stranger to explore the break in my skirt below the edge of the bar, under the shadow of his imposing build. Moments later, I rocked back and bit back another gasp when somethingverylong and hard rocked right back into me.
“Jesus.”
His chuckle heated my neck. “No, just me, I’m afraid.”
“What are you packing back there, another bottle of tequila?” I couldn’t help but rotate my hips again. Apparently, Not Laney was a legitimate hussy.
“No bottle of anything, sweetheart. But glad to know you’re up for the challenge.”
His fingers slipped through the skirt’s opening, finding and stroking my upper thigh, then my hipbone. I felt the sharp intake of his breath.
“Good fucking god, little nymph.” That deep voice was even rougher now, as if he’d been shouting, not growling into my ear. “You’re not wearing any panties, are you?”
Some strange rhythm that had nothing to do with the music pulsating through the club coursed through me. “Maybe you should find out.”
WhowasI?
I’d gotten a wax before this trip, planning for at least one day by the pool, but never dreamed it would be for a stranger’s hand slipping between my thighs in a public place. Inches from the spot so neglected that I swore I could come right here, in a bar, in front of everyone, if his thumb merely grazed it.
A glass shattered somewhere down the bar. The stranger swore and replaced his hand at my waist, safely over my clothes. Quickly, he turned me in his arms, forcing me to face him fully for the first time.
Thank God I had the steel edge to hold on to, because holy hell. Megan was right. I looked up—and up, and up—into the most beautifully barbaric face I’d ever seen.
Dark, laughing eyes were ringed with fatigue that couldn’t just come from a hard day’s work. That nose looked like it had been broken more than once, and that iron-chiseled jaw bore a few other scars that marred groomed stubble. A wide, full mouth hooked to one side with a smirk that disappeared as soon as our eyes met.
We stared. Neither of us breathed.