“Got your hands full, don’t you?”
Yes… In more ways than one, but he didn’t say as much. Once she retrieved two of the glasses, he lowered his hand and swallowed hard. The simple touch of her skin made his warm. He clenched his teeth and sucked in a slow, steady breath. He had to keep his wits about him. If not, the gentleman would disappear and he’d finish what he started at the studio.
Cassie placed one shot on the table before grabbing a beer bottle. “Why didn’t you ask for my help?”
“I managed.”
“Did you start a tab?” When he shook his head, she frowned. “You paid last weekend. It’s my turn.”
“Then get the next round.”
“Fine. I will.”
She tossed back the shot she was holding then motioned for one of the waitresses. There was no time to object. The waitress made her way through the crowd and stood before them.
“Hey, girl.” She grinned as she and Cassie embraced. “It’s good to see you tonight. I missed you last weekend.”
“I missed you too, Dee-Dee. How was Hawaii?”
Dee-Dee fluttered her eyes and placed her hand over her breasts. “Oh my God, Cass, it’s beautiful there. You have to go sometime. Everyone should.”
When Dee-Dee looked his way, so did Cassie. “Theo, this is Delilah Cane, aka Dee-Dee. Dee, this is an old friend of mine, Theo McCabe.”
He nodded at the waitress when she waved. “What can I get you guys?”
“Two more rounds of these.” Cassie grabbed the second shot from the table and raised it toward Dee-Dee. “Tequila, sweets, and make sure this one doesn’t pay for them.”
Theo chuckled when she jabbed her thumb in his direction. He was on her turf. She’d mentioned this bar was one of her frequent hangout spots when he brought up the idea of coming here. The way she and the waitress interacted confirmed it.
After Dee-Dee laughed at Cassie’s request, she left for the bar. Once again, he became the center of Cassie’s attention. “You need to catch up.”
She placed the other shot to her lips and tipped it back. He did the same without thinking about the burning sensation the liquor would leave. He was already sweating. Between the heat radiating off the bodies packed inside the bar and the nerves twisting his gut, his clothes would be damp soon. The tequila would speed things along.
Cassie chased her shot with a drink of beer. He wanted to do the same but had another shot waiting for consumption. He took a deep breath then knocked it back. Fire shot across his face, down his spine, until every nerve blazed.
Fuck.… There were two more shots on their way. If he drank them as fast as he had these, he’d be shitfaced in no time. Being drunk in Cassie’s presence wasn’t a good thing, especially after the events of the night.
This was supposed to be a slow seduction. He didn’t want to chance messing up the progress he’d made. She wanted him. She had to. Why else would she let him go down on her? He hadn’t missed the confusion on her face either. She was expecting him to fuck her.
He couldn’t. He had to leave her wanting more. But it wasn’t easy, wouldn’t be easy for the rest of the night. Drinking would demolish his restraint.
The beer bottle in Cassie’s hand clinked against the table as she placed it there. She studied the stage before the music switched to a fast-paced song. Once it did, she swayed to the beat, but not as much as she had when he was watching her from the bar. A moment later, she peeked at him.
“The guitarist…he reminds me of the bartender from Red, White, and Blues. JP, wasn’t it?”
Theo nodded. “Why do you think I wanted to come here tonight? JP and I met last Friday. He came to book tonight’s performance and we started shooting the shit. He’s the one that helped me get the gig at Red, White, and Blues last weekend. I almost declined taking it because my lead guitarist was unavailable and I knew Jonah wouldn’t fill in again. But JP said he would.”
“What?” She glanced at JP. “But he was bartending when I arrived. How did he perform with you?”
“One of the waitresses helped in the bar while he performed.”
Cassie’s lips formed a perfect o as she made the connection. He couldn’t help but stare at her mouth, remembering the way it felt against his. The warmth of her lips left him in a haze. Yet the way her breath swept against his face is what sent him over the edge.
If she only knew how close he’d come to fucking her…
Doing so this soon would mean abandoning his plan. The part of him that craved her wanted to do just that. She wouldn’t have objected. Hell, she was the one rattled over the fact that he didn’t fuck her.
Knowing how much he got to her made the pain of resisting her worth it. As long as he stayed on course, she’d be more than rattled when he left. She’d be in a state of perpetual want.
He’d leave her longing for him.
“So,” Cassie began, after taking a drink from her bottle. “Are you and JP best buds now?”
“He’s a pretty cool guy. He reminds me of myself at twenty-one.”
“He’s twenty-one?” She chuckled when he nodded. “I thought he was our age. Cori is twenty-one too.”
“Holy shit. I haven’t thought about your sister in years. She was what, fifteen the last time I saw her?”
“Yep.”
Theo leaned against the table. Laughter rumbled his chest as memories resurfaced. “I used to give her so much shit for wearing those pigtails. She’d get so mad.”
“She was such a brat. You know she’s the reason we got busted for drinking a couple of times.”
“I don’t doubt it. How is she?”
“She’s good. This fall is her final year of college. And let me just say, she’s still a brat every now and then, but she lost the pigtails. Cori is beautiful. Unfortunately, she knows it.”
Theo savored the sound of her voice. It didn’t matter what she was saying. She could be talking about spotted pink elephants flying through the sky. He wouldn’t care. As long as she kept talking, he was happy.
When the music grew louder, so did the crowd. The noise drowned out some of what she was saying about her sister, but he leaned in closer.
“I wish I had a recent pic to show you. You wouldn’t believe she was the same girl.”
“Well, I’m not doubting your opinion, but there’s no way your sister could compare to you.”
He didn’t miss the way she averted her eyes and gazed at her bottle. Her cheeks flushed. He wasn’t sure if it was from what he said or because the bar was hotter than the VIP suite in hell. Hopefully, it was the former. He wanted to be good at this… The flattery. Saying the right words. Flirting…
With her, it felt easy. She knew him, probably expected him to act this way. Yet he knew how to shock the hell out of her too. His mouth had accomplished that much and more.
“Hey, y’all. I have your shots.”
Dee-Dee’s voice jarred Theo. He hadn’t noticed her approaching, nor did he want to be interrupted. There was little he could say. Cassie was taking the shot glasses and placing them on the table. As she and Dee-Dee spoke about getting together soon, she slipped the waitress money then waved when she walked away.
A glass slid in his direction. “Celebration shot.” She stared at him until he pinched it between his fingers and lifted it close to hers. “To Ally and Jonah. May their future together be full of love and happiness.”
“I’ll drink to that.” He clinked his glass with hers then placed it to his lips. Another wave of heat scorched his throat. The liquor didn’t pack the same punch as his first two shots. Any other time he’d appreciate that fact, but it meant he was well on his way to getting plastered.
Cassie raised the other shot. She leaned closer to him as he mimicked her movement. “Another toast, doll?”
She nodded. “This one’s to you, for devising a plan to get your brother and my best friend together. If they have a son, they should name him after his uncle.” She winked as she clinked her glass with his.<
br />
Before she could down the shot, he raised his glass higher. “And if they have a daughter, she should be named after her Aunt Cassie.”
A smile warmed her lips. She tipped her glass toward his then both drank their shot. This one was smooth. It warmed his body…or maybe it was Cassie causing the reaction. She was shaking her hips to the music again.
How fast could she wiggle those hips? They were definitely moving when his face was buried between her thighs. The thought of her doing the same as he lay under her made his cock throb.
Damn it. He had to stop this. If he didn’t put some space between them, he’d have the biggest hard-on. He could excuse himself to the men’s room but worried she’d notice the bulge forming in his jeans.
Maybe there was another way to give them separation, one that wouldn’t reveal how much she turned him on. The only one he could think of might backfire, but it was worth a shot.
“Jonah said you and Ally were burning up the dance floor last Friday. How about you show me your moves, sugar. Unless the dance team captain has lost her touch.”
Cassie didn’t back down from the challenge. “You wanna see my moves, do you?” She shook her hips harder as she studied him from head to toe. When he nodded, the corner of her mouth lifted. “I think I could manage that…under one condition.”
She sauntered closer. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist, then she pulled his body into hers. Their eyes met, but his lowered back to her lips. He wanted to kiss her, was so caught up in the need pulsing in his veins that he didn’t realize what she said before it was too late.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours…”
The innuendo was a clever tease on her part. It just proved where his mind was—deep in thoughts of her, or was it thoughts of being deep in her…? In reality, they were one and the same. He needed to fuck her.
Then came the reality check. She wasn’t suggesting they sleep together. She wanted him to dance. His plan to put space between them had definitely backfired.
Consequently, so was his plan to seduce her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Theo guzzled half of his beer before Cassie grew impatient. She grabbed the bottle out of his hands then shook her finger in his face when he opened his mouth to object. He gave in to the tug of her hand and stepped closer.
She didn’t budge. Her finger trailed over his lips then she winked. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Theo.”
“Who said I’m afraid?”
“Your reaction said plenty. If you’re not afraid, why won’t you dance with me?”
His cheeks tightened with a grin as he gazed off. “You’re the dancing queen.”
She leaned in close. He thought she would kiss him, but her lips went to his ear. “Dancing is easy, handsome. It’s just like fucking. It’s all in the way you work your hips.”
He turned to face her as she pulled away. She stared in his eyes, but when their lips came close to brushing, she hesitated.
Damn… If dancing with her meant being this close, he was screwed. Every bat of her lashes chipped away at his restraint. Why did he have to want her this much?
By the time she got him onto the dance floor, the music stopped. The crowd broke into applause. Some whistled. For a moment, it appeared as though he hit a spot of luck. Perhaps the band would take a break. Then he wouldn’t have to dance.
Who was he kidding? There was no such thing as luck.
JP played the intro to a new song. Then the drums kicked in. Each beat built with the next, creating a slower tempo. A few people departed the floor while others paired up and remained. Bodies pressed together. Necks were encircled. Hips were grasped.
Once Cassie came into view, everyone else faded. Nothing existed but her, the wicked twist of her lips, the comforting warmth of her body…
“Is this more your pace?” she teased.
“Maybe… You wouldn’t laugh at a guy who couldn’t dance, would you?”
“Never.” Her arms rose to his neck. They wrapped at the nape as her breasts brushed his chest. “But I know you can dance, Theo.” She rocked her hips with his. “You’re the one who offered to teach me last weekend. Besides, I felt the way you moved when we were at the studio. All you have to do is loosen up and let go.”
An objection played on his lips, but he swallowed it back and did as she suggested. By the time the chorus began, the tension left his muscles. He swayed his body in rhythm with hers.
She was right, yet again. He knew how to dance, especially slow dancing. He didn’t have all the fancy moves she did, but he knew how to work his body. What she said was true. Dancing was a lot like fucking.
As the lyrics rang through the air, he lowered his hands from her waist to her hips. The heat radiating between them caused sweat to bead on his back. When the moment arrived and she was in his bed, there would be more than beads forming over their skin. The friction created from each of their thrusts would have them covered in sweat.
He guaranteed it.
JP’s solo began as he neared the edge of the stage, not far from where they were dancing. When his fingers zipped over the strings in a frenzy, Cassie peered over her shoulder, smiling in his direction. Every second he remained the center of her attention made Theo grit his teeth. He wanted her looking at him, no one else.
When the last note hung in the air, JP glanced their way. He winked at Cassie then hung his head as the music regained control.
“I think your new pal just winked at you.”
He unclenched his teeth and grunted. “Not me, sugar. He winked at you…”
The fact that JP was flirting with her was the last thing he wanted to admit. If she developed an interest in his new acquaintance, there was nothing he could do. She wasn’t his, nor would she be pining for him when he left. He was an idiot to think she would. This entire plan to seduce her was stupid.
“You know JP thinks you’re hot, right?”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “So you can read minds now?”
“No,” he chuckled. “I don’t need to read minds. I’m a guy. We know these things. Besides, he reminds me a lot of myself.”
“You mentioned that earlier but never explained why. Wanna tell me now?”
He didn’t want to dredge up the past. Yet the weight of her gaze reminded him of her determination. He couldn’t avoid the subject.
“JP and I have followed the same path. He bartends to pay the bills and finds gigs to pay for his dreams.”
“You were a bartender?”
“Yeah. I had to do something when things went to shit in New Orleans.”
Her body slowed as they fell out of rhythm with the music. “What do you mean?”
Great… It was time to reveal the failure he wanted to forget.
He leaned in closer and pressed his mouth close to her ear. “Jesse’s contact fell through six months after we relocated. Bills were piling up, money wasn’t coming in, but we were still partying. Things got worse three months later when Jonah enrolled in school for sound producing. Long story short, he ended up with a job offer in L.A. and left. Then I hit rock bottom.”
He observed the people around them as memories flooded his mind. Part of him still resented Jonah for leaving, probably always would. He wouldn’t have left his brother if the roles were reversed. At least Jonah was making up for it now, but the scar his departure left would remain.
“Jesse didn’t let me give up. One night, he convinced me to go to a bar on Bourbon Street. It’s where we met Allen. His uncle owned the bar.”
“I’m assuming you guys hit it off?”
He nodded but kept the crowd in his sight. His thumbs pressed into her hips, then he guided hers with his. They swayed to the song as his tension decreased. “A week later, Jesse and I were bartending. With Allen’s help, we reformed Southern Scandal and performed at the bar on the weekends. A while later, Jonah and I made amends. ”
Refocusing on her once more, the stage lights lit up her eyes, making them glisten
. Something weighed within them, something he’d only seen in his mother’s eyes. Compassion. Empathy. Regret…
“I hate how much things went to hell for you, but you’re here now, recording your first album. You’re on your way to something special, Theo. Everything happens for a reason.”
He couldn’t deny the truth. If Jonah hadn’t left, he and Jesse wouldn’t have met Allen, or even Jeff a few months later. It was their contacts that helped them play enough bars and clubs to gain local attention, including their agent, Joel. Once he introduced them to Josh, he insisted on being their manager. Now Theo was here, just like she said.
As the song drew to a close, another round of thunderous applause erupted from the crowd. The singer spoke into the microphone, but Theo couldn’t hear what he was saying. Cassie hadn’t backed away. Their bodies remained motionless, but her sharp gaze shook him to the core.
The drums kicked in as JP played a series of gritty chords. Cheers came from the crowd, then the floor filled with people. Bodies multiplied around him and Cassie. All were shaking and bouncing to the beat, all but hers and his.
She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. Her shoulders rose with each breath, and those breaths brushed his cheek. If they were alone, he wouldn’t waste another second holding her, not with her clothes on.
But they weren’t alone. The painful reminder reared its head when she pulled her hands from his neck and shook her body to the faster rhythm. She examined the room, as if she were looking to see who was watching. When he regained her attention, it felt like he could breathe again.
As she rolled her body to the music, he remained still. His mind was in overdrive. Each shimmy and shake had him anxious for the next. And he thought watching her in high school had been painful. Yeah right. Painful didn’t describe the repetitious throbbing in his dick. The more he tried ignoring it, the worse it grew. Or maybe it was the way she was grinding against him.
“Damn woman. You haven’t lost your moves.”