“Yeah…” I grinned excitedly as Sloane eyed me from head to toe, her heels clicking toward me slowly as she pretended to be floored. Or maybe she wasn’t pretending.
“Lara, what the hell! You look like you should be on the cover of Maxim!” she’s squealed. “You do realize you look way too sexy right now, right? Can we like, oil up your skin and give you sex hair?”
I burst out laughing. “Sloane, no.” I touched my ballerina topknot. “I need to keep my hair classy to offset the total vamp dress.”
“Yes, true. Good thinking. So what shoes are you wearing?” she asked curiously, her lake blue eyes widening. When I broke into a devilish grin, her jaw dropped and she bounced on her toes giddily. “Oh my god. You’re going to bust out the magic shoes.”
She was right. The magic shoes were black, suede thigh-high boots with a six-inch wedge heel. They hugged my legs and reached well above the middle of my thigh. I had bought them with Sloane last year in Paris, while we were shopping for Valentine’s Day lingerie. I’d worn them that nig
ht in our suite, with strappy black lingerie and garters. I’d sauntered down the stairs to surprise Jackson as he sat on the couch. He was in a lazy, post-dinner content but he shot straight up the second he saw me, studying my body in awe for a minute, as if regarding a rare piece of artwork at the Louvre. But then he grabbed me tight, kissing my neck as he carried me to the floor-to-ceiling window. “You’re so fucking sexy,” he rasped in my ear as he unzipped his pants and freed his cock. “I have to show you off, baby. I fucking have to.”
And so he did, thrusting my half-naked body against a window overlooking the sidewalk. I would never do it again in my life, but it was easily the hottest, most exhilarating sex I’d ever had.
Since that night, the boots had gone unworn. It wasn’t because I was saving them for another special occasion though – it was mostly because they were so long that I didn’t own anything short enough to show them off. They started five inches below my crotch and most of my dresses ended there.
But not the one I was set to wear tonight.
Sloane gasped for a full ten seconds when I finally brought out the boots. A rush of excitement prickled my skin as I pulled the zipper smoothly up from the arch of my foot to the upper middle of my inner thigh. When I stood up straight to gaze into the mirror, I had to laugh with Sloane at the ridiculous amount of sex the ensemble oozed. There were barely three inches of exposed skin on my legs. From afar, it looked like I was wearing only a pair of boots.
Sloane shook her head. “You two are going to have sex at the party, aren’t you?”
My lips twisted into a grin as I grabbed my clutch. “That’s the plan.”
Chapter Nineteen
Buccieri’s second floor lounge was a cozy little spot with candlelit tables, leather booths and tufted walls. There was something undeniably sultry about the room and I always loved sitting there, sipping champagne cocktails and luxuriating in the sounds of my favorite songs by Nina Simone. They drifted through the air as I laughed with Sloane and occasionally caught Jackson’s eye from across the room, where he and the boys discussed whatever it was that they discussed.
I couldn’t wait to do exactly that tonight – give Jackson bedroom eyes from afar, cross and uncross my legs, do all the things that always forced him to excuse himself from his friends and take me elsewhere for a private moment.
But I didn’t spot him right away when I got to the second floor.
“Fuckin’ fuck,” Sawyer groaned when he saw me first. He thrust his fingers into his coiffed hair, ruining it. “Lara. Babe. Fuck,” he said as if it were a real sentence. He was speechless as I kissed his cheek and stood there as more of Jackson and my friends came to greet me.
“Oh my God, Lara,” Emily Rocha gasped, gesturing at my dress before giggling and whispering in my ear. “Piper’s putting the moves on Jake right now and he’s totally not into it. It’s hilarious! Come say hi with me so you can see.”
Before I could say no, she dragged my arm, pulling me to the circle booth at the very back of the room. There, I saw Piper kneeling in her leather mini dress, two teasing fingertips trailing up to Jake’s package as she whispered in his ear. He stared ahead, a lowball of scotch in his left hand and a sexy, crooked laugh on his lips. “Not into it” didn’t seem like the most accurate description.
Still, Emily tossed me a “how funny!” look before clearing her throat. “Excuse us, Piper. The man of the hour needs to say hello to his future sister-in-law.”
Act normal, I braced myself.
But the second Jake looked at me, the room stood still. The laughter and music floated from my ears and all I could hear was my own pulse as he stared at me with a lust so instant I feared Emily and Piper would know – that the air would give us away, growing instantly thick with the energy of two people who weren’t supposed to have had sex.
But their banter was what brought me back to Earth. “Couldn’t you see that we were talking?” Piper asked Emily, who shot back with something I didn’t hear because Jake was standing up.
“Always good to see you, Lara.” His voice was convincingly casual. My body was hot as he leaned forward, one hand on my waist as he kissed my cheek. “You look beautiful as always,” he said, his eyes boring into mine.
“Thank you,” I murmured as I took in the sight of his athletic body in formalwear. He looked torturously good in a dark grey button up and black skinny tie – like he belonged on the red carpet. “You look very handsome yourself,” I offered quietly, a shiver rippling up the length of my spine as Jake leaned back on his heels, still taking me in. He’d yet to take his emerald eyes off of me. But then again, I couldn’t stop staring at him either. The air was thick. Tense.
But to my surprise, we cracked a smile at the same time.
Thank you, Rocha sisters. They were still bickering ridiculously but I was grateful for the comic relief. I hadn’t spoken to Jake since a couple nights ago, when we’d done whatever it was we’d done in the guest bedroom. I hadn’t been sure of how he’d act around me tonight but thus far, things were looking amicable at the very least.
“Nice boots,” he gave me a small but dimpled smile. Taking a step back, he eyed my outfit, his stare so intense that I swore it could peel off my dress and panties right there. “Has Jackson seen you yet?” he asked, shaking his head a little. I wasn’t sure what that meant but even the way he did that was sexy.
“Oh God!” Emily gasped suddenly. “Lara. Has your man not seen you in this outfit yet? Let’s go find him! I have to see his reaction!”
“Perfect. Go do that while we continue the conversation you so rudely interrupted,” Piper drawled, tugging on Jake’s hand.