Suddenly Sexy

She found Lloyd at the bar just as Eric had said. Her eyes narrowed in on her target. He was tall and the spiky hair added a few inches. She suspected he wore baggy clothes to hide his skinny build.

Lloyd was leaning back on the bar stool, smiling as he listened to his friends try to impress two beautiful young women. It didn’t look as if he was trying to win them over. Good. It meant she had a chance to swoop in and catch him.

Julie surveyed the area. She stalled when she glanced at the women with Lloyd’s friends. A sense of uneasiness washed over her. Now she understood why Eric had a problem with her alias.

She took a closer look at the platinum blonde and voluptuous redhead who had taken command of the men’s attention. Their beauty was exotic. They took sexy to a whole new level. Charlie’s Angels wished they looked like these women.

There was no way she could compete with that. She saw how their skimpy dresses left little to the imagination. She figured these women were sexier than these guys had ever dreamed of.

It looked as if Blondie and Red were one step from being swept off to bed. They worked fast, but they didn’t need to work hard to get a man’s interest. Blondie was listening intently to Lloyd’s shorter friend while Red had an arm draped on the other friend’s shoulders.

Julie wanted to back away. Try again when she wasn’t competing with that kind of in-your-face sexuality.

She took a step back and wavered. No, she couldn’t back down. Not when everyone was watching. Waiting. She had to give it her best shot.

Julie jutted her chin out and strode to the empty seat next to Lloyd. If she gave up now, she’d never get another chance to play and would be permanently on the sidelines.

She wouldn’t let that happen again.

Lloyd turned his head when she sat down. She smiled at him and rested her arms on the bar. The next few seconds were crucial and her heart was beating fast. If she blew this, they would get someone else to play decoy. This was her chance to show everyone she was smart and sexy. A woman of action. A woman who shouldn’t be ignored.

She looked away to flag the bartender. Her hand trembled as the nervousness tumbled through her body. When she looked back, Lloyd was still looking at her.

Relief poured through her veins and her smile widened. Lloyd smiled back. The game was on.

* * *

WHY DIDN’T HE INSIST ON getting more audio equipment? Eric wondered as he leaned against a tall table next to the wall. The audio team texted him with updates, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted to know every dirty thing Lloyd was saying to Julie.

Not that Julie seemed to mind. Eric wanted to growl. He took a sip of his water and wished it was something stronger. It appeared that Julie was enjoying herself. And why not? She was showing off, Eric thought as he glared over the glass rim, proving that she could be a decoy.

Giving in to temptation, Eric grabbed his cell phone and called Asia. She answered it on the third ring. “I’m working here, Eric.”

“I want a status report,” he said as he reined in his impatience.

“She’s a great flirt,” she said gleefully. “Who knew?”

He knew firsthand. It was uncomfortable watching Julie flirt with another man. Those brazen smiles and sly looks should be for him and he didn’t like to share. When she had taken off her jacket, revealing a snug tank top, he wanted to go over and throw the jacket back onto her shoulders.

“Is she about to reel him in?”

“Give it time, Eric. The last thing she wants to do is spook him.”

“I don’t think I can take much more of this.”

“Really? Because Julie looks like she could do it all night,” Asia said with a throaty laugh before she disconnected the call.

Eric pocketed his phone and studied Julie. Asia was right. Julie was having the time of her life. There was a joy, an energy pouring out of her that no man could ignore. It was going to be impossible to keep her away from this.

And he didn’t need Asia to tell him how well Julie was doing. Julie wasn’t aggressive and showed great patience as she gradually lured Lloyd away from his friends. Julie knew how to use body language. She mirrored Lloyd’s movements. When she wasn’t touching her mouth, drawing attention to her lips, she was touching Lloyd.

The guy was no match for Julie. Lloyd was getting closer and closer. His hand rested on Julie’s. His knees kept bumping against hers. When he leaned in to whisper something in Julie’s ear, Eric wanted to jump from his seat, pull them apart and declare that Julie was his.

But that wasn’t true. He’d had mind-blowing sex with Julie, but that didn’t mean he had a claim on her. She didn’t even want to talk about it afterward. Could he blame her? He took her against the door at the office. He took her like a hungry animal when she deserved something with a lot more sophistication.