He stretched out his long legs and shook his head. “Not as much as I’d like to, but yeah I mess around when I have the time.”
Bobbi frowned. “You more than mess around.” She turned back to Brenda. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s really good. He was supposed to go to the New York Academy of Art but,” she stumbled over her words.
Shane realized that most everyone around the fire was listening as Bobbi glanced up at him. “Um, well—”
“Spit it out Barker,” Shane said lightly. When she remained silent, kicking her booted foot into the snow he turned to Brenda. “Aside from the fact that my father absolutely hated the idea and refused to pay for my tuition, which considering I’d just flunked out of Michigan State I guess I don’t blame him, I compounded matters by ending up in jail and blowing my chance.”
“Oh,” Brenda said, not skipping a beat. “Well at least you had a lot of time to perfect your technique.” She smiled and settled into Pete’s arms. “Though I suppose the scenery wasn’t all that inspiring.”
“Nope.”
“A lot of black and white stripes,” she replied.
“Actually, plain, dull blue if you want to get specific.”
“Zebra stripes would have been more interesting.”
“Yep.”
The next few moments were filled with silence, broken only by the crackle of the fire and Bobbi’s steady foot in the snow. But then Rick Lainey jumped to his feet and started the worst rendition of Jailhouse Rock anyone had ever heard, accompanied by a pathetic Elvis impersonation. No surprise really, the guy had no rhythm, and by the time he was done everyone joined in and the heaviness had vanished.
By the time the party moved indoors it was approaching midnight. The air was still chilled, the stars still shone and the buzzing sexual tension between him and Bobbi had reached fever pitch.
Shane glanced up at the sky and breathed in a shot of cold air as he walked across the back deck and eyed the hot tub. His body thrummed with energy and he thought that it was probably a bad idea to be thinking the thoughts that he was thinking.
He and Bobbi had got busy in this particular hot tub on more than one occasion and he wasn’t real sure he’d be able to keep his hands to himself. Sure, the other couples were there, though Logan and Billie had left more than an hour earlier—one guess as to why—but still, the thought of Bobbi in the skimpy black bikini he’d spied in her bag, strutting around the place, had his gut tightened into knots.
Lord knows the woman wasn’t into hiding her body and why should she? It was hot. Hell, back in the day she’d been known to doff her top on occasion and then there was that one time they’d had sex in park, in broad daylight just as church was letting out…
But, she was different now and he wasn’t so sure he wanted anyone to see any part of her that was meant for him.
“Shit,” he murmured as he yanked on his black swim trunks and eased the material away from his already straining erection. He really needed to stop thinking of Bobbi Jo as his.
He glanced at the patio doors—Rick should have been out by now—and briefly wondered where everyone was, but, with a shrug took a step toward the bubbling hot tub. Brenda was a good sport and he had a feeling she would have no problem pointing out the fact that Shane was sporting one hell of a hard on.
He sank into the hot water, hissing at the sensation as the liquid slid across every inch below his waist. With a groan, Shane settled back, grabbed his beer from the edge of the tub and took a good long drink. He heard the door open behind him.
“About time, Lainey. I was wondering where you all got to.”
“It’s me,” Bobbi said softly.
He cocked his head to the side, his heart thudding at the sound of her voice. “Where’s everyone else?”
“They’re gone.”
“Gone,” he said softly. Shit.
“Yes.”
As soon as the word left her lips, Shane heard the distinct sound of the snowmobiles out front. Seconds later the noise had diminished and he knew the sleds had been swallowed by the surrounding forest.
“It’s just you and me,” she said.
“Why are they gone?”
“I asked them to leave.”
“You asked or told?”