Her teammates all raised their glasses and yelled, “Luck!” at the same time. It seemed to be something they probably did often. Now that he was no longer seeing red, it was obvious they were a tight-knit group.
Reid bought a bottle of water and settled in to watch Lucie play darts. Every time she was done throwing she’d stand next to him at the bar as they all talked and laughed. He’d tried offering her the stool he was on, but she declined saying that she’d just be getting up every few minutes or so anyway. It seemed like most of the players didn’t bother sitting down, choosing to stand on the perimeter of their respective dart board and cheer on their friends and try to distract their opponents.
That was fine with him because sitting sideways as he was with the bar to his right and the dartboards to his left, Lucie just happened to stand casually between his knees. And since her friends stood just beyond her, it gave Reid the perfect opportunity to touch her without anyone being the wiser.
The first time he did anything—a light caress over her lower back with one finger—she actually flinched in surprise. Because someone had recently put a heck of a lot of quarters in the jukebox, everyone had to either shout over the raucous music or speak directly into a person’s ear. Yet another thing working in his favor. Placing his lips to Lucie’s ear he said, “Easy, baby. No one can see that I’m touching you. Take your hair down, Luce. I like it down.”
After a fortifying drink of her beer she reached up with one hand and pulled the plastic rods from her hair, placing them on the bar. Her thick hair cascaded to her shoulder blades in the back with shorter pieces in the front to frame her face. She had Pantene commercial hair, but she rarely wore it down which was a shame.
The next time she came back from her turn, she once again situated herself between his legs and started talking to Eric and Kyle as Vanessa took her spot at the dartboard. As she listened to Kyle tell a story of some event from work and responded appropriately at all the right times, Reid slid a hand up the back of her shirt, being careful to stay close to her so no one could see what he was doing. He wanted to make her hyperaware of him, not give the whole bar a show.
Gently he caressed her, dragging his fingers down the dip of her spine, trailing his thumb across her waistline under the edge of her jeans. Below the bar, her hand that had been resting on his knee now clenched, digging short nails into the denim of his pants.
Without missing a beat he answered a question from Kyle as Vanessa returned and Eric now left. Holding her hips he discreetly pulled her back the last few inches so she could feel exactly where his thoughts were. A shiver went through her body when they made contact, and it sure as hell wasn’t because it was cold in the stuffy bar.
“Come on, Eric, you can do this!” Vanessa shouted. “Just one more to go. All you need is a triple eighteen and we’re in the playoffs, baby!”
Reid bent his head close to her ear. “Do you usually stay and celebrate after the games are over?” She nodded. “Tonight I want you to tell them you’re tired, sick, getting abducted by aliens, whatever you want. You’re coming back with me.”
She turned in his arms and leaned in to answer. “Vanessa will know something’s up if I don’t get a ride back with her. And she won’t let this whole thing with you go enough as it is.”
He inclined his head and stood. “Fine. I’ll be waiting for you. Don’t be long, Lucie. I find I’m not a very patient man at the moment.”
Reid said his good-byes, gave Lucie one last meaningful look, and strode out of the bar into the heavy night air. He’d give her thirty minutes. Tops.
Chapter Eleven
Lucie faced the door of her apartment, studying every nuance of the tarnished brass 3C and the peephole below it…and stalling like a virgin on prom night for going on five minutes now.
She didn’t know why she was so nervous in the first place. She certainly had no nerves when Reid was touching her. No, then it was pure fire, unbridled desire like she’d never known. So all she had to do was make it into Reid’s arms, and she’d be fine.
She turned the doorknob and entered her apartment. The small lamp with a burgundy shade on the console table by the door cast warmth and sensuality into the small living area to the right. She noticed his iPod connected to a set of small speakers on one of the end tables, set to a slow and sexy song that was no doubt part of an entire playlist of songs just like it.
“In here, Lu.”