“Yeah, I’m sure. Let me buy you and your friends a drink for your mistake, hmm?” He indicated with a tilt of his head they should lead the way, releasing her hands he’d kept from roaming down his body, hoping she’d take the hint.
His baby sister had her back resting against the bar, watching them with amusement. “Not one word, Gia, if you value your life,” he growled.
“Why I wouldn’t dream of it.” Gia did her best southern belle accent. With her hand covering her heart, she fluttered her lashes at him.
It was so comical, he cracked a smile, touched his middle finger to his thumb, and gently flicked her in the forehead with his right hand.
“Ouch, I’m telling Mom.” His sister rubbed the spot he’d hit, ruining the pout with a grin that split her face.
He told the bartender to give the women a free round on him.
****
Angel was kicking her own ass. Dammit! How could I let him kiss me like that? The bigger question was why had she kissed him back? He would only lead to heartache, and her heart was just beginning to heal. She had a chance at a future with a great guy. He treated her like a princess and understood her vow of chastity until marriage. Lorenzo would never respect the pledge she’d made to herself after her one disastrous taste of intimacy.
Hell, she didn’t know if she could honor her own vow when it came to him. Kissing Andrew was nothing like the kiss she’d just shared with Lorenzo. She never wanted to crawl up the other man’s body and possess him the way she did with this man.
The night she lost or gave away her virginity was a hazy memory. Hell, she couldn’t even recall the actual deed. Poor Derek had no clue it had been her first time. It wasn’t his fault, and she’d never blamed him. His offer, on the way home, to marry her made her smile, even while her stomach rolled. She’d known, if Lorenzo ever found out he’d hate her, and his best friend.
After she’d politely refused his proposal, they agreed to never tell a soul. He did offer to make up for the forgettable sex by repeating it one more time to prove it could be good. But Angel didn’t want to do it with him. Sex without love was just sex. Now she was ready to jump the one man who could crush her heart, right in the middle of a crowded club. Real smart, girl.
There was over an hour left on the clock before she could leave. Promising Gia she’d work the full shift had to be the dumbest thing she’d done, next to rubbing herself all over her best friend’s brother like a cat in heat.
Her face flushed at the thought of everyone having watched them get it on. No catcalls rang out as she crossed the packed floor, climbed on the small stage, and started to move, easing some of her worry. She lost herself in the familiar joy of dancing, her body in accord with the beats thumping with a heavy bass.
Hearing last call brought her head up. That was her warning to get down and get out before the crowd left en masse.
“Yo, Gia, I’m gonna head out,” Angel yelled over the noise of the club.
Gia’s face scrunched up in a pout. “You can’t go. I didn’t get a chance to dance with you, or talk, or even buy you a drink.”
“I’m driving, so drinking’s a no-no,” Angel said, changing her plans to stay over at her friends place. Thank the Lord she’d never told Gia she was gonna crash with her.
“Fine, but text me when you get home. I don’t like you driving so far at night alone.”
“Yes, Mommy dearest.” She rolled her eyes.
Angel gave a mock glare of outrage at the double-fisted flip off she received from her best friend. With a wave, she weaved her way through the crowd of bodies. Spying the door up ahead, she smiled to the people who said hi, high fived several drunk guys, and smacked a couple of wandering hands away.
“Really, people, do you think it turns a girl on to be groped?” she mumbled to herself.
“Personally, I don’t find it amusing either,” Lorenzo said.
Where the heck did he come from? It’s not like the man was little and could blend into the woodwork. She wanted to rip her hair out, or, better yet, his. It was his fault she had all these conflicting emotions. It was his fault she wanted him. How dare the man get more handsome as he got older. At twenty-five, he had been beyond gorgeous. Now, at thirty, he was devastating to a girl’s good sense.
“Good to know,” she replied.
With just one glance, one word from his delectable mouth, he had women lining up to do him. She didn’t want to be another notch on his belt, did she? That was a question that kept running through her mind. While her body danced for the last hour, her mind had kept picturing him naked.
From the feel of his erection as it had dug into her stomach, she knew he was blessed indeed. Not that she had much to compare him to. The memory of Derek was skewed by alcohol.