“What do you need us to do?” Eve laughed while elbowing her sister.
Glad that they were willing to help, and trying not to think about what they would tell his mother, he gave them their directions. “Dawn, you get the one on the right. Eve take the girl on the left. The purple number is mine.” And without giving them time to back out, he stalked to the dance floor to claim his evening’s prize, his sisters flanking him on either side.
He heard them both giggle behind him, but they were there. And that was all he needed. An in. A distraction for Linda and Dinah so he could get Jewel to himself. If they could distract the other two woman long enough for him to make a getaway with Jewel, well, he would owe them for that big time. He got behind Jewel on the dance floor and she still hadn’t noticed as his sisters quickly maneuvered in front of him. They each took one of the other girls’ hands, and parted the threesome flawlessly. Jewel didn’t even know what hit her.
*
Jewel was enjoying herself immensely. It had been months since she’d gone out dancing and let her hair down. When her brothers had texted her saying they were crashing at a friend’s after track practice, she had accepted her friend’s invitation to go dancing. They had even decided to rent a room at the hotel so none of them had to drive afterwards. That was one of the perks of being an employee. The discount.
She was also a little bit tipsy. Normally not one to dance so provocatively, she felt the loss of heat immediately when her friends parted from her. But she continued to move to the beat, feeling Linda come back up behind her. When she pushed her backside back into her friend to the pulse of the music, she was shocked when she felt something rock hard behind her. That was definitely not Linda! Whirling around, she hit a brick wall—solid, massive, and unmoving. Her eyes gazed upwards and soon discovered the wall was none other than the very finely chiseled specimen that was Joseph Sassacus. Immediately her mouth became dry. In a tight t-shirt and dark jeans he looked every ounce of the perfect male specimen that he was. In his suit, he looked magnificent. But now she could more clearly see his definition. The man had an amazing body. Her body was engulfed in flames at the thought of what he must look like naked.
She instantaneously took a step backwards, but his hands came up quickly, and grasping her shoulders he reeled her back in, moving in time to the music. Her breathing became erratic, and her heart hammered in her chest at the realization that she had been set up. She was dancing with Joseph, the man who had been hitting on her that very afternoon. He suggested they go out sometime. He had made that sometime happen without her awareness.
Jewel glanced around quickly to see how this had happened, and saw both her friends being steered off the dance floor by Joseph’s sisters, Dawn and Eve. They were all laughing as they climbed up onto bar stools. She felt the sting of the possibility of being set up. But Joseph’s hands distracted her as he ran them up and down her arms provocatively to get her attention focused upon him once more. Turning, she looked up into those coppery eyes, and she saw desire flare in them. The man was too gorgeous for words. His face, his body, and that smile, were all . . . just . . . perfect.
“You look beautiful, Jewel,” he stated as he whirled her back around so that she was pressed up against him, her backside against his front. Flames of heat began to curl in her core. The attraction she felt for this man aided by her lower inhibitions due to the alcohol was making her lose all control, all sensibility. She couldn’t see his face any longer. She could only feel him there, moving against her. And she couldn’t deny it. It felt good. Damn good! She was speechless and couldn’t think, couldn’t form a single word. Only feel.