I had to give Damien a second look. I’d have sworn he was blushing.

“Don’t think I haven’t tried,” Murphy gasped out, still laughing. “He’s just about the prettiest man I know. Prettier than at least half the women I’ve been with. But I can’t even get a cuddle when he’s drunk.”

Our laughter was loud enough that even in the boisterous bar, most of the people were staring our way.

That was about the time James strode back inside.

I was standing closest to Damien, though we were still a good two feet apart. And I couldn’t stop laughing, even seeing the storm that immediately overtook his lovely features at the sight of us standing near each other again.

I knew that he had a problem with Damien. He seemed to think there was something between us. I just didn’t understand why. I’d known Damien for years before I’d met James. If we had shared a real interest in each other, obviously something would have happened by now. I understood Damien’s appeal, but he just didn’t do it for me. I had more…exotic tastes. I thought that all should have been very obvious to James, so it was hard to humor his strange dislike for one of my good friends.

James strode to me, looking much too fine even in a pique.

I marveled, as I did much too often, at how beautiful he was. His longish, sandy brown hair fell artfully out of his face as he walked. The chiseled muscles of his arms and upper body were clearly defined by his thin shirt. His clenched jawline was perfection. His mouth was almost bow shaped but held too firm of an edge to be pouty, though it sure was pretty. His arched eyebrows and thick lashes were a shade darker than his hair, drawing attention to his vivid turquoise eyes. His nose was straight and flared appealingly at the tip, sitting just right in his unrivaled face. He was simply beautiful. He was in no way feminine, but the word handsome just couldn’t do those refined looks justice. He was long and lean, but in tight fitting clothing, it was clear that he was well muscled, rather than thin. He’s perfection, I thought absently. What is he doing with me? Was always my follow up question.

He moved in close beside me, but didn’t touch me.

“Looks like I missed all the fun,” he said quietly to me, his voice strangely empty.

My smile began to fade.

“The arrangements have been made,” he said shortly. “You’re all mine, whenever we finish up here.”

“What about you two? You look like you’re hot enough about each other to break out the ink. When are you going to tattoo your names on each other?” Marnie called out to James and I, smiling and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I sent him a sidelong smile.

He gave me the tiniest smile in return. “It would be a waste to mar her perfect skin just for a little ink,”

James said. “But I would happily get a Bianca tattoo, if that’s what she wants.”

I arched a brow at him as the crowd erupted, shouting encouragement for the folly. I’d seen James’s body. He didn’t have one tattoo, so he was just messing with them, of course.

“You wouldn’t return the favor, Bianca?” Judith called out, sounding aghast.

I shrugged, giving James a narrow-eyed glare. “I guess if he got a tattoo for me, I’d let him pierce my nipples,” I said more to him than the crowd. But the crowd absolutely roared at the joke.

He ran his tongue over his teeth in that mouthwatering way of his. He held out a hand to me, as though to shake. “You have a deal, Love. Please, shake on it. Nothing would please me more.”

Someone sounded like they choked on their drink just behind me. I heard Stephan shouting something along the lines of, “What the fuck, Buttercup?”

I looked at his hand, wondering why he had to take the joke so far. But I shook his hand without giving it much thought, just going along with his over the top antics. One of Murphy’s favorite lines about telling jokes came to mind, for some reason. Always go with the bit, he liked to say. Can’t deny the bit.

“You first, though. I want to see that ink before I pierce anything,” I said, making sure I had insurance, just in case he really had gone crazy.

He smiled, and it was positively wicked. “Of course.”

“And I want to see those piercings, Bee!” someone called out. I couldn’t even tell who it was.

“We want to see, as proof that you both held up your end of the bargain!” I recognized Judith’s voice that time.

“You should put her name on your cock, in that case!” Marnie called out. She got enough of a shocked response to call out, “Too far? Was that one too far?”

James threw an arm around my shoulder, anchoring me close against his side. “No one gets to see her piercings, but I’ll show the tattoo. Bianca can even pick which part of my body she wants to mark.”

The joke had gone on long enough. I pulled back to give him a stern look, opening my mouth to speak.

He pressed his hot mouth against mine before I could get a word out. He kissed me, a hot, not fit for public, kind of kiss. His tongue swept deep into my mouth, just begging me to suck it. I pushed against his chest at first, having every intention of avoiding his need for PDA. His hand fisted in my hair, the other hand going to my lower back to press me firmly against him.

I struggled for only a moment before I was lost, softening against him, sucking at his tongue like my life depended on it. My hands fisted helplessly in his shirt, my wrists aching for the feel of the restraining pressure that I craved.

I forgot about my friends, forgot about the joke he’d taken too far. He could have taken me there, against the wall, if he’d wanted to. That was his power over me.

He was the one to pull back, smiling. He looked over my head, and I knew he was grinning at Damien, a cold, triumphant grin.

“If you don’t pick a spot, I might just have to take the only other suggestion I heard, something about your name on my cock.” He spoke loudly enough to get some hoots and hollers from the crowd.

I couldn’t even form the words to respond. He took one of my fisted hands, spreading it flat over his heart.

“Or how about right there, Love?” he whispered to me.

I licked my lips, opening my mouth to speak. I knew I should say…something, but my mind had just gone off into space. Off into, thinking about the things he could do to me, territory. He laughed, clearly enjoying the state he’d put me in.

He was smug and gloating as he stroked a hand over my hair. I couldn’t bring myself to care. I was soon to be at his mercy for the night. The thought was all-consuming. I was excited, and aroused, and scared.

Was it too soon, since my injuries? Would I bring back some of the shadow pains that had so recently faded? Would he take it easy on me, or push me hard? I wanted to know the answers more than I feared the pain.

One thing I knew for certain. He was going to fuck me mindless, and I could barely stand the wait.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Are you ready to leave yet?” James murmured to me a few minutes later.

We’d grown silent as the group moved on to another topic. James was stroking me lightly, touching me everywhere, falling just short of indecency.

He would touch my collarbone, but stop just short of my breasts. One hand lingered at my hipbone, dangerously close to dipping low enough to be obscene. I was getting more and more lost in his touch, losing all sense of what was appropriate, and losing sight of all of the reasons that I’d ever had any reservations about him at all.

This was the reason I had tried to keep my distance from him, but also the reason that I couldn’t. I simply couldn’t resist him. I had held out for a time, but if I was honest, it had only been a countdown to my capitulation.

I didn’t answer him, and he took it as a challenge. He kissed me again, holding nothing back this time.

He was gripping my hair almost to the point of pain, his other hand grabbing my butt as he ground against me. He was aroused and I moaned into his mouth, the sound barely registering in my lust fueled haze.

He pulled back, his breath ragged now. “You ready to leave now? I don’t find the idea of fucking you against that wall behind you even slightly unpleasant. Exhibitionism has never been a problem for me. Is that something you’d like to try?”

He ground against me with every word he spoke, and his voice was mocking, almost angry. His words were barely registering, as my focus was on what he was doing.

“Hmm?” Was all I managed to get out.

“Are you ready to leave now? Or would you prefer that I fuck you in front of all of your co-workers?”

James bit out in a hard enough tone to finally bring my mind back to the surface.

“No,” I said, breathless and agitated.

How could I so quickly forget where I am, and that we’re in a room crowded with people that I know?

“No, you’re not ready to leave? Or no, you wouldn’t prefer that I fuck you in a room crowded with your friends? Where they can all watch me bury my cock inside of you against that wall, not ten feet behind you. Is that something you want them to see?”

I just stared at him for awhile, my mind moving like molasses.

He seemed to be getting angrier by the moment. “Answer me. Do you want me to do that?” he asked, each word biting and harsh.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “No,” I repeated, trying to make it sound convincing. “We need to go.”

He ground his teeth together. “I’m aware of that. Go say goodbye to Stephan,” he ordered.

I stepped away from him, catching my breath for long moments.

I counted in my head as I made my way to Stephan, trying to get my mind onto the matter at hand, and off of James.

Stephan gave me a slightly worried look as I approached. “You okay, Bee?” He leaned near my ear as he spoke.

I just nodded, looking only at him. “James and I are leaving. I’m going home with him. I’ll call you tomorrow,” I told him.

He began to look around as I spoke, searching for James. He met the other man’s stare as James approached. James leaned in, saying something in his ear, pitched too low for even me to hear.

Stephan nodded slowly, giving the other man a severe frown, but saying nothing.

James led me from the room by the hand, his own grip uncompromising. We didn’t speak to anyone else. I was lucid enough to know I should be a little embarrassed at how far I’d almost let James go in a room full of people.

James was close to dragging me by the time we got to his car. He ushered me, rather forcefully, into the low limo the second Clark opened the door. He was a hard presence at my back as I moved across the seats. He sat close to me, but made no move to touch me again. I didn’t mind, taking the reprieve to try to compose myself.

Several minutes passed in silence, James staring out the window as though he was avoiding even the sight of me. I could tell he was angry, but I couldn’t even begin to guess why.

“So you’ve done that before?” I finally asked him quietly. My mind had been stubbornly lingering on the idea in the long silence. “You’ve had sex in front of other people before?”

He looked at me, his brow arched, his expression cold. “Yes. Are we sharing information now? I thought that was strictly off-limits tonight. Your idea, if I recall.”