L.A. Fire (9 page)

  I shook my head. “You better not
keep this up, or I’ll drink you dry.”

  The corner of her mouth quirked
up slightly. “Not a chance,” she said. I noticed all the people waving money at
her, eager for her to make their drink. “I’ll see you on break?” she asked.

  “Sounds good,” I said, and sat
back to enjoy my drink.

  “You and your whiskey sours.” I
turned. His beer breath hit me right in the face, and I felt as if I was going
to hurl. Ziggy. My ex’s bass player. And Angela’s boyfriend. I was so not in
the mood to speak to him right now. I started to turn the other way, and then
noticed that Elle was still standing there, scowling. I was literally
sandwiched in between two of my least favorite people. “Rob’s been asking about
you, ya know,” he slurred.

  I gave him a blank stare, and
then said, “I so don’t care.”  

  He leaned his elbow on the bar,
and gave me a puppy dog look. “Hey, don’t be like that. He screwed up. And he
knows it. Give the dude a break. I’m sure he’ll make it up to you.”

  I heard Elle make a scoffing
noise beside me. “Well that’s news,” she said. “You should jump at the chance
to get a guy like that back. I mean, it’s a wonder he even wants you,
especially after that freak out of yours.”

  I turned to Elle and gave her a
death look. I could feel my temper start to boil. When she saw my cold stare,
her expression became triumphant. “I mean,” she continued. “Everyone’s seen the
video. It’s been like a huge You Tube hit. What was the title?” She looked in
thought for a moment, no doubt searching her vacuous head for a little piece of
fluff that had gotten lodged in there somewhere. “Oh ya,” she said, getting a
nasty smile on her face. “Jilted girlfriend goes psycho.”

  Rob and Elle both started to
laugh. I felt humiliation and embarrassment flood through me, and I wanted to
punch them both in the face for making me feel so awful. Mostly, though, I was
so angry at myself for having lost control the way I did. I was never going to
live this video down.

  Still giggling, Elle leaned in
closer. “Face it, Sarah. Your assets just aren’t strong enough to keep a man
like that happy with what he’s got at home.”

  I gripped the edge of the bar
hard, for fear that if I let go, I would actually slap Elle across the face.
Then suddenly the passionate anger was replaced by cold fury. I flashed Elle
the ugliest look I could muster and said “Oh, go take it up the ass in the
men’s shit hole. I hear there’s still a long line up, seeing as only half the
bar has already stuck it to you.”

  Elle’s face fell, and then she
started working her jaw, opening and closing her mouth, with no words coming
out. I instantly felt awful. Sure, she was being a total bitch to me, but I
really wasn’t in to slut shaming. Still, part of me felt like she deserved it. Then
I noticed Elle wasn’t actually looking at me. Or Ziggy. She was staring at
someone directly behind me.

  “Hello, Sarah.” That husky,
powerful voice. My body responded to it immediately. My lip started trembling,
my stomach fluttered, and I become light headed. I took a deep breath and
turned to face him. He was staring at me with a curious and amused expression,
and I instantly started wondering how much he had overheard before he made his
presence known.

  Despite my visceral reaction, my
mind instantly took over. What was he doing here? I told him I was coming here
tonight, but I didn’t invite him. Also, he was a player. Everything about him
suggested that. And a cocky one at that. Hadn’t he made some innuendo about
already having me in the sac? I had to be level headed about this.

  “What brings you here tonight,
Mr. McGregor?” I asked in the coolest, smoothest tone I could muster.

  His eyes again flickered with
amusement. “Aren’t we formal,” he said, curiously eyeing my still trembling lower
lip. Julian looked absolutely dashing. His blue eyes glimmered, and his hair
was a gorgeous, wavy mess that I just wanted to run my hands through. He was
wearing loose black jeans, a matching t-shirt, and a belt with a prominent
silver buckle. Somehow the dark, casual clothes really showcased his fierce,
raw beauty. I looked around, and noticed that girls were already swarming him,
trying to get his attention. Including Elle. She stepped in front of me and
held out her hand.

  “I’m Elle,” she said, fluttering
her eyelashes at him. He shook her hand politely, then turned his focus back on
me. But she wasn’t giving up that easy. She adjusted her tank top so that her
ample cleavage was on display, and smiled up at him again from beneath her
lashes. “Care to buy me a drink?” she asked, pouting her glossy lips at him.

  He smiled at her indulgently and
said, “Maybe some other time. I have other plans tonight.”

  He turned his attention to behind
the bar and waved his hand, trying to get Angela’s attention. She came over
immediately. “Could I have a bottle of Cristal sent to the VIP room? With two
champagne glasses?”

  “Oh that sounds like fun!” Elle
piped up, still not giving up.

  His smile this time was a little
less indulgent. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But it’s a private party that only Sarah
and I will be attending.”   

  Elle’s face instantly fell. Then
she glared it me. Finally, she turned her attention back to Julian and said,
“Careful. That one’s got a temper.”

  A small smile started to play on
Julian’s lips. He looked at me, with his eyes hot and possessive and said,
“That’s okay. I like my women passionate.”

  Elle scowled at me again, then
fluttered her eyelashes at Julian. “Well, if you get bored of her, you know
where to find me.” Then she winked at him, flipped her hair over her shoulder,
and strutted back over to the section of the bar I’d originally seen her in.
Ziggy gave me a lazy smile, shrugged, and then followed her.

  I rolled my eyes, and Julian
chuckled. “Come,” he said, holding out his hand for me to take.

  I stood there for a second
debating what to do. Sure, splitting a bottle of Cristal with the hottest man
in the bar, probably the hottest man in the universe, sounded like absolute
heaven. But the level headed part of me screamed ‘Don’t do it. He’s a player.
You’re so gonna get hurt.’

  I eyed him carefully for a
moment, sipping my drink and ignoring his outstretched hand. “I’ll ask you
again,” I said. “What brings you to
Strut
tonight?”

  He pinned me with those
breathtaking eyes and said simply, “You.”

  I was floored. He didn’t
hesitate. Or give me some lame excuse. He was just honest and direct. I let my
guard down a bit, but not completely. “Why, Julian?” I asked. “I mean, there
literally have to be thousands of women in L.A. that you could, what’s the
expression? ‘Have in the sac’ whenever the mood hits you. Why mess with your
partner’s new hire?”

  He gave me a dark, lethally
enticing look. “Because she’s too delectable to pass up.”

  I crossed my arms, and he stared
at them intently. I knew it was just another pathetic barrier to place between
us, but I needed some distance. Julian was just so overwhelming. I felt that if
I opened myself up to him, I’d get completely sucked in, completely lost in
him. I needed to think of my self-preservation. He was looking at me
expectantly. I could feel my eyes go cold as I said, “I don’t shit where I
eat.”

  Julian’s eyes flickered with
amusement. “You have quite the dirty mouth on you,” he said. “That’s twice
tonight I’ve heard you not mind your manners. I should line you up right here
at the bar and give you a good spanking.”

  The image of Julian flogging my
bare ass at the bar, then taking me from behind in front of everyone flashed
through me head. I felt an involuntary surge of heat between my legs, and my
heart started to pound. This man was going to be the end of me. He leaned
forward, and whispered in my ear. “Does that turn you on, Sarah?” A slow,
sultry shiver ran up my spine. He reached out his hand again. I still refused
it.

  “You’re a player,” I said
bluntly. “I don’t sleep with players.”

  His face became deadly serious,
his eyes brooding. “This isn’t a game for me, Sarah.”

  “Then what is it? Tell me what
this is to you,” I said angrily.

  He reached out his hand one more
time. “Let’s go to the VIP room. We can talk about this there.”

  I hesitated for a moment, then
finally took his hand. As we threaded past throngs and throngs of people, heads
turned and eyed Julian with awe. He pulled me close, then possessively wrapped
an arm around me. I gave him a curious look, then followed his gaze. A man with
brilliant green eyes, dressed in a purple Armani suit, and wearing a fedora at
a rakish angle was staring at me lecherously, drinking me in with his eyes.
When he saw Julian’s expression, he smirked at him, shrugged his shoulders, and
made a beeline for a tall, gorgeous blonde in a wispy, blue chiffon dress.
 

  When we got to the VIP section,
one of the waitresses on duty led us to a two-seater couch upholstered in smoky
velvet, and went to go get our champagne. Julian, still holding my hand, pulled
me down onto the couch, roughly enough that I lost my balance and my head ended
up against his shoulder. I could feel the heat coming off him chest, and his
subtle cologne filled my nostrils, making me giddy with desire. I started
breathing unevenly through my mouth, almost panting. Julian tilted my face up
to his, and his soft breath warmly caressed my cheeks. Then I looked into his
eyes, and the heat and ferocity of his gaze was almost unbearable. He ran his
thumb over my lower lip, and it immediately started quivering again. His gaze
became riveted to my lip, and he looked delighted, triumphant.

  No. He hadn’t won yet, I
told myself, snapping out of my trance. I instantly pulled back, breaking out
of his arms, out of his grip. He let out a long sigh, then slowly ran his eyes
all over my body. “You look exquisite tonight,” he said. “My lady in red.”

  I shrugged, a bit sheepishly.
“Yes, it’s a little dramatic.”

  He shook his head, running his
eyes eagerly over my bare shoulders, my exposed collarbone. They came to rest
briefly on my cleavage. “Not dramatic. Just bold and passionate. And true to
your character.”

  I looked at him questioningly.
“You don’t even know me,” I said.

  “I know enough to know I want to
know more,” he said, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand. “You come
across so controlled, so self-contained, but I can see there’s a fire in you
burning just below the surface.”

  I let out a sharp little laugh.
“A fire? You mean a temper. An explosive temper at that.”

  He fixed me with that intense
gaze and said, “I like my women volatile and passionate. Women who are not
afraid to lose control.”

  “But I
am
afraid of losing
control. Deadly afraid, in fact.”

  “Why, Sarah?”

  I felt remembered humiliation
surge through me, and I pulled back from him. “Because it’s dangerous, and
embarrassing, and leads to deep regret.”

  He shifted closer to me, reached
for my hand again, and pinned me with an intense look.  “I promise that
with me you’ll be safe. Losing control with me will never be dangerous.”

  I looked at him yearningly for a
moment, then shook my head, and pulled away. But he wasn’t going to let me off
the hook. He gripped my chin, and tilted me face up to his until our eyes met.
“Tell me about the video,” he commanded.

  I stared at him in shock. “How
long were you standing there before you made your presence known?”

  “Long enough.”

  I let out a long sigh, and my
shoulders slumped in defeat. “You can look it up yourself. Like Elle said. It’s
a major YouTube hit.” I let out a long, harsh laugh, and could feel my eyes
tearing up. He gently rubbed away a stray tear with his thumb, then tucked a
loose strand of my hair behind my ear, never once breaking my gaze.