Lucky 7 Bad Boys Contemporary Romance Boxed Set (64 page)

Before Natasha could answer, Drew squeezed her shoulder in a warning gesture. She was about to berate him for trying to keep her from talking to Lanie about the theft when she saw Ruf Randall approaching. With a quick shake of her head, she murmured, “I’ll tell you later,” to Lanie. She rose swiftly and shook out her skirt before pasting on her best society mask. Then she moved to greet the self-professed
Perfect Passion
man.

“Sweet Thing, it’s good to see you,” Ruf said stridently. He slapped hands with Drew and gave Lanie a wink. “Time to party, my friends. Definitely time to party.”

Her nerves, already stretched taut, jangled at the insinuation that he had a reason to celebrate. He’d told them he’d make contract decisions before the end of the convention—which was tomorrow—and now he was talking about a celebration? Had he made up his mind already?

“So,” Ruf continued heartily, “I have a stellar evening planned. We’ll talk contracts at dinner, then I’ve arranged a little end of convention party.”
Okay. So he’d decided. But God, she couldn’t take any more dancing and hedging. The man had been driving her crazy with it all week. And now he expected her to wait hours to hear what his decision was?

“Who is the alliance with, Ruf?” she heard herself asking. From the ‘o’ of surprise in Lanie’s face and the odd look Drew shot her, maybe her tone had been a smidge abrupt. But Natasha just raised a brow to accompany her inquiry. “Did you consider my proposition?”

Ruf guffawed. “You’ll find out at dinner, Sweet Thing. Six o’clock, the Mirage. The party is poolside afterward. Bring your friend.” He nodded to indicate Lanie.

And with that, he sauntered out of the booth. Natasha resisted the urge to throw something.

Chapter Nine

Drew stood at the hotel room door, his fist raised to knock, and hesitated. He didn’t know what he was going to say. He just knew he had to talk to her.

He puffed out his cheeks and knocked. Thirty seconds later he knocked again. Then he growled and knocked again. Leave it to Audra to piss him off before he even saw her face.

“What?” Audra snapped as she pulled open the door. “I’m busy.”

“Got a guy in there?” Drew asked, only half joking. Even though he knew he should expect anything from his sister, his mind stubbornly held the image of her as a ten-year-old tomboy informing him and their father at dinner that ‘boys were gross’. The image gave him odd comfort.

“Yeah, right. Three guys and a donkey. We’re playing Russian roulette, sexcapade-style.” Audra slapped a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. Drew gave her a blank stare. It didn’t pay to let her know she’d pissed him off, or she’d start doing it all the time. Finally, she made a face at him, then shrugged and stepped aside. “I’m on the phone, you’ll have to wait.”

He waded through the mountains of clothes and the landmines of spiky looking shoes to settle into the armchair. Staring out the window, he tried to ignore his little sister’s phone conversation. He winced as she described the ‘fine ass’ of the dancer she’d met the night before, then wished like hell he was anywhere else when she started comparing packages. God, he hoped she wasn’t talking about what it sounded like.

Then, even though he really wasn’t listening, he heard her mention a ‘sure thing’. She finished up the conversation by informing her caller that she’d buy drinks when she got back home to celebrate her nailing this account. Then she tossed the phone on its cradle.

Damn.

“That was Bea. I’m heading out on a road trip with her and Suzi when I get back.”

“Road trip? Audra, you’ll have just arrived home. You need to work. You’ll have orders to fill, contacts to follow up on.”

“Nah, I’ll let Ruf know that I’ll take care of things when I get back. I need some girl time. And they are my family, ya know. I need to spend some time with them before I get all serious into the job scene.”

Family. Drew scowled. What the hell did that make him? Oh, sure, he knew Audra had been close to the other women for years, but they were also most of the reason she was such a pain in the ass.

“What’s up?” she prodded. She’d changed out of her idea of conference attire-—which meant opaque fabrics--and was clearly planning on finding a major party, if the layers of paint and lack of fabric she was wearing was any indication.

“You’re not really going out looking like that, are you?”

“What’s it to you?”

“You look...” What? Trampy? That wouldn’t score him any points. “Okay, I guess. Just a little tired. Maybe it’s all the black you’re wearing?”

Audra sneered, but her gaze shot to the mirror across the room. Triumph flickered. Aha. Maybe she’d change. See, he could handle his sister. What had he been worried about?

“So you came by to see if I’ve been getting enough sleep, or what?”

“Nah, I just wanted to talk to you about a few accounts I’d like you to meet with tomorrow. I’ve run into a few people that I think you’d get a kick out of working with.” He didn’t add that he’d been subtly trying to get her to meet with them all week. It was pointless.

“Why bother? I’m gonna be awarded the Passion account tonight. That’s all I need.”

“Audra, you don’t know that you’ll get the account.”

“What? You think your goody-goody girlfriend’s gonna get it over me?”

Drew clenched his teeth, but forced himself to stay on topic.

“I think you are both excellent designers, but your work is unique. You’ve got the potential to win several accounts. So why are you so damned focused on this one?”

“Why is she?”

“She isn’t, her aunt is. She’s looking after her aunt’s business, you know that. Natasha is just doing her damnedest to make things work out so her aunt can retire.”

Drew wasn’t sure what was up with Natasha actually. She’d been so upset that afternoon over the missing bra, he hadn’t had a clue what to do to help. Then Ruf had shown up flashing promises and dangling possibilities. After he’d left, Tasha had babbled something about following dreams and making preparations, then without a whole lot more explanation than that, she’d asked Lanie to cover the booth and promised to be back in an hour. Drew hadn’t seen her since.

“So what? I want this account and I’m getting it. Ruf practically promised it to me last night. I’m sure I’ve got it.”

Drew could tell from the stiff look in her face that Ruf had likely done a lot more than make promises last night. He wanted to beat the hell out of the guy. But his sister was an adult and wouldn’t thank him for interfering. Still, dammit, he’d warned the old lech to keep his hands to himself.

Drew tried to bank his fury, but it wasn’t working very well. “Audra, you’re smart enough to know that when a guy says all the things you want to hear, he’s more than likely trying to get something out of you. Or you out of something.” Like the dress she’d been wearing.

“Chill, dude. You’re not exactly Dudley Do-Right yourself. Your rep was way worse than mine.”

“That was a long time ago, and I’m not making some sweet young thing promises I don’t mean to keep.”

“Oh, sure, so like, what? You told Natasha you didn’t do relationships? That as soon as you get on that plane, the two of you are history?”

“I didn’t have to tell her. She knows what we have is temporary. Just a Vegas fling.” Why did it hurt to say that? To think it? Drew didn’t have time for relationships. No way was he thinking about taking on any more responsibility. But why was he worrying? Natasha knew he wasn’t looking for anything long-term.

Too bad he couldn’t convince himself of that.

“Look, just consider meeting with these accounts, okay?”

“Nah. I’ll have the Passion account.”

Drew ground his teeth together but didn’t give in to the urge to toss something at her.

“Let’s just say you don’t get the account. Then will you meet with these people?”

“No.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because this week, I realized this just isn’t my gig. If I get that account, I’ll snag a job as Ruf’s assistant, too. I can hang out until I get a clue what aspect of design I want to stick with. But this whole selling thing, it’s not for me. I like lingerie, like the fabrics and making boring look hot. But that’s all.”

“You’re not tossing this business aside, Audra.” He stood up, signaling the end of the conversation. “We’ll deal with this when we get home. I’ve got to get ready for that party.” He returned her sneer. “And you might want to fix yourself up. You really do look washed out.”

Unlike him, who felt washed up. God, what the hell was he supposed to do now? His sister needed that account or she’d ditch her whole business, bankrupt him and destroy the last promise he was trying to keep to his father. His lover needed it so that she could follow her dreams, and settle her sick aunt into a decent retirement.

Damn, he wanted a drink.

* * *

Natasha inspected herself in the mirror and liked what she saw.

A flame red taffeta halter dress hugged her curves in sweet delight. The poofy skirt made her waist look tiny and her legs look long and sleek. Her hair was loose, but instead of its normally sleek fall, she’d gone wild with the curling iron. It waved around her face in sexy invitation. Cherry red lipstick and peek-a-boo heels completed the ensemble.

She looked good. Damned good.

Wow. Had she ever felt this way about herself before? It was like the cage door was wide open. She just felt... great. Absolutely great.

If this was what it felt like to own
Sensual Supports
, she already loved it. Despite the queasiness she still felt at the theft of the bra, she was sure this was the perfect life choice for her.

Of course, her parents wouldn’t agree. Natasha watched her shoulders droop in her mirrored reflection. Then she shook her head. Oh, no, not this time. Her parents weren’t going to shame her back into hiding. She was happy with this choice and they would just have to live with it. For God’s sake, she was twenty-six. It was time to start living the life she wanted

At the knock at her door, Natasha took one last peek in the mirror. She hoped Drew was as thrilled with her new look as she was.

“Hi,” she said as she opened the door and saw him waiting. He looked good. No, make that great. The black silk shirt and slacks gave him a slightly dangerous, very sexy aura. That he’d chosen to go tie-less, leaving his shirt partially unbuttoned just made her want to run her tongue down his chest and taste the flesh hidden beneath the silk.

“God, you look delicious,” he breathed. “I want to start at your toes and nibble my way up your body.”

“Mmm, I think you did that last night.”

“Let’s do it again.”

Natasha was certainly willing. She waved him into the room, and wondered if anyone would notice if they were late for the party. Then again, this was the first night of her new life, so she should probably show up.

New life. Oh, God, she hadn’t even told Drew. Natasha bit her lip and eyed her lover as he settled onto her bed with a wicked grin on his face. He’d think it was great, wouldn’t he? Or would he think she was chasing after him, seeing as how her newly purchased boutique was only roughly a half hour from his bar.

“I have some news to share,” she said softly.

“Yeah? It seems to be the day for news.”

He didn’t sound happy about that. At her questioning look, he just shrugged.
“What’s your news, babe?”

Natasha licked her lips and folded her fingers together in front of her. “I, well, I talked to my aunt today. She’s feeling a lot of pressure and decided it would be best if she sold
Sensual Supports
.”

Drew frowned and sat up. “No way. After all the work you’ve done to nail Ruf’s account? And what about your killer plan to take that design of yours to the big dogs? She can’t walk away from that. You’re on the edge of something big for her.”

“Well, something big, at least. But not for her. Not anymore.”

“Aww, Tash. I’m sorry. What are you going to do?”

“Well, I figure I’m going to make it as successful as I possibly can, since I’m the one who’s buying
Sensual Supports
.”

She held her breath and waited. His expression went from blank shock to triumphant joy. Then he grabbed her by the waist and swung her in a wide circle before pulling her close to press kisses all over her face.

“Yes,” he exclaimed. “You did it. You grabbed your dream. Tash, babe, I’m so proud of you.”

“This is good, huh?” It was silly to need reassurance, but she sought it anyway. It wasn’t just the theft of her bra that had her feeling insecure.

“It’s great.”

So was the kiss. Natasha lost herself in the delicious taste of his mouth, letting his tongue take her body on a wild spin. The man was pure magic with that mouth of his.

“We should go celebrate. Screw this stupid party, let’s do a little merrymaking of our own.”

“You are so tempting, but I want to tie up the loose ends with Ruf before I hit the big dogs tomorrow. I met with a few of them this afternoon. I pitched some ideas without actually saying much about the bra and my plans. But I will tomorrow once I know what Rufus’ plans are.” Of course, she wasn’t sure how far she could take those meetings with her bra—her ace in the hole— missing. She had to hope she could pitch fast enough, that the patent she’d applied for held up, before someone pirated her design.