Lucky Break (7 page)

“Hello, guys.”

After Nina introduced Jazz and Kaylani, she made a point of throwing her to the wolf.

“And this is my cousin, Lucky.”

“Lucky?” His voice sounded angry.

She turned on her seat to look up at his stormy gray eyes. “Yes.”

“Is that your given name?”

“No, it’s Luciana.”

“But she’s been known as Lucky since she was born. It’s the coolest story, Jared. My aunt’s water broke on a trip to Vegas right when she hit the jackpot. They dubbed her Lucky ever since. And her luck is amazing. There isn’t a game she doesn’t win.”

She sat rooted to the spot by the intensity of his gaze.

“I’ll bet,” he said.

“If you guys will excuse me, I am going to go into Andrew’s office to make a few calls to some vendors.” She stood on shaky legs, ignoring the confused looks she got from Kay and Jazz and the conspiratorial smiles from Nina and Alex, and made her way to Andrew’s empty office.

She was in the office for thirty seconds before the door burst open. She sensed Jared as his footsteps clunked on the wood floor. Her nerves jumped, and she whirled around to face him. He closed the door behind him. The lock clicked into place, separating them from the rest of the group. He looked so good in the dark gray suit. His features appeared to be carved from stone. The set of his jaw and the thin line of his lips screamed fury, while the fire in his eyes spoke of possession. Her nipples pebbled under her dress. An angry man was turning her on. Maybe she had bigger problems than she knew.

He marched toward her, strides filled with purpose. She leaned back on the desk, like a cornered animal looking for an escape. Her mind reeled. It was hard to think through the maze of visuals her brain decided to play from their previous encounter.

Air fled her lungs. He cupped her jaw, slid his fingers into her hair, tilting back her head. Held her in place.

There was no hesitation in his moves. He struck faster than a snake, kissing her and driving his tongue into her mouth. She whimpered into the kiss, her body becoming a giant lump of need. He pushed her body back on the desk, until she was sitting on it, her legs wide open and her nails digging into his back, hauling him closer. Swipe after swipe, his firm lips dominated and possessed hers. He gripped her hair and pulled her head back. The sting only served to heighten her arousal. Moisture dampened her panties. She glanced up at him, at his passionate, daring eyes, and attempted to blink her vision into focus.

“Why did you leave me?”

His raspy voice lit fires in her pussy. She gulped. She was tempted to tell him the truth. That she couldn’t trust a man not to lie to her lately. That their night together had made her want things she wasn’t sure were for her. That he’d pretty much whipped her into stupidity with the things he’d done to her body.

She cleared her throat. “The night was over. What we had ended at dawn.”

“Don’t kid yourself.” He sounded so self-assured, she wanted to debate with him just for the hell of it. “We started something last night.” He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Something bigger than either one of us may have been looking for. But it won’t go away.”

She tore her hands away from his waist and rubbed them on the sides of her clingy red dress. Fighting the surge of emotions was hard. She wanted to say yes, that she did want to see where things would go with him, but the stuff she’d recently lived through wasn’t so easy to ignore or forget. She hadn’t been so much heartbroken as trust broken. And that was harder for her. It was said people didn't rule with their hearts, but she’d willingly given Nick her trust and he’d screwed her over.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We made no promises and both knew what we were getting into. One night, Jared. One night.”

“No, not one night.” He pulled her to her feet and into his arms. “I want more.”

She stared into his uncompromising gaze and was tempted, so tempted to give in. The band started to play and voices carried from the bar area. “I have to go.”

It was hell going around him, stepping away, and walking to the door.

“What we have isn’t over. Won’t be for a long time.”

Air caught in her lungs and she hurried to unlock the office door. She headed for the front entrance, keeping a wary eye out in case he decided to follow her there, and help welcome guests to the party.

Jared growled into his drink. He wanted to hit something, hard.

“How are you holding up there, Mr. Lucky wow wow?” asked the man they’d introduced to him as Jazz. He was a very eccentric-looking individual, but most artists he’d met were, so that was nothing new. And they tended to be very entertaining. The young man wore skin-tight black pants and a gold dress shirt. He’d tied a black and gold scarf around his neck and had changed his button earrings to match his outfit as well.

“Just great.” He winced at the amount of sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“I’m surprised you were able to get into Lucky’s pants with that attitude.” The guy pouted and rolled his eyes, looking so put out by Jared’s words he would hand him an Academy Award if he had one handy.

He probably shouldn’t ask, but what the hell. “What’s wrong with my attitude?”

“So good of you to ask. Lucky is one of the most private women I have ever met. She is loyal to a flaw. So when someone messes up, it stays with her.”

“OK, so how’s that a problem with my attitude?” He motioned to the waiter for another drink and turned his full attention on the artistic genius, as Alex had referred to him.

“How you come across will either make her wary or make her want to try things with you. And honey”—he snapped his fingers—“right now you’re coming across as ‘I am man, hear me roar.’ Not good when you are looking to get a wary woman to take a chance on you, Mr. Sexy.”

Jared swiveled on the stool. His gaze moved over the room, looking for his curvy woman dressed in red. She stood off to the side and spoke to Tanner, his and Max’s friend from college. She laughed at something he said and jealousy reared its ugly green head.

“You OK, bro? You look like you want to take someone’s head off.” Max sat down on the stool next to him.

“Oh goody, it’s big boy chat time.” Jazz motioned to a passing waiter for a drink. “I’ve never been included in one of these before.” He frowned. “Probably because I always hang with the girls. But you know what they say, girls just wanna have fun, and I do love me some fun.”

“I’m fine,” Jared said, and glanced away from Jazz, back to the dance floor where Lucky twirled in the arms of his friend—his very single friend.

“So,” Max cleared his throat. “I know you mentioned that you and Lucky got acquainted last night. You do know she doesn’t live here, right?”

“That’s right,” Jazz piped in cheerfully. “You’d have to do some serious maneuvering to get her to move back up here. She’s already moved once for a man, and that didn’t turn out well at all.” He snorted. “Especially for the jerk.”

Jared glanced at the artist, hoping he’d elaborate. Jazz grinned, sipped his pink drink from a neon yellow bendy straw decorated with a flowery umbrella, and pointed back toward Lucky and Tanner.

Jared shifted his gaze back to the dance floor to catch Lucky doing a slow dance with Tanner. She was smiling and appeared to be having a fun time. Fuck. Irritation danced over his skin. He wanted her in
his
arms, dancing and smiling at
him
. Why had she left? It had shocked him to wake up alone on the yacht with a raging hard-on. His plans to slide into her warm body had turned into an unfulfilled fantasy. Thankfully, he knew all he had to do was call Max and he’d get the information on her.

“Jared.”

He turned to Max, who was watching him intently.

“She’s a very nice girl. Lucky has been kind of unlucky in the relationship department, from what Nina said. She doesn’t play games, like your ex.”

Didn’t she? Most women had a game plan. Unable to stop himself, his vision traveled back to the dance floor, to the brunette in the dark red dress that accentuated each of her sexy curves, and the man dancing with her. He didn’t care that it was Tanner holding her. He wanted to tear him away from her, haul her into his arms and kiss her lips, lips he knew were soft, pliant, and looked amazing sucking his cock.

Max’s mention of Jared’s ex, the woman Jared had almost married but who was currently serving time in jail, soured his stomach. “I have a hard time believing there’s a single woman out there who isn’t playing her own game.”

Jazz’s outraged gasp made Jared turn once again to look at him. Jazz was glaring at him. “How little you know women. They don’t all play games. Some are really who they show you.”

He snorted and glanced back to the floor. Yeah, he knew enough about women to know they were all up to something. Just look at Lucky and how she’d left him, even after the night they’d shared. Why? Because in her head, the incredible chemistry they shared probably didn’t matter. But why was he so worked up? He knew he should be glad she was acting that way. Hell, he wasn’t looking for a relationship, especially not a long-distance one. So why was it making him fist his hands and clench his jaw to continue seeing her dancing with Tanner? They were on a third song now—not that he was counting—and deep in conversation.

“I know enough about women to know they always have an agenda. None of them do anything without asking for something in return.”

“Jared, trust me, Lucky isn’t like that.”

“Listen to your homey, Jared,” Jazz chimed in. Jared glared at him. He lifted a hand to request a new drink from the bartender. “Lucky isn’t like that. She’d never want a relationship based on what she can get out of a man. She’s genuine and nice. And probably one of the few women out there who’s more interested in getting to know you versus getting to know your wallet.”

Could that even be possible? His ex-fiancée had been so interested in his money it had driven her to commit a crime. When Tanner and Lucky appeared to be ready to continue dancing, he decided he wasn’t going to sit around waiting anymore. He slid off the stool.

“Oooh! He looks like he’s gonna go start something. Go get her, tiger! Rawr!”

He couldn’t stop the grin over Jazz’s silly comment. Making his way through the crowd, his gaze locked on his woman and he marched right to her.

Chapter Six

Jared was only a few steps away when Lucky glanced in his direction. She raked her vision down his body and then slowly brought it back up to his face. His gut clenched at the vulnerable look he saw in her eyes. She seemed so exposed and confused, he wasn’t sure if he should step back or keep walking. But some strange emotion inside him pushed him toward her, to find out what was wrong and make her feel better. He stopped a few feet from her and Tanner.

“Hey, Jared. Did you want to cut in?” Tanner grinned, his eyes all but saying he knew why Jared wasn’t smiling.

“I believe you promised me a dance,” he lied, daring her to refute his words.

Anger brightened her eyes. “Oh? I don’t seem to remember that promise.”

Tanner laughed. “It’s OK. I’ll talk to you later on, Lucky. You have my card.”

Their gazes were locked in a silent debate, but he still pulled her into his arms for a slow dance. Holding her so close sent his arousal into a free fall toward his cock. She glanced away from him. He studied her profile, noticed her flawless golden skin was flushed, and he wasn’t sure he liked her being angry with him.

“We need to talk.”

Unwavering control filled her dark eyes. “I don’t think we do. I told you what I needed to do, and that was it.”

“Luciana—”

She tugged out of his hold. The amount of sadness he saw flash through her gaze formed a knot in his throat. “What do you want, Jared? Ask yourself that and figure out the answer before you try to get me to make any kind of compromises. I don’t have time for games.”

Her words had been soft but sure. He watched her walk away from him towards one of the back offices, her spine arrow straight, hips swaying with each step. Jazz was right. He couldn’t approach her with the same mindset he had toward every other woman. Besides, it was clear to him that he wanted her still, and he wouldn’t be denied.

Lucky entered Andrew’s office and continued straight into his attached bathroom, not bothering to shut the door behind her. She gripped the sink, trying to calm the frantic beating in her chest. Confusion ran rampant inside her. She wanted to open the door to a relationship with Jared, if that was his intention, but she had become jaded after Nick.

Staring at the pristine marble under her hands, she became lost in thought. So lost, that she didn’t hear the quiet steps of someone behind her, until he was sliding his hands around her waist and rubbing his hard cock on her ass. She glanced up. Jared’s look was softer than before, still as intense but not as harsh.

“What are you doing now?” She cleared her throat of the frogs trying to take up residence there.

His gaze stroked her lips and then traveled up to meet her gaze again. He moved her hair over her right shoulder, leaving her neck and left shoulder exposed. Then he dipped his head and kissed the back of her neck.

“I can’t stay away from you.”

Her heart flipped in her chest. Electric pulses bombarded her core and made her sex throb.

“I want you, Lucky.”

She whimpered at the feel of his firm lips kissing and sucking up and down her shoulder. Her body ached with need. She watched him, her lids feeling incredibly heavy, through the wall of mirrors in front of her. He moved a hand up to cup her breast over the slinky strapless dress, while the other hand tugged up the skirt and caressed the inside of her thighs before rubbing over her thong-covered crotch.

“I can’t get enough of you.”

He pulled her from the sink and turned her to face the long mirror covering the back of the door. Her breath hitched. He tugged the neckline down, exposed her breasts, and massaged them in his large hands.

“I love touching you.”