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Tameca tugged at the rear of her cat costume and heard the rip of the Velcro that kept the tail in place. She already knew she’d be fighting with it all night. What had she been thinking wearing a silky, black, form-fitting outfit like this with her paunchy stomach? As it was, she expected Marcus to laugh her out of the party.
Pat glanced over at her, looking just as uncomfortable in a matching tiger outfit. She grimaced. “You’re yanking on the butt when you should be worried your boobs will pop out.” Pat laid a hand over her exposed cleavage. Tameca didn’t think the poor girl had enough to be concerned about, but Pat was right about her.
The bodice of her costume cut all the way to her navel with a wide V, and strips of material netted over the opening. When she had stood looking in the mirror at the shop, she’d thought she never looked sexier, but here at Marcus’s door, she wasn’t so sure. The line down the back of her sheer pantyhose wouldn’t stay straight, and the spiked heels she wore were too high.
“Well, we better just do it. We were brave enough to get this far,” she told Pat. “Even if we are wallflowers, we can feast our eyes on the male candy that’s sure to be here. All of the men with Marcus that night he ran Vic off were sexy as hell.”
Pat licked her lips. “Think that one guy will be here?”
“Which one?”
Her friend groaned in anticipation. “The blond one. I’ve had dreams about him ever since.”
“Dreams!” Tameca screeched.
Pat laughed. “Okay, I was fantasizing while Ray and I were going at it.”
“That’s so low, Pat.”
“I know, and I feel guilty, but men do it all the time, I bet. And Ray and I aren’t in love. I’m pretty sure we’ll never get to the dating level. Movie night was a joke.”
“True.” Tameca reached out to press the bell. A look over her shoulder revealed the limo Marcus had sent for them pulling off. “At least we came in style, huh?”
Pat’s agreement was lost in the night air when the door opened and a burst of music seemed to come out and suck them inside. A servant took their jackets and ushered them into a ballroom, or what Tameca liked to think of as a ballroom. The lights were dimmed, the music loud. Real-looking cobwebs hung from every corner of the ceiling and, in spots, even formed nice little alcoves that almost completely obscured anyone who slipped into one. As she and Pat scanned the room, Tameca was sure she’d glimpsed snatches of bared skin through the slits in these semiprivate recesses.
“Like they couldn’t find a room in this joint?” Pat whispered with her lips pressed close to Tameca’s ear.
“They probably like the public feel of it. Only a gauzy strip keeping them from total exposure.”
Tameca had been right about the men. They swayed on the dance floor, leaned against the wall, came and went everywhere. There seemed to be no limit, and as far as she could tell, they were all fine. She stretched and lifted her chin to see over the heads in an attempt to spot Marcus. He was nowhere in sight.
The blond god walked up to Pat and took her hand without a word. Transfixed by his beauty, she tripped off after him and left Tameca to fret against the wall. She crossed her arms. If the man who claimed she tempted him just by her mere existence wanted her so much, why the hell wasn’t he around?
She glanced down at herself. Damn it, she looked pretty good, even with her extra curves. If Marcus wanted to play games, whatever! She scanned the floor and found a man watching her. He grinned. She took a step in his direction, realized she would not be able to dance in her shoes, and then slipped them off.
She rocked her hips to the music as she sidled up to him. “Hi. I’m Tameca.”
He howled. “Tameca! Yum!”
She laughed. They danced close, and feeling brave in the uninhibited atmosphere, she moved in before she swung around with her back to him. Glancing back, she saw his eyes focused on her ass. Her fake tail brushed the erection he sported.
“I’m Laramie.” His lips teased her ear. “Do you want to go inside the cobwebs with me?”
Was he serious? “Uh, we just met.”
He shrugged. “So?”
She was about to tell him “Hell, no” when she spotted Marcus. He strolled into the room with a woman on his arm who looked a little too satisfied with herself. Jealousy rocked Tameca. She tore her eyes away from Marcus’s sexy vampire costume, turned around, and placed her hand on her dance partner’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
He snatched up her hand like there was a fire and pushed through the crowd. At the edge of the entrance to the alcove, she wanted to look back to see if Marcus was watching, but she resisted the urge. This was about a fun night for her, not him. He could kiss her ass. He had made demands of her and then ignored her as soon as she gave in to him.
The alcove was tighter than she imagined. One soft chair furnished it, and the delicate walls forced those occupying the space to be pressed up against each other or risk destroying it.
Laramie towered above her, and her lips brushed his wide chest. With lust in his eyes, he reached a hand up to touch her hair. Inches from her head, he cried out and, with wide eyes, drew back. “I didn’t know!”
She frowned. “Didn’t know what?”
“I was out of town!” he shrieked.
