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Chapter 4
Harlow
Of all the things in the world to happen during a bachelorette party, this had to happen to me,I thought, covering my burning face with my hands.What the hell was he even doing here?Were the others with him? I thought I'd seen Texas in the crowd, but he'd disappeared so fast that I couldn't be sure.
Fingers trailed down my arm, making me jerk my hands down and Grayson's face appeared before me. "W-what—" I started to blurt out, but he stopped me with a hand over my lips as he tugged me up from the chair. A hush settled over the crowd as Grayson pulled me against his body. I stiffened for a moment before melting into his embrace as he swung me away from the crowd, putting my back to him. His hands trailed down my spine making shivers erupt as they chased after the places he touched.
"Shhhh," he hushed me, his mouth pressed to my temple, warm breath sliding over the top of my ear. A full body shudder worked its way through me. "Trust me," he whispered.
The music changed to a song I recognized but hadn't heard in years. "Ride" by SoMo slithered through the club and Grayson urged me to move against him, his hips pressing into mine, mine into his. The sway of his hips was synced with the music. Heat infused more than just my cheeks, sliding down through the rest of my body. I was hyper-aware of all the eyes on us. He shook his head against me, standing back and leaving me feeling bereft without him there. The other dancer seemed to disappear because, as I glanced around, I realized we were the only two left on stage.
Grayson whipped off his shirt and a few sighs in the crowd turned into delirious moans. I almost turned around and shot the women behind me a glare. He was mine. Before I could, though, Grayson moved back against me. "Don't think about them," he said. "Forget where we are. Dance with me?"
I glanced up at him through my lashes and took his hand when he held it out to me. Though he wasn't a real stripper, there was no denying that he looked as attractive as one. His muscles glistened under the glowing ethereal lights centered on the stage. Grayson's hands grasped my waist and he pulled me forward suddenly so that I fell against him. I heard some twitters from the crowd, but shook my head, shoving them out of my mind.
I let Grayson take the lead, moving me around him as he slid those muscles over me. He gyrated a bit, pushing himself against me and I giggled—feeling ridiculous and a little bit giddy. His arms tensing as he picked me up and sat me back on the chair. My eyes went round as his fingers moved to the placket of his jeans and popped the button. I shook my head furiously and he smiled, a wicked grin that deepened the corners of his mouth. He leaned forward and captured my mouth.
I froze as his lips moved over mine in a familiar way. It was familiar to me. I'd lost count of how many times Grayson had kissed me, but somehow it never got old. My mind went blank as I leaned up against him, forgetting where we were, forgetting about the club and the crowd and the stage. I pressed my breasts to his front and wrapped my arms around his neck and let the kiss take over and consume me.
The music was drawing to an end, the song coming to a fever pitch and then descending. I couldn't be sure if Grayson was still moving or not. He was blocking my sight of the rest of the room, but the curtains were closed, blocking off the back half of the stage from the rest. The screams of the women grew louder once more as the song changed. I assumed that more dancers—real dancers—had gone out to keep them entertained. I didn't care. I wanted to spend the rest of the night in Grayson's arms. I wanted him to keep kissing me until I couldn't remember what it was likenotto kiss him.
"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry!" A short woman in all black approached us with a horrified gasp. Grayson pulled his mouth away from mine and I whimpered, causing him to flash me another one of his devastating grins as he cupped the back of my head and pressed it against his chest. I inhaled against the slightly sweat-dampened skin. "I didn't realize you weren't one of our dancers, I'm sorry for the mistake. You, of course, will be compensated and, miss, we'll have your tickets refunded immediately."
"Don't worry about it," Grayson said lightly as he helped me to my feet and bent to pick up his discarded shirt.
"But I'm sure we could—I mean after all that you've gone through—I know it's not—" she stumbled through more apologies, her face red with shame and guilt.
Much to my displeasure at seeing all of his flesh covered, Grayson tugged the shirt on over his head. "You've nothing to worry about, this will be a bachelorette party to remember," he laughed.
The woman's eyes went round as she looked from him to me. "Oh my goodness..." she breathed like a frightened bull, her nostrils flaring wider with each inhale and exhale.
I put my hand up to ward off more of her fumbled apologies, but before I could assure her myself, Grayson pulled me closer. "Like I said," he repeated, "there's nothing to worry about. No harm was done. I think my fiancé is more than happy with how the night turned out, isn't that right, Babydoll?" I elbowed him in the gut as a fresh wave of warmth crept over my cheeks. Instead of being angry, though, he merely laughed again and urged me off the stage. "I think we’ll call it a night, however," he called over his shoulder. “Thanks for the dance.”
I let Grayson lead me out from behind the curtains and through the backstage area. I didn't know how he knew where to go and I didn't ask. I was still half-under the spell he had woven on stage. The way his chest had shone under the lights, the quiet strength of his dancing movements. I felt heat pooling in my stomach. I wanted to shove him into the nearest alcove and jump his bones.
“Grayson.” His hand found mine as I spoke his name, but still, he didn’t look back. He pulled me through the dark, moving faster than my legs could keep up until I had to half-run just to keep pace with him. “The girls—”
“I texted Lizzie when I got here to let her know you wouldn’t need a ride back,” he said sharply.
I blinked at the rasp of his voice. He’d sounded so at ease with the woman, but as we moved through the backstage, his steps grew more firm, and on more than one occasion, I saw someone move to stop us. Whatever expression he had on his face, though—that I couldn’t see—made them think twice and we weren’t interrupted as he yanked me along until we slammed out of an exit stairwell door, the red sign glowing in the darkness.
I squinted as the lighting of the stairwell nearly blinded me. After residing in near darkness for the past hour or so, even the dim fluorescent bulbs made my eyes water. I didn’t have a chance to say anything though or ask him to slow down because in the next breath, Grayson dropped my hand and whirled around, pressing me back against the wall as his mouth came back down on mine.
I gasped and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue inside as his hands found my sides and he urged one leg up to hitch over his hip. That wasn’t enough for me. Sliding my hands around the back of his neck, I clenched my muscles and jumped. With a quiet oomph, Grayson caught me and slapped a hand out against the wall as his other hand went under my ass as he leveraged me between his chest and the solid white brick at my spine.
“Baby…”
I kissed him to silence any unwanted protests. I’m sure he hadn’t meant to take this further than a heated make-out session, but after what he’d just pulled on stage—having to watch the way his hips had gyrated and moved… Well, suffice it to say, the actual dancers hadn’t doneanythingfor me the way he had.
I nipped at his lower lip as I claimed his mouth, eliciting a groan from deep within his throat. And when I felt the rough fabric of his jeans brushing against the soft skin of my inner thigh, I had never been more thankful for Lizzie’s pushiness in all my life.
Dresses are for going out,she had said.You have to wear one.
I fumbled as I reached down trying to find his button, but my hand made contact with smooth skin and I realized he hadn’t had a chance to button up his jeans. They stayed up around his hips but the front sagged slightly open, covered by the soft cotton of his t-shirt.
“Thank God,” I mumbled, tearing my mouth away from his at once as I slid a hand beneath the elastic waistband of his boxers and heard the telltale sound of his rough intake of air.
“No, Jesus, God, no, Harlow.” He moved to let me down, but I squeezed my legs tighter.
