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Gunnar’s fingers slide into my hair as his lips possessively claim a kiss that melts my brain and has my cock testing the integrity of my jeans. I moan and slip my hands under the hem of his T-shirt, gliding them over his warm skin, absolutely on board with taking things further. Unfortunately, the universe has other ideas.
An insistent buzzing breaks the mood. I’m all for ignoring it, but Gunnar obviously isn’t. He ends our kiss and pulls his phone out of his pocket, checking the screen. “Ride’s here. Ready to go?”
I wave him toward the elevator, a little disappointed I’m not distracting enough, when I have the bulge in my jeans to prove he obviously is. “Absolutely. Lead on.”
We ride to the lobby and climb into the back of our rideshare. “You know, I should make you close your eyes, but I won’t. You’ll figure out where we’re headed soon enough.” Our driver pulls away from the curb, and Gunnar’s phone buzzes again.
“Aren’t you Mr. Popular this evening.” He gives me a wink but doesn’t explain. During the ride, he gets a few more texts, which he quickly replies to, smirking the whole time. It’s infuriating but also kind of cute, and surprisingly, my anticipation is building. Less than fifteen minutes later, we pull up to the front of Club Cake, and I stare at Gunnar, my mouth open in disbelief. “Are you serious?” I point at the club entrance. “We’re going inthere?You’rereally going in there?“ He nods. “You know this is a club. With dancing.”
“Babe, I know what goes on in a club.” Gunnar opens the rideshare app, pays the driver, then slides out of the car, offering me a helping hand. “This is a celebration, Joce. It deserves something memorable to mark the occasion.” He slips his arm around me, pulling me toward the door, bypassing the line.
“Gunnar…” I gesture toward the waiting people. “Shouldn’t we…”
He squeezes me around the waist. “Nope.”
I hold my breath and wait for the bouncer to send us to the back of the line. Instead, Gunnar hands him a card, and we’re waved through. My mouth drops open again, and I stare incredulously at Gunnar, who is quite smug as he leads me inside. A very large bald man in a black T-shirt with SECURITY written across the back ushers us up a flight of stairs, to a part of the club I’ve never seen before. When we step through a dark velvet curtain, a cheer erupts. I stop in my tracks, and gape at the grinning faces of my friends. Even Jules is here, and I’m overwhelmed by emotion. “Gunnar?” He meets my eyes, grinning excitedly, and I’m about to launch myself into his arms when Astrid grabs me in a tight hug. Laughing, I hug her back, blinking away the prickling in my eyes. “This was your doing, wasn’t it?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. I just suggested the venue, and Gary got the room and the passes. But it was Gunnar’s idea.” I glance around curiously; I’ve never been in any of the club’s private VIP lounges before tonight. It overlooks the dance floor and has its own bar, bartender, and bathroom, so guests don’t have to mingle with the masses unless they want to.
“I need to thank them both profusely for this.”
She tugs me further into the lounge. “Gary will accept a hug in payment. I don’t want to know how you plan to thank Gunnar.” I laugh, feeling lighter than I have since the whole work ordeal started. “Come on. Everyone wants to say hello.”
I wander through the room, hugging my friends, catching up with each of them. Gunnar hands me a glass of red wine and kisses my cheek but hangs back with Gary and Blake, giving me time to say hello to everyone. Once I’ve made my rounds, I find him and slip my arms around his waist. “Thank you for this. I know clubs aren’t your thing, but I couldn’t have asked for a better surprise.” He leans down and kisses me softly, resting his forehead against mine. I don’t even care that this is the first time most of my friends are seeing us together. I’m overwhelmed by the sweetness of his gesture, and he deserves to know. “You are too good to me.”
“You went through hell for no reason, babe. You deserve some fun, now that you can relax.” He gestures around the room. “And this private area makes it tolerable. No crowds. No line at the bar. No gross bathrooms, with people having sex in the hallway.”
I squeeze him tight. “Well, thank you. And because you did this for me, I won’t make you dance. Stef and Astrid are here, and they’ll keep me company.”
Gunnar wipes his forehead like he’d been worried. “Whew! Dodged that bullet.”
I pinch his arm, and he laughs, then I pull him into another kiss, this one soft and slow, trying to show him how absolutely wonderful he is and how grateful I am for all he’s done to make tonight happen. He hums against my lips, smiling as the kiss ends. “That was nice.”
I wink at him. “Just wait until later, when I show you exactly how much I appreciate you.”
34
Gunnar
Astridpullsmeaside,and we lean against the bar. “So have you told him yet?”
I groan internally and shake my head. “No. I’m hoping to get through tonight without him knowing.”
She rolls her eyes. “Not likely. You’re going to slow dance with him, at least. Right?”
I grimace. “Yes, Astrid. I’ll slow dance.”
Jocelin appears with drinks and hands me a glass of beer. It’s a rich golden brown color and smells strongly of hops. “What’s this?”
“The Immortal. Someone told Erik he looks like Thor, and once Erik found out this was on tap, he ordered one for you and made me promise to tell you it’s from your brother, the god of thunder.” I snort and take a sip, smiling at how smoothly it goes down. “Okay, he’s an ass, but I forgive him. This is pretty good.”
Astrid steals my glass and takes a sip, nodding. “Yeah, thatispretty good.”
I pluck it from her thieving hands. “Get your own.”
Jocelin gestures over his shoulder. “Gary has your drink, Astrid. He was right behind me.” As if on cue, Gary appears, hands Astrid a white wine, then slips an arm around her waist. Jocelin sways in place, glancing longingly at the dance floor packed with happy, laughing people.
Astrid nudges me and nods toward Jocelin, then jerks her head in the direction of the gyrating crowd. I take the hint. “Joce, you wanna dance?”
