Suddenly Sexy (8 page)

Julie trembled when she felt the rounded tip of his thick cock pressing against her flesh. When Eric filled her completely, a low guttural groan escaped her throat.

She laid her head against the door as the conflicting, incredible sensations overpowered her. She closed her eyes, inhaling Eric’s aroused scent as he placed his hands over hers, reassuring her.

Julie rocked her hips against him, urging him to unleash his strength and power. She wanted to experience his unbridled passion.

Eric gave a warning growl and reached under her arms to squeeze her breasts. She arched her spine, thrusting her breasts farther into his hands, enjoying how the sting heightened her pleasure.

Julie bit her lip as her desire intensified. Eric might think he was in the dominant position, but she wasn’t going to yield to his every command. She clenched her inner muscles, smiling wickedly when she heard his sharp intake of breath. She loved the tremor in his fingers as he trailed his hand down her stomach.

Her smile slipped when Eric captured her swollen clit. A groan escaped her throat as he teased her nipple and clit as he gave a shallow thrust.

“More,” she pleaded.

He let go of her breast and dragged the heavy curtain of her hair over her shoulder to expose her neck.

“Are you sure?” Eric asked, his warm breath wafting over her sweat-slickened skin.

“Please.” She hated how quickly she surrendered, but she was desperate for the satisfaction that only Eric could give. No one had made her feel like this and no one ever would. “Please, Eric.”

He pinched her nipple in response. She was very close to climaxing.

His hands clenched her hips, his fingers pressing into her skin, as he slowly withdrew. Julie’s whimper dissolved in her chest as he drove his cock deep in her core. She rolled her hips again, silently encouraging him.

Eric pumped into her, slowly building momentum. Her legs shook and her hands slipped down the door as she met each thrust with the rock of her hips. Her heart raced, her throat ached with every breath, but her body was greedy. She was insatiable.

She capitulated to his primal rhythm as the white-hot pleasure rushed through her body. Julie sagged against the door as Eric pressed his face into her neck and muffled his cry of release.

Julie rested against the cool wood, breathing heavily as her body pulsated. She was still, but she felt different. Strong and beautiful.

So, this was what she had been missing. She had longed for this quick, wild coupling, but no man understood her desire. No man but Eric.

She felt his sigh of regret. “Crap,” he muttered before he pulled away.

Julie winced. That wasn’t very flattering. She had hoped they could do it again and again and again. He may have rocked her world, but Eric wasn’t interested in repeating the experience.

“That’s not what any woman wants to hear right after sex,” Julie said in a brittle voice. She took a deep breath, put on a brave face and turned around. Her heart gave a funny flip at the sight of Eric. He was disheveled, half-naked and gloriously male.

He shoved his fingers in his hair. Something close to horror flickered in his eyes. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

Oh, great. It was going to be one of
those
postcoital talks. She should have known. She didn’t want to hear it. Julie searched for her dress and quickly picked it up. “Well, it did and I don’t regret it for one moment.”

“How can you say that?” His gaze focused on the swell of her hips. His eyes darkened as he hissed with regret. “I should have stopped and…I want to apologize.”

“I don’t want to hear an apology. If I had wanted to stop, I would have said so.” She tossed her dress over her head and slid it down her body, which still ached for his touch. Her movements were awkward and slow, but she had to get the hell out of here before he said anything else.

“We had unprotected sex.” He shook his head at his lapse of judgment. “I would never intentionally put you at risk.”

“It’s okay.” She bent down, snatched her panties and balled them up in her hands. She wanted to make a run for it and find a place where she could regain her composure. “I’m healthy and I’m on the Pill. I’m fully capable of protecting myself from an unexpected pregnancy.”

“Julie…I—”

“If I didn’t want this, I wouldn’t have allowed you to touch me.” She opened the door. “If it makes you feel any better, let’s not talk about this ever again.” She stepped out of the supply room and shut the door before he could say another word.

6

“I
AM FINALLY DOING THIS!”
Julie tried to contain her smile as she walked on the sky bridge that led to a popular nightclub in the center of Bellevue. A small group of women walked past her, a blur of chatter and perfume. She glanced out the window but the restaurants, spas and luxury boutiques were also a blur. The window displays and street lights were smears of color in the night. She barely saw the BMWs and Porsches competing for space on the busy street below her. All she heard was the beat of her heart mingling with the clacking of her heels on the cement. “Watch out, world, here I come!”

“Stay focused.” Asia’s voice was faint in the earpiece Julie wore.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t contain my enthusiasm,” Julie replied, noticing yet another handsome man in a designer suit leaning against a wall, obviously waiting for someone. He glanced up from his cell phone and checked her out. “I’m finally a Charlie’s Angel.”

“But better-dressed. Now stop talking to yourself or people will start staring.”

“Ah, that would explain it.” The man’s attention returned to his phone. “I thought I was turning heads because of my general awesomeness.”

“Let’s transfer that awesomeness into the role.”

“Done.” She was going to act as if she were meant for the spotlight. She had no clue how to navigate a nightclub like this, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She wasn’t going to pause or hesitate. No nervously biting her lip or hugging the wall.

The nightclub was trendy, which she kind of expected since it was in the epicenter of Bellevue. The rich, the powerful and the spoiled lived around here. They were easily bored and difficult to please. She could act like that.

She approached the double door and frowned when she didn’t recognize the music that pulsed through the walls. That was a problem. She had to acclimate herself to the culture and didn’t know a very important part like music. What if she dressed all wrong? What if she didn’t know which drink to buy?

Don’t borrow trouble.
Julie squared back her shoulders and strutted to the door, giving a short nod in the bouncer’s direction.

“Wait.” The bouncer held out his meaty hand and motioned for her to come closer. “Let’s see some ID.”

She was getting
carded?
She wasn’t the type who went to nightclubs every week, but she was sure she looked over twenty-one. “Are you serious?” she asked.

He glared at her.

Apparently he was. She couldn’t believe it. Julie trudged over to where the bouncer stood. No Charlie’s Angel had to deal with this type of humiliation.

Julie reached in her pocket, where she kept her cash and driver’s license. She felt her face turn bright red as she presented the card to the bouncer.

“Don’t you dare tell Eric,” Julie muttered as Asia’s laughter rang in her ear. She was thankful that Eric didn’t witness this moment. She bet
he
didn’t get carded.

The bouncer looked at the driver’s license, then at her, then at the license again.

Oh, right. Julie grimaced. The photo on her license was nothing like what she was wearing. “I’m not photogenic.”

The bouncer didn’t disagree. After getting her ID back and her hand stamped, Julie walked into the nightclub. She paused at the entrance and looked around. It was bigger than she anticipated. Sleek and expensive.

“Oh, crap.”

“What?” Asia asked urgently.

“This place isn’t anything like the tequila bar where we hang out.” She noticed the chrome-and-glass décor, the patrons in designer clothes and the large dance floor flickering with multicolored lights.

“Don’t let it intimidate you,” Asia said in a soothing voice, but the static ruined the effect.

She dressed all wrong, Julie decided as her stomach twisted with dread. She should have visited the place earlier. Tactical error on her part, but she had directed all her focus on her seduction techniques.

“What the hell are you wearing?”

Julie whirled around at the sound of Eric’s voice. She didn’t hear him approach. Her heart thudded against her rib cage as she stared at him, noting how good he looked in a black button-down shirt and dark jeans. She barely registered his stern expression. She remembered the hunger in his eyes, the way he was possessed when he’d claimed her.

She blinked and took a step back as desire tugged deep inside her. She wasn’t going to get distracted. Not tonight. Not by Eric, who was waiting for her to mess up.

“And hello to you, too,” Julie replied coolly.

“Is that Eric?” Asia’s voice pierced into her ear. “Tell him I said hi.”

Julie dipped her head. “Shut up, Asia. If I can’t IM and email simultaneously, you know I can’t do more than one conversation at a time.”

“I’m serious, Julie,” Eric said as he gave her clothes a critical appraisal. “What alias is this?”

“I call it Kick-Ass Julie.” She wore her black leather boots, dark jeans, a tank top and a military-inspired olive-green jacket. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Inspired, actually.

Eric looked at her as if she had lost her senses, but she would defend her decision to the end. His attention rested on her hair. “What did I tell you about the hair?” He glared at her high ponytail.

How could she explain that the style went with the outfit? “And here I thought you’d be thrilled that I’m completely covered.” She pointed at her jacket with a flourish.

“I am,” he said with a soft growl.

“Then why are you growling at me?”

“Because he’s hot for you,” Asia interjected.

Julie closed her eyes. “One more word from you, Asia, and I’m taking out the earpiece.”

Eric’s gaze swept down her body and her skin
tingled. “Do you really think this is going to get your target in that outfit?”

She sighed. “Eric, do you know what Lloyd was wearing in that picture Martha provided?”

“A red T-shirt. What about it?”

“It was a T-shirt for a video game. It had a woman who has a long ponytail, a military jacket and long black boots.”

Eric paused and she knew she’d surprised him by picking up on that detail. “That doesn’t mean he’s attracted to a video game character,” he argued.

“Are you kidding? These video games allow guys to create their dream girls. They can choose what the heroine will look like, what they’ll wear and how much they will jiggle.” She motioned at her outfit. “His shirt had this girl on it and that’s what I’m going with.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Thanks for the pep talk,” she said dryly. “Which alias would you have recommended?”

His gaze grew intense for a second before he ruthlessly banked it. “Never mind.”

“No, tell me.”

He exhaled sharply. “It’s too late to change, anyway.”

She wanted to scream with frustration. Which alias did he think was the sexiest? No, he would never tell her. He would never give her that much power over him.

She’d find out on her own, but that was would have to wait. She slapped her hands together and rubbed her palms. “So, where’s Lloyd?”

Eric looked past Julie’s shoulder. “Our target is at the bar with two other friends.”

She grimaced. It was going to be difficult separating him from the pack.

“Did Asia check the audio?” Eric asked.

“Triple-checked it,” Asia chirped in Julie’s ear. Julie simply nodded.

“Max is stationed near the bar and will take pictures with his digital camera. Try not to leave the bar.”

“I will if he wants to dance.” They had been through all this several times as they prepped for this night. She was ready for this. She felt like a fighter before leaving his corner. She wanted to move. She needed to get in there while her blood was pumping.

“I can’t hear what’s going on because some of our equipment just failed and there’s no time to replace it.” He clenched his jaw, the only physical sign of how he felt about that. She knew from their team meetings how much it bothered him that he wouldn’t be in constant contact with her. “You remember the signal if you’re in trouble.”

“Yes.” She wanted to bounce on her feet and throw a few punches. Anything to get rid of this excess energy.

“What’s the signal?”

“Eric, don’t crowd me,” she pleaded as she took a couple of steps into the club. “Go away before you blow my cover.”

He reached for her hand. It was firm but gentle. That surprised her. She looked into his eyes.

“Promise me that you’ll back off if you get a bad vibe.”

“I promise,” she said and let go. She hated making that promise, but she did it for Eric’s peace of mind.

Julie made her way to the bar and tried not to be obvious as she searched for her target. She noticed the women all wore very short, strapless dresses. Even the waitresses wore black camisoles and black short-shorts. She stuck out like a sore thumb. Her alias idea was going to be a disadvantage.

She found Lloyd at the bar just as Eric had said. Her eyes narrowed in on her target. He was tall and the spiky hair added a few inches. She suspected he wore baggy clothes to hide his skinny build.

Lloyd was leaning back on the bar stool, smiling as he listened to his friends try to impress two beautiful young women. It didn’t look as if he was trying to win them over. Good. It meant she had a chance to swoop in and catch him.

Julie surveyed the area. She stalled when she glanced at the women with Lloyd’s friends. A sense of uneasiness washed over her. Now she understood why Eric had a problem with her alias.

She took a closer look at the platinum blonde and voluptuous redhead who had taken command of the men’s attention. Their beauty was exotic. They took sexy to a whole new level. Charlie’s Angels wished they looked like these women.