The Artist (The Game Changers #2) (7 page)

“Nice space,” I told him as I looked around.

He came up behind me and reached around to unbutton my coat with expert fingers. “It gets the job done,” he said nonchalantly as he helped peel my coat from my body like the gentleman he had proven to be. Of course, he pressed his lips to my neck as he helped me take it off. “You smell like sin, so sweet it’s dangerous,” he murmured.

“Mmm…” I hummed quietly. “A little danger is a good thing.”

“You’re a very good thing, Duchess.”

My coat landed in his chair then his lips continued down my neck, matching the movement of his hands that were trailing down my body. I had never felt as confident or sexy as I did when I was with him, and Kitty Peters had never lacked confidence around men.

A knock at the door sounded, and Double Dee appeared in the doorway. I tried not to whimper when he was forced to pull away from me to respond to the interruption. It was like Dee had radar to let her know when we were having a moment. “Sorry to interrupt…again, but Adam, we need another keg of the Fish Tale Anniversary Ale. We’re slammed out there. Corbin’s checking on Ana. You’re back here. We could use some help.”

“Then you should probably get back out there,” Maverick said. She huffed and stormed away. “I guess I need to go take care of that.” He nodded toward the bar.

“Does she hate me, want you, or both?” I asked with a sassy smirk on my face.

He laughed. “Neither, that I know of. Although, I can tell you, she’d rather get in your pants than anywhere near mine.”

“Oh. Oh! She’s…”

“Into girls, Duchess. She’s probably jealous that I get to kiss you…and touch you…and bring you back into my office.” He punctuated each word with a kiss, showing me exactly what he thought Dee had to be jealous of. “Now, what would you like to drink, Duchess?”

I wanted to frown at him for stopping the foreplay that I was enjoying so much, but he was at work. Instead, I plastered a smile on my face. “Let’s go with champagne.” It was silly to be disappointed when he was busy working, but I couldn’t wait to have his hands on me again.

“Are we celebrating?” he asked as he walked me out of his office back down the hall toward the bar.

“Always,” I flirted back.

His damn smirk appeared then, and he stopped me in the hallway. “I was hoping you were going for the vodka. Then I would know for certain I’d be spending the night with you again.”

Heat flared inside of me. My body was getting more desperate for him, and it was getting harder to control my need. I was done keeping him at arm’s length. I pulled him close and gripped his t-shirt. “How about you spend the night with me anyway? This time I give you my word that I’ll be aware of your presence. In fact, I’ll be downright attentive.” Katherine Peters is definitely a hussy.

His eyes hooded as his hands spread across my lower back, just short of palming my rear. I could feel his interest hard against my belly, which made me want to return to the bar even less. “That sounds promising.”

I pressed harder against him. “That feels promising.” Hussy, I tell you. Straight-up hussy!

He grinned a little wider. “Aren’t you a little minx tonight? I like this side of you, Duchess, but then again, I like all sides of you,” he said while letting his hands wander further south. His fingertips grazed under my skirt right where the lace met the silk of my stockings.

I gasped slightly and tried to focus on what he said, rather than how his fingers were making me feel. “There you go again, you flatterer.” The words came out breathy, in a voice I hardly recognized as my own.

“Adam! We need the keg!” Dee called out from down the hall.

He pulled his hands away with a groan. The damn smirk appeared right before he gave me a chaste kiss. “Nothing but the truth, gorgeous. Come on.” He took my hand and led me back to the bar where the noise was suddenly deafening, and the heat made the room far too warm for my now hypersensitive body.

I sat on a stool sipping champagne while I watched him lift a keg and tap it behind the bar. Not surprisingly, I wasn’t the only one watching the show. Girls down the entire bar sat up and took notice when Maverick’s tattooed arms lifted the keg to place it in its spot. The ease at which he lifted the full keg was impressive enough, but the way his fitted t-shirt showed off his lean muscles and lifted slightly when his arms were raised—that little strip of skin had the attention of several ladies. The woman next to me crooned, “Dayuhm,” as soon as she saw his happy trail. She received a hateful glare from me, which she either ignored or didn’t notice. I wanted to smile haughtily when he came over and pressed his lips to mine once he was finished, but I was too busy enjoying his lips on mine. Take that, ladies. This man is with me, I wanted to say, but that seemed a little catty considering I had already won. The new me wasn’t going to be catty, though. Pulling out the claws had never felt right anyway.

Once he was finished putting on the show for the ladies, he led me to a table near the back of the bar where his mural was. Seated around the table were five people curiously watching us approach. The girls were smiling. One guy had a flirty grin on his face. The other two were more subdued but still watched with interest.

Once we were close enough, Maverick introduced me. “Guys, this is Katherine. Katherine, this is Brock, his girlfriend Hailey, Corbin and his wife Ana, and this guy right here,” Maverick rubbed the top of the flirty smile guy’s head playfully, “is my little brother, Jack.”

Jack stood first and hugged me. “Nice to meet you, Katherine. Adam’s told me a lot about you.” He then held me at arm’s length to look down my body before looking past me to his brother and adding, “You’re right, Adam. You have better taste than me. She’s as hot as you said she was.”

“Shut it, Jack,” Maverick pulled me back against his body and flicked Jack’s ear. He just laughed and covered where Maverick made contact.

I looked up at Maverick. “Talking about me, huh?”

He wasn’t even ashamed. “Rubbing it in is more like it. He has terrible taste in women, so I had to brag about the gem I found at the coffee shop.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” a woman’s voice chimed in. It was Ana, Corbin’s wife. “Hi, Katherine. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out her hand. I smiled and shook it happily.

“So, how did you two meet?” the other girl asked with interest. She was blonde, tall, and thin like me, but that was where the similarities ended. The girl worked out. She looked like she was a surfer or something with short, choppy hair, and a blinding white smile. She was, needless to say, gorgeous, and her arms were wrapped around an equally attractive guy who had yet to crack a smile.

“She was sitting in my chair at the coffee shop,” Maverick shared.

“Oh no! Not his chair!” Ana teased.

“How dare you?” Jack continued with an overtly dramatic gasp.

Brock, the big guy with short, dark hair and a grumpy-looking expression, had been quietly observing me while leaning back in his chair and keeping his arm around Hailey until the topic of our coffee house chair came up. He then leaned forward and added, “We’ve all heard about the damn chair.” Still no smile, but he spoke to me, which was a good sign.

“It’s a pretty amazing chair,” I explained while looking up at Maverick who wholeheartedly agreed with my assessment of the chair until I said, “But for the record, it’s my chair.”

Maverick raised one dark eyebrow then wrapped his hand around my waist giving it a little squeeze. “I’m willing to share it with you temporarily.”

“Holy shit. I never thought I’d see the day.” This came from Corbin, who I just noticed was wearing a bar t-shirt like Maverick’s. Where Maverick filled his out, Corbin’s hung a little loose on his thinner arms and chest.

“What?” Ana asked confused.

“The day a Vaughn brother would share anything other than a bed with a woman.”

Words rang out simultaneously from around the table.

“Hey!”

“Dude!”

“Rude!”

“Corbin!”

Then Brock said, “I got this,” and smacked Corbin on the back of the head. We all laughed, and just like that, the ice was broken.

“All right, Corbin. Back to work. Dee needs a break. Make her stay away for at least fifteen.”

“Sure.” Corbin stood and kissed Ana on the head before heading over to the bar.

Maverick grabbed his chair and plopped down in it, pulling me on his lap. “What are you guys up to tonight?”

“We’re gonna start by asking your girl probing questions to find out how much of a pussy you really are.” Jack laughed, and I cringed at his use of that horrible word. Maverick punched Jack’s shoulder, earning him a frown from his brother. “Dude, enough with the violence.”

“Who’s the pussy now?” Maverick asked, causing me to flinch again. It was like that disgusting and insulting word had somehow traumatized me. It wasn’t only the word that had left me traumatized, though. It was junior high.

“Katherine, ignore their brotherly love. They secretly snuggle when they think no one’s looking,” Hailey said derisively.

“Good to know.”

Ana set her drink on the table and leaned forward, so she didn’t have to shout as loud over the music. “Adam said he took you to see his murals. Are you an artist as well?”

“Oh, no. Definitely not, but I have an appreciation for what Maverick does. He’s very talented.” I glanced his way, beaming with pride.

“Maverick?” Brock asked quietly.

“Nickname,” Maverick confirmed.

“So you call her Duchess, and she calls you Maverick? Are those indicative of your personalities or charming pet names?” Brock challenged. While I felt threatened by his tone, Maverick laughed.

“If we were giving names solely based on personality, we’d all be calling you asshole,” Maverick said.

“Or douchebag,” Jack added.

“Hey!” Hailey shouted too loudly, drawing the attention of the people around us. “Leave my man alone. He’s a lover not a fighter.”

Jack and Maverick snickered mockingly while Brock groaned and threw his head back. “Hailey, seriously? You just gave them months of material.”

“What? Why? It’s the truth!” she insisted. This time Ana and I laughed along with the guys. Hailey had no clue.

Brock pulled her in close and kissed her square on the mouth. “Only with you, babe. Only with you.”

“Damn right,” she smiled.

“You just had to make Corbin go back to work, didn’t you, Adam?” Ana frowned.

Maverick smiled and pulled me against his chest. He then looked at Ana. “Sorry, Ana. Corbin’s gonna be really busy for the rest of the night. In fact, I better go help.”

“Yeah, you go and leave Katherine with us.”

“Gee, thanks, Ana,” Adam said with mock offense. She rolled her eyes and waved him off. He ignored her and spoke quietly in my ear. “You okay here while I go check on things?”

“Of course,” I told him as I leaned into him, absorbing his heat for a moment more. With one last peck on my cheek, he left me with his friends and headed back to the bar.

Jack dropped his glass on the table and pouted. “I can’t believe Corbin, man. I’m not a player…just looking for the right girl. Haven’t found her yet.”

Hailey laughed. “I don’t think looking for the right girl includes sticking your dick between every potential pair of legs.” Brock grunted a small laugh. So, Hailey is a little crass. Good to know.

Ana patted Jack’s shoulder and looked at Hailey and Brock when she said, “Give him a break. He’s just trying to get his cardio in.”

“Okay. Okay. You girls are hilarious! Moving on.” Jack scooted his chair closer to me. “What would I have to do to steal you away from my brother? I’m the better-looking one. Smarter too.” The waggle of his eyebrows made me laugh.

I leaned in closer to Jack and flirted. “Oh, I don’t know. Your brother just might be in trouble if you keep it up.”

“Really?”

Laughing, I said, “No, not really.”

He slapped his leg in disappointment. “Damn.”

Ana, Jack, Hailey, and I continued joking and getting to know each other under Brock’s watchful eye. He remained silent but almost cracked a smile when something was funny, usually at Jack’s expense. I found it sweet that he kept a hand on Hailey at all times. Even though he didn’t say much of anything, his actions spoke just as loud as the words of the other three.

At the end of the night, the bar had cleared out with the exception of Ana, Corbin, Dee, and the other bartender, who I now knew as Moby. Ana and I were seated at the bar still chatting comfortably about her job as a nurse. She was entertaining me with shocking stories from her clinicals, and I was thanking my lucky stars I had never aspired to become a nurse. I had a newfound respect for the profession after listening to her stories, though.

“How’s it goin’ over there, Duchess?” Maverick called out as he finished counting the cash from the night.

“Great!” I replied enthusiastically. “I love your friends.”

“Aww. I love you too,” Ana shouted drunkenly.

Maverick laughed. “Hey, Corbin. Time to take your wife home.”

A tired-looking Corbin came around to Ana’s stool and lifted her petite body from it with ease. “Come on, little lady. Let’s get you to bed.”