ROYAL ROCK(78)

Truth was, I never picked up guys at bars or parties or anything like that. Sure, I could flirt, and I’d kissed plenty of guys, but I just wasn’t the outgoing type like Lydie was.

Maybe it was time I just accepted who I was. I wasn’t like Lydie, or like any number of the blond girls in their skin-tight dresses. I was brunette and plain, or at least I thought so.

As I moved to get away from the bar, I suddenly walked directly into what seemed like a brick wall. I stumbled back, shocked.

“Shit. I’m so sorry!”

“Careful there, babe.”

I looked up, ready to tell him off for calling me “babe,” but the words died in my mouth.

The guy grinning back at me was gorgeous. He had stubble all along his perfect chin and bright, piercing blue eyes. His body was muscular and cut, but he wasn’t just some tanned gym rat. His jeans and T-shirt combo made him stand out from the crowd, made him look like he was effortlessly attractive. I noticed tattoos along his arms, disappearing up beneath his shirt. An anchor stood out on his forearm, but I didn’t have much time to inspect it.

“You look like you need help,” he growled into my ear, squeezing into the space next to me.

“Excuse me?”

“This bartender. How long you been standing here?”

“I don’t know. Too long.”

“What are you drinking?”

“Whiskey and soda.”

He looked away from me and toward the bartender. After a few seconds, he waved his hand in the air, giving the bartender a nod. The bartender immediately walked over.

“What can I get you?”

“Beer and a whiskey with soda.”

I gaped at him as the bartender walked away and started making the drinks.

“How did you do that?” I asked.

“Confidence.”

“Seriously, do you know him or something?”

“That’s your problem, you don’t even realize what confidence can get for you.” He stood close to me, his nearness and his smell overwhelming me as he spoke in his deep, gruff voice. “You would have stood here quietly while that guy ignored you.”

“That’s not true,” I said meekly, annoyed with myself for my weak response.

“It’s absolutely true. But don’t worry, babe. I can handle it.”

The bartender returned with the drinks and my mystery man paid for them. He handed me mine and held up his beer.

“Cheers, to getting some confidence.”

I clinked his glass and sipped mine. I felt completely out of my league with this guy. He was basically calling me weak to my face, and yet the way he said it with his cocky smile and the easy way he had about him made me want to listen to him.

“So how do I get more confidence, then, if you’re such an expert?”

“You’re an attractive girl. You just need to get men eating out of your hand.”

“Oh yeah? That something you do a lot?”

“I eat out girls, sure. Not their hand though.”

I blushed. “I bet.”

The song changed and the guy perked up. “What’s your name?” he asked me.

“Claire.”

“Come on, Claire. Let’s dance.”

“I don’t really dance.”

He slammed his beer back, finishing it off, and then grinned at me. “With an ass like that, you don’t dance?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you have an ass I’d go home and jerk off to if I weren’t about to grind up against it.”

I was totally taken aback at how forward he was being. I was used to assholes coming up with stupid pickup lines, but this guy was something completely different. He was talking dirty, but there was nothing fake or put-on about it. He really meant what he was saying; there was no doubt in my mind.

And that excited me. I felt my pulse race and the heat between my legs suddenly ignite as he grabbed my hand.

“Come on, babe. I know you can dance.”

I took a deep sip of my drink and then put it back on the bar. “Okay. Yeah, I can dance.”

He pulled me along behind him, out toward the dance floor. He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me up close to him as he melted into the crowd. The song was upbeat and fast, and everyone around us was sweating and grinding, a rhythmic mass of pulsing, oozing sex.

I usually avoided the dance floor at places like this. But as soon as he pressed his incredible body against mine and began to roll his hips, it was like instinct took over me. I moved along with him, our bodies grinding up against each other. His hand was on the small of my back, and I wrapped my arms around his thick shoulders, our faces inches apart, his eyes locked on mine, his face serious and intense.

We moved like that together and the world around us suddenly disappeared. Every worry and anxiety I had built up in my chest suddenly evaporated under the powerful and serious touch of my mysterious man. I’d never done something like this before, let alone felt so light and free. I didn’t care who was watching or what they thought; all I cared about was my body pressing up against his. He pressed his leg between my thighs and I began to rock my hips, grinding myself into his muscular body, pulled even closer by his strong arms.