She leans in with a conspiratorial whisper. “I showed her your picture. I think I had to wipe the drool off her chin.”
“Well, at least she has good taste,” I quip. “Got one of her? I haven’t seen—”
A woman walks into my line of vision, a mere dozen feet away. Instantly, she ends my speech, stops my heart, and makes my dick jerk like a divining rod in her direction. She’s got reddish-brown curls that sway around her shoulders, a delicate profile, lush lashes that fan the palest porcelain cheeks, a red bow of a mouth that nearly has me crying for relief, and curves for days under her clinging, va-voom red dress.
“Holy shit,” I mutter.
Harlow turns and follows my line of vision. When her gaze lands on the brunette, she flashes a smile. “Masey!”
The bombshell turns, recognition lighting her face. Then her stare lands on me. Her breath catches. A tremor wracks her. She bites her lip, then sends me a searching smile.
I get to fuck her? All night? Standing without any conscious thought, I grin back as my feet automatically take me to her until I’m staring straight down into her eyes, my heart pounding like a drum.
In retrospect, I should have known in that moment how hard I was going to fall.
“Hi.” Fuck, it’s suddenly hard to breathe.
“Hi,” she returns softly. “Trace?”
I nod and finally remember to stick out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Masey.”
She tucks her palm against mine, and lightning zips up my arm to shock my heart. “Same.”
Damn, she’s even more striking up close. Her big eyes are a deep ocean blue. They seem huge in her soft oval face. They convey innocence, just like the dusting of freckles on her nose. Then there’s her lush mouth that says fuck me hard, fuck me now. I’m totally happy to comply.
Tonight is going to be beyond; I already know.
“Hello?” Harlow snaps, then extends her hand between our faces to break our stare. “Can you two hear me?”
I release Masey’s hand and flash my sister-in-law a self-deprecating grin. “Loud and clear. You and Noah heading out?”
“Yep.” She nods. “He’s going to take me to dinner, where we’ll pretend to eat while he mercilessly eye-fucks me to insanity. Then we’ll go home and do the real thing.”
I grimace. “I didn’t need to know that.”
Harlow laughs. “Your brother’s a stud.”
“I didn’t need to know that, either.”
“I only told you because you look so adorably uncomfortable every time I bring it up. You two good here?”
As I glance in Masey’s direction, our eyes meet again. She gives me a little nod. I try to ignore the subtle signs of her attraction and focus on the conversation. The sooner I do, the sooner my brother and sister-in-law will leave us.
“We’re good. Enjoy your night.” I clap my brother on the back. “I don’t want details.”
“Nope. Not sharing those,” Noah assures as he wraps his hand around his wife’s elbow and drags her away. “She’s said enough, and I’ll be sure to put that sassy mouth to better use tonight.”
Ugh. I could have done without knowing that, too. “Shut up. You’re not helping.”
Masey grimaces. “At all. Just…bye. I’ll call you.”
Harlow blows her a kiss and gives me a wave. “I’d tell you not to do anything I wouldn’t do, but…”
Then Noah smiles as he wraps his arm around Harlow’s waist and mercifully leads her outside the open-air bar, toward the parking lot. Now it’s just this gorgeous stranger, the glass-and-chrome hot spot, and a whole lot of unspoken expectations between us.
“You want to go and…”
Her blush tells me she’s reluctant to finish that sentence by suggesting the obvious. Her uncertainty is cute on the one hand but troubling on the other. I like the idea that she’s off-balance, but if it’s because she’s lacking confidence, I want to fix it.
Of course, I could just take her from here, find the nearest bed, and fuck her brains out. But this will go a whole lot better if she gets comfortable on a verbally intimate level with me. Besides, we’ve got all night, and I want to savor her.
“Let’s sit and have a drink first.” I gesture her toward the stools Noah and I just vacated. “I was having a beer. You want something?”
Masey looks a little crestfallen, but tries not to. “Merlot.”
I call the bartender over and order, then turn to Masey when he