Triple Diamonds (Mystic Nights Book 2) (7 page)

Dawn didn’t like to dwell on it. Although it would have been nice to at least have a picture, she thought gloomily. Only her, it had ever seemed to bother. Not knowing him. She brushed those thoughts away as she focused on the music and any possible cute guy that might be a possibility.

Joseph picked up his drink and took a much needed swallow. The fire hit his belly and joined the fire he was feeling much lower as he watched Jewel dance across the room unaware of being observed by him, or half the men in the bar. He scanned the crowds making sure no one tried anything on the threesome, or his sisters for that matter, both beautiful in their own way. He felt a twinge of jealousy when he saw a man sidle up near them, but was relieved when he saw Dinah shoo the man away.

He willed himself to tamp down that emotion. He had no reason to feel jealous. It was only a girl’s night out. Beside him, his sister Dawn hopped down from her perch and stood beside Eve, taking her half empty glass with her. She moved to the music like she was ready to dance. They began to talk softly, and Eve laughed in the direction Dawn indicated, but he wasn’t interested in whatever had piqued her interest. He was only interested in Jewel and how he would make his move.

Turning in to lean against the bar, he looked to the dance floor once more, and watched the scene before him. Normally, seeing three girls all over each other, was fine by him. More than fine. He’d taken a couple of girls up to his suite before, but he didn’t like seeing that with Jewel for some unexpected reason. No. When he brought her upstairs tonight to his suite, and he had made the sudden decision to do just that, he wanted no one else in the room with him when he peeled that tight little number off of her curvy body.

It would be just the two of them when he placed his head between those thighs so he could hear her moan his name.

“Like what you see?” Dawn giggled in his ear. She must have seen the direction of his gaze. And he had found it difficult to tear his eyes away for long.

Crap!
He hadn’t realized she’d turned around. He hadn’t wanted them to notice. Had hoped they would get distracted, go off and do their own thing. Reluctantly, he looked away from the sight of Jewel dancing and glanced at Dawn as she took a sip of her cocktail. It was nearly empty. He nodded quickly. He couldn’t deny it. He’d been caught red handed, ogling
The Mystic
sous-chef.

“Which one tonight?” asked Eve indicating with a flick of her head towards the trio in the center of the dance floor.
Great!
She had noticed as well.

He turned to that sister and gave her a sarcastic glare.

Eve shrugged and laughed. “What? You only come to the bar when you want to get laid,” she rolled her eyes at him. She knew her brothers’ reputations all too well. Both of them. They were usually business all of the time, unless they were at one of the nightclubs here, or at one of the other hot spots around town.

Shaking his head derisively, Joseph decided to answer her question honestly. “The one in the middle.” He grumbled low in his chest. Fuck, if they had him pegged already he might as well use them as wingmen even if he didn’t relish the idea. His was sure his mother would hear all about it, but that had never stopped him before. He was a man after all. He had needs. She never meddled in his love life. Only vague references on occasion about settling down. And Jonathan had done that. He was sure he was the next one to get the focus placed more squarely on him. But settling down wasn’t on his radar. Not yet. Not now.

Placing his nearly finished drink on the bar, he looked at each sister closely. He gave them a smirk, which had Eve laughing and Dawn looking at him quizzically. “Well, since you’ve got me all figured out you might as well give me a hand.”

“What do you need us to do?” Eve laughed while elbowing her sister.

Glad that they were willing to help, and trying not to think about what they would tell his mother, he gave them their directions. “Dawn, you get the one on the right. Eve take the girl on the left. The purple number is mine.” And without giving them time to back out, he stalked to the dance floor to claim his evening’s prize, his sisters flanking him on either side.

He heard them both giggle behind him, but they were there. And that was all he needed. An in. A distraction for Linda and Dinah so he could get Jewel to himself. If they could distract the other two woman long enough for him to make a getaway with Jewel, well, he would owe them for that big time. He got behind Jewel on the dance floor and she still hadn’t noticed as his sisters quickly maneuvered in front of him. They each took one of the other girls’ hands, and parted the threesome flawlessly. Jewel didn’t even know what hit her.

*

Jewel was enjoying
herself immensely. It had been months since she’d gone out dancing and let her hair down. When her brothers had texted her saying they were crashing at a friend’s after track practice, she had accepted her friend’s invitation to go dancing. They had even decided to rent a room at the hotel so none of them had to drive afterwards. That was one of the perks of being an employee. The discount.

She was also a little bit tipsy. Normally not one to dance so provocatively, she felt the loss of heat immediately when her friends parted from her. But she continued to move to the beat, feeling Linda come back up behind her. When she pushed her backside back into her friend to the pulse of the music, she was shocked when she felt something rock hard behind her.
That
was definitely not Linda! Whirling around, she hit a brick wall—solid, massive, and unmoving. Her eyes gazed upwards and soon discovered the wall was none other than the very finely chiseled specimen that was Joseph Sassacus. Immediately her mouth became dry. In a tight t-shirt and dark jeans he looked every ounce of the perfect male specimen that he was. In his suit, he looked magnificent. But now she could more clearly see his definition. The man had an amazing body. Her body was engulfed in flames at the thought of what he must look like naked.

She instantaneously took a step backwards, but his hands came up quickly, and grasping her shoulders he reeled her back in, moving in time to the music. Her breathing became erratic, and her heart hammered in her chest at the realization that she had been set up. She was dancing with Joseph, the man who had been hitting on her that very afternoon. He suggested they go out sometime. He had made that sometime happen without her awareness.

Jewel glanced around quickly to see how this had happened, and saw both her friends being steered off the dance floor by Joseph’s sisters, Dawn and Eve. They were all laughing as they climbed up onto bar stools. She felt the sting of the possibility of being set up. But Joseph’s hands distracted her as he ran them up and down her arms provocatively to get her attention focused upon him once more. Turning, she looked up into those coppery eyes, and she saw desire flare in them. The man was too gorgeous for words. His face, his body, and that smile, were all . . . just . . . perfect.

“You look beautiful, Jewel,” he stated as he whirled her back around so that she was pressed up against him, her backside against his front. Flames of heat began to curl in her core. The attraction she felt for this man aided by her lower inhibitions due to the alcohol was making her lose all control, all sensibility. She couldn’t see his face any longer. She could only feel him there, moving against her. And she couldn’t deny it. It felt good. Damn good! She was speechless and couldn’t think, couldn’t form a single word. Only feel.

Glancing back at the bar, she saw her two friends, and they were smiling at her. Encouraging her with their eyes. Yes, it had to be a total set up, she mused, turning back around to face the man that was wreaking havoc on her body. Her head began to clear a bit, but just a bit. She had consumed three cocktails already this evening, and was beginning to regret it despite the delicious sensations this man was causing within her. It had to be the alcohol, but she felt incredibly alive pressed up against him like that.

Yet, her instinct was to flee. It was all consuming. She knew it was just a dance, but no one had ever made her feel like that. So she stayed and continued to move letting him lead her. Dancing in this man’s arms was like nothing she had ever felt before. He was built like the Warriors her people once were. All muscle and sinew. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to run her hands along his body, feel his muscles jump under his skin as she caressed him. She shook her head to clear it. Her thoughts had a mind of their own. Whether it was the powerful attraction she felt for him from their first moment of meeting, the way he moved, the amount she had imbibed, or her friends’ encouraging looks, but she felt completely lost in the moment. Mesmerized. That was what she was.

Joseph took her arms and placed them over his shoulders as the music changed. She had to reach up to keep them there and step closer. The man was incredibly tall, and she felt the power he possessed just below the surface. He was at least six feet to her five six. “Yes, you do look beautiful tonight,” he repeated as he gazed down upon her, taking in the ample cleavage revealed by the sagging neckline of her dress.

She found her voice. “Thank you,” she finally accepted the compliment finding her own voice raspy and seductive.

His fiery eyes gazed at her face, her hair, and then he looked down at her abundant bounty once more. He liked what he saw. And from the sound of her voice, she liked being in his arms too. He would definitely press his advantage and did so by pulling her closer so she could feel the attraction he felt for her.

The way this man was looking at her gave her confidence a boost. He was very attracted to her. That she could tell easily by his arousal pressed up against her. It made her feel powerful. That she could do that to him.

After leaving Boston, she had lost some of her nerve. But she hadn’t had much time for fun since she’d been back to Lantern Hill, or dates, or even nights out for that matter. Lately, she’d been wondering if she still had what it took to attract a man. When in college, she’d enjoyed her social life very much. But covered up by her uniform, and jeans and bulky sweaters around the house, she hadn’t had the occasion to dress up. She had to admit it felt good to do that again. And to dance. With a man. A very good looking one, who looked like he could eat her up, and not just the food she prepared.

“Real good.” He repeated. “And you are an amazing dancer, too.”

She gave him a shy smile. It had been a long time since a man complimented her on anything except her cooking. “You’re not too bad yourself.” Her voice came out a seductive purr, shocking even her. She was a bit rusty at this. But he hadn’t seemed to notice.

His only reaction was to pull her in even closer. “I’m so glad you are here. I was going to call you tomorrow. I wanted to get to know you better. Really better.” His suggestion caused her nostrils to flare. Her chest rising and falling.

“Is that so?” was her response. She tried to make it sound causal, but he could tell the woman in his arms wasn’t used to his blatant charms.

“I told you today I was going to call. I never lie.” His eyes were fierce. It made butterflies swarm in her stomach, and left her feeling breathless. His hands roamed down to her hips, and then just a bit lower to her legs, as he led her movements. She could barely think when those hands found the skin on her legs.

They continued to dance together, their bodies so in tune through the rest of the song. He’d seen his sisters start to return to the dance floor with Jewel’s friends, and figured it was his chance to get Jewel alone by buying her a drink. Get her talking before her friends and his sisters crashed the party. Plus, if she kept dancing that way, and rubbing her chest on his, he thought he might explode. That, or he’d take her upstairs this minute, and he didn’t think she was going to be that easy.

“A drink?” He offered as the song came to its conclusion.

She nodded her assent, and wet her lips with her tongue. He groaned, and stifled the urge to swoop down and take that tongue into his mouth, but she’d already turned towards the bar.

He followed her off the dance floor, passing his sisters and her friends. He gave them a quick wink and continued following the sexy woman he wanted to possess that evening.

Jewel looked dazed for a moment and paused while passing her friends, so Joseph pushed her ahead of him not giving her the chance to make the choice of rejoining them. Her slight delay might mean she was having a moment of doubt, and he didn’t want her to doubt where this night was headed. “Come on gorgeous, you must be thirsty,” he encouraged smoothly in her ear.

Jewel began to move. She was. So thirsty. This man had her hot.

At the bar she gave her order, and the bartender remembering his earlier order replaced his forgotten drink with a fresh one. He indicated to the bartender that he was taking the small booth beside the bar, and he led Jewel there. She slid in, and instead of sitting across from her, he surprised her by sliding in beside her. The bartender followed with their drinks and quickly disappeared. They now had some privacy in the crowded bar.