IN OUR HOTEL room at the Omni, I rolled up my silk stocking and fastened it to the garter. Marsha had gone down the hall to get ice. We were having whisky on the rocks when she returned. She thought I needed some liquid courage before we ubered to the outdoor concert venue in nearby Fair Park. She was right. I actually contemplated chugging it straight from the bottle like Slash. Her backstage scheme was brilliant, but just thinking about it had me quaking in my brand new crystal encrusted lace demi bra and borrowed stilettos.
A door creaked but not the one in front of me that Marsha had used to exit our room. My heart leapt to my throat remembering the connecting door behind me. Gasping as a blast of chilled air billowed out my silk robe, I whirled around. Unfortunately, I lost my balance and pitched forward. On my way down, I caught a glimpse of a compelling man standing within the doorframe of the adjoining room. Landing on my hands and knees on the plush carpet, I lifted my head, dragging my eyes from the masculine feet before me, then up and up and up over impossibly long legs to an unhooked belt and half unbuttoned jeans. I would have lingered longer at the dark happy trail the low slung denim revealed, but the hot fantasy of the body above it beckoned. Wondering whether the view could possibly get any better than that sculpted fantasyland, I rocked back on my heels and craned my neck to discover that yes indeed it could…if you liked ridiculously handsome men with tousled black hair and dreamy blue eyes. He crossed his arms and leaned backward against the doorframe, a half smile playing on his full lips as I continued to stare at him from my subservient position. It finally dawned that I should be frightened rather than intrigued to be alone in my hotel room with a total stranger, no matter how breathtakingly gorgeous he was.
“Who are you?” I stood, feeling a little stunned as his glacier blue eyes melded with mine, but I lifted my chin. “And how…”
“What the hell?” Marsha exclaimed. The door to the outer hallway slamming into the wall, she stomped directly to my side in her thigh high black velvet boots and lifted the ice bucket above her shoulder as if she might throw it at the stranger if need be.
“I’m ok. It’s ok.” My friend’s more appropriate response to the intruder helped me regain my equilibrium. I pulled the edges of my robe together suddenly aware of every single inch of skin my lingerie revealed. Another glance at the sexy stranger revealed that he was aware of them too. His eyes darkened as they trailed over me.
"I’m sorry, Angel. I was looking for someone else.” His deep voice and his British accent sent my senses into another tailspin. “Apparently, she’s not here. Not that I’m complaining." He gave me a slow a lazy smile. His eyes danced beneath the angled bangs that kissed them. He held my gaze seeming reluctant to relinquish it. "My apologies…to both of you."
"Lucky,” a woman called from the other room.
He turned to glance over his shoulder giving me a glimpse of an exquisite tattoo. A Chinese dragon. Burnished gold and brilliant red, it started at his neck just under his ear, coiled artistically over one of his shoulders and spanned the width of his entire back, the flexing of his muscles animating the design.
"Give me a moment, Sky, my dearest." Lucky shifted his attention back to me, hooking his ringed thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans and gliding his gaze over me another time. Even though I had drawn the lapels of my robe together, my nipples tightened to points beneath his leisurely regard. A smug smile spread across his face. Arrogant bastard. He knew what he was doing to me with a look like that, and he had a woman in the other room. Yet here he lingered giving me a come-to-my-bed-I-promise-to-make-it-worth-your-while smile.
Bristling and uncomfortable with him making me feel things I didn't want to feel, I determined to ignore my body's reaction to him. I knew bad news when I saw it, and I was done with guys like him thinking they could gain the upper hand with me. "Get out of my room." My voice had a breathy quality to it that revealed too much.
“Why? Do you fancy coming to mine instead?”
“No, of course not,” I huffed. “I just want you to leave.”
“Is that what you truly desire, Angel?” Smile deepening, he cocked his head to the side.
"Yes." I planted my hands on my hips. "Don't make me call security."
"I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.” He ignored my threat. It didn’t seem to faze him. “Shall I use the same door next time?" He arched a raven hued brow. "When you change your mind, that is?"
"It will be locked."
"Perhaps I’ll knock then." He laughed, low and throaty. The sound of his amusement did crazy jumbly things to the inside of my chest.
“Who’s this?” A pretty brunette poked her head through the connecting doorway. Her eyes widened when she saw me. My expression of surprise mirrored hers but for a different reason. Though fully dressed in jeans and a tee, she was young, at least two or three years younger than I was. She might not have been legal age, more evidence of the type of guy I was dealing with if I needed any extra incentive to get rid of him.
“Get out.” I gestured to his room and moved to close the door on both him and his companion.
"Fine, Angel. I'll go." He chuckled as he walked backward. "Cheers and what not for now."
My fingers curling tightly around the cold metal handle, I slammed the door closed as soon as he was through it. I clicked the lock and exhaled a caged breath.
"I repeat, what…I mean who the hell was that?"
"I don't know." If not for Mars as my witness and the hyper-masculine scent of mandarin and rum that hung in the air, I might have been able to convince myself that I had conjured Lucky out of a men’s fragrance insert in the UK edition of GQ magazine.
She let out a disbelieving breath though her nose. "I leave for two seconds to get ice and you already have a guy on the hook. A sexy English one."
“I didn't..." I swallowed to moisten my dry throat. "It wasn't like that."
"It was exactly like that." She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "While you were in here playing let me drop to my knees and be your centerfold fantasy with our next door neighbor, I received a very interesting call from a rep at the Fringe. The radio station got wind of what we're doing. They’re giving us VIP access with permission to film and everything. The only difficulty for us now is going to be narrowing down your list of potential fuck buddies once we get into the after-party."