Stone Lover (3 page)

  
“I can’t believe you wore that,” Vanessa teased as Melanie sat down at the table. The popular bar was already crowded with revelers but somehow Vanessa still managed to snag a table. It wasn’t surprising, considering how gorgeous the model-thin blond was, what with her mile-long legs and movie-star face. “What happened to the outfit I picked out for you?”

    Melanie smoothed her hands down the front of her shimmery silver button-down blouse than over the gray, cigarette skirt covering her thighs that flared out at the bottom. It was very reminiscent of the glamor of the 1940’s and she had fallen in love with it when she had seen it in the vintage clothing shop a few weeks back; she had bought it without a second thought. It was the perfect outfit to welcome in the New Year and she even attempted to style her hair in a French twist to complete the look. Giving Vanessa s honeyed smile, she shrugged, “I prefer clothes that hint at my feminine charms.”

    Vanessa snorted, taking a drink of her vibrant cocktail. “Please; if your feminine charms were any more hidden, dust would billow out from between your thighs every time you walked.”

    “As compared to the well-oiled sex machine presented by your scrap of material pretending to be a dress?” Frankie piped in as she joined the two girls, laughing at Vanessa’s choice of dress that blatantly screamed her sexuality. The dress was backless, sleeveless, and ended just beneath Vanessa’s butt. Of course, Vanessa could pull off the barely-there dress, reveling in all of the attention it garnered her.

   “Oh, ha ha,” Vanessa laughed, letting her eyes take in Frankie’s outfit, which was somewhere in between Melanie’s old school glamor and Vanessa’s sex on two legs. Frankie’s red curls were pinned up in a sloppy bun and she was wearing a sexy black dress than emphasized her lush curves. She was nearly as gorgeous as Vanessa and enjoyed flirting even though she was utterly devoted to her fiancé.

    Vanessa, on the other hand, was up for anything and that was one of the reasons Melanie adored her; Ness insisted on making her have fun when she’d rather be curled up in her bed with a good book or daydreaming in the middle of a field of flowers. The three of them had been friends since high school, along with Melanie’s sister Jenna. Of course, since Jenna had Ferris, she rarely went out.

    Frankie placed a glass of something in front of her and Melanie took a sip: a non-alcoholic margarita. “Thanks.”

    “I have learned my lesson that it is never a good idea to get my fanciful friend drunk,” Frankie grinned, putting an arm around Melanie’s shoulders. “Alcohol has the weirdest effect on you.”

    Melanie sighed dramatically then ruined it with a wide grin. “It’s not my fault that I see fairies and imps after a glass or two of wine.”

   “Thankfully I don’t have that problem,” Vanessa said as she slammed the rest of her cocktail down and waved over a waiter to order another. With a wicked smile, Vanessa waggled her eyebrows, “I fully expect to crash at your place tonight, Lenni; I insist on sharing your bed.”

    “Only if you promise to behave yourself.” Melanie arched a delicate eye brow, sipping her drink. “No making moves on your friend.”

    “Ah, come on,” Vanessa stuck out her lower lip, teasingly running her fingers along Melanie’s shirt collar and smiling provocatively. “Let a girl have some fun. Hey! I know; you can embark on a hot, passionate affair with me.”

    “And ruin a perfectly good friendship with sex?” Melanie shook her head in dismay, playing with the umbrella from her drink and twirling it in her fingers. Feigning regret, she heaved a sigh and looked at Vanessa, “It would never work; I’m completely straight.”

    “Well, as long as you don’t go back to Peter,” Frankie interjected randomly from out of the blue. As if that was even a possibility; both she and Peter were much happier apart than they ever were together.

    “You know, I always wanted what you and Peter had; I don’t understand why you broke up with him.” Vanessa’s slender shoulders slumped forward and she became oddly introspective; it was too early in the evening to be so maudlin. “He’s such a great guy and I’d fuck him in a heartbeat.”

    Melanie had to smile at that; Vanessa had always had a soft spot for Peter, who, unfortunately, thought very poorly of her. He had often told Melanie that he thought Vanessa was a promiscuous slut who was heading towards ruin; he just knew she was going to end up with a disease or something. Melanie would just shake her head and ignore him; Vanessa was a grown woman and she knew what she wanted and went after it with abandon. “It’d be okay with me if you guys went out, you know.”

    Frankie snorted, “Like Peter would go out with Ness after she’s slept with half of the guys in our high school class; he’s such a freaking prude.”

     Heightened color stained Vanessa’s cheeks as she straightened her spine and glared at Frankie, “I’ll have you know that….”

    Whatever Vanessa said was lost to Melanie as three of the most gorgeous men in the universe stalked into the bar; overwhelming the space with their presence. But it was the one in the middle, the golden one, that had Melanie rethinking her vow to keep her one night stands limited to gargoyles. He looked like an angel, with a face that was carved by a master and framed by a halo of dark gold hair. With harsh cheek bones that begged to be caressed and a straight nose that flared slightly as he looked at her, he reminded Melanie of a powerful lion. Slashes of dark gold formed his eye brows and his lips were full and luxurious; succulent lips that were eminently masculine and kissable; she wanted to feel them on her body….

    And he had a body that was absolute perfection: sleek, carved muscles that stretched around his bones; broad shoulders that were made for holding onto, a narrow waist for wrapping legs around. She drank him in, absorbing the raw masculinity that oozed from his every pore.

    Even though he dominated the room with his mere presence, he seemed strangely out of place, not quite a part of the world he commanded. His burnished gold hair was pulled back, giving his untamed nature the illusion of civility. Clothes that were tailor made for his hard body seemed wrong; he should be naked, always naked. There was something so familiar about him even though Melanie knew she had never met him before in her life; she would have remembered meeting someone like him. It was almost as if he had always existed and she was created for him.

    But that was ridiculous. If she were thinking straight, she would have realized sooner that he reminded her of the gargoyle she had fallen in love with the night before. And that was even more ridiculous; he was a man, the same as any other.

    She looked at his muscular body, his magnificent face and blushed slightly; perhaps not like any other man. He was hot, sweaty nights and long, sweltering days all wrapped up in one luscious package; he could make a woman purr with a single word, he could make her melt with a single look.

    He sat down at a table only a few feet away, his eyes slowly moving across her face. And he was looking at her as if he was starving and she was the feast. Her body reacted accordingly, preparing to be feasted upon.

    “Lenni,” Vanessa’s loud whisper poked at the edge of her thoughts. She knew she was staring but she was unable to help herself; he was divine. But it was more than his looks; his companions were just as handsome. Her gaze briefly touched on the two men sitting with him, taking in the dark expression of the black-haired man, the amused expression of the auburn haired man, before dismissing them. Her eyes returned to the golden man and while she tried not to stare, she couldn’t tear her gaze away.

    She had never had such an explosive reaction to anyone before; her body felt vibrantly alive and her skin was stretched too tight over her bones, her pulse was racing and her brain was re-wiring itself as she continued to stare. His gaze slammed into hers and the world around her disappeared and she lost herself in a sea of gold, losing her heart to a stranger.

    Of course, it wasn’t really her heart; a person didn’t fall in love at first sight – that was just a myth. Lust but not love and Melanie definitely lusted, she lusted painfully hard. If she didn’t get a drink, she was going to spontaneously combust right in the middle of the bar and they would be scooping pieces of her off the ceiling for days. It would ruin her perfectly lovely outfit.

    Grabbing Frankie’s wrist, she stood up, “Yeah, I think we should go dance; I love this song.”

    When her friend didn’t budge, Melanie turned her head and looked at her. Frankie was looking back as if she had grown a third eye, right in the middle of her forehead. “Lenni, you hate this song; I think you called it the worst piece of crap ever to be forced upon the unsuspecting masses.”

    Melanie paused, tilting her head to the side and actually listened to the song that was playing. Sappy, crappy, digitized vocal, pop torture. Cringing, she made a face, “Damn. I do hate this song. Maybe we could get a drink or two. Or six.”

    “You don’t drink,” Vanessa smirked even as she stood up and smoothed the short dress over her perfect butt. Grabbing her purse, she looped her arm through Melanie as Frankie took the other arm and the three of them slowly made their way to the bar. “Was he a little but too much man for you?”

    Melanie could have pretended not knowing what Vanessa was talking about but she could still feel his eyes burning a hole through the back of her shirt and so she simply nodded, making the other two girls laugh. Squeezing her arm companionably, Vanessa leaned in, “I could take the red head; I would have offered to take the black haired man but I don’t think even I have the ability to make that man happy.”

    Melanie chuckled as her body slowly returned to normal; she didn’t think her brain had had enough time to completely re-wire itself and she hoped that whatever damage that was done would revert once she was away from the golden archangel for a long enough period of time. Leaning across the bar, she shouted out, “An Explosive Orgasm, please.”

    The bartender gave her a knowing smile and she finally heard the words that came out of her mouth. Before she could take it back, he had set a shot glass in front of her and was pouring the contents of two bottles into it. Warily, she eyed the drink and leaned forward. The bartender leaned forward as well, meeting her halfway. In a hushed voice, she asked, “What’s in it?”

    “Banana liqueur and peach schnapps.” He was laughing at her but she didn’t care.

    “Ooh, that sounds good,” Frankie said, pushing up to the bar next to Melanie. “I want one of those, too.”

    “Me, too,” Vanessa chimed in, squeezing in on the other side. The bartender’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he caught his first glimpse of Melanie’s stunning friends. Wordlessly, he poured the drinks, his tongue probably forgetting how to work.

    Laughing, the three girls took their shot glasses and cheered before slamming the sweet drink down. The alcohol burned through her esophagus all the way to her belly and Melanie shuddered, making a strange sound as her entire body jerked. “Bleck! Wow, that was strong.”

    “Lightweight,” Frankie chuckled affectionately, ordering another round. If Melanie weren’t careful, she was going to get drunk and who knows what would happen should her dream man strike up a conversation. Even without alcohol or talking to her, he made her feel like peeling the clothes from his luscious body and licking every inch of his skin.