Full Moon (5 page)

Lance was built like a two-ton brick house. Yowza. If Shelly wasn’t so obviously smitten, Josie would have asked for an introduction and started working on her next full moon, but there was no denying that Shelly had it bad for the guy.

Lance put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, drawing Josie’s—and Shelly’s—attention to his muscular thighs. Shelly pinched Josie’s leg under the table, in the time-honored
Oh my God, he’s talking to me
girlfriend tradition. Josie tried not to laugh.

“I thought that was you. I didn’t know you hung out here.”

Shelly’s face turned even redder and Josie wished there was some way she could pump her friend up with a big-ass dose of self-confidence. “I—I don’t. This is actually my first time here.”

“You want to dance?”

Shelly looked panic-stricken, but Josie wasn’t going to let her friend blow this chance. Lance was fucking hot. “She’d love to. Shelly’s an amazing dancer.”

Her friend frowned, but Josie wasn’t deterred. “I’m sure Jake won’t mind keeping me company until you get back.”

Shelly hesitated, then took the bait, assuming Josie wanted to be alone with Jake. And while that was partially true, she also wanted her best friend to have some fun, maybe even get laid. If she wasn’t mistaken, Josie was definitely detecting some interest from the kickboxing instructor.

Lance grasped Shelly’s hand and led her to the dance floor. Jake took the seat she’d vacated.

“I was sort of kidding,” Josie said, when Jake pulled the chair closer. “If you’re busy, I’m perfectly fine by myself.”

“Trying to get rid of me?”

“No. Of course not. I know you’re working. All I meant was—”

“I’ve been hoping you’d come back for nearly a month, Josie.”

“You have?” Her heart raced at his admission. Nice to know her obsession with Jake didn’t appear to be one sided.

“I noticed you checking out Lance.”

She tried to decide if there was a tinge of jealousy in Jake’s comment, but his expression gave nothing away. The man had a killer poker face.

“You know him?”

Jake nodded. “He comes in a couple times a month. He’s good for business.”

Josie narrowed her eyes. “How so?”

“Women take one look at him and start drinking more to get up their courage to approach him. I have to admit I’ve never actually seen him ask a woman to dance. It’s usually the other way around. He must like your friend.”

Yes! Please God let that be true
. Shelly deserved some happiness. And hot sex. Josie took a second to find Shelly and Lance moving along with a fast techno beat. She hadn’t been lying about Shelly’s dancing skills. She had some amazing moves, which—thank God—she was currently pulling out. For the first time, Josie truly noticed the subtle changes that had been taking place in Shelly lately. Her shy friend was getting bolder, more confident. It was a good look for her.

Jake leaned closer, resting his arm on the back on Josie’s chair. “You know, I’d be willing to pretend we’re strangers again if you’re looking for another hookup.”

She laughed. “Nope. No strangers tonight.”

“Damn.” Jake lifted her glass and took a sip of her bourbon, not bothered by her answer. He really did look happy just to see her. Josie pressed her legs together, forced to acknowledge how turned on she was by him. So much for beginner’s luck. Or a fluke. The attraction between them still raged on.

Unable to resist teasing him, she leaned forward. “Tonight’s full moon is sex in public.”

Jake choked on the drink and put the glass back down. “In public?”

She nodded.

“What the hell do you mean by full moon?”

Josie considered avoiding the question, but there was no harm in telling him the truth. She explained about her list and her desire to fulfill the fantasies.

“So what’s on the list? Besides the stranger danger and PDA ones.” Jake was exactly as she’d remembered him. Unflappable, fun, funny.

She shook her head. “I’m afraid the contents of the list are privileged information. If I told you, I’d have to fuck you.”

Jake grasped her shoulder, pulling her closer. “I’d have no problem with—”

“Jake?” A waitress stood by their table. She pointed to a couple of loud drunks by the door. “I think we might have trouble. You wanna take care of it?”

Jake sighed. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be right over.”

The waitress went back to work.

Jake leaned closer, whispering in her ear. “If you don’t have any luck with number two on the list within the next hour, come find me.”

Josie didn’t have a chance to respond before Jake rose and went to address the problem by the entrance. She took a sip of her drink, hoping it would calm her down. It was suddenly quite warm in the bar.

Josie watched Shelly and Lance dance, then gazed around the room. The place was crowded and there certainly wasn’t a shortage of men hanging around, either drinking alone or standing in large groups.

She spotted one large table across the room. It appeared the men were all out for a bachelor party. She found the groom-to-be instantly. The party must have been going for a while because the man had at least a dozen empty shot glasses in front of him. His friends were sending him out of bachelorhood in style. She slowly studied each of the men at the table, silently trying to decide which were married, which were mama’s boys, which were playboys.

Josie had never paid much attention to the opposite sex. Tony had been her first boyfriend. She’d fallen fast and hard for him toward the end of their junior year in high school and she’d convinced herself she was lucky. She’d honestly believed she’d found her soul mate at sixteen.

She closed her eyes wearily. The silly romantic girl she had been was long gone, leaving Josie struggling to figure out what her beliefs regarding love were now. Since the divorce, Josie had concentrated on setting up a new home for her and her son, working long hours to pay the bills, and avoiding the dating scene as much as possible because she refused to open up a revolving door of men in Tommy’s life.

She remembered too well how painful it was when her mother would bring home a new boyfriend, include him in every aspect of their lives, then yank him out again after the break-up.

Josie wouldn’t—couldn’t—do that to Tommy. The full-moon list had been created to protect him. And her.

So while she was tempted by Jake’s offer, she wasn’t sure she should accept it. She’d thought about the handsome bartender too many times the past few weeks. If she had sex with him again, wasn’t she sort of tempting fate and running the risk of developing feelings for him?

As tough as she tried to pretend she was, Josie knew when it came to matters of the heart, she was way too soft.

A man lingered at the edge of the dance floor by her table and gave her a friendly smile. It wouldn’t take much effort on her part to show interest, to invite him over.

Josie glanced over her shoulder and watched Jake deal with the two drunks by the door. Apparently a fight had been brewing between them, but somehow Jake had calmed the waters. They were laughing at something Jake had said. She smiled. Then she ignored the stranger and stood up, approaching Jake just as the two men shook his hand and said goodbye.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Jake glanced at his watch. “It’s only been fifteen minutes. Are you coming to give me the brush-off?”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t want to wait an hour.”

Jake’s eyes darkened with lust and her body responded instantly. “Come with me.”

She accepted Jake’s proffered hand.

Jake stopped by the bar, told Sam he was taking a break. Sam caught sight of her next to his boss and smiled. “Hey, Josie.”

She waved, unable to muster any embarrassment at Sam’s knowing wink. Had Jake been talking about her? He’d mentioned looking for her this past month. Perhaps he’d included Sam on the bourbon and Diet Coke prowl, enlisting help in his search.

If that was true, then not only was she running the risk of becoming too attached to the handsome bartender, she could hurt Jake as well. Because her game plan hadn’t changed. There wasn’t room in her life for a boyfriend. She had reacted without thought, coming to Jake with no real strategy. Once again, where Jake was concerned, she found herself letting her libido do the thinking.

“Where’s Shelly?”

Shit. Josie had forgotten all about her friend. Leave it to Jake to be the considerate one. Josie had let her body take over and wipe away all traces of common sense and courtesy. He led her to the edge of the dance floor and Josie waved, capturing Shelly’s attention. She gestured to Jake and pointed to the back door.

“Full moon,” she mouthed.

Shelly grinned and held up her finger. “One hour?” Though Josie couldn’t hear Shelly’s voice, she could read the words on her lips.

Josie nodded slowly.
Damn. One hour? Will that be enough time?

Jake, who had watched the exchange, chuckled and echoed her thought. “I guess we’ll have to make the most of this next hour, then.”

She let him pull her away from the crowded floor. “This is the last full moon for us, Jake.” She wasn’t sure why she’d felt compelled to make the pronouncement, but she didn’t doubt for a moment, the words were meant for her, not him.

He released her hand, wrapping his arm around her waist. “We’ll see.”

She wanted to dig in her heels, fight him on that point before they went any further. She needed to make him understand that this would definitely be their final night together. It had to be.

Unfortunately, her physical needs kept her quiet and she didn’t say anything. Instead, she followed him to the back exit. They stepped out into a dark, somewhat-secluded alley. While the area was shadowed and not well-traveled, anyone could walk along—either from the street, the exit they’d just used or from the back door of the building adjacent to Blue Moon.

Jake let her take in their surroundings for a minute or so before asking, “Public enough?”

There was an undeniable thrill attached to the knowledge that anyone could come along at any moment. The chance of being caught combined with Jake’s hungry look was intoxicating. Perfect. “Yeah. It is.”

“Too cold?”

It was mid-February and there was a brisk breeze blowing. Regardless, after spending nearly an hour in the overheated club, the cool air felt good on her skin. Maybe the chill would clear her head, convince her this wasn’t such a good idea. She was starting to like Jake way too much.

Before she could reconsider, he pressed her against the back wall of the bar and kissed her. Josie melted into him as memories of their first night together drifted back to her. She hadn’t imagined any of it. He was an amazing kisser.

Jake took possession of her mouth like a man on a mission. She wrapped her arms around his neck, savoring the sweet taste of soda on his tongue. He was yummy and she wanted more.

His hands drifted to her jacket, parting it to squeeze her breasts through her sweater. He was rougher than she remembered, his passion fueling her own. She gripped his hair tightly when it appeared he’d stop kissing her, pulling his lips back to hers.

Jake groaned, so she pulled harder. Her aggression turned him on. He slipped his hands beneath her sweater and pinched her nipples.

Her head flew back against the wall as the sensual assault drove her higher. Her pussy grew wet. Or wetter. Her arousal had sparked and fired the moment Jake had whispered his invitation to fulfill her fantasy at the table.

“I want you so much,” she muttered against his cheek when his lips traveled along her throat, his tongue and teeth toying with her earlobe.

“What’s the next full moon?”

Josie’s fingers dug into his shirt and she struggled to understand his question. “What?”

Jake was still kissing her neck, his hungry nips and sucks driving her crazy. Her neck was a serious erogenous zone and Jake was using that knowledge against her.

“What’s next month, Josie?” His tone was darker, more demanding.

She struggled to remember the next item on the list. “Um, anal? I think.”

He growled—an honest to God growl—and her nipples tightened, her pussy clenched. She’d never been with such a physically sexy man. It made her feel reckless, thrilled.

“Mine.” He punctuated the declaration with a red-hot exclamation point when he lifted her skirt, pushed aside the string of her thong and shoved two fingers inside her cunt.

“Holy fuck. Yes.” Her hips thrust forward, trying to push him deeper, but Jake refused to move.

“Say it, Josie. Say the next full moon is mine.”

She frowned, trying to pull away from him, to recapture her wits. “I told you, I—”

“The next one is mine or you don’t get tonight’s.”

She gasped for breath when he began driving his fingers inside her. It was too much. And nowhere near enough. She wanted his cock. “Jake, stop. Please. I need you. Now.”

His hands stilled. “I’m just asking for a fair exchange. Give me what I want and I’ll fuck you senseless against this wall.”

He grazed her clit with his thumb. Just a touch and it was gone.

“You’re cheating.”

His face softened. “I can’t be fair when it comes to you. If I give you this fantasy, there’s not a doubt in my mind you won’t be back. You don’t want to give me your phone number, fine. You’re looking for something you can control, something casual, I get it. So I’m taking what I can. I want you to promise me the next full moon.”

His words pierced deeply, cut cleanly through the blanket of painful memories she’d wrapped herself in to keep herself safe, to preserve her from making the same mistakes. He’d managed to touch a part of her soul she thought was dead and found a way to make her hope for a happy future, love, companionship.

“Fuck,” she muttered, fighting to batten down the hatches again. This was why she should have stayed away. And exactly why she couldn’t. “Fine. It’s yours.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise you can have the next full moon.”

A smile so genuine covered Jake’s face, wiping away all her doubts.

He kissed her again as he slowly pulled his fingers out.

She heard the zipper of his pants lower, then the crinkle of a condom. She didn’t bother to open her eyes. Instead, she let herself fall into the beauty of his lovely kisses as his lips consumed hers, then her cheeks, her forehead, her neck. He was everywhere. Surrounding her with warmth and peace.