One to Love (One to Hold #4) (7 page)

“You need a matcha shake,” she shouted back. “It’s a whole-leaf green tea I’ve been using in my newer smoothies. Full of antioxidants, protein...”

Nodding, I shouted. “After the kale regimen. Why are you holding your breath?” Her expression was confused, and I released the button, continuing in a normal tone. “You said you were holding your breath.”

“Oh! Oh oh oh!!!” She bounced on her toes. “I’m so ticked at you, though.”

I took a sip of the sweet concoction and smiled again. “Then I guess I’ll never know.”

“You’re really happy today. It’s weird. Did you get laid?”

I almost choked on green smoothie. “
Shh!
Jeez, there are members right over there.” I nodded my head toward the open workout room.

She only passed a glance in their direction. “Well? Did you?”

“Sadly, no.”

“Don’t worry. The clock will be ticking on that problem once you see him... Only,
dammit!
Rook sent him on some overnight errand to Scranton.”

Jerking her ponytail, I leaned forward. “What are you talking about?”

“The new guy Slayde! The one you never told me about.”

“I never met him.”

Her eyes sparkled. “He’s not a trainer, he’s like a maintenance-handyman-janitor-badboy-sexgod. Rook’s got him doing all sorts of things, I guess ‘cause he has a truck, and his aura is totally smokin-red-hot.”

“Good for him.” I took another big gulp, as she studied me. I could tell she was thinking, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what.

“I think you’re patronizing me. Anyway, he hardly ever speaks, and when he does it’s usually something grumpy.” She reached for my cup, and I handed it over. Taking a sip, her eyebrows rose. “That’s really good. I need the recipe.”

“It’s on the notepad there. If you make it for anybody, you have to mention Veggi-Smooth. They donated the ingredients, and I’m not patronizing you. I can’t wait to meet this maintenance-badboy-janitor-nontalking-sexgod.”

She grinned. “Okay. But you
are
going out with me tomorrow night. You promised.”

“Who goes out on a Tuesday night?”

“Everybody! There’s this hot new bar that just opened on Water’s Edge.” She swept her long brown curls into a high ponytail. “We need to go there before it closes. You know Bayville can’t support a place like that. By the way,
your
aura is as purple as your hair... although it’s drifting toward red. You’re going to get lucky.”

My client, a new mother I was helping lose the baby weight, waved to me from the other side of the bar. She was fun, and I liked swapping baby stories with her.

I waved back, passing Mariska my smoothie. “Here, drink the rest. You know I love you, and I don’t believe a bit of that aura shit.”

“Tomorrow night. You wait. It’s going to change everything.”

* * *

T
he Cay was a brand new club that shined like a penny. Most of the dance clubs were in Toms River or Seaside Park, so it was a double bonus to have a place so close to home, even if Mariska predicted it would be closed in a month. I decided to live in hope. Inside, everything caught the light, from the new brass hardware behind the bar to the red vinyl on the barstools.

An enormous dance floor filled the center of the space, with disco lights and strobes bouncing off everything. Thick brass railings framed dancer cages suspended at the four corners of the floor, and a DJ booth was in the back center.

A second level housed rows of red-vinyl booths with small tables leading to balconies where patrons could look down on the floor below. It was impressively posh, and when we arrived at ten, it was steadily filling with Ocean County singles. It was also a far cry from the dusky, antique-beaded-curtain style of the Dancing Gypsy, which reminded me.

“Elaine took me to this amazing bar in Wilmington.” I shouted over the thumping dance mix as I took a sip of my Tequila Sunrise. “It was called the Dancing Gypsy. You would’ve loved it.”

“Sounds like it.” Mariska took a long sip of her Mojito. Tonight she was dressed in a short-short black sheath with a long, sheer spider-web-patterned overlay and ankle boots. “But wait—you said Elaine? I thought you didn’t think she liked you.”

“
Ugh!
” I shouted. “I was right about that, but I think we’re all good now.”

I turned my back to the bar and surveyed the crowd. I wore a short, smoky-blue dress with mile-high black stilettoes. A few potentially dateable males were scattered around the room, and I loved the return of my feelings of freedom. It had been so long since I’d gone out dancing with a friend and enjoyed myself without being wracked by guilt.

“You have
got
to tell me what happened this weekend, but first we need to enjoy this place.” I noticed Pete enter the club with two other guys. They were all dressed in jeans and short-sleeve polos, and they all went in different directions once they got inside.

Leaning into her ear, I spoke just over the music. “Heads up—Pete just walked in the door.”

Her lips pressed together, and we both turned to face the bar, moving our heads close together. “Did he see us?”

“Don’t know, but I’m thinking we’re kind of hard to miss. It isn’t that crowded yet.” I couldn’t resist teasing her. “I bet Pete’s
loving
your crush on the new guy.”

Straightening up to face me, she shook her head, eyes round. “Oh, no. It’s not a crush at all.” I frowned, but she continued. “I mean, Slayde’s definitely doable, and you know I love the wounded ones.”

“But?” I took the last pull from my drink as the bartender placed Number 2 in front of me.

“I like my injured ones sweet.” She took another hit of mojito while I paid for my second Tequila Sunrise. “Slayde seems like more of a biter.”

Snorting, I shook my head as I sipped my drink. “You probably said something about his aura, and it ticked him off.”

“It’s not true! I think I ticked him off when I tried speaking sign language to him.”

“What?!”

A swirl of warmth to my left, and Pete was with us, smiling down at Mariska. “Hey, sexy. I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”

The desire in his voice almost killed my buzz, considering what I knew about his chances. It was a shame, too, because Pete was hot—tall, muscular, with light brown hair and nice eyes.

“Hey, Pete, I’m going to dance,” I said, ignoring Mariska’s variety of facial expressions trying to get me to stay.

“Hey, Ken,” he called after me. “Like the hair.”

I did a little wave over my shoulder and plunged right into the sea of gyrating bodies. The DJ was playing loud dance music, and I closed my eyes letting it wash over me and take me out on a sea of techno. It wasn’t long before I felt the warmth of a body behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I met a perfectly white smile in a tanned face.

His eyes were a little hard to make out because of the brim of his cap, but he wore a black tank that showed off all his muscles and ink. He was straight-up sexy.

Turning to face him, I noticed he was wearing jeans and a loose gold watch on one arm. My eyes went back to his face. Bad-boy grin. I could work with this.

He leaned forward near my cheek. “I’ve been watching you all night. You’re like a pixie with that hair.”

Lifting my chin, my voice was coy. “Would that make you Peter Pan?”

His sexy grin grew a little bigger across his face, and large hands moved to my waist, pulling me closer. We were moving against each other now. It felt good, and I slid my hands up to his shoulders. He smelled good, like that after-shave everybody wears. Lemony. The song changed, and we kept dancing, our bodies rubbing together in a delicious way.

“I’m Grif. Or Griffin, whichever you prefer.”

I leaned forward so that my lips touched the skin of his ear. “You live around here?”

When I moved back for his answer, I saw his eyes sweep my body. “Nah, I’m just passing through. But maybe I’ll be back.”

The idea of traveling, just leaving everything behind and going, felt so seductive right now. “What do you do?”

“I’m in sales.” His hands moved up my ribs, and when they slid back down, his thumbs drifted across my stomach, sending a tingle through my core to my toes.

It was hot, and I was starting to feel sweaty, but I didn’t want to stop dancing. I took a big gulp of my drink instead. The song changed again, and a guy came up beside us.

Grif’s head snapped toward him. “Get lost.”

I didn’t like his tone, and somewhere thorough the haze of my tequila-soaked brain, it nudged a little trigger of caution. I chose to ignore it.
Check out, brain!
I was dancing with a hot guy with nice hands and a nice smile, and I wanted to taste those lips.

Mariska appeared out of nowhere to dance beside us. She leaned into my ear. “You okay here?” Wobbling back up, she looked straight into my eyes.

“Yeah!” My voice was maybe a bit too high. “I’m having fun. Thanks for taking me out tonight!”

She gave me a squeeze and started dancing with both hands over her head. I turned back to smile at Grif and caught his eyes moving over her body as well. I didn’t like the way he was checking her out, but at the same time, Mariska was a beautiful girl. Guys would be brain dead if they didn’t notice. I didn’t want to be with any brain dead guys. That made me laugh, and a third Tequila Sunrise magically appeared in my hand. I took a big gulp, and one of my favorite dance mixes came on. I jumped up and down squealing, only spilling my drink a little, when I noticed Pete was back.

He was so good-looking. He caught my friend’s hand, and I saw the way she blinked up at him. I wasn’t sure what number mojito she was on, but it looked like Pete might make it to third base tonight. Eight more beats, and he was leading her off to the side.

“It’s hot.” Grif’s loud voice jerked me back to where I was. He was lifting the front of his black tank and fanning it out in front of him, giving me a little peak at a nice six-pack. “Want to go down to the water and cool off?”

“Umm...” I scanned the club for Mariska. We had a standing deal never to leave any club without alerting each other. “I need to let my friend know where I am.”

He smiled with those perfect teeth. “We won’t be gone long. I doubt she’ll even miss us.”

He was probably right. I nodded, and took the large hand he offered me, following him out the back door and to the patio area. A wide staircase led straight down into the sand, and he caught my hand, leading me toward the water.

We started walking south, away from the club and toward the dim lights of Bayville. I let out a little noise with my exhale. “Whew! That is the most fun I think I’ve ever had in this town.”

I laughed, but Grif was strangely quiet. We kept walking a little ways, listening to the sound of the surf rolling in gently tonight, the dull thud of bass thumping softer behind us. I paused and reached down to remove my black stilettoes. When I did, I noticed a smaller, thin man was following us at a distance. Something about the way he looked made my stomach clench, but I tried to cover.

“So you’re a salesman? What do you sell?” They were the only words I got out before he grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me against the sand.

I tried to scream, but his mouth covered it. His hands were moving fast, ripping my skirt up and my panties down. Panic hit me hard, and all I could think to do was pull my knee up as fast as I could right into his groin.

He was late to block me, but I didn’t land a disabling strike. Still, it rolled him off long enough for me to pull my body to the side and crawl as fast as I could away from him.

“Let me GO!” I screamed, my voice ragged and hoarse.

He was right behind me, catching the back of my thigh and stopping my escape. I screamed again as loud and as long as I could, but we were too far from the club for anyone to hear me. Even if we were closer, I doubted anyone would notice over the loud thump of the dance music.

“Shut up, you little bitch.” He grabbed my mouth as he climbed up my body from behind. “Stop fighting and you just might enjoy yourself.”

His mouth was right at my ear, and I tried slamming my head back as hard as I could, going for his nose. He dodged the blow, and I only fell backwards onto his shoulder.

Shoving me forward, his thigh wedged between my legs, and my face jammed in the sand. I screamed again, trying not to inhale the grains that would choke me.

“STOP!” I screamed, but my voice cracked, and I sounded more like a child than a woman.

His fingers were inside me, and I screamed, pulling my knees under me and pushing my ass straight up, hoping to knock him off-balance. It didn’t work. He only held my waist against his erection. I could feel it straining to be inside me.

“Yeah, that’s right.” His voice was a low growl.

I was at the end of my rope. That little candle of happiness so recently lit inside me was crushed out.
How was this happening to me?
I started to cry, flailing my arms any way I could until he pinned them against my sides.

I screamed again, but my voice was almost gone. “You’ll be sorry!” I sobbed. “My big brother is military. He’ll track you down and rip your throat out. Then he’ll shove it up your ass.”

I struggled to twist against his arms, but he was too strong. A voice jolted me. It was the thin man who’d been following. “Grif, maybe you should let her go.”

He only paused, still holding my back against his chest in a vice grip. “Are fucking kidding me? Get the fuck out of here so I can nail this bitch.”

I screamed again, but his large hand covered my mouth. “Stop screaming, pixie. I just want a little of your sugar.”

My voice was now a whimper broken by sobs. “Please stop. Please.” I’d done everything I knew to do, and I’d lost. He was going to take what he wanted, and there was no way I could stop him.

He jerked my thighs open, and my head dropped forward, eyes closed. Every muscle in my body braced for his invasion. Just then I heard the faint squeak of feet on damp sand. A loud
CRACK!
was right at my ear, and my attacker’s grip loosened.

Another
CRACK!
and his fingers roughly jerked my arms as he dropped to the sand, flat on his back. I fell forward on my hands and knees, shaking. It was dark, but I could make out a slim male figure standing over Grif, breathing fast.