Chapter 14
Luke
By the time I make it back to the table, Nina is there and Sloan is back on the dance floor, looking smooth as butter as he and Jen move as one.
“Do a couple shots with me, then let’s dance,” Nina says, filling two of the small glasses.
“I’m too old for shots like this, Neen.”
She levels me with a gaze. “So, you’re telling me you’re back in the same location as Sloan Alexander, who looks good enough to suck dry right before fucking his brains out, by the way, and you’re going to spend the evening stone cold sober?
” She cocks her head to the side and her voice carries far more nonchalance than I feel right now.
“Christ, Neen. For someone who views him as a brother, that was quite an aggressive description,” I observe.
Her eyes dance with mischief. “I’m just trying to give you words for those thoughts dancing in your head, Major.”
My eyes widen. “What?” I force a laugh. “I’m as straight as an arrow, Nina.”
She leans in, pressing her breasts against my chest, telling me she’s already a couple shots in as she whispers in my ear.
“I interrogate prisoners of war for a living, Luke. If you want to lie to yourself, be my guest, but you can’t lie to me, and the way you look at that man tells me your arrow has more than a bit of a curve to it. ”
When I keep my denial to myself because saying it aloud would be pointless, she pats my shoulder and hands me the glass of clear tequila. I quickly proceed to throw back the liquor and hold my hand out for another.
“That’s what I thought.”
I choose to ignore her. Let her believe what she wants.
When we hit the dance floor, Nina heads straight for Jennifer who’s dancing with Beautiful Deceit’s bassist and his fiancée. Notably, Sloan is now absent. He and I are doing a dance of our own; a dance of avoidance. Careful not to spend more than thirty seconds in the same vicinity all night.
My heart sinks and I’m ready to call it a night.
Nina gives a small smile and wave and begins to dance a respectful distance away from me with the guy she found earlier.
What I really want is for her to grind her ass into me and give me a distraction.
I have half a mind to pull her to me but she is like a sister to Sloan and I and that makes it weird.
I continue scanning the club and my eyes finally find the brooding guitarist as he hovers on the edge of the dance floor under a sign pointing to the restrooms. He’s already looking at me when my eyes connect with his.
Self-conscious of my terrible moves and fully knowing that Sloan’s rhythm and musical prowess extend far beyond the guitar, I go completely still not wanting to make a fool of myself.
Subtly, he shakes his head and twirls his finger. Keep moving. It’s the same signal we used on missions and patrols.
I hate that even after all the bad blood between us, I still can’t tell him no.
I’m not a good dancer. Sloan tried to teach me his moves several times, but I’m not nearly as suave as he is and I failed miserably. Slowly, I start moving from side to side not even sure if I’m moving to the right beat … or any beat at all.
Suddenly, Sloan starts walking toward the dance floor as another memory cascades through my mind.
“You need to relax your shoulders. Dancing comes from your hips, Lucky. And stop bending your knees so much. You look like a toddler in a bouncy swing, for Christ’s sake.”
I groan. “You make it look so easy. I’m never gonna get a girl like this.”
“Here.” Sloan grabs my hands and plants them on his own hips. “Close your eyes and feel the way I move. Connect with the beat of the music. Don’t force it, let it flow through you.”
And for a brief second, I do. I feel everything.
The beat of the music is quickly drowned out by the beat of my heart.
I’m much too warm. This is my best friend.
A man. We’re soldiers. We live for guns, beer, and pussy …
so why are my balls tingling? Why are my fingers gripping him tighter?
Every pulse of his torso fires his obliques, which I can feel through his shirt.
Wait, how’d I get from his hips to his sides?
Fuck.
I drop my hands immediately. “I gotta go.”
“If it feels good, just go with it for a minute. See where it takes you.” He pauses and eyes me far too long before he brushes his fingers across my hand in the middle of the crowded club.
I wrench my hand away and snarl. “I’m not desperate enough for that shit. There is no dick on this planet that could convince me otherwise.”
He stares at me for a solid minute, the hurt in his eyes fully on display. “Good to know.”
If I’d known then that those words would put the first tear in the fabric of our friendship, I never would have said them. I had suspected Sloan was gay, or at least bisexual by then, and even though that moment sort of confirmed it, we never talked about it.
I wish I could pull my eyes from Sloan as he makes his way to Jennifer, but I’m incapable of doing so.
When she looks up and sees him, she gives him a sexy smile and holds out her hand.
Sloan grabs it and twirls her once putting her right next to me.
Jennifer latches on to Sloan instantly. Writhing, gyrating, and shimmying against him.
He really doesn’t have to do anything. She’d make him look good even if he were just standing still.
But he isn’t.
With his hand on her back, holding her to him, his hips dip and twist and roll like he’s part of the song. At one point, he has his hand under her knee and her leg is hooked around his waist.
I bet he’s fucked her like that before.
God, it’s hot in here. I need to tear my eyes away, but I can’t.
I wish it was me doing those things to her.
I’ve been a mess ever since she kissed me.
I’ve come to that memory more times than I’ve come with an actual partner in the last six months.
Of all the fucking women on the planet, I gotta have the hots for Sloan’s girlfriend.
Suddenly, Jen’s eyes are open and she’s watching me watch her. I see her turn to say something to Sloan whose eyes are dark and unreadable as they slam into mine. Looking at me he nods his head.
Before I can process what’s happening, Jennifer moves forward, rubbing herself against me.
She reaches her arms overhead and closes her eyes.
Lost in the way her body moves against mine, her thighs exposed, and her pleasure written on her face, I don’t pull away even though I feel the intense heat of Sloan’s gaze on me.
He told me to stay away from her, but she keeps putting herself in my arms.
I look at him and shrug my shoulders not knowing what else to do. Not dancing with this mesmerizing vixen seems rude.
He gives me a slight nod, telling me it’s alright and I smile, thinking I have the upper hand over Sloan for once.
But my grimace comes fast when he cocks a half grin back at me.
I know that look. And I should’ve known better than to think he wouldn’t retaliate in whatever fucked up game we’re playing right now.
Sloan moves in close, trapping Jennifer between us.
When he puts his large hands on her small waist, his long fingers brush my stomach with the motion.
Jennifer doesn’t open her eyes but she must know it’s him because she reaches behind her to place one hand on his neck and I feel her other hand on my ass, trying to move me in sync to their rhythm.
With her between us, I don’t mind Sloan’s presence.
I can tell myself he’s dancing with her, and I’m dancing with her, and we just happen to be close.
For the first time since reentering his life, Sloan’s face looks relaxed in my presence.
He looks younger, like the soldier I remember with the beautiful features before the sights of war and the stress of tour hardened them.
Just as I’m getting comfortable with his proximity, Sloan reaches around Jennifer and grabs my hands.
Before I can pull back, he places them on her ass.
Involuntarily, I squeeze and hear her groan. I also feel her push into me harder. I’m beginning to get overwhelmed with lust when Sloan’s hand lands on the back of my head and pulls my face toward Jennifer’s neck which is glistening with sweat.
“She likes to be sucked here,” he says, guiding me to a spot below her ear.
At the thought of his tongue on her, a flash of jealousy flares so quickly, it makes me dizzy.
I push it down — way down — and focus on the present.
Her ass under my hands and the taste of her salty skin under my lips has me climbing back up the on ramp at warp speed.
I look at Sloan over Jen’s shoulder and quirk an eyebrow in question, causing him to lean around her and speak directly in my ear. “If she’s going to insist on being allowed to play, you might as well make it good for her.”
I’m lost in the pleasure of her scent and flavor when I feel Sloan’s jeans brush across the backs of my hands. Even more, I feel his erection in those jeans as he moves his hips back and forth.
It must be the alcohol clouding my judgment because the fingers of my right hand straighten, reaching for the chance to graze him again.
As I discreetly reach for him, allowing myself a moment of curiosity, Jen places her hand between she and I, cupping me.
As she backs up to make room for her hand, she traps mine between her ass and Sloan’s crotch.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try focusing on the sensation of just her.
I double down on my efforts of licking and sucking her neck.
I’m exploring all of the flesh available to me, my angle so aggressive I probably look like a vampire trying to suck out her life force…
until all of a sudden, my tongue collides with someone else’s.
And it’s not Jen’s.