Bedding The Billionaire (Bedding the Bachelors Book 3) (6 page)

“None,” Jamie said, though he knew it wasn’t that simple. It was true, he didn’t regret being back working for the family business. Didn’t mean he didn’t miss teaching. “I have to be up early tomorrow morning to sign a few contracts. Go over some reports,” he said. “Then as soon as Brianne’s wedding is over, I’ll be jumping into things full force.” His family was getting ready to embark on a groundbreaking enterprise—revolutionizing the way airplane parts were produced in order to reduce how often they had to be replaced—and it was up to Jamie to convince an entire town to go along with it. Summitville wasn’t exactly in favor of Whitcomb Enterprises’s latest endeavor.

Actually, they weren’t in favor of
him
. Back in college, he’d dated the current mayor’s daughter, only to have the relationship end in disaster.

“Well, I’m going in,” Cole said, interrupting Jamie’s thoughts.

Cole stood up, and for a moment his massive frame completely blocked Jamie’s view. He was one solid block of muscle from head to toe. His arms were covered with tattoo sleeves, which he now adeptly hid under his business suits when he went to work. The rest of the time, like now, Cole wore a tee, leather vest, worn jeans, and biker boots. Combined with the tidy goatee he sported, he looked like the bad ass he was.

The music in the nightclub shifted beats, morphing into something fast and furious. Jamie saw Eric talking to several women. Despite the lustful gleam in the women’s eyes, he was probably regaling them with stories about his fiancée.

Jamie made his way over to them, but not before handing a couple hundred-dollar bills to the bartender, who gave him a look of gratification when he said he didn’t want change. Jamie didn’t believe in squandering money, but he tipped well. He knew the value of hard work, and when someone gave him excellent service—the way the bartender had made sure the bachelor party attendee’s glasses were full all night long—Jamie figured they deserved it.

Not everyone was fortunate enough to be born into wealth. His father had drilled it into his head—like the Spiderman saying, only with a twist: with great wealth comes great responsibility. And no one could ever say Jamie wasn’t responsible. His father had raised both him and his sister to understand that someone had worked hard for everything they had. That didn’t mean you didn’t enjoy it, but you never took it for granted.

When Eric saw Jamie, the other man excused himself from his admirers and rose to greet him.

“Tempted?” Jamie asked, nodding at the three women he’d been talking to.

“Don’t get me wrong—this night has been fun—but I’ve been true to your sister since we started dating, and that’s not about to change. In fact…” For a moment, his mouth pressed into a grim line before his expression cleared and he shook his head. “Your sister never has to worry where my loyalty lies.”

Of course, that was exactly what Jamie had expected to hear. Eric had been in love with Brianne since college. He hadn’t even wanted this damn bachelor party, but Brianne had insisted, saying she’d feel guilty about partying with her girls otherwise.

“I’m going to sneak out and give her a call. Cover for me with the others, would you?”

“Sure thing,” Jamie said.

As he watched Eric head out, Jamie imagined how pretty Brianne would be in her white wedding dress.

Lucy had mentioned several times she didn’t even believe in marriage. That hadn’t stopped him from falling for her. Idiot that he was, he’d told himself that an exclusive relationship would be enough…at first.

Jamie’s friend, Ryan Hennessey, a firefighter from San Francisco, walked toward him with a beer in his hand.

“Where’s the groom?”

“He went to get some air.”

Ryan took a healthy gulp of his beer. “Maybe I should join him. I’m not really feeling it tonight,” he said with a frown.

Jamie raised an eyebrow at his friend. “Let me guess. Annie?” he asked.

Ryan sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated, my ass. You’ve put Annie on a pedestal, Ryan, but that’s the last thing she wants…”

Ryan’s jaw clenched. “Drop it. Please. It’s not like you’re going after what you want—
who
you want anymore than I am.”

“Yeah. Well, talk about complicated. You know—”

“Hey, guys.”

Ryan and Jamie both turned to see Rhys Dalton, who wasn’t part of the wedding party, but had been invited to the bachelor party anyway. At least, Jamie was pretty sure it was Rhys. His identical twin brother, Max, was here as well, and Jamie sometimes still had a hard time telling him and his brother apart.

“Enjoying your night of freedom?” Ryan asked.

“There’s plenty of beautiful women here, but no one as beautiful as Melina,” Rhys said.

As if Rhys had conjured them, two extremely pretty ladies approached them. One was platinum blonde, her hair a color that didn’t actually exist in nature, and the other a brunette. They both had on high heels and short skirts and their long hair brushed against the tops of their practically bare breasts. They looked to be barely drinking age, if that.

“Hey, sexy,” the blonde said to Ryan, slurring that simple word. “How’d you like to buy a lady a drink?”

“If I were a betting man,” Ryan said, “I’d bet you’ve already had your fair share. I’ll tell you what though; I’ll buy you a bottle of water, any brand you like.”

Jamie hadn’t been paying attention to the other one and when he turned back she was on the stool next to him with her skirt riding up high.

Looking amused as hell, Rhys said, “Max and I need to talk about the big opening tomorrow before I head home. Have fun....” Jamie heard him laughing over the loud music as he walked away.

Jamie looked at Ryan, who was now completely holding up the swaying blonde. Then he spotted something over Ryan’s shoulder and immediately stiffened.

Near the entrance of the bar stood the club’s owner, a guy named Rick who Jamie had met once. He was a friend of both the Dalton brothers. Standing next to him with her arm around his waist, wearing the hottest little red dress on the planet, was Lucy.

“Excuse me,” he said. He took a step forward only to feel the brunette’s hand on his arm. One strap of her dress had fallen off her shoulder and her heavy right breast was threatening to escape the confines of her top. When Jamie looked back up, Lucy was looking right at them. Gently, he pulled himself free of the other woman’s grasp, leaving Ryan to contend with her and her friend. He immediately headed over to where Lucy stood.

“Hi,” he said.

Lucy smiled but her eyes were still on the two girls at the bar. “A little young for you, don’t you think?”

“A little young for anyone here. The blonde is wasted and trying to get Ryan to buy her more alcohol. I think she needs a warm glass of milk and a bedtime story instead.”

Lucy’s lips twitched.

“How are you, Luce?” he asked gently.

A shadow flickered in her gaze before she said, “I’m good. The funeral was really nice. I-I didn’t get to meet Milly, my niece, but I’m hoping that’ll change. That her aunt, Mason’s sister, will let me visit soon. I’ve called several times and asked to see her, but –”

Rick interrupted. “Great seeing you, Jamie,” he said. “Lucy, I’ll see you backstage in five.”

As the man walked away, Jamie asked, “Backstage?”

Lucy’s grin grew wider but it appeared strained. “Yep. Open Strip Night’s about to begin.”

And she was going to…what? Strip? “You can’t be serious.”

She frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve never stripped for an audience before. I think it’ll be fun.”

Fuck, he thought, his fists clenching. He couldn’t deny the idea of Lucy stripping for him would be hot. But the idea of her stripping in public…especially
tonight’s
public…

“Is this some kind of joke? Did you know I’m here with my friends?”

“Melina mentioned it…”

“So are you doing this to prove a point?”

“What kind of point?”

“That I don’t have any hold on you.”

When her eyes flickered, Jamie sucked in a breath. She
was
doing it to make a point. Maybe it wasn’t her entire motivation, but it was at least part of it. So what the hell did that mean? That she had something to prove to him? Or to herself?

“We both know you don’t have any hold on me, Jamie. You’re just a friend who helped me out when I needed you. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Jamie wanted to grab her arm and drag her outside. Push her up against the wall and kiss her—no,
fuck her
—until she admitted she cared about him and was deliberately trying to push him away. Until she begged him for release and another chance to be in his life.

Instead, he watched her walk away.

* * *

Several minutes later, Lucy stood back stage with her heart pounding so hard and so loud she suspected everyone else in the room must be able to hear it as well.

A couple of years ago, she’d used an article from the Huffington Post to get her students started on a debate. The question posed by the article was whether or not stripping empowered women. Her class ended up divided on the issue, with about half believing it did empower women, while the other half felt it was degrading.

Lucy’s opinion was it could be either one. In situations where women were powerless or abused, of course it could be degrading. But here in her friend’s club, where Lucy was choosing to bare her body for a crowd of men out to have a good time…well, the thought of stripping definitely made her feel empowered.

Lucy didn’t have any problems with nudity. She worked hard at staying fit and she liked knowing that men enjoyed looking at her. Moreover, the idea of Jamie watching her as she stripped turned her on immensely. She actually got wet just thinking about it. And when she thought of him getting aroused while he watched her…and thought of him jerking off as he replayed the memory of her taking off her clothes…well, it was almost enough to make her orgasm right there on the spot.

The only thing that put a damper on her excitement—and it was a huge thing—was the fact Jamie so clearly didn’t want her to strip. Not in public. Certainly not in front of his friends. And despite her bravado when she’d talked to him just now, she wasn’t sure she could actually do it.

He was such a good man and he’d been so kind to her.

But she kept telling herself she
needed
to do this. Needed to push him away. Needed to do something so dramatic that they’d forever be stuck in the Friend Zone. Right where they belonged.

She thought about him all the time. Seeing him again had hit her even harder than she’d expected. She knew that if she had a few drinks and lowered her inhibitions, she’d be all over him in a flash.

Then where would she be?

In a whole heap of trouble, that was for sure.

She needed to prove to him and to herself that she was free to do whatever she wanted and that there was nothing between them to tie her down.

And she needed to do it right now.

* * *

“Hey man, meet Maggie.” Cole said, the brunette he’d approached earlier on his arm.

“Nice to meet you, Maggie,” Jamie said even as he glanced back at the stage, where a limber blonde was finishing up her striptease. One woman had already gone before her.

Would Lucy be next or was it possible she’d changed her mind?

Fuck, he needed to get out of here. Get his friends out of here.

As the blonde left the stage to enthusiastic applause, Jamie turned to Cole. “We need to leave.”

Cole frowned. “Why? What’s wrong?”

He didn’t have a chance to answer before the music went on again.

A metal pole rose on the stage just as Lucy stepped out.

She was in disguise, but he recognized her immediately.

She wore a long blond wig that fell to her waist, a pair of skintight black leather pants, and a white button-up blouse. On her feet she wore black stilettos with what appeared to be an eight-inch heel. It made his tiny Lucy look like she was six feet tall. Across her eyes she wore a black Lone Ranger mask. As he watched, she began to move her hips in time to the music. He was spellbound by the contrast between the deep red of her fingernails and the white of her blouse as she opened each button one at a time, slowly exposing a sensual trail of skin interrupted only by a tiny little white lace bra.

Jamie shuddered at the memory of what she had hidden under that bra and he felt a tickle of anticipation in the pit of his belly. It was the same tickle he’d felt every time he’d been about to touch her flesh or brush his lips or tongue across her hard nipples.

She thrust her hips as she slowly turned around, facing away from a gathering group at the front of the stage. Men screamed and whistled, begging her to “take it off.”

She complied, letting the blouse slip down slowly to her wrists. She slipped off one sleeve and then the other before tossing the shirt into the audience. Her hips didn’t stop moving the entire time and Jamie could feel the tightness in his chest as he watched her and tried to remember to breathe.