Wicked: Leather and Lace [Wicked Series Book 2] (2 page)

"Come on, Roxy. I can practically see you working this all out in your head. Just think of how much sweeter his fine ass will be when he's begging for it."

Roxy looked back at Holly. She had to admit it would be a sweet victory if Luke pursued her instead of throwing herself at him. Where was the challenge in that anyway? And according to what Holly said, the man never worked for it. Maybe he should. “One day. If he doesn't take the bait and saunters off to one of those harpies, I'll kill you in your sleep."

"Deal,” Holly laughed. “Trust me. Luke will be falling all over himself if you just play it cool."

"He better,” Roxy said.

"Trust me. It's a done deal."

"I'm going to kill you so hard, Holly. He's leaving."

Holly frowned when Roxy practically growled at her before turning her head to watch Luke walk out of the bar. She glanced at Devin. The small twitching in his jaw let her know he wasn't happy about something. “Don't move. I'll find out what happened."

Roxy sighed, shaking her head before gulping down her drink. “Don't throw yourself at him, Roxy,” she mumbled. “Let him beg for it. Great advice, Holly. No, really. I couldn't have planned it better myself."

Running a hand through her hair, Roxy pushed her empty glass across the bar and motioned for another.

"Devin pissed him off."

"You think?” Roxy said, taking her drink when the bartender slid the glass to her.

"They've been at each others throats for a week now. Curt, their manager, has them all on lock down, sequestered in the hotel so he can keep his eye on them before the tour starts, and Luke has been bitching about it all week since they all live here. Anyway, Devin said they're suppose to do some publicity thing at this club down town tonight so..."

"So what?"

Holly sighed. “Luke will be there and so will we. You've got all the access to the man you want. This gives you the rest of the day to plan your attack."

Roxy smiled at the huge grin covering Holly's face before shaking her head. “Fine, but if this backfires..."

"Trust me on this, Roxy,” Holly laughed. “Now, do you have anything sexy for tonight's party?"

"I have a few things but nothing that'll stop him in his tracks."

"Well, this
is
New York."

"That it is,” Roxy grinned. “Shopping trip?"

"You know it!"

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Roxy glared at the girl who practically pushed her down the steps of the club before turning back to scan the crowd. The crush of bodies inside the building was thick. She'd never seen so many people in such a small space. Not that the club was small. It was larger than any she'd been in at home, but with this many people, moving around was almost impossible.

The music was loud, colored lights flashing off the walls, and the smell of sweat and perfume hung heavy in the air. It was exactly the kind of atmosphere she needed to take full advantage of her plan to seduce Luke Harris and leave him begging for more. That is if the groupies didn't beat her to him.

Scanning the tables and booths along the back wall, it wasn't hard to spot the guys. The mass number of ladies crowded into the corner told her exactly where the band members from
Wicked
were.

She inhaled deeply, ran a hand down the front of her dress to smooth out the wrinkles and gave her hair a light toss. “Do I have lipstick on my teeth?"

Holly smiled at Roxy's enormous grin, while she showed her teeth. “No. Do I?"

"No,” Roxy said. She straightened her spine, threw her shoulders back and looked at the guys. “Well, let's get this show started. I didn't fork out a thousand dollars for this dress to let the groupies drool all over it."

Holly shook her head. “You're an idiot for spending that much money on one dress."

"Probably, but as long as Luke finds me irresistible, its money well spent."

Maneuvering through the throng of people was easier said than done but Holly caught Devin's attention without so much as raising a finger. The man must have some sort of radar where her friend was concerned. They'd barely started across the floor when the group of people hovering around the band parted like the red sea. Six massive men, bodyguards apparently, cleared an isle from the table to the dance floor where they stood. Roxy locked eyes with the gray-eyed devil she came to tempt and took her time walking toward him.

When the crowd surrounding the table parted, Luke turned to see who was joining them and froze. The voices around him died to a low rumble. The only thing registering was the goddess walking straight toward him, her gaze locked on him.

Long, dark hair spilled across her shoulders in waves of chocolate brown. A light pink dress, overlaid with body clinging white lace, wrapped around her curves like a second skin. A narrow waist, wide hips and long tanned legs barely covered by the short skirt greeted him. He smiled while his gaze feasted on every inch of her he could see.

He glanced up at her face and was surprised when he recognized her. Holly's friend. This couldn't be the same girl from the hotel bar but it was. He'd seen her moments after she walked into the room earlier in the day. Dressed in what looked like a business suit, she walked with a self-confidence not many women had, her chin lifted arrogantly as she glanced around the room, and he smiled as he watched her.

She'd glanced at him once and his smile was met with one that let him know she wouldn't turn him down. Not that any woman ever had but there was always a first time for everything. As he watched her sit across the room, her back ramrod straight as she nursed a drink, he'd taken it upon himself to loosen her up a bit. Literally. That certainly wasn't the woman he was seeing now, though. This woman, with her large doe eyes and curves that could stop traffic, screamed sex.

His smile grew.

She reached the table, her gaze lingering on him long moments before she turned when Devin spoke to her. Luke watched her, imagining how she'd feel wrapped around his body before a light touch to his face caught his attention.

The blonde, Cathy? Candy? ... sitting next to him smiled, her hand sliding down his chest to rest high on his thigh. She was attractive, her large breast spilling from her low-cut red dress and come fuck me eyes just begging him to take her, but she was one of hundreds just like her. He could find them in every town. In every crowd, and they were all just as easy to find. The fact she was sitting there draped all over him proved it.

He gave her a smile before turning back to the girl now sitting across from him. She was looking at him again. He'd seen that look a thousand times. When he'd seen her earlier in the hotel bar, he had no idea how easy she would be to seduce. Now he knew. Holly's friend was as good as laid and by the looks she was giving him, they wouldn't even make it back to the hotel.

He leaned back, draping one arm across the back of the bench and tilted his head to watch her as Devin introduced Christian and Mick to her. She looked away from him, leaning forward to speak to them. Her dress had small, thin straps, her shoulders practically bare, and cut low enough in the front to give him a glimpse of soft, warm breast. She was tanned a golden brown and from what he could see, not a tan line anywhere.

When Devin introduced him, she turned her head back to him and smiled.

"We've met,” she said. “Sort of."

She glanced to his right, at the blonde who was taking advantage of his outstretched arm and snuggling against his side, before lifting a curious brow.

He grinned. “Yes. We were quite rudely interrupted today,” he said, darting a quick look to Devin. “I didn't catch your name."

"Roxy Carlisle."

"Roxy."

Her name on his lips caused a shiver to race up Roxy's spine. He was staring at her, one corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile but his eyes were what held her attention. How could one look reduce her to a quivering mess? Her insides felt like someone had shaken her up and sat her down too quickly. Her heart was racing and the man hadn't done anything other than say her name. Lord, he would probably be the death of her. One touch and she'd combust.

The crowd around them grew, the noise level along with it, and Roxy had a hard time distinguishing between what one person said and the next. She tried to follow the conversations happening around her and keep one eye on Luke (just so he'd know she was interested) without coming across as some freaky stalker who couldn't stop staring at him ... much like the vibes the blonde hanging on to him was giving off. The girl looked like she was glued to his hip. She alternated between staring up at him and looking around at the others at the table to make sure everyone knew she was snuggled up to the hottest thing there. Roxy wanted to rip her eyes out for that fact alone. That should be her snuggled up to the man, not some blonde bimbo who would probably warm his bed that night. The thought made her queasy. Why had she agreed to Holly's stupid plan?

When Luke turned to the blonde and flashed her a panty-melting smile, Roxy barely restrained the urge to gag. That was supposed to be her smile. Her ear he whispered in while she blushed at what he said. Her arms wrapped around him while every other female in the room took turns hating her for it.

She bit her lip to keep from screaming and turned to Holly. “I'm going to go grab a drink."

"Oh, hang on a second,” Devin said when she stood. “I'll have someone get you something. What do you want?"

"That's okay. I need to stretch my legs,” she lied.

Roxy made her way to the bar wanting to kick her own ass every step of the way. Where was her ‘go get ‘em’ attitude when she needed it? That little blonde wasn't anything to get worked up over, yet just sitting there watching her cuddle up with Luke was enough to cause thoughts of violence to override clear judgment. She wanted to hurt her. Bad. But really, who could blame her? She'd do the exact same thing given her position. It was the fact that she wasn't
in
that position that stung.

Sighing heavily, she stopped at the bar, waiting several minutes until the bartender spotted her before ordering. “Tequila. Make it a double."

"Make that two."

Roxy turned her head at the sound of Luke's voice and barely kept the smile on her face from making her look insane. Had he followed her? She looked back at the table, noticing the blonde still sitting there, her attention now centered on Mick. So, she was one of those, was she? “Is Mick going to give your girlfriend back before the night is over?” she said, motioning to the table with a tilt of her head.

Luke glanced back over his shoulder, smiling as he turned and faced Roxy again. “I'm growing rather bored of blondes. I'm in the mood for ... brunettes tonight,” he said, lifting a strand of her hair and rubbing it between his fingers. She locked eyes with him, her pulse quickening when he leaned forward and smelled her hair.

Roxy smiled, glancing away from him when the bartender placed their drinks in front of them. Luke said something to the man behind the bar and Roxy wasn't at all surprised when a saltshaker and a bowl of limes appeared. So, tequila shots, was it?

He turned to her, his gaze sliding across her skin in a slow, lingering caress before saying, “You up for a little adventure, Roxy?"

Roxy swallowed to moisten her throat. “What did you have in mind?"

He grinned and glanced down at her breasts. Roxy's heart skipped a beat when he did. She knew then what he wanted and lord help her, there was no way she could let this man do body shots off of her and not straddle him right where he stood.

But the game worked both ways didn't it?

She looked at the white button-up shirt Luke wore underneath his leather jacket. The first several buttons were undone and she could see a hint of skin peeking out from behind the fabric. Would Holly consider this cheating? It was just a quick game of lick and suck, right? As long as she didn't let it go too far, her friend couldn't complain.

Holding his gaze, she smiled before reaching out and picking up one of the small lime wedges. “Where do you want it?” she asked.

He grinned and took a step closer to her. “Places that aren't legal in public."

Roxy glanced around them, noticing more than a few people interested in them. Luke was drawing attention and even though he seemed to have no qualms about what he did in public, she wasn't an exhibitionist. Normally.

Taking the lime from her hand, he reached out, wrapping an arm around her waist, and pulling her tight against him. “How about we work our way down?” he said, placing the lime between her lips.

She almost gasped when he leaned forward, his lips trailing across her chin to her throat, his tongue slicking a path to the side of her neck and leaving a rush of goose bumps in its wake. She arched her back and closed her eyes when the warm, wet stroke of his tongue slid up her neck a second before the small flakes of salt hit her skin.

Locking eyes with him, she grabbed his arm, holding her breath when he slid his shot glass closer. “Ready?"

A small nod of her head was all she managed. Her vocal cords were suddenly frozen. He gave her a smile that nearly did her in before he once again leaned in and licked the salt from her skin. The drink was swallowed quickly and the next second, those luscious lips were surrounding hers. Instinct caused her to clamp down on the lime wedge and to her delight, Luke did exactly what she hoped and forced his tongue in her mouth to get it.

Dear lord, she didn't know what was better ... being in his arms, tasting his sweet lips, or having his tongue swirl around hers in a ferocious tangle.

She inhaled deeply when he drew back, watching him chew the fruit before he reached for another. “Your turn, beautiful."

Roxy grinned when he placed the lime wedge between his lips and pulled the material of his shirt wider and bared his neck. She reached up, lacing her fingers through his hair and tilted his head back and leaned toward him. His scent overwhelmed her and she wanted to crawl inside his skin.

She took her shot from his throat, sucking the thin skin into her mouth before salting it and grabbing her glass. He gazed down at her, a tiny smile lifting one corner of his mouth before he wrapped his hand in her hair and pulled her closer to his body.