She turned back to me, and my throat got tight at the sweet, sultry way her eyes met mine, her lashes long and curled. “My name is Jenny. I’m probably the least important person at this party.”
I scooted closer. “Not to me.”
She laughed again. “Even the waiters have a purpose here. I’m just…” Her voice faltered. “I was just a decoration. Like the tablecloths.”
I started to get it. Some guy brought her here to show off, then ignored her for somebody famous. That would explain how lost she looked, and why she panicked when those actresses approached me.
She was used to getting set aside.
I picked up her hand and brushed my fingertips along her palm. She shivered. I liked that. I liked it a lot. I decided to take it a step further and lifted her hand to press my lips against the tender spot of her wrist.
She let out a long slow breath, then she leaned in again. I smiled against her lips as I realized that every damn time, this girl was going to be the one to kiss me first.
Chapter 9: Jenny
Chance tasted of impulse and madness. I’d done what I needed to do, and yet here I was, in the house and away from the photographers, locked on his mouth like I was drowning.
Maybe I was. Months and months of no boys. God. I hadn’t gone that long since Kenny Granger gave me my first orgasm, and I learned what all the fuss was about.
Chance’s hand clasped my neck beneath the bushel of dreadlocks, kneading my muscles, keeping me relaxed and fluid. The door opened and closed a few times, but it seemed far away on the other end of the long room. It didn’t matter anyway. I was supposed to get caught, be seen. Someone might be taking Frankie aside right now.
Chance’s fingers began to roam, drifting along my collarbone, across my shoulder, and down my arm to rest on my hip. Just going that far made everything heat up, and I scooted even closer, pressing tightly against him.
His chest was solid. I began learning the planes and edges of him, the round muscles of his biceps, the cut of his shoulder. I wanted to see all that sinew, every inch of it.
Like, right now.
I broke the kiss and moved closer to his ear. “I have a limo outside,” I said, then realized that made me sound swankier than I was. “I mean, it’s a friend’s, but I am supposed to use it to take me home.”
He held still a minute, and I suddenly remembered he was with the band.
“We can wait until after the gig,” I added hastily. “Do you have another set to sing?”
“No,” he said. “I’m just a friend of the band. But I do have to get my gear from their van.”
“We don’t have to leave the grounds,” I said. “I live in San Diego anyway. We could just…stay in the limo.”
I’d gone stark raving mad.
So what?
Chance grasped my hands. “You sure about this, darlin’? We just met.”
His hard body shifted against me, and I revved up even more. “Oh, I’m sure,” I said.
I stood, bringing Chance with me. I was so ready to break this fast. More than ready.
We raced back through the house, and I was glad I’d wandered it enough to know the way. Outside, I paused on the steps, looking over the line of limos in the circle drive. They were all black. I had no idea which one was Frankie’s, or if Brandon was even here or parked somewhere else.
But one of the sleek cars pulled away from the curb and crept around the circle. I stared closely and recognized the silver handle on the door. “This one,” I told Chance, then my stomach burst with butterflies.
Was this a good idea? He could be an axe murderer.
Though I had something of a chaperone with the driver.
Was THAT a good idea? His poor burning ears.
But Brandon was already by the door, opening it for us. If he had an opinion about Chance coming along, he said nothing. He was a professional, and probably, he’d been driving Frankie and Alec for weeks and already knew everything.
“Where to, Miss Jenny?” he asked.
“Just cruise the neighborhood,” I said, feeling a blush creep through my cheek. That sounded tawdry out loud.
“Is it far to the beach?” Chance asked.
This amused me. “Really?” I asked.
“I’ve never been,” he said. “I just got into LA today.”
“Then to the beach,” I told Brandon. “Let’s do Dockweiler to avoid the curfews.” I turned to Chance. “They have camping at that one, so they allow beach fires.”
“I defer to your knowledge of the city,” he said.
I checked my phone. “The party will go on for hours. I’ll get you back in time to get your gear.”
He glanced at the house, as if he was remembering something.
“You need to tell them you’re leaving?” I asked.
He shook his head. “It’ll be all right.”
I ducked inside the limo and slid across the leather seat.
Chance followed, scooting in close. Brandon closed the door. When he got in, the window between the front and the back whirred closed.
Yup, he got it.
Now that we were truly alone, and not all up in each other, I felt a little more nervous about my rash decision to drag him out here.