Ha. Ready. As if she could ever truly be ready for Kade. But after the day she’d had, he could be the perfect remedy. Fantasy. Sex. And Kade. She was starting to get addicted to the combination. A dangerous cocktail, that. One she should probably put aside for something less potent. But like any good drink, she always wanted one more sip.
“I’ll be there.”
SIXTEEN
When Tessa walked out her front door for their night together, it took Kade everything he had not to walk her right back inside and strip off that little black wrap dress she was wearing. The way she shivered in the breeze when she stepped onto the porch told him she’d followed his instructions, and it was killing him knowing what she was wearing underneath but not being able to see everything in its full glory. She gave him a nervous smile. “Hey.”
“You look beautiful, Tess,” he said, letting his gaze trace over her. Her nipples hardened beneath the material of her dress as his attention moved over them.
She glanced downward. “God, I feel like I’m naked, like everyone’s going to know.”
He ran his knuckles gently over one of the peaks, and her breath caught. The quarter cup bra he’d given her only offered support beneath to keep her breasts lifted, to give the illusion of a bra, but there was nothing covering her nipples and the tops of her breasts. The soft material of her dress would constantly be rubbing and teasing her sensitive skin. And anytime he brushed against her, he’d be stimulating her. “No one will know but me.”
“I’m going to be blushing my face off.”
He chuckled and pulled her against him, running his hand along her backside. “The bar will be dark. Are you wearing the panties, too?”
“Yes,” she said, a little breathless. “Though I’m not sure of the point when there’s a slit right down the center of them. I could’ve just gone without.”
He smiled, his body heating at the image of those lacy crotchless panties beneath her dress. “I like how you think, but you’ll see. That lace is going to rub up against you and the wetter you get, the more it’s going to drive you crazy.”
“You’re an evil man, Kade Vandergriff.”
“You’re just figuring this out?” he teased. “Now, get in the car. I don’t want to be late for the show.”
Especially when Tessa was going to be a part of it.
Though, his lovely date didn’t know it yet.
The bar looked innocuous enough. A typical honky-tonk in the older part of Fort Worth. The crowd appeared to be a good mix—couples, women on girl’s night out, and a few good ol’ boys looking for two-step partners. It wasn’t anywhere she’d expect Kade to take her. When they’d been in high school, he’d been the anti-cowboy, preferring loud rock music and black clothes. He’d teased her endlessly about the posters of hot country singers she had pinned to her wall. But she had to admit that even though she could tell his dark jeans, plaid shirt, and boots were one hundred percent designer, he was pulling off the look pretty damn well tonight.
She bumped her hip against his as they were waiting to get in. “You forgot your hat, hoss.”
He glanced down at her and smirked. “I’m trying to blend in and be discreet for you. But let’s not get crazy now.”
She laughed. Blend in? That was a joke. She wasn’t sure Kade could blend in anywhere these days. He was that kind of guy who walked into a room and pulled attention to him like a magnetic force. But she appreciated the effort.
Kade paid the cover charge and guided her into the darkened bar. A woman was already on the stage, singing, but the music wasn’t so loud that they wouldn’t be able to hear each other. Kade kept a possessive hand splayed along her lower back as he craned his neck to look over the crowd—not that he had to do much craning at his height. Soon he smiled and lifted his other hand in a wave. “There they are. Come on.”
They made their way through the crowd to a table where a pretty brunette was sitting between two unfairly handsome guys and laughing at something. One of the guys, a tall Hispanic man, grinned and stood when he saw her and Kade standing there. “Hey there, stranger.”
Kade shook the guy’s hand and clapped him on the back in that half-hug thing men do. “Hey, Andre.” Kade nodded at the blond man and the woman he had his arm around. “Jace. Evan. Good to see y’all.”
The girl, Evan, smiled, and Jace stuck out his hand to shake Kade’s as well. “Vandergriff.”
Kade pulled out one of the empty chairs for Tessa. “Everyone, this is my friend, Tessa.”
Greetings were exchanged all around and Tessa carefully took her seat, all too aware of the barely there panties moving against her. Tessa didn’t know what fantasy they were supposed to be fulfilling tonight, but if it was trying to keep your composure while your body slowly burned into a heap of ash
es from barely there stimulation, Kade was nailing it.
Kade ordered both their drinks and laid his arm across the back of her chair. “Thanks for holding seats for us.”
“Not a problem,” Jace said, a mirror of Kade’s pose. “Did those items you needed work out?”
Kade gave a ghost of a smile. “Perfectly. Thanks for sending them over. Though Tess hasn’t let me see them yet, so I’ll have to give you a final report later.”
Tessa straightened like she’d been pinched when she realized what they were talking about. “Kade.”