I’m leaning into the bar, shamelessly offering a glimpse of cleavage in hope of luring the busy bartender my way, when I hear it.
The voice.
A rich, deep, sexy-as-hell British voice asking for a Scotch on the rocks.
It’s a voice made to melt panties and weaken resolve. That alone is nearly enough to make me rethink my vow to remain married to my pie shop and leave dating to women with more tolerance for assholes and their feathered friends.
I shift to my right, sneaking a peek at the owner of the voice, and I am…lost.
Utterly lost, helpless to resist the magnetic pull of a thirtysomething, dark-haired man with Henry Cavill broad shoulders, the profile of a Roman warrior, a beard I want to feel against my face, and the plushest lips I’ve ever seen on a man, perfectly full and absolutely kissable. And on this massive, sexy beast in a three-piece suit—clearly custom made to accommodate his staggering broad-shoulder-to-trim-waist ratio—that mouth is perfect.
He’s perfect.
And just like that, I decide that he will be mine.
At least for a night.
Tonight, I will claim Rubik’s Cube victory and the pleasure of this gorgeous human’s company. Tonight, Gigi James is coming out on top.
Or on top and bottom and up against the wall and as many other positions as we can fit in between now and tomorrow morning.
2
West
I didn’t come to this party to meet a woman.
I’m here because my friend Graham texted me earlier today. It’ll be fun, he said. You can’t spend all your time in the States with your nose in your business. Plus, it’s a great way to say an ironic ‘see you later’ to all those dating games.
With that closing argument, I was sold. Dating shouldn’t be a game, but lately I’ve run into more than my share of women playing the prove yourself to me game, the hard-to-get game, and the if he texts first, he’s a chump game.
For fuck’s sake—how is that even a thing?
Yet, it is.
Since I’m so very done with figurative games, I said yes to real ones.
But right now, all I want to say is “Hello cleavage. So lovely to make your acquaintance.”
To think I nearly missed this chance encounter. If I’d sidled up to this bar a few minutes earlier, I might have missed this beauty in the purple dress—a dress that suggests the how does one get a woman out of a dress with so many tiny buttons and buckles game.
Thank you, kismet, for ensuring I was waylaid by an old schoolmate who’s still deep in the investment banking scene. I haven’t seen Nigel since uni, but he couldn’t wait to tell me how much money he was making and to flaunt his Vacheron Constantin watch as we chatted.
He almost clocked me in the nose with it. Twice.
Yes, I get it. You spent nearly $200,000 on a wristwatch. Good on you. And your wife just bought a Bentley.
Or perhaps it was a designer hedgehog. I can’t remember, and it hardly matters.
There’s a reason I rarely spend time with people who are obsessed with making money.
They’re dull.
But gamers? And not just any gamers, but vintage gamers? These are my people, and games belong at a party.
Graham’s off with his wife playing Jenga, which I think is a euphemism for foreplay. But with the two of them, everything is a euphemism for foreplay, as it should be when you’re disgustingly happily married.
But that’s all for the best since here I am face-to-face with the most stunning woman I’ve seen in ages. I hope she’s brainy too.
I noticed her the moment she walked in—the way she owned the room, the confidence in her stride, and in her smile too. A woman who’s unafraid to come to a party solo—that’s so damn sexy.
Like the rest of her—her curves, her smooth, creamy skin displayed by that fantastic dress with a bustier that’s doing everything a bustier should do.
Boost the assets.
All the assets. If they aren’t each an overflowing handful, I’ll eat my pocket handkerchief.
Her hair tumbles in soft, auburn waves over her shoulders, and her blue eyes shine with shameless appreciation as she meets my gaze, as if she’s just tasted the most delicious treat.
It’s a damn good look on her.
Especially when the tip of her tongue flicks out to lick the corner of her glossy pink lips, ever so briefly.
Yep, I’m not going anywhere else tonight. She’s where I want to spend the rest of the evening. Especially when I notice her earrings, and just like that, I know we have something in common.
With an elbow against the bar, I lock eyes with her, savoring the twinkle in hers. “I hope I’m not being presumptuous, but if you’re in need of a Rubik’s Cube partner, I can finish in under a minute.”
My opening line is a thrown gauntlet, and her lips curve up into a grin I want to kiss. “Well, what do you know? So can I,” she says. “Though I’m pretty sure that’s the only time when finishing in under a minute is something to boast about.”