“Don’t thank me. It’s my fault she came after you.” Ian took a deep breath. Less than ten minutes into the party and things were going downhill fast. “What did she say to you?”
“Eh.” She shrugged. “The usual jealous woman stuff. Who am I? What am I doing coming to this party with you? Do I know who she is? Nothing very original. You interrupted before I could say something ugly to her.”
Ian was glad he got there in time. Missy had a short fuse and no shame. He didn’t want her ruining this night for Bree. He could already tell the party was going to be a lot of fun with her by his side. He usually spent most of his time conducting business and checking his phone. Tonight, he didn’t have the urge to do either. He wanted to take Bree for a turn on the dance floor and introduce her to everyone. He wanted to feed her a chocolate-covered strawberry from the dessert table and snuggle with her by the fire pit.
“I’m sorry about Missy, Bree. I promised you a fun night, and after that scene, you’re never going to want to come with me to another one of these things.”
“Missy hasn’t scared me off yet. And actually,” Bree said with a smile, “all you promised me was a chance to meet Jack Wheeler.”
He had said that, hadn’t he? “You’re right.” He looked up, scanning the crowd, and found Jack sitting nearby with a group of other musicians she would probably be equally excited to meet. “Come with me,” he said, taking her hand. “I’m going to do my part and introduce you to Jack.”
“And then what?” she asked.
“And then I’m taking you home and slowly peeling you out of that dress.”
* * *
Ian kept his word. They spent another hour or so at the party, chatting with enough stars to make Bree’s head spin. And then they made a quick exit.
She expected Ian to take her back to her town house, but instead, he drove back into the city and the center of the music district. “Where are we going?”
“To my place.”
They eventually pulled into the parking garage of a tall residential building. Ian pulled into his reserved space and escorted her to the elevator that took them up to his penthouse.
“Now it’s my turn to say ‘wow,’” she said as they stepped into the marble foyer. There was a stone compass star on the floor of the round entry and a sparkling chandelier overhead. “This is amazing.”
Ian led her into the modern kitchen with black cabinets and gray, concrete countertops. “Thanks. I’ll give your regards to my decorator. She fretted over it and almost no one ever sees it but Winnie and me. Hell, I barely see it.”
Bree approached the kitchen, running her fingertips along the counter. “Is Winnie here?”
Ian shook his head. “She’s not a live-in employee, although she has a room in case she needs to stay over. She’ll be back in the morning, so no stumbling into the kitchen naked for a cup of coffee.”
“Hmm...” Bree said thoughtfully. “You think you’re going to keep me here all night, do you?”
“Yep,” he said, reaching into the wine chiller to pull out a bottle. “I’m certain of it. Because I’m not driving you home until I leave for work in the morning.” He poured two glasses of chardonnay and handed one to her.
“In that case, I’m losing the heels.” Bree kicked out of the stilettos, sighing with bliss to be flat on the ground once again. The shoes were hot, no doubt, but she really just preferred her Converse. She even had red ones that would’ve matched the dress, but she didn’t need Amelia freaking out over her major fashion faux pas.
“That’s better for the tour, anyway.” Ian started through the house, pointing out details as they walked. He had the entire top floor to himself, with an unnecessary number of bedrooms and bathrooms in addition to an office, a gym and a movie theater.
“Ian, why such a big penthouse? You could have someone secretly living here and you wouldn’t ever know it.”
Ian shrugged. “I didn’t want a house. I wanted to be in the city, close to the studio. I liked the features. And I guess I figured that someday I might need the other rooms for a wife and family.”
“Or Missy and all her assistants?”
Ian looked at her with a pinched, irritated expression that quickly faded to a smile. “Or that. Dodged a bullet there.” At the end of a corridor, Ian opened a door and let her step in ahead of him. “This is the master suite,” he said, slipping out of his suit coat and tossing it across the back of a chair.
It was another beautiful space. After being at his rustic cabin for several days, it was interesting to see how modern his apartment was. Glass, chrome, polished stone and leather. The stark-white king-size bed was on a raised black marble platform. It had a tall white suede headboard and another chandelier hanging over the bed. There was a sitting room with a television and a fireplace, and beyond that, she could make out the master bath. It was larger than her living room and she had what she thought was a pretty spacious town house.
Bree stepped onto the raised platform and sat on the edge of the bed to sip her wine. “Pretty impressive,” she said. “A far cry from your dorm room and that lumpy twin bed.”
“Thank goodness.” Ian sat beside her as she sipped the last of her wine and placed the empty glass on the platform by her feet. Together, they looked out through the wall of windows to the skyline of downtown Nashville. The glowing twin spires of the Batman Building and the bright red L&C sign on the top of the Life and Causality Building made for quite a view.
She was lost in the twinkling lights of downtown when she felt Ian’s hand at her neck. He found the snap and the zipper and ran it down the long curve of her back. She closed her eyes, relishing the feel as his fingertips followed the same trail, caressing her skin down to the hollow at the base of her spine. She shivered, his touch sending a wave of goose bumps across her arms and legs. Those same goose bumps immediately vanished when Ian pushed her sleeves off her shoulders and placed a searing kiss on her bare skin.
Ian kept pushing until the dress was peeled down to her waist, exposing her breasts. She slipped her arms out of the sleeves and arched her back to lean against his chest. His hands immediately moved over her breasts. She gasped as his fingertips teased the hard pebbles of her nipples.