Page 8 of Love's Hot

Lilly!

Fuck me, what a sight she is to a man who’s looking for a good time.

I step back a little to give the others room to get out of the taxi.

“Kane, what are you doing here?” Alesha squeals as she hugs me tight. “Xavier didn’t tell me you were going to be in New York. He just said we were meeting a friend.”

Looking over at Xavier, the bastard wears a wide grin. The girls aren’t the only ones shocked.

Leaving my arm draped over her shoulder, I look down to Alesha. “You should have guessed it was me then. Xavier doesn’t have any other friends. No one else puts up with him like we do.”

Xavier pulls her out of my arms, slapping me in the chest. “Says the man who has to put his hands on my woman because he can’t find his own,” Xavier comments, half joking and half serious. There is only one thing that Xavier can’t take a joke about and that’s when it comes to his Ally.

My eyes are instantly drawn to Lilly as he talks about me finding my own woman. Life is not that simple but there’s one hot-as-fuck woman standing in front of me right now that I wouldn’t mind making mine for a while. Slowly scanning her body, I feel my own heat up. She’s poured into a red dress that leaves nothing to my imagination on how she’s shaped underneath it. My hands are twitching to run over the dress to confirm what those curves feel like underneath the red tormenting outer skin she has on.

A whack to my shoulder snaps me back to the here and now. I think Xavier said something I’ve missed. The girls are heading towards the doorway, and Xavier shoves me in the back to follow.

“Pick your jaw off the ground and wipe the dribble off your chin. It’s not very becoming for a guy to look so desperate.” Xavier thinks he’s hilarious as he stalks after the girls. Fuck, that ass of hers is only going to cause trouble for me.

Big. Fucking. Trouble.

The music is pounding in my chest the way it always does. It drowns out the feelings that often are whirring around in my body, distracting me. We find a table near the bar and the girls take a seat while we head to grab some drinks.

Now it’s my turn to punch Xavier in the arm.

“Jesus, man, you could have warned me about Lilly. That she was coming with you and she’s wearing a sexy-as-sin dress that’s going to keep me hard all night. You better tell me straight right now if I need to back off. I’m going to need to have a very strong drink to get through tonight if that’s the case.” I can’t believe how serious the words are coming out of my mouth. I’m not saying them as a joke.

“Buddy, she’s not my sister, but I know if you do anything to hurt her, not only will you answer to me, but she has three brothers I wouldn’t cross. Along with a father that won’t hold back or care that you carry a gun. So, besides that, you’re good to go. All I will say is, good luck, though. She won’t be as easy as you think. Lilly is a strong, feisty woman who has no intention of settling down anytime soon.”

Music to my ears. “That’s good to know because neither am I. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun along the way, now does it.” He just rolls his eyes at me and smirks as he relays our drink order to the bartender. “What, you don’t think the old Kane charm will work on her? I think you underestimate the power of my manly body and amazing witty personality.”

“Maybe I should order a bucket too for the bullshit that’s coming out of your mouth. Self-confidence is not your weak point, is it?” Sticking fingers in his mouth, he pretends to gag on the bullshit.

“Well, unless my mother is here, no one else is going to tell people how awesome I am, so I need to take on the role myself. It’s not as if you’re going to be my wingman, are you? That would involve you taking your eyes and thoughts off Alesha, and we both know that’s not going to happen, is it?”

“Fuck no!” We both chuckle and head back to the girls, drinks in hand. They are both deep in conversation, leaning into each other so they can hear what they’re saying, or maybe it’s so we can’t hear what they’re saying. Pulling up the stool next to Lilly and placing her drink down in front of her, she looks over at me with a smile that I’m not quite sure how to take.

“How come you’re in New York?” Alesha leans over to me to get my attention. As usual in bars, the music is loud which makes conversation a little difficult at times.

“Work conference that was totally boring but unfortunately a necessary evil. We need to keep ahead of the changes. I’m glad it’s over now. Xavier mentioned you were heading out here for the weekend, so I decided to stay an extra few days. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you. Mind you, he didn’t tell me Lilly was coming either.” We both stare at each other as it dawns on us. What is he trying to achieve here? That’s the question. Alesha’s mouth curves up in a small cheeky smile. Great, she’s going to join onto the Xavier matchmaking bandwagon. He is such a girl, seriously. He knows I don’t do relationships and I can’t believe he’s trying to encourage a one-night stand with his girlfriend’s sister. Not his style at all.

Alesha leans back against Xavier, taking a sip of her drink. Looking like the cat that ate the canary. Lilly hasn’t said anything since we came back with the drinks. She’s surveying the dance floor, her foot tapping to the music, not paying me one bit of attention. Well, two can play at this game. I continue to chat to Alesha and Xavier, waiting for her to turn back to join in.

“You should have come to the show, Kane. Zara was so beautiful up there. How those girls get their legs so high in the air while they dance, I will never know.” Alesha smiles.

“Whoa, hang on! Why wasn’t I invited, Xavier? To a show with girls in skimpy outfits that lift their legs in the air for the crowd? Umm, please explain what part of friendship you don’t understand to help a brother out.” Xavier is laughing, holding his stomach at my outburst, but the person whose attention I was looking for I’ve grabbed hook, line and sinker. I can tell by the look in her eyes. She is ready to pounce.

“You are joking, aren’t you?” Lilly screams over the music. “What a disgusting thing to say. Those women are artists who spend years of training perfecting their talent only for you to make it all sleazy about their looks and what you get off on.” I can see the steam coming from her ears. She would slap me if she weren’t in public and a respectable lady. I was hoping just to get her to join the conversation, but I got way more than I bargained for. “Totally not the kind of guy I was expecting,” I hear her murmur.

I can’t decide if I should string her along a bit more and really get her going, or tell her the truth. I can now see what Xavier meant about how she was going to be a handful, but I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun to get to know her better.

Nah, let’s have some fun first.

“What do you mean? Surely they would love to know men were there to look at them dance and admire their beauty.” Xavier by this stage is trying to keep a straight face and not look at me. He knows I’m provoking Lilly and he’s enjoying the show. Alesha, on the other hand, looks a little shocked at the words coming out of my mouth. She’s known me for a short while, but she’s now wondering if she’s seeing the man she thinks she knows.

“Are you kidding? Do you think they’re up there just to dance for men’s pleasure? If they want to do that, they can just go and dance at a strip joint down the back streets somewhere in New York. I’m sure you know the type I’m talking about. You probably frequent them all the time. You probably get to see more skin than costume at those shows. I’ll have you know you’re lucky Grant isn’t here. You would be flat on your back if he heard you talk about Zara with such disrespect. I can’t believe I thought you were a hot guy who seemed nice. Totally misjudged that. I’m actually surprised Xavier is even friends with you, such an arrogant pig!” She stands and shoves her stool backwards, ready to storm off. Part of me is laughing on the inside, the other part is thinking, Shit, I’ve pushed her a little far.

Jumping off my stool, I grab her arm to stop her from taking off.

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