Page 64 of Totally Off Limits

When Mickey paused at a door to the left, he pulled Sierra close, his arms wrapped around her waist. It was then that she caught a whiff of his cologne, the same scent she hadn’t quite registered before—but it reminded her of his skin touching hers, the two of them sweating against each other in a frenzied effort to reach climax. Suddenly, her mouth watered as she stopped ignoring the fact that she wanted him again. Touching her forehead with his, he said, “And I plan to, by the way.”

It took her a second to realize what he was saying and her eyes grew wide. A voice behind them said, “Get a room, guys.”

“Fuck off, Keef.” Shock Treatment’s lead singer laughed infectiously as he walked behind Mickey to open the door he all but blocked. Just as he moved inside the room to get out of the way, Mickey said, “Sierra, this is Kiefer Steele, our frontman and general obnoxious ass.”

With a bow, Kiefer said, “I’ll gladly accept that title and live up to it to the best of my abilities. Nice to meet you, Sierra. Sorry you’re stuck withthisguy.”

Sierra loved the silly banter between the two men, a repartee her family would never dream of engaging in. But she was easily pulled in. “He’s not so bad.”

“Man, he’s gotyoufooled.”

“It’s my bad boy charm.”

As he nodded, Kiefer entered the room so that the door swayed all the way open, exposing lots of people. The words Sierra had started to say faded as she now had an audience, but she’d at least consciously admitted to herself that one of the things she loved (really?loved?) about Mickey was indeed that bad boy aura.

And he must have known that.

Sierra glanced around the room—all three band members were in there, but so were Katie and another woman. Before anyone else could say anything, Katie stood up. “Sierra! So good to see you again!”

“Hi, Katie!” The new bride walked over and hugged Sierra. Sierra asked, “How was your honeymoon?”

“Fabulous.”

“It looks like you got a bit of a tan.”

“We spent a lot of time on the beach. I definitely recommend Columbia if anyone’s asking.”

“No way,” the other woman said. “Don’t you dare sway Kiefer.”

“Why? Where are you guys going?”

Kiefer, with his best Australian accent, said, “Down under, baby.”

While the other woman nodded smugly, Katie said, “Sierra, this is Heather, my best friend in the whole wide world.”

Standing, Heather held out her hand and took Sierra’s. “Nice to meet you. It’s nice to see Mickey finding a woman he’s serious about.”

As if she’d been walking across the desert, Sierra’s mouth grew dry, but she still tried to force words out. “Oh, we’re—”

But Katie was already playing hostess. “You know Johnny, of course.” Katie’s new husband looked up from the glass of water he was nursing and nodded. “But he won’t talk till show time. And this is Sage.”

Sage’s white teeth practically lit up the room as he grinned. “We went to high school together, Kate.”

“I should have known that. And you already met Kiefer?”

Mickey rested a hand on Sierra’s lower back, sending a shot of electricity through her body. “Yeah, she already had that unfortunate pleasure.” When Kiefer flipped him off, Mickey made a face at him, but Sierra could tell it was all in jest. And, as she rested her head back against Mickey’s shoulder, she allowed herself to enjoy this fun group of people for just a little while.

Because after tonight she was going back to business as usual.

Shehadto.

CHAPTER22

“What’ll it be, pretty lady?”

Oh, Jesus. Why the fuck did this middle-aged guy think she was in the market?Uh,duh, Sierra. Maybe it’s because you’re standing at the bar by yourself…clearly looking better than usual.

But she wanted a little to drink to calm her nerves. Ever since the guys moved backstage, ready to begin playing and she’d come out front, she’d decided she needed a drink. Even though Katie and Heather were near the front and saving a spot in the standing room only crowd, Sierra was as obviously out of place here as mouse in a room full of snakes. And she felt just as vulnerable. Even if her new temporary girlfriends had wanted something to drink and had come with her, she would have felt just as odd.

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