Page 16 of Naked Games (Hard to Get 3)

Catherine held it against her body. It was shorter than her normal style. She’d be showing a lot of leg. “What can it hurt?”

“That’s the way I see it. He shows up, you get to make him drool. If he doesn’t, then there will be plenty of other men at the club to choose from. Either way a win-win.” Gracie picked another dress out and checked the tag. “Ouch. Too much.”

Catherine leaned over and checked the price. “I’ll buy it for you. It’s what sisters do for each other, right?”

Gracie hesitated a moment before replying. “Only if I get to buy you some pretty shoes to go with that dress.”

Catherine laughed. “Deal.”

The wild beat of the music wasn’t the only thing that had Catherine’s heart pounding. As Dean pulled out a high stool for her, so like the perfect gentleman, and held it while she sat, Catherine wondered what he was up to. He moved the stool nearest to hers a little closer, then sat. Unfortunately that put them within touching distance. Every so often their legs brushed against each other, sending electric sparks shooting up Catherine’s entire body. The man was lethal. It wasn’t until Gracie had asked the men to go get them drinks that Catherine felt like she could begin to breathe normally again.

Now, as she watched Wade and Dean walk toward them, carrying a bottle of beer for her and club soda for Gracie, Catherine thought maybe she’d gotten in over her head. They were both gorgeous men, but it was Dean who held all her attention. He wore a pair of black trousers and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. His silky dark hair had even been combed into submission. The hot looks he kept giving her were driving Catherine’s libido into a frenzy.

“Are you glad he decided to come with us?” Gracie asked, leaning close to be heard over the din of the music.

“I’m not sure,” Catherine admitted. “Dean’s been fairly hostile toward me from the start, but tonight he seems different. He seems . . .” She broke off, unable to put her thoughts into words.

“Predatory?” Gracie helpfully supplied.

“Yes, that’s it. Predatory.” She looked at her sister and asked, “What do I do with predatory?”

Gracie chuckled. “You dance.” She stepped off the stool and held out a hand. “Come on, let’s put these new heels to the test.”

Catherine stood just as the guys came back to the table. Wade placed Gracie’s club soda in front of her, but Dean didn’t seem so inclined to hand over her beer. She pointed at it and asked, “Are you keeping my beer hostage?”

He placed it on the table and slid it toward her. Catherine became spellbound by the way his fingers wrapped around the longneck bottle. When she moved to take it from him, their fingers touched. It was brief, but enough to leave her breathless.

“Where are you two going?” Dean asked, his gaze holding hers captive.

Gracie leaned up and kissed Wade on the cheek, then whispered something in his ear. Wade looked over at Catherine and winked. “We’ll watch your purses.”

“Thanks,” Catherine shouted back. Dean asked again, but before she had a chance to answer, Gracie was tugging her onto the dance floor.

Glancing to her right, she saw a high platform where women danced. Was she just old fashioned or were women dressing decidedly skimpily these days? One woman in particular caught her eye. Her bra was totally exposed through a lavender-colored mesh shirt. The skirt she wore rode her buttocks, and if she moved just the wrong way, she’d be baring her entire backside. Judging by the happy glow on her face, she didn’t seem too worried. The woman danced right along with everyone else, bumping and pushing into others as they bumped and pushed against her.

When had dancing turned into a contact sport?

With her eyes trained on the women on the platform, she started to feel a little overdressed. There was a lot more skin exposed than there was covered in this room. Catherine looked down at her own dress. The black lightweight fabric teased her thighs each time she took a step and the heels were tall, but not so much that she risked breaking her neck. She’d spent a great amount of time taming her hair into a sleek, straight mane down her back. But she couldn’t tell if Dean had noticed her efforts or not. Now that she looked at the other women, Catherine thought he’d have to be blind not to notice them. Were his eyes on the other women even now? Was he watching the woman in the mesh shirt as she swayed and moved to the beat?

Catherine ruthlessly pushed the little green monster out of her mind. She had absolutely zero reason to be jealous because she had no feelings for Dean. None. Zip. He was attractive and he was Gracie’s soon-to-be brother-in-law. Nothing more. So what if he’d kissed her and she’d responded with her own small bit of passion. Could she really help it? There wasn’t a female on the planet who wouldn’t respond to Dean’s luscious mouth and his stroking tongue.

And if any of the women here wanted to taste him for themselves, they’d have to go through her first.

With that firmly in her mind, Catherine moved a little to the beat. It wasn’t long before she was forgetting big brooding men with chips on their shoulders and succumbing to the rhythm of the song.

8

As the song ended and another one started, Catherine started to feel someone watching her. She turned in time to catch a man at the far end of the dance floor, staring. When their gaze connected he quickly looked away. Catherine danced closer to Gracie and, speaking into her ear, she said, “There’s a guy on the other side of the room watching me.”

Gracie chuckled and kept dancing. “A lot of guys are watching you.”

Catherine shook her head. “Maybe, but this one is creeping me out.”

Gracie stopped dancing and asked, “Which one?”

; “Short blond hair and long-sleeve blue shirt.” Catherine looked again, and sure enough his gaze was trained on her. “It’s the way he’s staring.”