"What about her?" Kenzi nudged me and gestured, not so inconspicuously, to a short, dark-haired girl. The music verging on blasting throughout the bar being no excuse for her rude pointing.

Somehow we had convinced my grandfather, Trick, a few months back to make his bar, The Dal, into more of a club on Fridays and Saturdays, which, according to the terms of our agreement, pretty much just meant we had control of the music selection and decibel level.

The girl continuously glanced over from the guy trying desperately to get her attention every few minutes, her eyes getting darker every time, but she held little to none of my interest. She seemed more like one of the girls that would stalk you to find out why you never called than one just looking for a good night (or two) in the company of a stranger.

This was a ritual of Kenzi's and mine. I picked out a suitable, least likely to transfer diseases, man-boy for her, and she chose… well, Kenzi was very picky about who I got intimate with. I would've been concerned about potential romantic investment had she not been hooking up, exclusively with men, every night I did. She was just very protective of her "bestie". I can't say I'm not the same.

"Kenz," I gently tugged a few strands of her hair to pull her attention away from scoring another free drink from Trick to signal, inconspicuously I might add, to a young, thin male in his mid-twenties. He seemed Kenzi's type; tall, broad, cropped dark hair, scruffy face. He reminded me of a guy I saw her hook up with, actually, more than once.

Her mocking expression faltered as she continued to stare in his direction; lowering her drink, clearing her throat and letting out a breathy "Mama likey." I chuckled loudly and patted her on the back, giving her my silent approval and swiveling my bar stool back toward Trick (who seemed less than happy about the cacophony blaring from his speakers), and the line of shots I'd ordered from him moments before being rudely interrupted by Kenzi's insistence.

I downed another shot of Mr. Cuervo and turned back out to the mass of writhing bodies. Kenzi had only left a minute ago and was already completely invisible amongst the crowd, just another nameless face. I thought she might like my pick for the night. I sent her a mental 'good luck' and kept a slight smile on my lips, though I could barely see straight enough to know who I was giving it to.

That's when a spotted her.

A tall, slight woman with darker, curly blonde hair. She was sitting in a dark corner, almost completely out of sight, sipping a dark liquid through a red mixing straw. The expression adorning her features a mixture of nervousness, apprehension, and boredom. Well, I couldn't have such a beautiful creature being bored in my bar, could I?

I threw back my last shot and headed over to the blonde. Her head was tilted down and she was clearly deep in thought. I still couldn't understand how she could seem so unaffected by the near mating ritual occurring just a few feet from where she was sitting.

Not far from her chair, I stopped and bent down to bring my face level with hers before donning my trademark smirk to ask, "Care to dance with me?"

She didn't seem to realize I was talking to her, or was maybe just too nervous to respond right away, but it took her a few moments before her head slowly raised, her eyes finally meeting mine.

I think she was startled at first, or maybe just completely confused, possibly assuming I was drunk. She wasn't completely wrong. After a beat, which was probably her pausing to determine my level of seriousness before realizing I was actually awaiting a response, a sweet smile graced her lips and she gently set her glass down on the floor next to her chair and reached for my hand. I accepted it greedily and pulled her quickly to her feet, tugging her into the heat of the crowd.

Her hands were so soft and warm that I made it a point not to let go. Our touches were awkward for about a minute, and then she relaxed, which had a similar effect on me. I maneuvered my body as close to hers as I could without excessive touching, not wanting to scare her off. She seemed to actually want the touching as much as I did, though, because mid-way through our second song, after only teasingly brief touches, she pushed her body fully into mine.

A strangled gasp released itself from the back of my throat and my hands went instantly to clutch at her lower back, keeping her body firmly against me.

A slower song had begun, allowing us to catch our breaths; something unlikely to happen with her that close to me.

With my mouth only inches from her ear, I whispered "What's your name, beautiful?" I felt more than heard her soft chuckle as she turned her head to whisper her reply in my ear. "Lauren. And I am to call you…?"

"Bo." I breathed. She shivered and pulled her head back to inspect my face. Her brow crinkled only slightly and I immediately wished I knew what was going on in that head of hers.

"What are you thinking?" she asked before I got the chance.

"That I really like dancing with you." I replied quickly, pulling her even harder into me and moving my face closer to hers.

She nodded, clearly distracted by her blatant staring at my lips.

We rocked against each other at the start of, yet another, ridiculously fast-paced song, and our eyes never left the other. Breathing was becoming an issue, but I never wanted to stop dancing with her, and the look of determination on her face told me she agreed.

Sometime during the fourth song, our faces continued to draw nearer before my eyes finally strayed from her lips up to her eyes, searching for any sign of apprehension. If the fact that hers never moved and she continued leaning forward was any indication…

I nipped at my own lip and bridged the final gap; those two centimeters that felt like miles.

Her hands left their place at my hips to tangle immediately, and not so gently, in my hair. My left hand was on the back of her head, pushing her harder into our kiss, and my right was working its way up her shirt to rake my nails down her back.

A small crowd had gathered without our realizing, Kenzi being one of them, and it was brought to our attention when she started hollering my name at the top of her lungs and repetitively fist-pumping. The guy next to her, the one I sent her to hook up with, was laughing happily and holding the motionless hand by her side. I would've been a lot happier for her had she not just interrupted probably the best kiss of my life.

Lauren's beautiful smile turned shy and she partially ducked behind me to lose the attention of the crowd. I had a better idea than hiding behind my hair so I blew a kiss to Kenzi and drug the blushing woman behind me to the downstairs guestroom.

There was a faint thumping in the walls and floor boards above as we descended the stairs.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, her voice dripping with curiosity and arousal, but not an ounce of worry.

"I guess you'll find out, won't you?" I teasingly replied, turning her quickly to the left, to the room I stayed in on nights I was too drunk to drive.

I opened the door, gesturing for her to enter first. She walked in slowly, glancing around nervously, briefly taking in her new surroundings before I grabbed her, slamming the door closed with the force of our bodies against it, my mouth instantly on hers again.

Her lips were so soft and the way her mouth responded to mine was the sexiest thing I'd ever experienced. This woman was so completely intoxicating. The sounds she elicited from me were new. I actually growled; a low, throaty sound she seemed to appreciate.

She pushed the leather jacket off my shoulders and her fingers migrated immediately toward the button on the dark jeans I wore as I was pulling her shirt over her head and reconnecting our mouths. We weren't wasting any more time.

She fumbled only a moment more before both the button and zipper were undone and my pants were being jerked downwards. I awkwardly kicked them off, never breaking contact with her skin. My hands worked fast as well; undoing her bra and throwing it somewhere in the room behind me.

She groaned softly and moved to attach her lips to my neck. My fingers alternated between grasping at the soft flesh of her back and teasing the sensitive flesh of her chest and her groans became louder. She pulled her lips from me for only a second to rip the shirt over my head and resuming previous actions. I knew she would leave a mark and, though this usually upset me, I welcomed it.

That was the last thing I'd expected from the shy woman I saw sitting across the bar from me only half an hour prior. She was taking control of me, of the situation, and I was letting her. Kenzi would NEVER let me live this down.

She made quick work of my bra and started bending her knees, kissing down from my neck to my chest and took one of my nipples into her warm mouth. My own mouth fell open and my hands fisted in her hair. I began backing us toward the bed, but she had other plans. She ripped her lips from my chest and swiftly spun us around; slamming my back into the door and pressing her body completely against mine, a knee falling between my legs.

She gave me an incredibly sexy smirk before her lips pressed firmly to mine and she pushed her thigh up into me. My lips immediately fell from hers as my head slammed back against the door and my eyes squeezed shut. An embarrassingly loud moan emanated from the back of my throat as I moved my hips to gain more friction from her conveniently placed appendage.

I was able to open my eyes long enough to see her visibly noting my reaction. She smirked again, eliciting another moan, and started up a steady rhythm; pushing her jean-clad thigh into my barely covered center and further studying me. My hands tangled in her hair, pulling her face close to me. I swallowed hard as her lips descended to my neck, kissing from my jaw to my collarbone, while her leg continued its deliciously frustrating thrusting.

I was quickly losing this fight for dominance, but I wasn't about to give up.

Her dark chuckle when my hands moved to undo the button of her jeans, turned into a loud moan when I roughly pushed one of those hands down the front of her underwear. Her leg fell from its teasing position and her hands quickly moved to either side of my head against the door as she pushed her pelvis hard into my hand.

I teasingly ran two fingers over her clit, eliciting a hard shudder, as her hands balled into fists next to my head and my teeth connected with her collarbone. I licked, sucked, and bit as much of her soft, salty skin as I had immediate access to and began a steady rhythm with my fingers.

Any sign of a smirk or laughter was stricken from her and she was clearly attempting to control her breathing and keep the movement of her hips even. It was my turn to laugh when, after increasing the speed of my fingers, she let out a loud, high-pitched moan. She was losing control fast and I knew exactly how to keep her exactly where I wanted her.

My fingers slipped downward, my thumb brushing her clit roughly as I passed, and moved to her opening. She was impossibly wet and her moans grew louder as I circled it. I connected our mouths again as I pushed those same two fingers deep inside her and slowly pulled them back out. I began an infuriatingly slow pace and she quickly let me know exactly how displeased it made her.

Her hands grabbed at my hair, tugging hard, to crash our mouths together as she moved her hips even harder against my hand. She let out a series of pained whimpers and bit down on my lip. She was trying desperately to increase the tempo of my thrusts and I was trying desperately to continue teasing her.

"Bo… please…" came her husky plea. She sounded so desperate and I decided she'd had enough teasing. Using my free hand to tug at her nipples, I steadily increased the speed of the fingers inside her.

Air rushed in through her mouth – a silent gasp – and she pulled my face into hers.

Her hips stayed in time with my hand for a while as our kisses became sloppy; simply an excuse to keep our mouths busy while my fingers busied themselves inside her. Her posture sank and her knees started to shake; she was having difficulty holding herself up and I knew she was already close. I ripped my lips from hers to watch her expressions.

Her eyebrows knitted together above her eyes which were squeezed tightly closed, her lips were slightly parted, and her face was incredibly flush. Small whimpers escaped through her lips and what little nails she had dug into my upper arms.

I felt her body go rigid and her thrusts lost rhythm, I could feel her tensing around my fingers and, soon after, her grinding got harder but slower. Her nails were digging in so hard I swore I would bleed, as she resumed breathing.

I waited for her to regain some semblance of composure and made sure her feet were sturdy before I began moving us away from the door toward the bed. She licked her lips while she wore a disbelieving smile and let me direct her, moaning again when she fell back onto the mattress.

As I roughly tugged off her pants, throwing them across to the OTHER side of the room now, my intentions were impeded by her sitting up. The smile I could feel on my lips quickly faded, and I immediately removed my hands from her body completely.

Her previous expressions of exhaustion and arousal were replaced with one of smug determination. I could feel my look of confusion as she rose up from the bed to grab me lightly by the shoulders and turn us around. I was startled enough to put up absolutely no fight. I let her push me down and slowly crawl up my body before she whispered sensually in my ear, "Uh uh. Now it's my turn."

000

I've been with a lot of people, that was never kept a secret, but in all the people I've encountered, I never knew a single one that took me so completely by surprise in the best of ways. There has only ever been one person to challenge me, to scare me, to infuriate me, and to love me. And I guess that night was all I ever needed to find her.

It's been three years since I picked up the seemingly shy blonde in the corner of a dark bar, and today is the day I marry her; my gorgeous, soon to be, Mrs. Lauren Dennis.