C.J. watched as the two men circled each other like rams that were getting ready to fight over the lone female in their midst. She just watched Matt and Manuel as they sized each other up.
Manuel slid around the floor more gracefully being the trained dancer yet Matt moved as gracefully in his own way. Her partner exuded power and speed, barely harnessed now and she wondered what had gotten inside his head.
Why was he even at the club, shouldn't he be out looking for his perfect baby momma?
"Houston…"
He nodded slightly.
"C.J.…"
"What are you doing here?"
He simply smiled though his eyes remained charged.
"I was in the area and I heard you might be here," he said, "I needed to see you."
Something fast and primal ran through her body because for a second she thought…then her memory caught up with her. She folded her arms trying to stem the disappointment.
"You thought you'd try to talk me into going along with your outlandish plan."
He looked at her, guilty as charged but she felt the rush in her body just from thinking that he might have come here to sweep her off the dance floor and carried her to the nearest spot they could get horizontal in private.
Of course, a lot could be done vertically as well and she thought about everything right now. He just looked so damn sexy dressed in casual clothes as if this were just a stop for him on an already busy social calendar. But her fingers itched to remove that shirt so she could splay them over his muscular chest, tug gently at the sprigs of hair and taste those coppery nipples that she'd seen.
Then she wanted to explore the parts of him she hadn't seen, just boldly reach out to unsnap and unzip those pants to free what she knew was underneath. But if she entertained those thoughts turning them into action, she'd shock him off out of his shoes and not in a good way.
She sighed, thinking of how he favored socialites in pastel gowns who no doubt wore naughtier colors underneath, waiting to be explored by him when they left the event. He'd had an active sex life, she knew that just from hearing whispers about it on the grapevine from woman who'd tasted what he had to offer. She'd walked in on him kissing women on the lips, before they sashayed out of his house or even the office suite. He didn't hide the fact that he was an active bachelor who loved spending time with women.
Didn't he know how much a baby would cramp his social life, not to mention how it would dampen his sexual escapades? Unless he hired a nanny to hand the baby off to rear while he continued shopping around the social roster for women to wear on his arm and take to bed.
That didn't seem like his style because he'd always been so hands on with everything. She could only imagine what it'd be like to be on the receiving end of his hands but she knew that as far as his child were concerned, he would want to raise it himself. Even through all the good and bad times that went hand in hand with the experience….she just didn't know if he understood how difficult it would be.
Right now he didn't appear to be thinking about that and she felt her blood rush through her as the two men eyed each other.
"I was dancing with her first," Manuel pointed out.
Matt didn't seem too impressed.
"I need to talk to her," he said, "It's…business."
That sent her blood boiling and she turned to face him.
"Houston…get the hell out of here."
He blinked his eyes looking a bit taken aback at her attitude.
"Why…surely you have a few moments to spare."
She sighed.
"Yeah at the office…during the workday but this is my time off from all that and I'm kicking my heels and having fun."
"But…"
She gritted her teeth.
"Houston…you don't own me or my time…certainly not outside of work," she said, "I came here to forget about work and frankly to forget about that plan you've got brewing, to do some dancing…"
She glanced over at Manuel who had started dancing to the music on his own.
"To get some….you understand what that's about don't you?"
Oh, judging by the look on his face now, he got her message loud and clear and he didn't look like he liked it. Too frigging bad, she decided because now if he'd come to dirty dance with her, do the bump and grind while they still had their clothes on, she might go for it, all the way out to his car…to his house and dancing straight into his bed.
Then she'd show him some moves that would be smoking…touching and stroking, and molding herself to him…the kind of moves that she'd been practicing with him inside her head.
Her fantasies had been in full bloom for a while where no one else could see him. She'd tease him; her body would remain just out of reach of that part of him that wanted it until she decided to allow him inside more than her body. Then she'd give him the ride of his life. All that pent up energy and passion she had stored for such a night…but he just wanted to stand here and talk business with her in one of the hottest clubs in town.
He pulled her away from Manuel who had succumbed to the melody and rhythm of the music resounding around them.
"You mean you came here to dance with that guy and then leave with him?"
She nodded.
"Yeah…It's been one of those tough work weeks, which you just made tougher by putting those demands on me to help you and I'm just itching for some loving."
He sighed.
"I seriously doubt he loves you."
She rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Matt…that's not the kind of loving I meant," she said, "I'm talking hitting the sheets or the side of the wall and having some fun...getting off."
His face flushed slightly at that but whether due to embarrassment or the idea flashing through him of what that might look like, she didn't know. And then it hit her, when she remembered how much tequila shots she'd been drinking just to forget the fact that he wanted some strange woman to bear his child…one shot…two…damn.
Her tongue had loosened accordingly and now she blushed.
"Houston…I didn't quite mean it the way it sounded."
But he didn't appear to want to let her off the hook.
"Sure you did," he said, "I had no idea that through my own actions I had driven you into this place but I'll be damned if you're leaving with him."
She folded her arms right in his face.
"You can't do that," she said, "You don't control me."
He sighed.
"You've been drinking shots again…"
A factual statement rather than a question, she noticed. Yeah, she'd had a few of them but nothing she couldn't handle.
"I think you're going to need a ride home."
She sighed and nodded.
"You might be right," she said, "but Manual can give me a ride."
Matt just shook his head.
"No, he'll take you straight to his house and take advantage of your state."
She smiled.
"He'll give me exactly what I need to relax Houston," she said, "Shouldn't you be out looking for your baby's mother?"
His mouth set in a fine line.
"That can wait…and our conversation about it can too."
She just stared at him and this whole stubborn attitude of his that led him into believing that if he just asked her enough times, pressed her enough she'd bend to doing what he wanted. It had worked sometimes but not always and it wouldn't work now.
So she pointed his finger in his chest.
"I could leave and go to your place," she said, "and show you a thing or two what I can do."
He arched a brow, suppressing a smile.
"I'm sure you could C.J. but I'm taking you to your house."
She shrugged.
"That'll work too," she said, "Houston…I just got to get me some and you look like you'd be really good."
"You wouldn't remember anyway," he said, "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Don't you want to see me dance?"
"Not with him…though I was watching and you're very good at it."
She smiled at that and when he nudged her, she started walking. Until Manuel stopped his gyrating and stood in her path.
"Where are you going C.J.?"
She sighed.
"Going home, it's been fun Manuel."
He frowned.
"But we just got started," he said, "Oh, you were feeling so hot baby."
Her eyes narrowed.
"I'm not your baby…"
"So you're this guy's then?"
She considered that and shook her head.
"I'm not anyone's, he's just a good friend."
Manuel's mouth curved into a sneer.
"Yeah I'll bet, so you're going off to settle for leaving with this dude?"
Matt moved towards him and the dancer moved back a step.
"I'm taking her home because she's had a bit much to drink," he said, "and I don't want her waking up next to the likes of you and hating life."
C.J. thought that awfully pushy of him to say but it turned her on too. She'd seen hints of this side of Matt before but not quite like now. She felt her body throb and wondered if she hit on him in her house, would he stay the night?
Manual sneered and poked his finger at Matt.
"She'd love what I'd do to her."
Big mistake, C.J. realized, the words and the finger pointing because Matt moved so quickly she flinched as he grabbed Manuel's arm and twisted it behind his back holding onto him.
"She's not going with you so you should just move on to the next dance."
Manuel quickly dropped his bravado and Matt released him so he'd slip away. He then looked at C.J..
"We'd better go now."
"My car…?"
"Give me the keys and I'll have someone pick it up and it'll be at your house by morning."
That worked, she thought though she didn't want him doing everything for her. She might be a bit sloshed but she knew she wanted to spend some time with him in her home. As soon as they stepped in the door, she'd wrap her arms around him and pull him in for a soft kiss…at first before she lit his lips on fire with all the teasing and tormenting until he'd cup her butt with his hands and pull her closer to where she knew he'd be hard for her.
Their friendship, their working partnership was great but nothing that sometime between the sheets wouldn't enhance. If she felt differently in the morning, she'd deal with that but who could not look at a man like Matt and not shiver thinking of all the things to do with him?
They walked out of the club after she waved to Sonia out on the dance floor and to his car. He opened the door so she could slip in and then after he'd joined her, he drove out of the lot towards her house.
He, thinking he'd just saved her from a bad situation she'd later regret and her looking at him and thinking, how hard is it going to be to get him into bed?