“Sure,” I said without consoling Sadie first. My eyes shifted to her for a split-second, before coming back to Johnny. She was lost in conversation with Thresh and the others. I didn’t think she would mind hanging out with them at their place. In fact, I was positive.
“Not going to ask your friend first?”
I shook my head. “No. She’ll be fine with it.”
“Okay, then.” His lips curved upward into a sexy smirk. One that drew my attention to his lip ring again. “Never felt one against your lips have you?” His question surprised me.
“Nope.” My response might have been simple and one-worded, but what I felt inside was anything but. His question caused my chest to balloon with heat, and my stomach to drop to my toes. Had I been that obvious about it?
His tongue flicked out, and pulled the ring into his mouth. I could feel his eyes on me, trailing across my face, dipping down to view the cleavage I had on display. When his gaze finally lifted to mine, I could see a war waging within him. He was debating whether to kiss me now or wait until later. Sexually charged tension occupied the air between us, building with each breath I took. I felt as though he were torturing me, like he was holding out on purpose. God, I bet he was good at foreplay.
“We have all night,” he muttered, sending disappointment crawling along my insides. A breath of amusement escaped him, and before I could decipher how it made me feel, his lips were pressed against mine, moving in a rhythmic, intoxicating way. He pulled away, leaving inches between us. “Doesn’t mean I cared to wait that long though.”
I didn’t kiss guys this soon after meeting them. Instead, I generally preferred to wait until at least the third or fourth date. There was something about Johnny though. He made me want to break all my rules. One-night stands had never been something I would even consider, because that was how you gained a reputation for being easy, but this guy might make me change my mind. Abruptly, he broke our kiss, leaving my lips swollen and me yearning for more.
“How was it?”
His question lacked the sense of arrogance I imagined it would hold. I liked that it was more sweet than dirty. “Nice.”
“Just nice?” He arched a brow, and a crooked grin found its way to his face. “That’s all I get?”
“Really nice?” I teased, flashing him a phony, unsure smile.
“I guess there’s always room for improvement.” He ran a hand through his hair, the smirk on his face never wavering.
“There’s also plenty of time to convince me you’re the best kisser I’ve ever locked lips with. The night is young.” My words were bold and brazen. I was glad I’d thought of them.
“Very true.” Heat burned through his words, sending sparks of desire dancing in my lower stomach.
“I see the two of you are now better acquainted.” Sadie grinned as she looped her arm through mine. “Are we going to their place now for the after party?”
“Charlotte already answered for you both.” Johnny winked.
“With her lips or vocally?” Sadie asked.
“Both,” he insisted.
I could feel the heat from my cheeks spreading down my neck as Sadie continued to glare at me. One thing was for sure, I needed to watch my alcohol consumption tonight. If not, I would be jumping this guy’s bones in front of everyone.
“Let’s go, then.” Blaze grinned. His eyes weren’t on us. They were on a group of girls standing near the stage. I wondered which one he would chose to bring home with him, or if he would decide to bring them all.
“Come on,” Johnny said. “We can go out through the back door. Blaze will meet us at the van.”
We started out the back door. The night air was damp from the rain earlier, and the scent of wet asphalt wafted to my nose. I wrapped my arms around myself as we continued walking.
“We need to decide on a time to head home,” Sadie whispered to me. “One we both agree on.”
This was our usual procedure for heading to any party. We always decided on a set time we should leave, one that still allowed us to get a few hours of sleep in before class the next day. “What time is it now?”
“I don’t know.” When she didn’t move to reach for her cell in her purse, I went for mine.
A motorcycle revved its engine after it came to a rolling stop in front of us. I couldn’t see the guy’s face because it was covered by a glossy black helmet. The little I could see of him let me know he enjoyed working out and getting tattoos. His entire left arm was one solid, never-ending tattoo. I couldn’t see his other arm fully, but from the wrist to his elbow was the same. Placing his feet on the ground, he kept his balance on the bike. Natasha stepped forward, her red lips stretched into a wide smile at the sight of him. The guy removed his helmet.
“Hey, babe,” he called to her. A thick head of brown hair and a set of brown eyes drew me in. An eyebrow ring and gauged ear holes were the next thing to capture my attention. “I was trying to get here before the show ended, but my time went over a bit. Sorry.”
“That’s okay.” Natasha cupped his face between her hands and kissed him as though he was her whole world and nothing else existed. “The show was great, but you made it just in time. We’re heading back to the guys’ place to celebrate their twentieth show.”
Twentieth. These guys had either just started up, or they weren’t able to get many shows booked, because that didn’t seem like a large number to me when it came to holding concerts.
“Cool. Want to ride with me?”
“You know it.” She stepped back so he could slide off his bike. I watched as he lifted the seat, revealing a hidden compartment. He reached inside, and pulled out a smaller helmet that matched his. Natasha slipped it over her dark hair and buckled the clasp beneath her chin without a second thought.
Once her boyfriend had taken his place back on his bike, Natasha slipped onto the back, wrapping her arms around him.
“Ever been on the back of one of those?” Johnny was inches from me again without my noticing.
“No.”
“Doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to though,” Sadie chimed in. “Do you have one?”
“I do.” He motioned to the other guys in the band. “We all do. It’s sort of our thing.”
“So not only are you in a rock band together, but you’re in a biker gang too?” There was sarcasm dripping from my voice. It was all for show. On paper, their group sounded stereotypical, but in person, their sexiness canceled any of those thoughts out.
“That would be correct, sweet cheeks,” Blaze called from somewhere behind me.
I spun to face him. He had a blonde on either arm and a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Obviously, I had pegged him right from the beginning. He was a man-whore, and I didn’t think there was a bone in his body that had any remorse for it.
After I rolled my eyes at him, I dug in my pocket for my cell to check the time. Sadie and I still hadn’t decided on one.
“That’s our van.” Johnny pointed to a large black van parked along the building. “Why don’t you ladies follow us? Our place is about fifteen minutes away. Is that cool?”
“Sure,” Sadie answered him. “We could do that.”
“See you there.” I smiled. Good God, the guy was like sex-on-a-stick to me. I’d never felt this much attraction to someone before. It was crazy.
“Nice.” He licked along his bottom lip, pulling his silver ring into his mouth. I wondered if he was remembering our kiss, and had said the word nice to remind me.
“We’re parked over there. The red car.” Sadie motioned to our parking spot in the back.
“See you in a bit.” Thresh stepped forward, and pecked her on the cheek. For a beefy guy, he sure did seem sweet. Maybe I was more wrong than I had thought about this entire group.