And maybe Savannah needed to watch her back tonight, especially considering Lulu wasn’t the only one giving her looks that might kill. Cole was obviously a regular here, and several women stopped by to hug him or kiss him on the cheek. They lingered only long enough to say hello once they saw Savannah, but they glanced contemptuously at Savannah as they walked away.
“I’m not very popular here,” she said as he hugged one of his many admirers and took his seat next to her.
He frowned. “What?”
“Your female friends are shooting daggers at me.”
He scanned the crowd. “No, they’re not.”
She shook her head and turned around to face the bar. “From your friend Lulu to every woman who’s come up to greet you. Every single one of them has given me a look that would drop me dead to the floor if it had a weapon attached to it. Obviously you’re very sought after.”
“Nah. They’re just my friends.”
“Maybe from your perspective. Not theirs. Open your eyes, Cole. These women are in love with you.”
He snorted.
“Okay, fine. They’re at least in seriously heavy lust. And they don’t appreciate that you’re not here solo tonight.”
Cole had no idea where Savannah was getting her ideas. These were his party friends, his drinking buddies, and his dance partners. None of them were girlfriends. While it was true he never brought a date here, he never made any promises to any of these women that would give them hope of being exclusive. So why would they be pissed that he brought Savannah?
But as he sat and talked to Savannah, he kept his gaze on the women hovering around them.
She was right. They weren’t happy. Whenever he happened to glance at them, they were all smiles. But as soon as he turned away, they folded their arms and gave Savannah the death glare.
Huh. Who knew? He tried to be honest with them and let them know how the game was played.
Maybe they hadn’t been listening.
“Let’s dance,” he said to Savannah.
Her eyes widened. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It’s a great idea.” He held out his hand.
She shook her head. “Remember what I told you about this not being a date? I’m merely here to observe.”
“Good.” He took her by the waist and lifted her off the bar stool, then grabbed her hand. “You can observe me on the dance floor.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “Do you ever take no for an answer?”
“Absolutely. I’m not that kind of guy, Savannah.”
She sighed and moved in closer to him on the crowded dance floor. The music was loud, the beat gyrating, and Cole got into watching Savannah dance.
She had moves, and once she relaxed and got into the music, she could shake her hips just right.
His objective in getting her on the dance floor was to shake loose some of his groupies. Now that he knew they were getting possessive, he wanted to put an end to it, let them know that when he was here with a lady, they needed to go about their business and find their own fun. It was one thing when he came to the club as a single. Then it was a free-for-all and he didn’t mind choosing one woman after another to dance and party with.
But them claiming ownership of him at the club? His life didn’t work that way. He was a free agent and no woman was going to put a claim on him. If he wanted to bring a date—even though Savannah wasn’t really a date—then he’d damn well do that.
Except he wasn’t checking out the other women to see if they’d found other amusement. He was concentrating on Savannah, on the skintight dress she wore and the way it hiked up on her legs whenever she raised her arms over her head and swiveled around in a fast circle. She got his blood pumping, and when the next song slowed things down, he couldn’t resist sliding his arm around her and drawing her close.
She narrowed her gaze at him and gave him a wary look, but he figured she must like dancing because she didn’t walk away. Instead, she flung an arm around his neck and slid close, but still kept her distance. It made him want to grab her and feel her body touching his.
“You are dangerous, Peaches.”
“We’re just dancing here, Cole. Don’t read anything into it.”
“Not reading anything. This is just business.”
“Of course it is.”
They were both lying. She shifted her hips, her body inches from his crotch.
Tempting. Oh so tempting. And his dick was getting hard.
Savannah was a smart woman. She had to notice, so he put his hands on her hips and swung her out, this time making sure when he pulled her back, he tugged her close.
She immediately pulled away, creating that inch or so of space between them.
It didn’t help, because she knew how to move, and when she turned her back to him and swayed her hips to the music, he broke into a sweat.
She might not be grinding against him, but he still felt her.
Christ. Maybe she was deliberately torturing him, or maybe this was her way of telling all his friends to f**k off by the way she danced with him. Either way, he was hard as steel and his balls were throbbing.
If they were alone he’d know exactly what to do. He’d wrap his arm around her waist and pull her against him, then slide his hands up to her sweet, full br**sts, cup them until her ni**les hardened, pull the top of her dress down, then turn her around so he could taste her sweet mouth. When he had his fill of kissing her, he’d move down and suck on her ni**les until she moaned. He’d strip her down and lay her on his bed so he could lick her pu**y and make her come. And then—
Yeah. The direction of his thoughts wasn’t helping his erection. Fortunately, the song ended and another one started up.
“Mind if I take over?”
One of his club friends—Sheila—stepped in front of Savannah.
Savannah half turned and met Cole’s gaze for a fraction of a second before she turned to Sheila and smiled. “He’s all yours. I need a breather anyway.”
“Hey, wait,” Cole said. But Savannah had already disappeared into the crowd.
So maybe the signals he’d gotten had been all in his head, because she’d sure walked away easily enough.
SAVANNAH WATCHED THE WOMEN SQUEAL WITH JOY AS Cole was swallowed up by sequins, spandex, miles of legs, and a lot of hair.
She could tell from the look on his face when she’d walked away that he’d been confused, then angry. With her. She wasn’t sure what she’d done wrong. She’d told him from the outset that she wanted to observe and nothing more, but he’d acted affronted when she’d wandered off to sit and watch instead of interacting with him.