The Unidentified Redhead (Redhead #1)(34)
Author: Alice Clayton

When I saw him laughing, I jiggled my chest at him. He was mesmerized instantly. Now that I knew the girls had such power over him, I would be using them more often.

“Eyes up here, Hamilton. My rule?” I dragged his focus back.

“Yes, your rule. What is it?” he asked, moving closer to me again.

“This,” I said, flicking his lower lip. “You are not al owed to bite down on that lower lip unless you are planning on spending at least an hour using it on me.”

“What is with you and my lip? I don’t see the big deal.” He frowned, making a show of biting down aggressively.

“It’s hot, OK? Just plain hot, so knock it off! Promise me—hey, promise me!” I snapped my fingers and squeezed his face, pushing his cheeks together so that his lips were pushed out. “Promise me you’ll be my Johnny Bite Down, and mine alone, or no more slap and tickle.”

“Grace, please. If I want a little—what did you call it? Slap and tickle? I do believe if I want a little of anything, you’ll be begging to give it to me,” he challenged.

I raised my eyebrows at him and prepared to go nuclear on his ass.

He called your bluff. You will totally give him anything he wants, whenever he wants it.

Dammit.

“But, in the interest of keeping the peace … and our dinner reservation,” he began. “I will agree to attempt to restrain the biting down until I can—what did you say, use it on you?—as much as I can help it, agreed?” He smiled that grin that he knew I couldn’t resist, and I melted.

“Yes, please. Thank you.” I smiled back. He kissed me softly again as I fixed his hair, and we made our way back through the house, locking it on our way out.

We decided to take my car, but he drove. We went to Yamashiro’s, a Japanese restaurant in the hills with amazing views of Los Angeles. He had timed dinner just right so that when we were pulling into the lot, the sun was finally setting in the west, leaving behind a lovely glow around the gardens. This restaurant was actually situated in a series of Japanese gardens and was a rather famous place to dine in L.A. It was also very romantic—something that was not lost on me. The boy did good.

We settled into a table by the windows so we could watch the sunset, and after ordering our sushi and sake, I excused myself to run to the ladies room. I checked my reflection in the mirror, smoothing my hair, and noticed the flush in my face. Right before I had left the table Jack had mentioned what he planned to do to me later that night, and it was enough to get my blood pumping.

It may have involved his tongue.

I overheard two girls talking back and forth between the stalls, obviously discussing a celebrity that was dining here tonight.

“I saw him over by the window! Damn, he looks good. He is all dressed up.

Normally when I see him out he’s much grungier.”

“He is f**king hot is what he is. I wonder who he’s with?”

“Eh, some woman. It must be business related. Maybe it’s a meeting. That’s probably why he’s dressed up.”

The hairs on the back of my neck began to prickle. I had a pretty good idea who they were talking about and who “some woman” was. I ducked my head into my purse to hide my face, but as they exited the stalls, I took a quick look.

They were tall. They were beautiful. They were young. They stood at the counter, washing their hands and touching up their lip-gloss. I suddenly felt like a fool, an old fool. One of them, I’ll call her Stunning, caught my eye in the mirror, and she spun around.

“Oh! You’re the one who’s eating with Jack Hamilton, right?” she exclaimed.

The other one, Also Stunning, took me in, eyes flickering over me head to toe. Not being judged any kind of threat, she turned around as well, with a saccharine smile.

I looked at Stunning and said, “Yes, yes I am. Did you want me to relay a message to him?” I asked, remembering my manners and that Holly would not want me to start a brawl over her client in a ladies’ room.

“Oh no, we’ll maybe stop by the table later. Will you two be meeting long?

We were hoping he might want to grab a drink with us afterward,” Stunning answered, as Also Stunning smiled at the thought.

Breathe, Grace …

The fact that they had already dismissed me as competition pissed me off royally, but I kept my cool. “You know, I really don’t know how long, but you’re welcome to stop by the table. Jack always enjoys meeting his fans.” I took one last glance in the mirror and swiftly exited.

My heart was pounding as I made my way back to the table. This was ludicrous. What I was doing? The idea that this could work past a few manic sexy times—ludicrous. We were worlds apart, despite the connection that we truly had.

I was a thirty-something with a giant mortgage and a fledgling career. He was about to be a huge movie star that should be with girls like Stunning and Also Stunning back there. A thousand thoughts ran through my head in the thirty seconds it took me to walk back to our table, and all but one ran back out as soon as I saw him.

He stood up when I got to my chair and pul ed it out for me. His hand found the small of my back as he guided me into my seat, and then it rose up my spine and landed at the nape of my neck, his fingers tapering out to slide under the fabric, grazing the skin underneath. It was a sweet moment, more telling than a dozen red roses or a box of chocolates or anything else he could have done.

He wants you. Why, we don’t know. But he does. He wants his crazy girl, his Nuts Girl.

I caught the eye of Also Stunning as the pair walked back through the bar. I couldn’t help but plant a soft kiss on his fingertips as they moved from the back of my neck to my cheek. His hand finally settled over my own on the tabletop, clasping my fingers with his in clear view of everyone in the restaurant.

I saw her nudge Stunning, and the two of them stared at our entwined hands. I could not stop the slight smirk that flitted across my face as their eyes narrowed at me. Jack was oblivious to all of this, as most men are in the ways of snide womanly behavior.

I sipped my sake, sucked my edamame, and in spite of the slight confidence boost the smirk had given me, tried to ignore the quiet but persistent alarm bells that had begun to ring in my head.

After dinner, I dropped Jack off at his car, agreeing to meet him at Holly’s as soon as he picked up a few things from his apartment. There was no discussion about him spending the night. It was just silently agreed upon that neither one of us would be sleeping alone any time soon.