Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy #1)(38)

The bouncer checked our IDs, stamped the backs of our hands and waived the cover fee.

Once we were inside, Lu said, “Let’s walk through.” A mere ten steps later a trio of guys intercepted us.

“Looking good for ladies’ night,” the cute guy in the middle drawled. “There’s room at our table.”

“Aren’t you just sweet,” Lu said with a huge smile. “Right now we’re looking for our friends.”

“If they’re as hot as you, invite them too.”

Lu steered us away. We’d reached the end of the first row when two burly guys invited us to join them.

Again, Lu dealt with letting them down with a wink, a flirty pat on the arm and a cooing bye-bye. I attributed her unparalleled man-handling technique to her near-professional dating status. While I enjoyed college parties, in clubs I felt like I was on display—guys gauged you as a potential hookup; women eyed you as competition.

“Do you see him yet?”

Then there he was.

A bottle of beer in his hand, the lights from the bar providing backlight that outlined his smoking body. He wore a tight, black, short-sleeved T-shirt that hugged the muscles in his shoulders, biceps and chest as if the material had been specifically designed for him. His angular face had a hint of scruff and my belly fluttered because it made him that much more gorgeous. Although half a dozen women surrounded him—no surprise there—he never focused on any one in particular. He kept scanning the area.

For me.

That was some heady stuff.

He’d always had this way of finding me in a crowd. When those dark eyes locked with mine, I felt the power of this connection between us down to the marrow of my bones.

Boone smiled—god, that smile was a freakin’ beacon—and I started toward him like I was being pulled in by a tractor beam.

His eyes heated, his nostrils flared and he set his beer aside, muttering apologies as he cut through his throng of admirers and moved with one purpose: getting to me.

Maybe I’d been too hasty denying I’d end up in bed with him tonight, because right now, stripping this man naked and seeing his hot look of utter possession as he f*cked me was the best idea in the history of the world.

We met in the middle…and that’s when it became awkward.

Boone tempered the lust in his eyes. Yet, he slowly slid his rough-skinned palm up the outside of my arm in a caress so erotic I felt it sizzle across my entire body. He dipped his head and brushed his cheek against mine. “You look stunning as always, McKay.”

“So you were checking out my kickin’ clubbing outfit?”

“You’re not stunning because of what you wear.”

An African-American guy with a shaved head and amazing bone structure sidled up beside Boone. But before he said anything, his focus locked on someone behind me.

It was a natural instinct to turn around and look, even when I knew exactly who had grabbed his attention.

Lu.

I turned back around quickly and caught Boone eyeing my ass.

He flashed me that panty-melting grin. “You and leather? Stuff fantasies are made from, sexy.”

The guy next to Boone dropped to his knees in front of Lu. “Marry me.”

She laughed. “Aren’t you a charmer?”

“If I say yes, can I prove it by peeling away the snakeskin that’s covering your spectacular body?”

“Only if you use your teeth.” She cocked her head. “Blindfolded.”

He clasped his hands together in front of her. “I think I love you.”

“Knock it off, Raj,” Boone said.

Raj rolled to his feet and demanded, “Woman, what is your name?”

“Lu.”

“Lu? Huh-uh. That’s the name of a car mechanic. An old, balding white guy with a stogie in one hand and dirty magazine in the other. Your mama did not birth an angel and name her Lu. Baby, what is your real name?”

I held my breath. Lu hated her name. Her nickname growing up had been Lug—a double whammy, a dig at her name and her size. She’d christened herself Lu the first day of college.

She offered her hand. “Lucinda Grace.”

What the hell? She’d told him her middle name without making him work for it?

Raj ran his mouth across her knuckles and nuzzled the inside of her wrist. “I’m Raj. The man who’s gonna ruin you for all other men.”

“Raj,” she cooed. “Let me try that out. See how it sounds rolling off my tongue.” She let her head fall back. “Yes, Raj. Right there. Oh, baby, oh Raj, you know I need it harder.” Then she said, “Raaaaaj,” on a throaty moan, dragging his name out to six syllables.

I didn’t dare look at Boone. Or Raj for that matter.

“Your lips were made to say my name, Lucinda Grace.”

“My lips were made for a lot of things. Buy me a drink and let’s discuss some of my favorites in detail.”

He yelled, “One glass of champagne for finding the woman who’ll bear my children,” at the bartender and slipped his arm around her waist, directing her toward the bar.

Lu sent me a wicked look over her shoulder. “Black snake moan is gonna have a whole new meaning tonight, girlfriend.”

And they vanished into the crowd.

“So now you’ve met Raj,” Boone said dryly.