I had dressed in a simple teal sheath of a dress, tight around all the right places. I thought the color set off my brown skin marvelously, and I was rewarded by an appreciative whistle from Travis when I came downstairs.
"Not bad...you clean up nice."
"Thanks," I said, sardonically, but I was pleased. I knew he meant it. I had left my hair down, and the curls hung loosely around my face and shoulders. I'd worn the only jewelry I owned, a simple gold chain around my neck, and a silver anklet, twinkling in the light. Fake costume earrings completed the look. Oh, and my mother's gold ring on my finger, but I was never without that.
Inside, I sat and tried not to admit to myself I had dressed extra nice for Marius. Would he even notice?
But before he came down, Lady Gray joined us and I sighed inwardly. Ten years older than us, Lady Gray still looked our age and as beautiful as ever. She was taller than me, about 5'8", and slim and curvy. Her hair was copper ringlets, and she wore a stunning pleated skirt and low-cut blouse. She was wearing diamond earrings and a diamond pendant that hung between her breasts. No wonder Marius was hot for her.
And I thought she was attracted to Marius. But then, who wouldn't be? Marius was six foot two inches of gorgeous man. He was broad in the chest, strong, serious, intelligent, and very, very handsome. He had dark eyes and long wavy brown hair, which he kept to his shoulders. Normally he wore a hat, like many people these days did, or a helmet when in the field. Occasionally I had seen him without, but it was rare.
"Hello, Lady Gray," I smiled. "Don't you look lovely?"
"Thank you, and so do you! That teal color is perfect for you."
Yes, the worst of it was, Lady Gray was unforgivably gorgeous and nice. It just wasn't fair, was it?
Only a few minutes later Marius came down with Maya, Travis' little girlfriend. She was utterly cute, only about five feet tall, wearing a very sexy little two-piece number. She was not shy in the least, and hurried over and sat in Travis' lap. His arms went automatically around her and she snuggled into his arms, waving at me. I smiled fondly.
Behind her came Marius and as I clapped eyes on him my mouth went dry.
He had brushed his hair until most of the waves were gone, and it hung around his face, silky soft. He was wearing a sort of silk jacket, slightly open at the front, just baring about an inch-wide strip of his chest, and my mind immediately presented me with images of my fingers running through the hair just visible. He wore jeans that were somewhat tight, not indecently so, but enough to see the rippling muscles in his thighs.
His face had an uncustomarily lazy look on it, with amber bedroom eyes, which just about did it for me. I always noticed a man's eyes and bedroom eyes always made my loins twitch.
Marius also wore, not really a beard, but the equivalent of several days without shaving. I didn't like beards much, but the several days' growth was just fine.
Lady Gray stood to greet him. "Marius! Don't you look fine!" and I realized my mouth was open.
Travis nudged me. "Quit staring," he said, laughing at me. In the background I heard Marius telling Lady Gray how lovely she looked.
I blushed. "Sorry. I just...look at him."
"I know." Travis shook his head and raised his voice to address his comments to Marius directly. "Marius, quit it. That ain't right, you dressing like that. All the girls are going to be looking at you and ignoring us."
Marius chuckled. "Should I go back and change?"
"No!" I blurted out, and then blushed again as everyone laughed. Marius took Lady Gray's arm (my heart sank) and we all headed out together.
Travis, being a gentleman at heart, offered me his other arm, and we three walked together. The club wasn't far, and none of us had a car anyway.
About twenty minutes later, we entered Vapor. Travis offered to get us all drinks, and I asked for a dry martini. Marius and Lady Gray both got Bloody Marys.
We drank and chatted for a bit, and then Lady Gray asked Marius to dance. I watched them go, thinking I should have been brave enough to ask him myself.
"What's with you?" Travis nudged me.
"What?"
"You've never been shy around guys. Why are you suddenly shy now?"
I shrugged. "Just look at him. He's way out of my league."
"Nonsense. I bet he's thinking about you."
"If he is, then why is he dancing with Lady Gray?"
"To be nice? Anyway, if that's your only problem, you better look out, he's coming over."
I looked up in surprise, and indeed, there he was, striding over to me. My heart beat faster.
"Where's Lady Gray?" I managed to say, calmly.
"She's dancing with some guy that started talking to her about gears." He gestured over his shoulder and I looked past. Indeed, she was with another man, laughing and enjoying herself.
"Care to dance, Kendra?"
"Me? Um, sure." He took my hand and pulled me to my feet, and for a moment I was only a few inches away from him, and I could smell his aftershave, faintly. He led me out onto the dance floor and pulled me into his arms.
"You look very nice today, Kendra. I think I said already, but I wanted to be sure you knew."
"Thank you, Marius. You look pretty damn good yourself."
"You think so?" He gave me a sardonic little smile, and pulled me closer to him. I had to crane my neck to look up into his eyes, and I felt the warmth of his body against mine.
"I think you look...well, frankly, you should be illegal."
He laughed out loud at that. His arms slipped around my waist and I felt him loop his fingers at my waist. Now I was dancing right with him, hip-to-hip, almost but not quite touching, leaning back against his arms to look into his face.
"You dance very nicely, Kendra." His voice was silky smooth and curled around my ears. It wasn't terribly loud in here but he did have to lean right into my ear, and I felt his breath on my skin.
"You do too, Marius," I breathed. I was slowly becoming aware of something occasionally brushing against my hip, high up on the side, and I thought I knew what it was, too. Marius was hard for me. But...really? Marius was attracted to me? And not Lady Gray? I wanted to know.
"You are just so tall, Marius; it's almost hard for me to put my hands on your shoulders."