Undeniable

Excerpt from: Undeniable

It was Cooper Nelson’s birthday party, and all the staffers were required to attend. Some say it’s because our uptight boss doesn’t have any friends, so the two hundred and some people there were the only ones who would show up. I just happened to be Cooper’s personal assistant, and the guy who had stared at me for most of the night was his brother, Jake Taylor.

He’d been looking at me all evening. Carelessly, I suppose, but his eyes wandered continuously in my direction. I occasionally smiled, catching him in the act, although he didn’t return the gesture. He simply stared as if he had every right to let his gaze roam the length of my body.

I’d met Jake before, at company dinners and such, and had always felt an attraction to him. Tonight, the six-foot-four inches of nothing but a perfect male specimen dressed casually at the black-tie dinner party. Faded denim jeans covered his lower half while an equally faded tee with “Stud” splayed across the front covered his upper. Two frayed holes marked his pants at the knees. He looked as unhappy as everyone else who had been forced to attend.

Except the rest of us were dressed formally. My long, black dress fell to the ground, my five-inch silver, strappy heels useless to keep it off the floor. I, personally, wouldn’t have chosen this dress for this occasion, but it was the only formal I owned. When his eyes met mine again, I decided to go for it.

I felt a bit self-conscious at the low-cut neck, gathering together just above my navel to accentuate a very haughty cleavage. My back was essentially bare. The halter-top tied around my neck, while the rest of the fabric gathered just above the round swell of my ass. I had worn the dress, once, to my best friend’s engagement party and had never put the thing back on. Now, looking at Jake’s wandering gaze, I was glad that I had.

I crossed the ballroom, making my way towards him through the crowd of people. Generally at these parties, most of us form cliques and stay with our group.

Ridiculously like high school, I suppose, but a way of survival, otherwise we’d all be wasted and puking all over the place. Then again, who’s to say some of us weren’t?

Jake saw me approach and his dark eyes narrowed as he leaned against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest. I smiled to myself, applauding my effort at finally working up enough courage to talk to him. It had been five years since the day we’d first met, and we’d never even spoken a “hello”.

“What do you want?” he asked before I came to a complete stop beside him.

Did he really want the answer to that question? His curt response startled me for a second. Maybe I shouldn’t have come over here. Maybe things were better left alone. But the look in his eyes melted away my reserves. I was bold enough to come over here. And dammit I was going to have a conversation with him. I narrowed my eyes.

“I just wanted to talk to the only casually-dressed guy in the room. Didn’t you get the memo about this being a black-tie affair?”

“Oh, I got the memo.” His eyes raked over me, again, stopping at my breasts. “But I don’t give a fuck.”

I scoffed, “I wish some of us were so lucky.”

The live band started to play the B-52’s Love Shack, and everyone gathered in the middle of the dance floor. I stared openly at Jake as he stood next to me, his body towering over me, hard and delicious. I wanted to ask him to dance, to feel his arms around me, all over me, but knew dancing wasn’t his style either.

“See something you like?” he asked. Dark gray eyes with just a tiny hint of blue stared down at me, deep pools I wanted to swim in. My body heated as his gaze roamed the length of me, every inch of my skin tingling as he assessed me. God only knew what he thought, but a bolt of excitement shot down my spine when he stopped to stare at my breasts.

“Do you see something you like?” I crossed my arms, making my breasts spill even further out of my dress. I couldn’t help wondering how I hadn’t been arrested for public indecency.