The Sound of Consequence (Puget Sound ~ Alive With Love Book 1) (16 page)

“I don’t want to dress like a boring school teacher anymore. I want to look like a successful artist and writer. I want to look
sexy
,” Stacie said with a little sass.

“All right, follow me.” Jenny took Stacie’s hand and led her into the store.

Stacie tried on dozens of outfits. None of the clothes even remotely resembled the conservative teacher wardrobe she’d left in Maine. Most of it would not have met Greg’s approval either. She’d even bought a pair of cut-off shorts. The frayed hem was a perfect metaphor for her new persona…crazy and unpredictable.

Jenny found skirts and slacks and shirts while Stacie picked out dresses, mostly pulled from the clearance rack. Stacie was trying to be thrifty, not wanting to blow her savings before she was pulling in an income from writing.

When they left Nordstrom Rack about three hours later, Stacie had two sexy dresses, three trendy shirts, two pairs of capris, a denim skirt, two pairs of jeans, and a few tank tops. “Now to get you some sexy new undies,” Jenny said.

“You read my mind.” They hit four more stores and Stacie ended up with a week’s worth of sexy panties and coordinating bras. It was a little after 5:00. “I’m starving,” Stacie said. They were at the Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, about fifteen miles north of Seattle. “Food court?” she asked Jenny.

“Let’s go see what they’ve got,” Jenny replied.

By the time they got back to the condo, it was nearly 8:00. Stacie had an hour to get ready before she needed to be out the door to meet Owen. Even though she wasn’t a teacher anymore, tardiness was still a pet peeve, so the shower was short, enough time to run a razor over her legs and freshen up. She sprayed on a new body spray bought during the shopping excursion. Since she had an array of new clothes, she selected a red tank top that dropped to slightly above the waist of new faded blue jeans. Underneath Stacie wore a lacy red thong and matching demi bra, giving her a little more cleavage than she was naturally blessed with. She finished the look with a silver-studded belt, black sandals, and garnet stud earrings.

She swiped eyeliner and mascara on, dabbed on pink lip gloss, and checked herself in the mirror. Jenny walked in and gave her a whistle. “Girl, you are hot.” Stacie smiled at her in friend in the mirror.

“It’s almost nine,” Jenny said, tapping her watch.

Stacie grabbed another new tank top, the cut off shorts and tossed them into a bag with coordinating panties and bra. She grabbed a packed vanity bag, gave Jenny a hug, and stepped across the hall to drop her things in Owen’s condo.

Owen tapped his finger on
the bar while his knee rocked a similar twitch. Looking at his watch one more time, he reminded himself that he wasn’t in the army anymore. Stacie wasn’t late.

They were supposed to meet at nine, so she still had six minutes. There was no need for her to show up ten minutes ahead of the scheduled time. Just because he’d been required to do just that for ten years didn’t mean the habit extended to civilians. They operated under a different clock. Owen was among them now and despite the fact that he’d been here for nearly an hour didn’t mean his date was late.

The real problem was that he feared Stacie was going to pull another disappearing act. The last couple days had been nothing short of amazing. When she appeared at his door Thursday night, in that unbelievably sexy dress, claiming all she was interested in was sex, Owen knew it was a front.

Women like Stacie didn’t indulge in such casual relationships. She had more depth than that. Whatever had driven her to go home with him a week ago, without even knowing his name, well it didn’t matter. What mattered was, despite her claim of wanting only sex, there was something more between them, something special. Something worth hanging on to. He knew she felt it too.

When he spotted her at the door, one minute before nine, a sigh of relief crept out. She looked amazing, wearing jeans and a tank top. All of that cotton clung to her athletic body.

Owen wondered what she did to stay in shape. She ran, obviously. Their sprint through the streets the other night might have been motivated by a fear she wouldn’t talk about, but the pace she kept required more than adrenaline. If she kept in shape by running, maybe she’d be interested in running with him on his days off.

Stacie rubbed her neck as she panned the club. Spotting him at the bar, she stepped up her pace and jumped into his arms. The greeting was better than he could have hoped for and suddenly Owen wished they were back at his place. The purpose of the club was to have a date, though, one that would lead to many more.

After letting her know that he missed her with a deep kiss, Owen stepped back to take her all in. “Baby, wow.”

Pink filled her cheeks as her smile widened. “Wait until you see what I have on underneath.”

“Mmmm…I can’t wait,” he muttered against her neck.

Those soft lips that he loved skimmed his ear as she spoke. “Why don’t we skip the club and go back to your place for a private dance.”

Owen laughed, but he chose his words wisely. If he called this a date, Stacie would likely bolt. “Later. I’d like to do some public dancing with you first.”

Stacie hopped up on the stool next to him and eyed the bar. Before she had a chance to get comfortable, the bartender appeared.

“You drinking Jäger tonight?” he asked with a familiarity that sent lightning bolts of jealousy surging through Owen’s body.

Shaking her head, she gave her attention to the taps just to the left of where they sat. “I’d like a beer, actually. What’s good?”

Was she flirting with the bartender? With Owen sitting right next to her?

OK, Landry, calm down. Let the lady order a drink.

Owen took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Even coupled with the inner talk-down, it didn’t do much to tame his jealousy. He’d been in this seat before, with Kristina doing the flirting. He didn’t like it then and he didn’t like it now, despite the fact that Stacie was nothing like his ex.

The bartender smiled, the kind of smile that made Owen want to tear the lips off his face. Instead, he sat there, crossing his arms, not trying to hide the glare he had no power to contain.

“Jack's India Pale Ale and the Alaskan Amber are both pretty good, depending on your preference,” the bartender explained, leaning one arm on the bar in front of Stacie.

“I’ll try the Alaskan.”

The bartender gave Owen a quick glance. “I’ll have the same,” he added, deciding this guy wasn’t going to get a good tip if he kept eyeing Stacie like that.

Trying not to let the jealousy rule his emotions, Owen turned back to Stacie. “How’d your shopping adventure go?”

Stacie’s face lit up, washing away the jealousy Owen was battling. A smile like that could bring peace to war-ravaged countries. “Oh, we had such a good time. I got some great new clothes. No more of that boring teacher wardrobe,” she said. The bartender returned with their beers and she took a long drink. “Oh yeah, that’s good.”

“Boring teacher wardrobe?” Owen asked. She’d been so guarded about her life before Seattle, he was surprised that she had spoken that little detail so casually. “So you were a teacher?”

Tension narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, that beautiful smile disappearing in an instant. Obviously, she hadn’t intended to reveal that little bit of information. Owen read that as a good sign. If she dropped info about herself without realizing it, then she was getting comfortable with him. It was only a matter of time before she  was ready to commit.

“I taught high school honors English,” she said. “That’s what I’ve been doing for the past six years since I graduated college. That’s where I coached soccer.” She took another drink.

Owen debated whether to seek more information. Suddenly he wished he’d been an interrogator in the army instead of a computer security specialist. Then again, those guys used some hard core techniques that wouldn’t be appropriate to use on the woman he was…dating.

“You know, I am in the mood for Jäger,” she said, obviously changing the subject before Owen could pursue it. “Shot?”

Owen decided to be happy with the little bit of intel she’d inadvertently shared. He took it as a sign there was more to come. He wasn’t a patient man, but it was something he was working on. Personal growth, his sister had called it. Yep, he’d just be patient.

Stacie ordered the shots and when the bartender returned, she raised the small glass. “Cheers,” she said and brought the shot to her mouth, throwing her head back as she swallowed the spicy fire. Then she looked at Owen, the spark of desire flashing across her hazel eyes.

Damn, he wanted her. She was so carefree, full of life. Just watching her do something as simple as swallow a shot set his body on fire. He took his shot without breaking their gaze. Then Stacie moved off the bar stool and positioned her body between Owen’s legs, pressing against him. She kissed him slow and long.

“Baby,” Owen drawled, barely able to form the word. A lesser man would get the hell out of here, head back to his place, and get horizontal. This, however, was a date, not a one-night stand. All things in due time.

“Let’s go dance.” He grabbed her hand and led her across the club to the dance floor that had started to fill up. Owen had been here a few times and the place didn’t get crazy until closer to eleven, so they had a little space to move to the beat of the music. He wanted to be close, but that was like playing with fire. The beast below his waist was already awake, making the fit of his jeans uncomfortable. If she got too close, the tension would be excruciating.

Owen was ready to take a break after five high-paced songs. He wiped sweat from his forehead as the DJ pumped it up some more with
Back in Black
. He could hardly sit down now. “It’s our song,” he said, moving in to kiss Stacie.

Their bodies came together, holding time with the beat. As they held each other close, it was obvious they were both thinking about that night just over a week ago.

Owen wasn’t sure what had possessed him to take her home the way he had. Maybe it was because he’d been thinking about her ever since she’d spilled coffee on him. Maybe it was because he was desperate to move forward, live the life he always dreamed of.

He wanted a wife, a faithful one, someone to share his life with. He wanted kids, ones that he was actively involved in raising. He wanted a partner, to be in love, to trust. He wanted it all. His instincts told him he could have that with Stacie. He just needed to be patient.

It wasn’t until the song was over that Owen pulled back slightly and grabbed Stacie’s hand. “I need a drink,” he said, brushing sweat from his forehead.

They wove their way through the crowded room. Stacie grabbed a free table and Owen made his way to the bar. Several minutes later, he joined her with two beers and two shots.

Owen held his shot, waiting until Stacie took hers. He loved to watch her indulge in the magic potion. It was almost as if he could see it working its magic as soon as it hit her tongue. He envisioned the warmth running down her throat, into her chest, warming her round breasts before it traveled past her stomach and into her core. He could almost see her body move with its warmth, tighten as the spice traveled to every part of her body.

Then she relaxed her head forward with a seductive stare that made him want to rip her clothes off in the middle of the club. When she was done, he took his shot to soothe the pain of not being able to take her right there.

Stacie smiled at him, her face lighting up with a flirtatious glow. “Are you trying to get me drunk so that you can take advantage of me?”

Owen laughed, “Baby, you ordered the first round.”

The chair scraped against the floor as Stacie eased around the table, getting close enough to brush her hands over the bulge in his pants. “Maybe I want to take advantage of you, then.”

A groan escaped as he grabbed her hand and brought it to his chest. “As much as I can’t wait to get your clothes off, I like being out with you, with our clothes on.”

“I need to visit the ladies’ room,” she said, pushing away from the table, a strange expression crossing her face.

“Are you all right?” Owen asked. He recognized the look. It was the one she got just before she decided to leave. He’d seen it too many times during the past week. Fortunately he had the perfect weapon to counteract.

Stacie’s smile was obviously forced. Her natural, beautiful smile spread across her face like sunshine on a flower. When it wasn’t so easy, she almost looked like she was in pain. “I’m fine. I’ll be back in a few.”

Owen stood up, then pulled her to him for a long kiss. The tension in her body eased as he held her close, skimming his tongue across her lips. She sighed when he let her go and her smile softened before she sashayed down the narrow corridor toward the bathrooms.

It was only a few minutes later when she reappeared, immediately accosted by a blond guy who was just a little too pretty in Owen’s book. The guy was slightly taller than Stacie and on the thin side compared to Owen. He still looked rugged enough and Owen figured he worked out in a co-ed gym as a means to find dates. His dark-rimmed glasses were a trendy style of what they issued in the army, affectionately known as BCGs, or birth control glasses amongst the soldiers. None of that made him a threat, except for the way he was standing a little too close to Stacie.

Owen glued himself to the chair as he watched closely, like a soldier on a recon mission trying to decide if the target was friend or foe. He didn’t like having this guy anywhere near his girl, not with that neatly trimmed goatee and those pretty-boy designer jeans, but Owen was going to trust Stacie to handle it.

That was until the douche bag put his hand on Stacie’s arm in an all-too-friendly way. When a look of panic raced across Stacie’s face, Owen had had enough.

He charged through the crowd to the narrow hallway where Stacie stood with the trendy douche.

The guy chatted her up, then asked her to dance. Owen didn’t wait to hear Stacie’s answer before he pushed his way between them and muscled up to the guy.

“The lady’s already spoken for,” Owen said.

“I think that’s for the lady to decide,” Mr. Trendy said, giving Owen the once over. “Not the resident bouncer.” Then he made the mistake of shoving Owen back.

Owen pushed the guy back against the wall, just a gentle push. Enough to make a loud thump and bounce Trendy’s head a couple of times.

Anger swept across the guy’s face, but before he could retaliate, Stacie bolted for the emergency exit just past the bathrooms, causing both men to pause.

Owen let go of his hold on the douche bag and started after Stacie. The guy pushed by and grabbed her arm again as she reached the door. “You get bored with muscles here, you come find me.”

Stepping between them, Owen broke Trendy’s grasp, then pulled Stacie against him in a possessive hold, capturing her mouth with his.

He practically swallowed her whole, his tongue diving deep into the warmth of her mouth, searching, owning. Stacie didn’t kiss him back. In fact, she pushed him away.

“What are you, marking me?” Anger filled the void between them, a seething scowl tensing the beautiful curves of her face. The tension lingered like the sting of being slapped, even after she turned away. Pushing the exit door open, she stepped out into the night, leaving Owen to drown in regret.