Free Under the Lights (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) by Karolyn James Page A

loved feeling
cocky and flirty.
    The bartender surprised her when he
walked over with a fresh drink. He put it down and smiled.
    “ What
the hell …”
    Mr. Hot Suit leaned in close and
said, “ I told him to make
sure your glass never stays empty. ”
    He pulled a hundred dollar bill out
of his jacket and put it on the bar.
    Jules wasn ’ t sure if it was exactly sexy or not. But it was
kind of cool. At least to get the attention.
    “ Jules, ” she said. She sipped the start
of her fourth drink. “ My
name is Jules. And thanks for the drinks. ”
    “ Well,
Jules, I had a feeling your name would be something unique. ”
    “ It ’ s not that unique, ” Jules said. “ At least it ’ s not boring. What ’ s your name? Jim? ”
    “ Close.
It ’ s Rob. ”
    “ Rob.
Okay. Can I call you Robert? ”
    “ You
can call me anything you want, ” Rob said. “ Just keep
drinking and looking right at me. ”
    “ You ’ re a little aggressive. I ’ m here with my friend. ”
    “ Your
friend? The woman that hurried away when I walked over here? The woman who invited
me to come over? The woman I wasted a drink on to make sure you got your drink? ”
    “ Yeah.
That ’ s my friend. ”
    “ Well,
then I guess I ’ m sorry, ” Rob said. He backed away from
the bar a few inches. “ I
guess I ’ ll prey on someone
else. ”
    Prey on someone else …
    Jules reached forward, almost
feeling bad. She touched Rob ’ s
wrist and smiled.
    “ I ’ m messing around, ” she said. “ We can have some fun. ”
    “ Fun?
I like fun. ” Rob turned his
hand so he was holding Jules ’ wrist. He pulled at her. “ Come
out here and have fun with me. ”
    Jules stood for the first time
since sitting with her first drink. That ’ s
when it all settled into her. The entire room spun once, twice, three times … she fell forward into Rob ’ s arms and he caught her.
    “ Whoa,
are you okay? ”
    “ Great, ” she said. “ I think I ’ m drunk. ”
    “ Then
my work is done already. Why don ’ t
we get out of here? ”
    Jules giggled. She ran a hand down
Rob ’ s chest and stomach.
She didn ’ t realize what she
was doing until her mind told her that Rob ’ s
stomach was nothing like touching Tanner ’ s
muscle laden stomach.
    She then looked around, remembering
Tanner saying he was going to stalk her tonight. Not surprisingly, there was no
sign of Tanner. He had no good reason to be hanging around The Jack. He had
Gone by Autumn. He had plenty of women to fool around with. Ones much prettier
than Jules.
    “ What ’ s wrong? ” Rob asked.
    “ Nothing, ” Jules said.
    “ Hey,
do you have a boyfriend or something? You look guilty. ”
    “ Nope, ” Jules said. “ Single as they come. Now are we
going to dance and have fun or what? ”
    “ Can
you walk? ”
    Jules pushed at Rob. “ Watch me. ”
    She strutted away, purposely rocking
her hips left to right, looking back at Rob, smiling and biting her bottom lip.
It was kind of fun to do this. Have a few drinks, gain a guy's attention, flirt
a little. With no worries, care, or commitment.
    Rob rushed after her and they were
quickly dancing together in the middle of the floor. His hands trailed up and
down her body. Just his fingertips and never going too far. He was playful.
From her shoulder down her arms to her wrists. Her wrists around to the small
of her back. Each time he tried to touch her ass Jules would just give a quick
wiggle and that would stop it.
    After a little while of dancing,
Rob guided Jules to one of the tall tables along the wall. He leaned against
the table and Jules sat to rest and fan herself a little. Her glass was empty.
    “ I ’ ll get you another, ” Rob said.
    “ No,
I ’ m okay. ”
    “ That ’ s a shame. You can ’ t just stop. Not in the middle
of a good night. We didn ’ t
even get to blast out of here. ”
    “ Oh
yeah? Where would we go? ”
    “ My
hotel room. I ’ m actually in
town on business. ”
    “ Business? ”
    “ I