Feel The Heat. Cheris Hodges

didn’t seem like the woman he’d met earlier. Mimi was a bit of a mystery, but in that dress, he knew he wanted to unravel every part. Still, her blog gave him pause. He didn’t like the spotlight, and it seemed as if she lived for it, according to Nicolas. When he saw Mimi and MJ heading toward the bar, he turned back to Nicolas.

      “Whatever they’re drinking, put it on my tab.”

      Nicolas gave him a toothy grin. “You don’t know what kind of minefield you just stepped on.”

      “She can’t be that bad.”

      “Don’t believe me, just watch.”

      And watch Brent did as Mimi and MJ walked over to the bar. Mimi had the sexiest walk he’d ever seen—confident and alluring. And those legs. Long and strong. Immediately, he thought about them wrapped around his waist while he drove into her wetness.

      “Fancy meeting you here,” Mimi said, breaking into his erotic thoughts. “I’d say you’re a stalker, but I know this is a hot spot, thanks to the brilliant woman behind the marketing.”

      “I never have to stalk a woman. And I must say, you look amazing in gold.”

      She smiled, then turned to Nicolas. “You’re the bartender today?”

      “Good to see you, too, Mimi,” he said while smiling at MJ. Brent noticed that MJ and Nicolas had started talking in hushed tones. From the way she was smiling, whatever he was saying to her must have been good.

      Mimi shook her head and reached for the bowl of peanuts next to Brent. “They get on my nerves,” she said, then rolled her eyes.

      “That’s not nice to say about your friends,” he said.

      “If only you knew the story. And for the record, I only have one friend over there, and that’s MJ.” She popped a nut in her mouth and Brent shifted in his seat. Lips like hers were sinful.

      “I’d like to know your story. Everyone who knows you has something interesting to say about you.”

      Mimi smirked and then licked her bottom lip. “So, you’ve been asking about me? All you had to do was knock on my door. I might have even given you a cup of sugar.”

      Brent took a quick sip of his drink to cool the heated desire building in his belly. She had to know what that move with her tongue did. She was sexy and owned every bit of it. “I didn’t ask. Everything was volunteered, Firecracker.”

      Mimi tossed a handful of nuts in Nicolas’s direction. “Really, Nic?” she snapped when he and MJ turned her way. “You just talking about me to strangers?”

      “Mimi, I was trying to save the guy from one of your rants. Warn him that you’re nuts,” Nic said with a laugh as he brushed peanuts off the bar. MJ touched his shoulder.

      “I hope you two aren’t going to start acting up this evening,” she said. “Tonight is about celebrating.” MJ shot Mimi a cautioning look.

      Mimi glanced at Brent and held back her caustic comment. “I’m here for the music,” she replied.

      Nic held up his hands. “Mimi, you know I love you like a sister. An annoying little sister, but I love you nonetheless.”

      “Whatever,” she said, keeping her eyes on Brent, who seemed amused by the scene in front of him.

      “I took a look at your blog. It’s very popular,” Brent said. “A relationship expert, huh?”

      “Hardly. I’m a lifestyle blogger. It just so happens that it seems as if people around the world are always interested in bad dating stories.”

      “So that’s why you date, to have stories?”

      “Technically, I don’t date,” she said, then popped a peanut in her mouth. “I go to events, watch people and tell stories about it. What I really want to do is start traveling and be a black girl around the globe, or something like that.”

      “That sounds good and everything, but is this your career?”

      Mimi raised her right eyebrow and shot him a cold look. “I’m sorry that I don’t want to spend my time locked behind a desk in a stuffy office with bad lighting. I have the talent to make the world my office. And since you were all over Google checking me out, you see I wrote a bestselling book about dating, so don’t try me like that.”

      “Hey, I didn’t mean any harm. Go for it, black girl around the globe.”

      She rolled her eyes. “Does being condescending win many cases for you?”

      “Ouch,” he said as he downed his drink. “You speak your mind without hesitation. That’s pretty sexy.”

      “And that was pretty sexist. Insult the woman, then try flirting with her to shut her up.”

      “Damn, Mimi, you don’t give people a chance at all, do you?”

      “Those who deserve it,” she said. “Pity, I thought you’d be one of those people. I’m glad we had this talk.” She started to stand and Brent touched her elbow.

      * * *

      Mimi tried to pretend that the feel of Brent’s hand on her skin didn’t affect her. She wanted to act as if their tête-à-tête hadn’t been the most interesting conversation she’d had with the opposite sex in a long time. She wanted to muster the strength to storm away from him as she would’ve done with any other guy who’d pissed her off. But Brent was different. She liked him. Liked that he challenged her and wasn’t a pushover.

      He just didn’t need to know that.

      “Please get your hands off me,” she said quietly.

      “After we dance, I won’t ever touch you again,” he said with a smile that made her heart skip three beats. Brent stood up and wrapped his arm around Mimi’s waist. Without giving her a chance to protest, he ushered her to the dance floor as the band began to play a slow groove.

      The moment he pulled her against his chest, Mimi sighed. His arms felt so good. And the man had some moves. His hip thrusts seemed to foretell nights of pleasure wrapped in the bed. Not to be outdone, Mimi unleashed her own moves, spinning and doing a quick step that rivaled the winner of Dancing with the Stars. A few other couples around them stopped to watch the sensual movements Mimi and Brent were doing. When the song ended, half of the applause was for Brent and Mimi rather than the band.

      “Not bad,” he said. “I get the feeling that you have a lot of surprises underneath that gold dress.”

      She smiled, hoping that her heartbeat would return to normal as he drank in her image. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

      “Right now, I’m just going to buy you a drink,” he replied with a smile.

      I could wake up Sunday morning with him, she thought as they headed back to the bar.

Chapter 4

      By the time Brent and Mimi pushed through the crowd and made it back to the bar, there wasn’t an open seat in sight.

      “Well, that escalated rather quickly,” Mimi quipped. She scanned the crowd for MJ and wasn’t surprised when she found her friend in a corner with Nic. “I guess the real bartender showed up.”

      “If he didn’t, that would explain the traffic jam at the bar. I didn’t realize there were so many people in here. Then again, with my workload, I don’t get to hang out in the Atlanta popular spots much.”

      Mimi hadn’t noticed either, because when she’d been wrapped in Brent’s arms nothing else had mattered.

      “Want to get out of here?” she asked.

      “Sound like a great plan. I’m not fond of big crowds,” Brent replied, then draped his arm around Mimi’s shoulders as a wave of people pushed passed