The Merger

Chapter 33

I take a moment to notice how he looks as well and the nerves firing throughout my body agree with his exact sentiment. He's wearing dark gray slacks and a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal tan forearms chorded with veins.

"Fuck, Tal, we may not make it to this party with you looking like that," he says in a low voice as he steps closer and places a hand on my waist.

I'm heating up but quickly place a hand on his chest before he can get any closer. "No, none of that. You're in big trouble, Lucas."

He tilts his head with a confused look on his face and my grin grows. "Wh-" He pauses, realization dawning on him before he laughs and takes a step back. "You finally saw the floor plan, huh?"

I flick my hair back and walk past him toward the elevator. "Yes, and I don't like being tricked."

He follows me like a puppy and my heart tightens. "Aww c'mon. You had fun though didn't you?" he says as we step into the elevator.

I cross my arms after hitting the button for the lobby. "That's beside the point."

He grabs the sides of my arms and leans down. The blue of his eyes twinkle like the water of an ocean you can't look away from. "What can I do to make it up to you?"

"I'll think about it."

Lucas smirks and leans in closer to my ear. "How about I show you how sorry I am later tonight? With my tongue."

My breathing hitches and my heart races as I picture Lucas going down on me again.

"It's been too long since I tasted you," he whispers.

All of the oxygen in the elevator has vanished with Lucas' words. My mind starts to spin as I try to catch my breath. Yet a little voice in my head travels through to my senses, alerting me I need to keep myself together. When the elevator dings for the lobby, it's as if it splashes fresh water on my face. I push him off of me and smile before saying, "I'll think about it." I walk out to the hotel lobby.

Lucas' chuckle lands in my ears and I smile wider. His hand meets the small of my back as we file out of the hotel.

I hope we'll be able to stay focused and win Tucker over tonight. Lucas' little touches on the walk over to the nightclub are already too distracting. We can't lose sight of our goal.

Finally, after some playful chatting and too much buzzing in my body for being sober, we make it to the entrance of the club where a horde of people are waiting to enter. I scan the bustling area and find another entrance with a much shorter line and a red carpet. "Let's try getting in there," I say as I motion over to the burly bouncer who's glancing at a clipboard.

"Names?" the man asks after we reach him.

"Talia Nassar and Lucas Handler." I hand the man my ID.

He scans his sheets for a moment before nodding. "Ms. Nassar, you are free to go in." He glances back at his clipboard and flips through the pages again. "It doesn't look like we have a Lucas Handler on here."

"What? Do you mind checking again? Derek added us both to the list."

The bouncer sighs, and checks again. "Nope. You're not on here. Next guest." He motions for the man behind Lucas to step forward.

Lucas furrows his brows and for a moment I do too. But then it hits me. I couldn't have planned it better myself. "Well, well, well. I guess I'll have to win Tucker over all by myself."

"Tal, you better get me in."

I glance at my nails, bringing them up to my face for a quick check, before setting them down. "Hmm, I'll have to think about it. Maybe you can use the time alone to think about how you're going to get me my own office in the new building." I smirk and a hint of amusement paints Lucas' lips through his frown.