Top Shelf (Five for Fighting #4) Read online

  She’d worn the dress on purpose, not that it was totally out of place in her wardrobe. It left very little to the imagination as the smooth black fabric clung to her skin. Jasmine figured it was a nice consolation for the disappointment she knew would follow.

  “I was assured you knew basic human anatomy, so why don’t you shift those baby blues up to focus on my eyes?” The lighting wasn’t great, but Jasmine could tell his eyes were either blue or gray. They definitely weren’t the mocha color of her own eyes.

  She’d been surprised how striking he was as she watched him make his way up to the stage. The tuxedo he wore filled out nicely by his muscular arms and chest, but he wasn’t too muscular. Jasmine had once dated a football player and most of the time she wondered what performing enhancing substances made their way into his daily routine.

  John was a happy medium between those type of guys and the actors and rock stars Jasmine usually hooked up with. Some of the actors were roughly the same body type, but they were few and far between.

  While Jasmine did her own perusal, John managed to draw his eyes away from her chest. It was dark in the room, but she could make out the fact that they weren’t quite blue. They were a smoky gray color, a shade Jasmine didn’t think she’d seen before.

  “Sorry, I was trying to figure out how in the world you fit in a dress for a ten-year-old. That’s what it has to be, right?” A sly smile spread across John’s face as he spoke.

  “Charming,” she replied as she rolled her eyes. “So how does this work? I gave them the information for my payment. Does that means he’s mine now?”

  The question was directed to the woman next to John, because Jasmine didn’t expect a proper response from the male in the group. After the initial issue with wandering eyes, his orbs stayed glued to hers.

  “It’s up to you two work out the actual date. I believe some of the couples decided to call tonight their date, but I heard that at least a few made plans for later.” The woman had a goofy grin on her face that made Jasmine wonder what secret she was keeping.

  “I guess I should’ve cleared up that detail before spending money on him. Since the date isn’t for me, it’s going to have to be another day.”

  “You do know the ‘he’ and ‘him’ you keep talking about is standing right here, right?”

  Jasmine didn’t appreciate the interruption. She wanted to get the details ironed out so she could move on with her evening. She’d done her good deed for the night, but there was plenty of time before her favorite nightclub closed. After all, she was dressed to be seen, and the man in front of her wasn’t enough to keep her from the music and booze calling her name.

  “I think I already established that I can see you standing there. As I was getting ready to say, I have somewhere else to be, so we need to hurry up and discuss the details. The date is next Thursday from six o’clock to probably ten or so. It just depends when she gets tired, but generally she likes to watch the news, so I’d expect it to last four hours.”

  John reached his hand over and put a finger on Jasmine’s lips, causing her to scowl. She’d rambled on a little bit, but she’d made it clear she was in a hurry. The thought of biting his finger briefly crossed her mind. With his reputation, she wasn’t sure where the finger had been, so tasting it didn’t seem like a brilliant idea.

  “You should probably slow down. You can’t get a breath in and I’m sure your dress isn’t helping matters. Why don’t you come over to my table and you can explain who this other person you expect me to spend an evening with is. We should probably make sure my schedule is clear that night, and there’s no one who knows my schedule better than my teammates.”

  He didn’t immediately remove his finger, but silence and the continued narrowing of her eyes as she thought about ways to kill him eventually got him to put his hand down. There were various types of men that attracted Jasmine, but when it came down to it, she was always the one in charge, and Mr. Hockey Player was infringing on that.

  “Do you have a hearing problem? I said I have somewhere else to be.”

  Before John could answer, the woman who’d run the stage for most of the night cleared her throat. “It sounds like you two have plenty to discuss. I’ll leave you to it, but I wanted to thank you again for being a good sport, John. I know you wouldn’t have done this if Casey hadn’t convinced you, and I have firsthand knowledge about how difficult she can be.”

  There was a knowing glance shared between the pair before the older woman left them to their conversation. It wasn’t like they were alone in the room of a few hundred people. There were plenty of tables only five or so feet away from them and not everyone had headed straight to the dancefloor.

  “Who’s Casey?” Jasmine didn’t mean for the question to slip out, but she was interested in the difficult woman in John’s life. She hadn’t met anyone who could compare with her, so it was fun to see what other people considered difficult.

  “Now what fun would it be to tell you that when we can just walk over to her table so I can introduce you? I know you said you have somewhere to be, but I imagine people are used to waiting for you to show up. And if they’re not, maybe it’s time they start.”

  A warm hand enclosed around her right hand before she had a chance to protest, and just like that she was being dragged to the center of the room. The pace he started out with made her think he was worried about her disappearing or something, and that he hadn’t gotten a good look at her shoes. It was impossible to match his long strides in the red stilettos that laced up her ankles.

  “I’m convinced you don’t understand what’s going on here. There’s really no reason to introduce me to your friends, since we aren’t going to see each other after tonight.”

  Jasmine was used to fans and paparazzi following her around and taking pictures, so she understood the appeal of showing her off to his buddies, but she hadn’t signed up for that. She tried to go through his agent to set up the date to begin with, but the imbecile hadn’t believed her when she’d said who she was. After throwing her cell phone across the room because of the idiot, she’d decided to get in touch with the hockey team directly. That was when she’d heard about the auction and decided it would be the easiest route to get John’s undivided attention.

  She’d underestimated the fact he wasn’t a total pushover. Sure, he’d acted like a typical male, but as soon as she had his attention, he refused to let her run things. Even as she tried to pull away from him during their journey through the tables, he wouldn’t give her an inch.

  “Maybe you should’ve looked under the hood and kicked the tires before you spent that kind of money on me. As far as I’m concerned, you haven’t gotten what you paid for, so you have to stick around until I decide to listen to whatever plan you have to saddle me with someone else. I’m figuring the date is for someone elderly by the way you described how thrilling my evening will be. Why in the world would you tell me my date likes to be tucked in bed after the news? I mean that screams ‘old person’ to me and that only makes me want to try to change your mind about your date plans.”

  Man could he talk fast. He didn’t even stop for a breath as he spit all those words out, while Jasmine on the other hand was doing her best to listen without running into people, who apparently thought they needed to walk in their direction right that second instead of waiting a minute for the road clear.

  “Buddy, you’re lucky I’m not demanding you spend a month with her. I tried to go through the normal channels, but your agent wouldn’t connect us and sadly none of my Hollywood friends had you on speed dial. Some woman with the organization ended up telling me I should come here tonight to bid on you, so I rearranged my otherwise perfectly planned evening to make an appearance.”

  John came to a stop, and Jasmine was thrilled. Talking had worn her out and she wanted to sit down for a second. The chance didn’t instantly present itself as she heard a familiar woman’s voice speaking.

  “I’m guessing by the look on your face
it’s only taken you five minutes to figure out why I tried my hardest to convince you to be in the auction.”

  Jasmine was stuck looking at John’s back, but as she peeked around his body, she saw the fiery redhead the voice apparently belonged to. It was hard for Jasmine not to instantly judge another person when she saw them. In the world she lived, looks were sometimes everything and the freshest face was highly sought after.

  The women amongst the group of people they’d run into were all gorgeous, and Jasmine felt the little bit of insecurity that sometimes bubbled up. Since the men with the women all looked like they’d trotted out of a magazine, it made sense that the women on their arms were equally attractive.

  “You said there was a last-minute cancellation.”

  “How do you know there wasn’t, Klinger?” the woman replied back as she batted her eyelashes.

  Judging by the fact she had another man’s arms wrapped around her and the flashy ring on her finger, Jasmine decided the batting wasn’t exactly flirting. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but the woman was connected with the event in some way, and was more than likely the Casey the other woman had mentioned.

  “Because I know how you are. Do I have to point out the hand you had in Nels and Annie getting together or that you’ve been trying to set me up with someone you think I might actually settle down with for almost a year now?”

  “You can’t blame me for those two.” She stopped for a second before pointing to the pixie-looking woman with short black hair and the man whose side she clung to. “They were already on the road to marriage before I got wind they could use a little pushing. I’m Casey, by the way. We spoke on the phone last week.”

  Jasmine saw a hand extend, but John moved to block contact. There were a few chuckles, mostly male, but at least one of them sounded feminine.

  “I don’t know what I walked into, but evidently you two have even more to talk about than we do. Let me just give you the address for next week and get out of here.” Jasmine tried to keep her voice mellow, but she heard mostly irritation.

  “Did you explain to Casey why you were trying to get my attention?”

  Jasmine hadn’t explained to anyone what was going on, mainly because the man in front of her seemed to be against hearing the simple facts of what she wanted. It was hard for her to miss that John’s back had gone rigid the second he’d stopped to talk.

  “No, I felt that was my own business. Look, this weird macho thing you’ve slipped into probably works for most women, but all I need from you is to show up at my grandma’s next week for her birthday.”

  She’d wanted to see his face when he heard the news, but things weren’t moving along at the speed she needed. John was nice enough to turn his back to his friends so Jasmine could see his reaction after letting it sink in for a second.

  “You bought your grandma a birthday date with me? Who in their right mind would do something like that?”

  Jasmine felt her eyes squint and her brow furrow together. No one questioned her choices. No one.

  “Since I have your friend’s number, I think I’ll just relay the location to her. We’re done here.” Jasmine turned to leave, but she’d forgotten her hand was still in John’s, and he wasn’t letting go.

  Thinking about the connection made her realize the warmth he emanated was comfortable. It had to have been for her to not fight against it for the five or so minutes they’d been standing there.

  “I agree with you, but I’ll walk you out so I can get that information for myself. Whether Casey believes it or not, I don’t need or want a matchmaker meddling in my life.” There was still some grit in his voice that made Jasmine think eventually Casey was going to get an earful.

  Jasmine wasn’t quite sure of all the dynamics around her, but she assumed Casey’s husband would stand up for his wife if it was necessary. It was hard to tell whether John was going to slug the woman or not. Jasmine wanted to hope he wasn’t that kind of guy, especially since she was setting him up with her grandma.

  “No offense to Jasmine, but I wouldn’t have meddled if I thought there was a chance for you two. The curiosity of her call was just too much to pass up on.”

  “Don’t listen to her,” John said as he started his dragging game back up. “Casey rarely does something out of curiosity, so she’s up to something, and that usually means we’re both going to have headaches before long.”

  Jasmine wasn’t sure how to respond, so she didn’t. What the other woman thought she’d accomplish didn’t measure very high on the importance scale. The majority of the fighting through the tables had happened on their first trip, making it so they only had four tables to get by without bumping into anyone else.

  It felt like all the eyes in the room were on them, but Jasmine didn’t glance around to verify. She had no doubt looking behind her would reveal at least a dozen sets of eyes following them out, just because John had left his friends abruptly.

  “You already admitted she talked you into coming here, and since she’s cofounder of the charity we’re supporting, she more than likely hoped you’d open your checkbook for the cause. I doubt she expected you to open it as wide as you did, so I should probably congratulate you on doing the almost impossible – surprising Casey Jones.”

  Not knowing the woman, it was hard to validate anything he said, but the chill of the March air that hit Jasmine’s face as they walked out the front doors made it hard for her to care whether she’d been manipulated. Even if she had, Jasmine got the prize she coveted, and that was all that mattered.

  “You can stop walking now.” Jasmine was content pushing the speculation to a back burner.

  For once, the man seemed to listen to direction, which would’ve cause Jasmine to clap, if he’d been kind enough to give her hand back. He seemed content standing still in the valet station. Jasmine was more than content with being in the spot her limo waited for her. She’d told the driver she wouldn’t be too long, so she was happy to see he’d been a good boy and listened when she suggested he stay put.

  “Done. Now, what about this date with your grandma. Why in the world would you buy me for her?”

  In the situation, Jasmine really didn’t think an explanation was necessary, but she went ahead and pretended to be a nice person as she relayed minimal details. “She’s watched every game you’ve played since you joined the team, and for some reason you’re her favorite player. She’s eighty-years old, and has a little trouble getting around, so I’m forced to bring you to her since she can’t make it to a game.”

  It was a pretty simple explanation. Her grandma was his number one fan, and for her birthday she deserved to have one of the very few things she didn’t have. She would’ve paid more for the opportunity to light up the face of the woman who’d helped raise her.

  “Your grandma watches hockey and is willing to admit that I’m her favorite player?” There was a look of pure disbelief on John’s face. He seemed to be searching for an answer to something that just wasn’t making sense in his head.

  “You’ll understand when you meet her. Anyway, if you pull out your phone and bring up your calendar, I can help you fill in the information about the who, where and when to make sure you don’t forget.”

  After Jasmine left for the night, there was nothing that would really force John to make good on the promise of a date. It was going to take a little blind faith, but Jasmine had just enough that she thought she could spare a little.

  “Would you like to type it in too, just to make sure I don’t mistype?”

  “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” Jasmine waited for him to pull his phone out of one of his pockets and relayed the information.

  “So is this a birthday party you’ll be at, or a private party for two complete strangers?” The interactions with John had been so bizarre that it almost threw Jasmine off when he asked the question with a little charisma added to his voice.

  “The family celebration will be Saturday, because I have some prior
commitments, but I wanted her to have her present on her actual birthday.”

  John’s tongue quickly darted out to lick his upper lip before disappearing back into his mouth. It drew Jasmine’s attention to his full-looking lips. They looked lickable, but Jasmine wasn’t there to make a new friend, so she moved her eyes back up to meet his. The amusement she saw in them told her he’d seen her attention momentarily distracted.

  “Normally here I’d say something about wondering whether I need to worry about protection and all that stuff, but since you won’t be there, I guess we can save that talk for later.”

  The urge to smack the smile off his face was strong, but Jasmine kept herself under control. She hadn’t missed the fact there was someone with a camera twenty feet away snapping pictures of them. The media there to cover the charity event had followed her around most of the night.

  “Well, you can keep dreaming about needing to worry about that, because I already told you we aren’t going to see each other after today. Now, can I have my hand back so I can get on with my evening?”

  No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she found herself drawn in close to John’s strong body as she got a feel for how moist and soft his lips were. She thought about fighting back, but the slight taste of wine made her willing to explore a little.

  All too quickly their lips separated and Jasmine heard a sad little mewl escape her lips. They hadn’t even introduced their tongues to each other, and the little introducing they’d done with their lips made a slow heat crawl through her body.

  “Have fun with the rest of your night,” John said as a wicked smile crawled across his face and he started walking away.

  She didn’t know if he expected her to run after him asking for more, but if that was the reason for his sexy saunter towards the door, he was sadly mistaken. She gave a brief perusal of his rear end and then made sure her heels clacked on the cement as she walked with purpose over to her limo. The deep male chuckle she heard following behind her made her think that John Klinger wasn’t going to take her assurance they wouldn’t see each other again sitting down.