Now Ro and Sharon had dragged her sorry butt back to Del Fantasma for a ladies' night out, sans one lady of course. Lisa was still on her honeymoon with his-hottiness. Nic sighed. If only she could get Cody to send a hottie or two her way, she'd be a much happier woman. If only...

"Nic, hon? Why don't you go to the bar while we weasel those hotties across the way out of their seats?" Lord, Ro was at it again. All three of them had extra cushion in different places, but Ro lived as if she were the hottest thing on two legs, and men responded to her attitude.

"Can't Sharon grab 'em? I'll come with you..." Yeah, she was whining, but she knew the types of drinks Ro liked to order just to embarrass her.

"Get me a Slow Screw or a Screaming Orgasm, will ya?"

Nic felt heat sweeping up her face and squeezed her eyes shut tight, thankful that her mocha complexion didn't reveal her heated blush. "I will not..."

Cody's deep, rumbling voice and warm breath brushing across her ear startled her. "You won't what, doll?"

Good Lord, could she get any more embarrassed? "Um..."

Cody didn't give her a chance to answer, instead he slid his arm around her waist and hugged her close as he pushed through the crowd. Looking over her shoulder, Nic saw that, true to her word, Ro had talked the men out of their table. Once she'd arrived at the bar with Cody, the real fun began. Other women were sidling up to him and trying to catch his eye, but his attention remained on Nic. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"I know what you need, Niccy."

She gulped, "You do?"

He nodded. "Absolutely." He motioned for Chris, the hottest bartender Del Fantasma had.

"What's up, Cody?" Chris's crystal blue eyes met Nic's briefly before turning to his boss. The big man let out a yelp when Ian, the newest and equally hot bartender, walked by and pinched him.

"Niccy wants to get tied to the bedpost."

He said it. Slipped it right in to everyday conversation like it was nothing. Nothing! And then it clicked. She knew what Cody was doing. Everything was happening just as Lisa described her first introduction to Jonathan. All the way down to Cody recommending a drink and then...

She whirled on Cody. "Tie me to the bedpost?" She looked at the bartender out of the corner of her eye. He was tall, taller than her, but that didn't say much considering her being barely five feet. But damn, those blue eyes, blond hair and sun-kissed tan got her tingly all over. His pale Irish lover wasn't all that bad either. She whispered to the man next to her. "You couldn't be the tiniest bit subtle? Just a little?"

"That was subtle." And then he smirked. Smirked! The bastard. If he wasn't a big bad vamp and a good friend, she'd kick him. He leaned close and the temptation to at least smack him rose as he whispered in her ear. "I could have told him to get you a page 156, but since that drink doesn't exist, I thought I was being pretty damned subtle by ordering you a Tie Me to the Bedpost."

If she could have, she would have paled. As it was, she felt all of the blood drain from her face and take up residence in her feet. Oh. Shit. Cody had most definitely let Chris in on her fantasies, and since she knew Chris and Ian were sort of a 'thing', she wondered if maybe he'd talked to both of them.

The floor could open up and swallow her at any minute. Now would be good. Instead, Chris smiled--a genuine smile similar to all the others he'd bestowed upon her whenever she and her friends came in and she felt a tiny glimmer of hope flicker. Maybe Cody hadn't said anything...

"Hey Ian," Chris's voice rose above the crowd to call to the other man. "We've got one lady who'd like to be tied to the bedpost. Think I may need your help with this one." At Ian's glaring smile, Chris turned his attention back to her. The ass. "Anything else for ya?"

In for a penny, in for two hundred pounds. "Sure. I'll take a Slow Screw and a Screaming Orgasm as well."

"Fuzzy Screw?" Chris clarified.

"Nah. I'm not big on fuzz." She tried to avoid his eyes and the mischief she saw there, but she couldn't. The whole sexual banter thing didn't go over well with Nic since she wasn't that sexually experienced. The extent of her knowledge extended to being deflowered by her current long-term boyfriend, and the books she read. And her favorite book was currently in Cody's custody so she couldn't even read that.

Minutes later, Chris had her drink orders mixed and Cody helped her get them to her table. Sanctuary. At least with Ro and Sharon with her, she couldn't get into any trouble. She hoped.