by Ally Vance
Laughing, I linked my arms through hers and started walking. “You can dance while I sample the drinks.”
“Oh, mark my words: one way or another, you’re going to end up on the dancefloor tonight.”
Ten minutes and two colorful drinks later, we slid into one of the booths. Even though I was still fascinated with everything going on around me, I couldn’t manage to shake that eerie feeling of being watched.
Not watched but scrutinized. My every move dissected and studied.
“Well, what do you think?” Kasia asked, successfully distracting me from the craziness inside my head.
I took a big gulp of my drink, my gaze traveling to the half-naked man gyrating on the podium behind Kasia. His skin, covered with lip imprints that glowed neon green, stretched tightly over his well-defined muscles while his body and the beat became one.
“Becca!”
I blinked and then blinked again, finding it difficult to drag my gaze away from the man and back to my friend. “Huh?”
“What the—” She twisted in her seat, her mouth instantly falling open when she feasted her eyes on the guy on the podium. “Ooooh, he fine.” Kasia turned her attention back to me. “You should totally hop on there with him.” She leaned in over the table. “Or better yet, hop on him.”
Even as I shook my head, I couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling over my lips. Now there was an idea… One-night stands weren’t really my thing, and I had never slept with a guy that I hadn’t been in a relationship with.
Maybe it was because of the way my aunt and uncle had raised us, or because of the obvious love and respect they had for each other. I didn’t know, but jumping into bed with a random guy had never really intrigued me.
But there was something about this place that had me wondering.
A sudden sense of awareness prickled over my skin, the hair on my arms steadily lifting. I felt this need, compulsion, to look to my left and when I did the breath got knocked right out of my lungs.
Emerging from the crowd—and heading straight for us—like some demigod had to be the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. Tall, dark, and handsome wouldn’t never do him justice. He looked like he’d stepped off the cover of a dirty GQ magazine. Like a wolf on the prowl. When he reached our booth, his dark, dark gaze zeroed in on me and my blood turned to molten lava. “Welcome to Absinthe, ladies.”
As if his looks weren’t dangerous enough, he had a voice so smooth and rich it made my toes curl. And don’t even get me started on the way his Spanish accent rolled over my skin like an intimate caress.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek to keep my little sigh trapped inside. But he knew he’d affected me. His eyes snapped to my blood-red mouth with razor-sharp precision, and all I wanted to do was slick my tongue over my lips.
“This place is amazing!” Kasia chirped, effectively breaking the connection between Mr. Dirty GQ and me.
He gave my mouth one more heated look that had my entire body humming. Smoothing a tatted hand down the front of his black shirt, he turned his attention to my friend. “It is, isn’t it?” And then he was gone.
“Oh my goodness!” Kasia reached across the table and gripped my hand. “Do you know who that is?”
“Uh… should I?”
She leveled me with a stare that clearly said I had just asked the world’s dumbest question. “That’s Santiago Morales. He’s one of the owners.”
“Wow,” I muttered more to myself than her.
I was still busy daydreaming over the hotness that’d just left our table when a figure appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and smoothly slid into the space beside Kasia. Dark hair, dark eyes, tan skin, and a mouth made for sin; he was gorgeous. And yet there was no spark of awareness zapping through my veins.
“Jorge!” Kasia squealed. Throwing her arms around his neck, she all but crawled into his lap as she attacked his mouth with her own.
I probably should’ve looked away; I just couldn’t. Because deep down, I wanted that—not the making out with Jorge, but to do whatever I felt like without giving two shits about who was watching or what they’d think.
As if sensing my eyes on them, Jorge’s gaze flicked to mine for a beat before his big hands moved to cup Kasia’s cheeks. He whispered something against her lips and she glanced at me over her shoulder.
With a sheepish look on her face, she tried to slide away but Jorge draped his arm over her shoulder and tucked her to his side. Grinning, he jerked his head in my direction. “You must be Becca.”
My lips lifted. “And you must be the famous Jorge.” My eyes swept over the expanse of the dancefloor before meeting his again. “Nice place you’ve got here, even though it’s a bit of a pain to get in.”
He bared his teeth, and they looked shockingly white as the neon blue light flashed over his face. “That’s what makes it so special.” Then he turned to my friend. “I believe you owe me a dance.”
“Only if Becca comes too.”
I was shaking my head before she was done talking. “I’m good right here, thanks. Besides, this colorful concoction is not going to drink itself.” To prove my point, I picked up the blue and red drink, closed my mouth over the straw and sucked up a decent amount of the overly sweet alcohol.
Kasia gave me a look and in answer to the question burning in her eyes I nodded toward the dancefloor. “Go. I promise I’ll be perfectly fine.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but thankfully thought better of it and allowed Jorge to pull her to her feet. My gaze stayed on them until they were swallowed up by the sea of bodies.
Once again, I was amazed at how everyone simply gave into the beat. It was as if they had no trouble or care. Nothing weighing them down.
“We should join them.”
My head snapped toward his smooth voice and for the second time tonight, the breath left my lungs in one big whoosh. With both hands tucked into the pockets of his slacks, Santiago Morales was peering down his nose at me.
He looked like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to strangle me or devour me.
“I don’t dance.”
“That’s only because you haven’t done it with the right person yet.” He held out a tattooed hand. “Santiago Morales.”
“I know.” I had no idea how I managed to sound so confident and dare I say, sexy. Our gazes held as I touched my palm to his. “Becca.”
One dark eyebrow slowly arched. “Just Becca?”
“Just Becca.”
He chuckled and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight. “All right, just Becca, where’s your friend?”
A little pang of jealousy slithered down my spine. Of course he’d be interested in Kasia. With her impossibly long legs, rich golden skin, and curly black hair, she looked like a runway model.
Jerking my head in the direction of the dancefloor, I muttered, “You’re too late; someone else has already snatched her up.”
I tried to pull my hand out of his, but his fingers tightened. His big body bent forward bringing his face close, too close, to mine. “Vine aqui por ti.” His breath, warm and minty, blew over my lips with each word he spoke.
It took the two brain cells I had left a little longer than normal to process what he’d said. When I did though, I grinned and delivered my reply in his mother tongue. “You came here for me?”
Slightly widening his eyes, he drew back and studied me for a long uncomfortable moment. My hand was still stuck inside his; it didn’t matter how hard I tried to pull free his grip was unyielding.
Still holding my gaze captive with his, one corner of his mouth hitched up. He cocked his head to the side then yanked on my arm and pulled me out of my seat. “Let’s dance.”
I dug my heels in. “I don’t want to.”
Santiago dropped my arm and prowled toward me like a lion ready to pounce. I took a step back and felt the edge of the table dig into my butt. Then he was right there; palms planted on the table, hands bracketing my hips.
Our faces mere inches apart.
“Sure you do.”
“I really don’t.” It came out breathless without a single ounce of conviction.
That predatory smile was back. The butterflies in my belly took flight. His fingers brushed up my arm, peppering my skin with a thin line of goosebumps. Then he robbed me of my senses when he leaned in close enough to deliver his whispered words next to my ear, “Dance with me, princesa.”
Chapter Four
Santiago
She was standing so still, if it hadn’t been for the hard swallow she tried to work down, I would’ve thought she hadn’t heard me. With my mouth still inches away from the shell of her ear, I sucked in a deep, audible breath.
A satisfied grin lifted my lips when her body shuddered, and a small trail of bumps popped up on her skin. Inching my face forward a bit, I brushed my lips over the vein in her neck in a whisper of a touch.
Stepping back, I held my hand out to her—palm facing up—and waited.
Becca’s eyes bounced from my outstretched hand to my face to the dancefloor before settling on my hand again. Her teeth flashed bright as she dug the sharp edges into her bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth.
For a moment, the brain below my belt forgot who we were dealing with and twitched against my slacks. There were other—harder—things for her to suck on like that. My gaze snapped to the slick ponytail draped over her shoulder. I imagined winding the pink strands around my fist as I drove my—
“Okay.”
¡Chingada madre! I was so busy imagining having her mouth on me, I almost didn’t hear her soft surrender. There was no way I was going to give her a second to change her mind. My fingers had barely banded around her wrist when I pivoted and dragged her to the dancefloor with me.
Once there though, she turned into a deer caught in headlights. Not moving an inch, her gaze kept bouncing around like she couldn’t decide where to look. Gripping her shoulders hard, I spun her around and pressed her back against my front. I lowered my mouth to her ear and murmured, “Don’t think, just feel the music.”
With one hand splayed over her stomach, I moved the other to the curve of her hip. “Close your eyes,” I murmured. She cocked her head and our gazes met over her shoulder. “Close them.”
There was an unmistakable streak of defiance burning bright in her irises. I loved it. She had fight in her and breaking through all those defenses was going to be so damn sweet.
Her mouth opened but whatever words she wanted to throw at me got swallowed back down. My eyes latched on to the pink tip of her tongue as she slicked it over her bottom lip. How easy it would have been to lean forward and suck on it.
Every cell in my body came alive with the need to do just that. To claim her. Mark her. Ruin her.
With that thought, I rolled my hips behind her in time with the beat. Once, twice, then again. “Get out of your head and let the music lead you.”
She kept staring at me. I kept dancing. Then just when I was about to give up, Becca drew in a breath and closed her eyes.
Her movements were barely noticeable as one song bled into the other. Pressing harder against her stomach, I tugged her even closer to me.
Digging my fingers into her hip bone, I helped her move with me. Behind her, I was hard. It was impossible not be with her ass rubbing against my dick. When she felt it, her body stiffened. The thick lashes fanning her cheeks fluttered but before she could open her pretty eyes, I pressed my mouth against her ear. “Don’t think, just feel.”
Two, maybe three seconds ticked by before she took another long drag of air. A beat later, she was reaching behind her and threading her fingers through my hair.
Two songs turned into who knew how many while Becca, beat for agonizing beat, lost herself to the music.
I was lost to something too because for the first time in months, the reason why this woman was in my arms didn’t matter, only that she was.
Maybe that was why my hand smoothed over the curve of her hip and down her thigh. Moving slowly, I bunched the silky material of her dress in my palm until I could reach beneath the hem and touch her bare skin.
I trailed my fingers up along the inside of her thigh. Her breath caught. And when she made no move to stop me, I continued until I could push the lace aside to feel her warmth and silkiness beneath my fingertips.
I pushed inside and the sexiest sound rolled over her lips. It was breathy and needy and so damn beautiful.
“Becca,” I breathed against her neck. “Do you want me to stop?”
She shook her head; the sharp edges of her nails digging so hard into my scalp, I was certain she drew blood. “Then tell me.”
“Don’t stop,” she panted. “Please don’t stop.”
I smiled against her skin, my fingers finding a new faster rhythm. My tongue darted out, tracing her ear before drawing the lobe between my teeth. Becca’s head lolled to the side, her breaths coming hard and fast.
When she was right there at the edge of ecstasy, I grabbed the back of her head and pulled her mouth to mine, swallowing her cries of pleasure. I kissed her long and hard as she steadily floated down to earth and I could withdraw my hand.
The moment I did that, though, a switch flipped.
She spun around and took a step back. Shaking her head, she sputtered, “You… I…” The lights bouncing over her face might’ve been blue and white, but it did nothing to hide the deep blush staining her cheeks.
It wasn’t that far of a reach to assume she hadn’t done anything like this before and for whatever messed up reason, that just made me want her even more.
Grinning, I closed the little distance between us. Holding her gaze, I sucked my fingers—the two that’d just been inside her—into my mouth and licked them clean. Still tasting her, I leaned forward and swept my tongue over the seam of her lips. “We should take this conversation somewhere a little more private, don’t you think?”
Becca stood stock-still, big blue eyes taking up half of her face. It would have been so damn easy to grab her hand and drag her off to some dark corner where I could make her moan and scream until she was hoarse, but I wanted her to want that.
To beg for it.
Her gaze skittered over the people on the dancefloor; all of them still so focused on their own here and now, I doubted any of them had even seen her fall apart. Maybe that was the confirmation she needed? Because what she did next almost knocked me on my ass—and I was not a man who got knocked on his ass often.
She moved quick, closing what little distance there was between us and pushing onto her toes to close her mouth over mine. Becca’s fingers speared through my hair, her tongue sweeping against mine with bold urgent strokes.
“Yes,” she breathed against my lips. “Yes, take me. Have me.”
My fingertips brushed down her arm; her skin was soft, so incredibly soft. When I reached her hand, I laced my fingers through hers and started walking. I didn’t stop until we were safely tucked inside my office.
Becca nibbled on her lip, her eyes immediately focused on the windowed wall overlooking the club below. From up here, it was a spectacular sight. Lights flashing, bodies moving.
I clicked the lock in place and then moved to the side door to do the same. When I returned, Becca had her back to me. With a palm pressed against the window, she was studying the scene below.
Sliding in behind her, I smoothed one hand down her waist and wound her ponytail around the other. I tugged hard, pulling her head to the side to expose the slender column of her throat. My mouth found the soft skin below her ear, my tongue darting out to taste.
The sound vibrating from the back of her throat seemed to have a direct line to my dick. It was breathy and needy and so damn sexy. “Changed your mind yet, princesa?” I parted my lips and blew a breath over her skin before pressing a wet, open-mouthed kiss to the spot. “If you don’t want this, you better tell me now. Once I start with you there will be no stopping me.”
“No.�
� It came out more like a hiccup than a word.
My hand on her waist curved up; sliding across the silky material until my fingers could tease along the top of her dress. “No, you don’t want this… or…” I moved my hand lower, cupping her breast and squeezing. “No, you haven’t changed your mind?”
“The—”
I flicked my wrist, wrapping her hair tighter around my right hand. Her lids fluttered closed on a gasp. Pointing my tongue, I slicked it up along her neck before tracing the shell of her ear. “I need an answer.”
“I want this.”
The words had barely fell from her lips when my fingers found the zipper at the side of her dress. Click for torturous click, I dragged it down until the silky material split open and slid down her body.
She stood before me, still facing the window, in nothing but a lace thong and heels. And holy shit, it was a beautiful sight. So beautiful, I had to take a few steps back so I could admire her.
“Look at you,” I growled as I adjusted myself. “You’re a damn goddess.”
She glanced at me over her shoulder; her red-stained lip tugged between her teeth, eyes shining bright.
And I couldn’t wait to ruin her.
I closed the distance between us in three easy strides. Starting at the base of her neck, I brushed my fingertips down the bumps of her spine and curled my finger around the elastic of her thong. I pulled the material about two inches away and then let go, grinning like a damn fool when the satisfying snap against her skin earned me another one of those sinful sounds.
Before she had time to think, I was on my knees behind her touching my mouth to the spot. I dragged my hands along her thighs, gripped her underwear, and tugged them down her legs. Bunching the material inside my palm, I brought it to my nose and inhaled deeply before stuffing the scrap of lace into my pocket.
Gripping her hips, fingers digging into her skin, I spun her around. Becca shivered when I touched my fingers to the sensitive spot behind her knee. Meeting her hooded gaze, I trailed my hand up her thigh, gently guiding her leg over my shoulder.