by Faye Avalon
His eyebrows drew together. ‘You’d been waiting that long?’
Realising how that sounded, she waved her hand in dismissal. ‘A figure of speech. I was just making a point.’
‘Even so...’ He turned towards the bartender. ‘He’ll have to go.’
‘No.’ Lola reached out and grabbed Connor’s wrist. ‘He’s lovely, and he’s rushed off his feet, just like the rest of your bar staff.’
She drew back with a frown when Connor turned towards her with a grin. Releasing her hand from his wrist, she gave him a haughty look. ‘Funny.’
He kept his gaze on hers. ‘And it was hardly a scratch.’
‘What was?’
With a mock-pitiful expression, he stroked his thumb across the plaster on his neck.
Lola laughed. She really liked his quick humour. ‘Oh, for pity’s sake.’
He leaned forward, serious again. ‘Speaking of pity, are you going to put me out of my misery, Lola?’
Her stomach clenched along with her inner thighs. ‘Don’t do one-nighters, remember?’
‘That was when we didn’t know each other.’
She willed her hands not to tremble as she reached for her drink and sipped the soothing liquid. ‘You think knowing each other’s names takes care of that?’
‘We’ve shared a whole lot more.’ He slid his hand across to where she held her glass and lightly stroked his fingers over hers. ‘I know you’re a qualified first-aider. That you care about my bartender keeping his job. That you’re probably the only woman I’ve ever met who can do an erotic dance on a nightclub table without the aid of alcohol.’ His eyes narrowed slightly, the grey darkening as he looked at her. ‘And I know that you’re sexy as fuck.’
She kept her focus on his hand, that slow, sensual slide of his fingers over hers. Hell, but she really wanted to know how it would feel to have those fingers toying with other parts of her body. Like her nipples, her breasts, her sex...
She drew her hand away from his intoxicating touch. ‘None of which qualifies as an in-depth getting-to-know-you session.’
He winked. ‘It’s a great start.’
This really wasn’t a good idea. It could badly affect her plans. What if they had sex and it all went wrong? Even if it didn’t, how would he react when he knew who she was and what she wanted? It was already getting messy. If she told him now, he’d feel manipulated. How much worse would it be if they had sex and then she told him?
She knew of his history with her uncle—knew he’d been cleared of the embezzlement charges brought against him five years ago. Even though she had long since severed all ties with that side of the family, no doubt Connor would react unfavourably to her when he learned of the connection. She’d planned to reveal her identity alongside an explanation of what had happened to her mother, hoping that Connor would see some parallel with his own situation and be sympathetic to her plans to get the Cabacal back.
But things had taken an unexpected turn with this insanely inappropriate attraction between them.
She looked down, already regretting that she couldn’t let this go any further. ‘If things were different, I’d be on the same page as you.’
‘I think we’re already on the same page...about a lot of things.’
The way he said it put her on alert. Did he already know who she was? Had Damian spoken to him about her, warned him she might try something like this? Since she’d been deliberately cagey about her plans, she couldn’t see that was likely.
Her stomach slid uncomfortably as she met his eyes. ‘What things?’
He grinned. ‘Aside from the extremely pleasant sexual attraction we have going? Looks like we’re both actively looking to acquire property.’
This was the perfect place to just blurt everything out and hope that he’d understand. Except something stopped her. If she found out a little more about his reasons for acquiring the property, and what he intended to use it for, she might have a better understanding of how to set about convincing him that her reasons were more justified. Knowledge was power, right?
Watching him closely, she raised her glass to her lips. ‘Are you expanding your business?’
His casual shrug was in opposition to the dark flash in his eyes. ‘Haven’t decided yet.’
‘Then why are you acquiring property?’
There was a definite change in his demeanour now. No trace of the easy charm, or the sexy glint in his eye. ‘Fate dropped an opportunity in my lap. A property became available that I’ve wanted for a while.’
‘For another nightclub?’
‘Like I said, haven’t decided.’ He twisted his glass, round and round, seemingly mesmerised by the movement...and maybe old, painful memories. Then he gave another casual shrug, as if to toss those old memories aside. ‘There’s no rush to do anything with it. It’s been empty for a few years.’
An optimistic band of hope settled around Lola’s heart. If he had no direct plans for the building and would allow it to remain empty for the foreseeable future, then surely it wouldn’t be too much of a wrench for him to sell it on to her when the time came?
‘We’ve gone off-course,’ he said, his mood changing back to its easy, flirty style. ‘Why would I want to talk bricks and mortar when I’m in the company of a beautiful woman?’
‘Are you saying that women can’t talk bricks and mortar?’ she challenged. ‘That we can’t talk business?’
He held up his hands. ‘Nope. Not saying that. Some of the hardest negotiators I’ve dealt with are women.’
She sensed he meant that and wasn’t just tossing her a line. ‘I’m pleased to hear it.’
He lowered his hands, grinning. ‘All I’m saying is that I’d like to negotiate something else entirely right now.’
She laughed and tucked hair behind her ear. ‘You’re just too predictable.’
‘I can live happily in that knowledge, especially if it gets my hands on you.’
The feeling of wanting his hands on her, of wanting hers on him, was almost overwhelming. She knew that Connor would be a fabulous lover.
No doubt his innate confidence would extend to the sack, making what they shared powerful and explosive. She was drawn to that confidence, to his easy wit, his ability to tease without seeming to belittle.
She chose that moment to glance over Connor’s shoulder and caught the crazy butt-wiggles and thumbs-up signs her friends were giving her from across the bar. When she looked back at Connor’s ruggedly handsome face, and the dark seduction in his eyes, she felt like doing some butt-wiggling herself. Except she couldn’t. He was way out of bounds.
Of her friends, only her flatmate Emily knew her plans, knew the history behind them. Lola looked over at Emily now, saw the concern in her friend’s smile and gave a subtle shake of her head. She looked back at Connor. ‘I’ll just be a minute.’
As she swivelled on the stool, he leaned forward. ‘Don’t break my heart and dump me before you’ve even given me a chance.’
She laughed at his puppy-dog expression and stood. ‘I just need to...’ She pointed towards the cloakrooms. ‘I’ll be back. Even if it’s only to tell you that we’re no longer on the same page.’
He slapped a hand to his chest, and Lola laughed again, heading to the ladies’ room as Emily did the same.
Emily didn’t waste any time as they walked through the door together. ‘I’ve been talking to Nigel and he told me that’s Connor Fitzpatrick. Did you know? Have you told him who you are?’
‘Yeah, that’s him, and no, I didn’t tell him. Couldn’t find the words. I did have a hairy moment when I thought he might already know, but since he hasn’t told me to piss off I’m pretty certain he doesn’t.’
‘He didn’t look much like he was planning to tell you to piss off.’ Emily nudged Lola’s elbow. ‘More like he was planning to rip your panties off and have
you right there on his bar.’
‘Bloody hell. Don’t put that image in my head. I’m trying to contain myself as it is.’
‘If he were anyone else, I’d say go for it. I mean, hot dude, nightclub owner, single, probably got all his own teeth.’ Emily slicked on fresh lip gloss and looked at Lola in the mirror. ‘You know I’m worried.’
‘There’s no need. All I’m doing is trying to buy a property. If my stupid brother wasn’t such a prick, he’d let me buy it straight from the estate and then I could go ahead with my plans and have guilt-free sex with Connor Fitzpatrick. It would be a win-win.’
‘You know what I think. That you should just walk away from everything and start fresh.’ Emily sighed and shrugged. ‘But then you wouldn’t get the property or the sex.’
‘I can’t do that, Em. I need the Cabacal back.’
Emily tucked her lip gloss in her bag and turned so that her back was to the counter. ‘We never factored in you fancying the guy. This makes it ultra-complicated. You really should just walk away and think of another way to get what you want.’
‘I know.’ Somewhere between leaving Connor and entering the cloakroom, Lola had grasped just how crazy an idea this was. Not just having sex with Connor but asking him to let her have the property. ‘I’m going to head home and rethink all of this. Find another way.’
‘Good. Look, the others are going to party for a while longer, by the looks of things, so why don’t I come home too and we can hash things out?’
‘No. You stay. Enjoy yourself. I’ll get a taxi back.’
Lola usually appreciated her friend’s input when she was working around a problem. But tonight she wanted some alone time to think of another way to make her plans come to fruition after her interaction with sexy Connor Fitzpatrick. After that, some solitary self-pleasuring while watching late-night-TV porn was on the cards.
Lola checked her watch. ‘First thing tomorrow, I’m going to call Damian, put on the emotional screws if I have to. I’m going to make him read my business plan, look at my projections and convince him that I’m deadly serious about doing this. He can’t refuse me. I won’t let him. If I need to, I’ll get lawyers involved, prove that our mother was cheated out of that property. If nothing else, it will delay the sale for a while. Maybe even for six months.’
Lola felt distinctively nauseous at the prospect of going head to head with her stubborn brother again, but her determination didn’t waver. It was a hellishly long shot, but Lola was prepared to take it.
She said her goodbyes to Emily and, since she didn’t want to see Connor again, headed straight for the exit.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to wait too long for a taxi. She had new plans to formulate...and a date with a silver bullet vibrator.
CHAPTER THREE
THE DOORMAN SET ABOUT hailing her a taxi, although at this time of night Lola knew she might have to wait a while. She shivered as the cool air brushed over her bare arms, but the chill did nothing to diminish the heat still burning inside her, and the smoulder of desire for the man with gun-metal-grey eyes and deep, gravelly voice.
Lola shivered again, but this time it had nothing to do with forgetting to collect her jacket before she’d left the club. It had everything to do with her fevered thoughts about one incredibly sexy club owner.
She shot off a quick text to Emily asking her to grab her jacket, and almost dropped her phone when the voice came from behind.
‘So, you decided to dump me after all.’
His voice rippled along her spine, setting all her nerve endings alight. She turned, meeting his equally powerful gaze. ‘Yeah, well. I decided we’d slipped off the same page after all.’
Bloody hell. How was she supposed to resist him when he moved up this close to her, when she had to look up several inches even while wearing these treacherous heels?
In the relative safety of the ladies’ room, with her bestie giving her support, deciding to leave him behind had seemed easier—the right decision. Now, with him here while she gazed into those gorgeous eyes, she was so damn sunk.
‘That’s a pity,’ he said, sliding his hands into his trouser pockets. ‘And just when I’d decided to go all out to seduce you with my winning ways.’
Okay, he was teasing her, but she really wished he was being serious. She wanted him to pull out all the stops. Not that he’d have to try too hard. She was already ninety-nine percent seduced, and it was only a pesky one percent that kept her from throwing caution to the wind.
‘Can’t have that,’ she said, trying to bite back a smile. He didn’t need any more encouragement. ‘I wouldn’t want to be responsible for robbing women of one more bad boy trying to make good.’
‘It’s true, then? Women really do like bad boys?’
‘Of course. But then you already know that. Hence the dirty sparkle in your eye.’
He grinned. ‘That dirty sparkle is all for you, sweetheart.’
If Lola had thought her blood was burning hot, it damn near raced through her in a fiery inferno now. ‘I’m not really one for bad boys.’
‘I’d have thought women who dance on tables don’t want any other kind.’
With immense effort, Lola turned her attention back to the road, hoping the doorman would succeed in getting a taxi pronto and save her from herself. ‘Don’t believe all you see. My friends were all feeling punch-drunk at having been released from the shackles of university life, and they reminded me of a promise I made three years ago when I said that as soon as I graduated I’d be so happy that I’d dance on a table. What you saw was a woman letting her hair down after having it pulled up tight for too long.’
Bloody hell. Why had she told him that? What was it about him that made her spill so easily?
He tugged gently on the ends of her hair. ‘Looks like it’s well and truly down to me.’
‘Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving.’
‘Not with you. It’s one of the reasons I’m attracted. You tell it like it is. No bullshitting.’
Guilt rippled along her spine and her heart gave one solid, culpable thump. ‘I can bullshit with the best of them when I need to.’
‘Nope. It’s not your style, and believe me, I can tell.’
The feeling intensified. ‘Maybe you don’t know women as well as you think.’
A guarded look came into his eyes, then it was gone as he moved closer. ‘I reckon I know you. You’re a woman who knows what she wants. And, from experience, I know women who set their mind on something tend to get it.’
Lola was too busy basking in the compliment to concern herself with the damning truth of what he’d said.
She had waited the best part of her life to have someone—anyone—imply that she was strong-willed enough to make her own decisions, to choose what was best for her. She supposed that was what happened when you were raised by a headstrong father and an even more headstrong older brother.
Yet here was Connor, actually giving her the one thing she’d wanted for ever. An acknowledgement that she was not only capable of knowing what she wanted but was resolute enough to carry through with her plans.
It warmed her right through, heightened her confidence and solidified her determination to call Damian tomorrow morning and get him to sell the Cabacal direct to her. If Connor could see how competent and determined she was, surely she could convince Damian. She felt a little bad she’d be going behind Connor’s back, but he didn’t seem too interested in doing anything specific with the place.
Besides, all was fair in love and property acquisition, right?
There was another bonus, too. By persuading Damian to let her purchase the property, it meant Connor Fitzpatrick wouldn’t be an obstacle. Which meant her reasons for keeping him at arm’s length were null and void. Was there a reason to deny them both the pleasure of enjoying each other any longer?
Just li
ke that, she felt her earlier resolve not to indulge in a one-night stand crumble. If she was ever going to break that rule, then this was certainly the time to do so. She couldn’t imagine a man more likely to give her a good time than Connor.
She eyed him—that glorious neck, the wide, muscular chest and those powerful thighs. She thought of how Connor’s thighs had brushed against her knees while they had chatted at the bar, imagined how amazing it would be to feel his legs tangled with hers when they were both naked.
She took a deep breath as a taxi pulled up to the kerb and leaned down to give the driver instructions before turning back to Connor. ‘There’s a hotel near my place with a pretty decent lounge and excellent bar service. We could share a nightcap.’
The lights from the club entrance caught the glint in his eyes. ‘My place has the same. I’ve also got a great view.’
She returned his smile. ‘I’d really love to see it.’
* * *
Connor gave the driver fresh instructions then slid into the taxi beside Lola. He was tempted to throw whatever money he had in his wallet at the poor man and order him to put his foot down on the pedal. On arrival, he’d simply haul Lola from the car, toss her over his shoulder and head up to the penthouse.
But something niggled.
What had changed her mind? She’d been happy to dump him, to leave his club without telling him why. She’d even given him a categorical no when he’d propositioned her.
Even as he cursed himself, he knew he wouldn’t rest unless he understood the reasons for her change of heart. He was not usually one to look a freaking gift horse in the mouth, but past experience had made him wary. He had to know, had to make sure she wasn’t playing him.
He’d been played before, and look how that had ended. At first Caroline had seemed like the perfect woman: beautiful, accomplished, loving, attentive. The daughter of his mentor, the man who had given him his first big opportunity in the world of business. Little had Connor known, when he’d accepted the manager position at their family’s flagship casino, that he’d basically set himself up for the ultimate fall. He’d remained blissfully unaware of Caroline’s ulterior motives, her desire to manipulate and use him. It wasn’t until the police had come calling that Connor had realised he’d been set up, not just by his mentor, but by the woman he’d thought he loved.