wasn’t her darling, and despite her obvious physical attractions, the overly flirtatious manner grated on him. He had to force a smile as he responded, “Sorry I was so long at the bar.”
“No problem.” She patted his thigh as she added, “It’s been fun just watching the other dancers.”
His leg muscles tensed, instinctively repelling the touch. His jaw clenched, too. The only touch he wanted…but Nicole was with someone else now.
Amber withdrew the inviting hand and wrapped it around her glass. She drank too much, too fast, revealing a reckless disregard for the alcoholic content of the cocktail. Quin hoped she wasn’t working up some courage to be more direct in coming onto him. While it might be an old-fashioned attitude these days, he still felt it was a man’s prerogative to be the hunter.
His gaze instinctively targeted Nicole as the music stopped. Her ponytailed partner swept her to a table where another guy had just left a woman with wildly purple hair—definitely not a shrinking violet, wearing a black midriff top and skintight hot-pink pants. Intriguingly the three of them cosied up together, chatting and laughing—two women, one man between them, all very friendly.
Quin’s view of them was blocked by Tony, comically miming wobbly legs and wiping his brow as he escorted his latest amour, Nina Salter-Smythe off the dance floor. “I need a fast and long injection of cold beer,” he declared, leaving Nina at the table while he headed for the bar. She suggested a visit to the powder room to Amber and the two women went off together, leaving Quin free to watch Nicole without interruption.
He tried reminding himself this was a woman who had rejected him. He shouldn’t be giving her a second thought, let alone a second look. It was an exercise in futility, in frustration.
Yet all his aggressive instincts were on fire. She’d been his woman and he wanted another chance with her. If she wasn’t actually married to the Latin lover who was flashing his eyes at both women indiscriminately, he had room to move.
And move he would.
His whole body was screaming at him to do it, mount an attack, get Nicole back into his life.
The moment Tony returned to the table, ready to play jovial host to the rest of his party friends, Quin was on his feet to intercept him before he sat down. “Spotted someone I want to meet,” he explained. “Excuse me, won’t you?”
“Wait a sec,” came the quick protest. “How goes it with Amber? She’s been eyeing you over.”
“Non-event,” Quin almost snapped, raising his hand to ward off any further comment as he swung to make a beeline for the woman who was the only event in his mind tonight.
CHAPTER TWO
NICOLE was having fun. She was glad she’d let Jade and Jules talk her into accompanying them here tonight. They had argued she should be armed with a firsthand report of the new Havana Club to pass onto her pupils, unaware that the dance school she was managing for her mother was in such dire debt that Nicole couldn’t see a way out of it. She had accepted their invitation in a desperate need to push her worries aside for a while, to simply enjoy the zany company of her friends and not think about facing tomorrow until it came.
“Handsome hunk zeroing in on you, Nic.” Jade rolled her big brown eyes expressively. “To your left. Nine o’clock.”
Nicole laughed. “Score out of ten?”
“Ten plus.”
She shook her head disbelievingly. Ever since Jade had returned from her extensive work experience with designers in Europe to set up business in Sydney, she had been trying to fix Nicole up with some guy, preaching one should keep involved with everything life had to offer, seeing Nicole’s single status as unhealthy, even stunting her growth as a woman.
Jules leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Got to say Jade’s spot-on. Mega macho bearing down on you. A star player.”
Nicole winced at that phrase. Jules wouldn’t know it—not his field—but it was the phrase used in banking circles to describe the top guns on the trading floor, and she’d once been intimately attached to a star player. Attached and burnt.
“Nicole…”
That voice…a convulsive little shiver instantly ran down her spine. Her skin went cold. Her stomach contracted as her head jerked around, reacting to the need to deny the recognition blasting her mind and thumping into her heart. Except the recognition was not a mad mistake.
“Quin…” His name fell from her lips before she could catch it back, and the awful part was the lingering sound of it seemed to carry a longing that was intensely embarrassing. She should have been expressing surprise.
It was certainly that.
He smiled, hitting her with the same megawatt attraction that had been her downfall seven years ago, his bullet grey eyes cutting straight through all lines of defence. The only thing that had changed about him were the silver threads shining through his thick thatch of black hair, giving a more mature authority to his strikingly handsome face—a face which had never lacked authority with its sharply chiselled features adding male strength and character to it. His tall, powerful physique shouted strength, as well, not to mention compelling sex appeal.
“Good to see you again, Nicole,” he rolled out, the smooth deep timbre of his voice raising goose-bumps.
“What are you doing here?” The words burst abruptly from a surge of resentment at the way he could still affect her. He had dominated her life for two years—two years that had ultimately taught her she was nothing more than a sexual convenience to him.
His smile wasn’t even slightly shaken. “I enjoy dancing…remember?”
She didn’t want to remember anything. Though he had been a great dancer the few times it actually suited him to partner her at parties.
“Hi! I’m Jade Zilic.” Typical Jade, too fascinated to wait for an introduction, hand thrust out in ready friendship. “And you are?”
“Joaquin Sola. Mostly called Quin.” He took her hand, nodding a polite acknowledgment, looking enquiringly at Jules.
“My partner, Jules,” Jade obliged, leaving Nicole exposed as partnerless tonight.
Jules thrust out his hand and it was promptly taken and shaken with vigour. “Pleased to meet you both,” Quin said, warm pleasure positively emanating from him.
Field clear, Nicole bitterly interpreted, though second thoughts zipped into her mind. Quin could not be here womanless. A man like him didn’t have to go anywhere alone and he wouldn’t to a club. No doubt he had some banking clique with him, having a night on the town.
“I have one question for you,” Jade shot at him, her eyes dancing wicked mischief.
“Yes?” he invited.
“Are you wearing Nick’s Knickers?”
The charming smile definitely faltered at that point, his gaze swinging to Nicole, furrowed brow indicating fast reassessment of the situation. Did the somewhat bawdy question relate to knowledge of his being Nicole’s former lover? Was he being cast as a bunny here? Someone to make fun of?
