back.
“Alex. A friend of my brother’s.”
“He is seriously the best-looking guy in here.” Maria watched her friend as she sized up Alex from across the room. “And he can’t keep his eyes off you. Why don’t you go for it? Crawl up on all that muscle.”
It certainly wasn’t beyond the thoughts that Maria had had about Alex. The man was a certified hunk. She may have spent thousands of hours in the middle of the night, in bed everywhere from Las Vegas to Haiti to the Middle East in the midst of fantasies about Alex Fischer. Those strong shoulders, the rippling muscles of his back and the bulge in his pants. “Believe me, I would,” she said, her breath pushing out from her constricting lungs. “But there’s no chance. He still thinks of me only as a kid, Rafael’s little sister.” A good girl. That was how everyone thought of her. Sure, she was a good person, but she also had a wicked streak that she heartily embraced every chance she got.
Oblivious to the conversation Maria and her friends had been having, some guy took the opportunity to join them, sidling up close to Maria, wrapping his arm low around her waist. He said something stupid about her culo, and she rolled her eyes. Idiot. God, she’d had enough of men imposing themselves on her, and her patience was at an all-time low. Can’t a woman just go out and have fun with her friends? She pulled his arm away from her. “You’d better get out of here, pendejo. Before I kick your culo all over this club.” She didn’t need Alex to scare off idiot guys. She could more than handle herself.
But he didn’t walk away; instead, he somehow sidled closer. “Ooh, fiery, I like that.”
The guy had no idea. She’d learned a long time ago while on missions how to deal with chauvinists, catcallers, guys who attempted to touch her uninvited. It wasn’t pretty. She’d seen some real dangerous men in her time. This frat boy in his Old Navy chambray shirt and chinos didn’t interest or scare her. “Listen, man, I’m not playing. Back off!” She turned away from him, trying to talk to her girlfriends.
When the guy laughed and grabbed her ass, Maria whipped around and grasped the guy’s fingers in a grip that twisted his wrist, causing him severe pain. He cried out, and everyone in the near vicinity looked in their direction. A bouncer moved close, but he didn’t stop her. “You know you shouldn’t go around touching people without their permission, don’t you?” She twisted her hand, and as she pinched a nerve ending, he screamed in pain. “So what do you say? Will you get the fuck out of here, or do I have to break your fingers?”
“Fine, I’ll go,” the guy wailed. She let him go and he cradled his injured hand. “Crazy bitch.”
“What was that?” she challenged, not backing down. “I don’t think I heard you.” There was one thing she hated and that was misogynistic, predatory assholes. He hadn’t backed down when she said no, so she literally took matters into her own hands. Hopefully the guy learned his lesson, but if not, she would gladly teach him again.
“Is there a problem?” Alex asked her, suddenly appearing at her side, but turned his attention to the guy as he retreated. He started to follow, but Maria held him back.
“No, I’ve got this,” she said as the other guy slunk out of view, disappearing into the crowd. “I don’t need a bodyguard, you know.”
“So I saw. That was pretty impressive.” He took her hand in his. His large fingers dwarfed hers and she felt the full-body tremor that traveled throughout her, starting with his touch, radiating to her core. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she managed to say as he inspected her fingers while she watched his face.
Alex turned her hand over and frowned. “You broke a nail.”
She looked down and saw that the recently manicured nail on her index finger had cracked off. The manicure had been expensive, and she frowned that it was ruined, but she covered her annoyance with a cool laugh. At least she hoped it was. “It’s no worse off than his pride, though. So, now that you can see I know how to look after myself, you can leave.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not going anywhere.” He smiled, turning on the charm. “Maria, I’m very sorry I interrupted your dance earlier and ruined your fun,” he said. She was skeptical that he was sorry at all. “So I want to make amends.” Pointing to the VIP area, he leaned in, speaking mostly to Beth and Anna. “Ladies, I’ve got a booth in the VIP area over there, and I’d love for you all to join me.”
She knew that his offer wasn’t just to be nice, that there was something else happening behind that devilish smile. But before she could say anything, her friends all nodded in agreement.
“Hell yeah, let’s go,” Beth said, and Maria watched, annoyed as Alex stood between them, cupped his palms around their elbows and led them toward the VIP area, leaving Maria standing alone.
Alex took several steps before it looked like he finally realized she wasn’t following. He turned to face her, his lips turning upward in a grin, knowing he’d won. “Coming, Maria?”
Alex had come up on her and steamrollered her plans to have fun with her friends. Hell, there were a lot of places worse than the VIP area of one of the hottest clubs in Las Vegas. She knew what he was doing. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t play a game of her own. Maybe it was the opportunity to do something she’d always wanted to do.
“Yeah. Sure.”
* * *
Alex escorted Maria’s friends to the VIP area. But the women who flanked him didn’t hold his interest like the woman who trailed them stubbornly. Beth and Anna, as they’d introduced themselves, sat on one end of the semicircle couch. He waited until Maria took a seat next to them, and he sat next to her, again trying not to focus on the way her breasts shifted under her shirt as she moved, settling into the couch, or the way her skirt rode even farther up, revealing more of her tanned thighs. She was curvy, every inch of her body incredible, and he wanted to put his mouth and hands on her and discover her every secret. He blinked and then quickly looked away, hoping to banish the image from his mind.
Beth plucked the drink menu from the center of the low table in front of them and when the waitress came over to the table, she ordered a round of shots for them all. In just a couple of minutes, the cocktail waitress returned and placed a shot glass containing some kind of purple liquid in front of each of them.
Alex looked at the shots with a frown, and considered passing on what looked like little more than liquid candy, but then he shrugged. Who was he to turn down a round of shots with a trio of gorgeous women? So, raising his glass with them, he downed the shot.
His swallow was followed by a grimace. The thing was sweet, pure grape-flavored sugar, and he shuddered and felt his stomach try to revolt against it. To temper the sweetness, he took a mouthful of bourbon. The heat pleasantly covered the purple haze, and he sipped again for good measure. He leaned back with his glass and easily slung his arm over the back of the couch, above Maria, just inches away from what he believed must be the smoothest skin he’d ever desired to touch. He just hoped that he looked more casual than he felt.
She smiled and moved in closer to him, close enough to press her thigh against his, and he stiffened in response to her nearness.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” she said.
Alex shrugged. “What do you think I’m doing?”
“You’re
