by Dez Burke
“Not an invitation,” he added with a calm tone. “More like a warning. Girls like you need a diversion once in a while…something to spice things up when everyday life gets tiresome. And much as I’m tempted, I’d rather not be used for sport. I’m not here for your amusement, Alexandra. I’m sure there’ll be other willing candidates waiting for you to give them the time of day. As for me; I’m not quite ready to be some billionaire’s daughter’s pastime.”
“You flatter yourself,” Alexandra said coldly, jumping to her feet with blazing eyes.
“Do I?” he murmured, his eyes growing hooded. Not touching her, he moved in close enough so that his cheek brushed hers. Alexandra stiffened, sensing the way he inhaled deeply, as if savoring her scent.
“I know that smell, Alexandra,” Cane said softly in her ear, making the tiny hairs on her lobe tingle as her breasts grew heavy with arousal. “It’s always on you now; and it’s maddening. Driving me crazy. It calls to me every time I’m near you, making me so hard I could explode. I want to give you what you need. God, I want to. But I can’t.”
He hadn’t even put a hand on her, but Alexandra was melting. Literally forming a puddle deep in her core. The tortured sound of his voice in her ear made her senses swim as she thought of what could be. If only they took it to the next level.
“Stay away from me, Alexandra. Please.” His harsh words slashed her through the middle, baring her to the torment that rasped in his tone. “You don’t even want to know the things I wish I could do to you. But I can’t let my desires override my duty. That’s not how I operate. So just do what I say, and keep your distance. And maybe one day, you’ll thank me for having enough self-restraint to stop us both from making the biggest mistake.”
“I’m not sure that’s solely your decision to make,” Alexandra said huskily, torn by the attraction she felt for him, and also by the fact that he might be right.
“Well, I’ve made it. Now, unless you want me to walk away from this assignment – which believe me, is just as tempting as my desire to stay and see this through, then don’t start something we’ll both regret,” he told her in that low, warning tone.
“You know, for a tough guy, you really surprise me. Whatever happened to the sense of adventure?” Alexandra couldn’t help taunting, inwardly filled with the fury of a woman scorned and all that. It burned in her eyes as she spun around with a toss of her messed-up curls. Throwing over her shoulder, she added, “I should have known you couldn’t handle all this jelly.”
She paused at the doorway to glance at him and could feel her heart skip a beat at the darkly feral glint in his eyes. Despite herself, she couldn’t hide the sudden consternation that snatched at her heart. She wasn’t sure then if he wanted to wring her neck, or freaking violate her where she stood. Either way, she was going to be served up a load of pain and Alexandra knew she would more than deserve it.
“Run really fast to your room, little girl,” Cane said in a voice dangerously low and thick. He took a step forward in her direction, and Alexandra involuntarily jumped.
Sending him a furious glare, she however chose to listen this time. Resisting the urge to make a childish face at him and poke out her tongue, she dashed up to her room, not forgetting to carefully lock the door. Alexandra wasn’t sure she felt safe enough, not even when she lay huddled deep beneath her covers. She felt exhausted from her emotional rollercoaster ride where she couldn’t decide if she loathed Cane Hutchinson or was becoming infatuated by him. Either way, she couldn’t win, was the last thought before she drifted into sleep.
Chapter Seven
Her father wasn’t happy about the idea of her going to Malia’s birthday party.
“It’s going to be at some crowded nightclub,” Donel Duke said disapprovingly on the phone. “There’ll be lots of unsavory characters. I don’t like it.”
Alexandra was glad her father couldn’t see her exasperated eye roll. “Dad, you got me this fancy bodyguard just for occasions like this one. I’ll be in public; I’ll be safe. Even Vincent or his goons wouldn’t be so dumb as to make a move on me there.”
“I still wish you wouldn’t go,” her father said with an angry sigh. “Just yesterday I was in another round of negotiations with him regarding the company we’re both bidding after. He had the gall to ask how my family was doing.”
“Maybe he was just being courteous,” Alexandra said drily.
“No, baby, he was yanking my chain,” Donel Duke said angrily. “If and when I find out he was behind that intruder of three weeks ago, I’m going to…”
“Dad, please,” Alexandra cut into her father’s furious words. “We have to figure out a safe and sane way to handle whatever threat I may be under. In the meantime, I want to still be able to feel like I’m living a normal life. Meaning there’s no way I’m missing my best girl’s birthday party, okay?”
It took several minutes of emotionally wrangling, but she did remind him once again that he’d hired the ‘top man’ to handle her personal safety, which made him sigh in defeat as he finally told her to have a good time.
Oh, I intend to, though Alexandra with a devious smile on her lips as she tossed her cell phone aside. She had just a few hours to prepare and she felt filled with bubbling excitement which had nothing to do with the upcoming festivity.
After the most luxurious of soaks in her bathtub, she headed for her closet and tossed open the walk-in doors. She’d never felt so good about going to a party in a long while. Apart from the fact that she’d helped Malia organize it, she felt like for once she could really let her hair down. She’d been so wrapped up in her classes and of course, this whole new agenda with having a bodyguard and being in danger. Well, she wasn’t going to let that get in the way of her fun tonight.
It was a week since that night in the kitchen when Cane had given just a glimpse of what went on inside his head. So, the guy was a workaholic who didn’t care much for hanging loose. I don’t believe in fun, she mimicked to herself as she made fun of his comment. He was stiff-necked, infuriating, and detestably sexy.
All this while she’d been determined to put him in his place the first chance she got, only to be taken down a peg herself when he told her they could never be lovers. Not like she’d even made him an offer, fumed Alexandra as she plucked her designer dress from its hanger and tossed it on the bed. She stared critically over the lines of shoes in her closet. She’d spent a long time considering what to wear tonight to get the desired effect.
In the past several days, Alexandra knew she’d gone out of her way to look her alluring best. Just to let Mr. Self-controlled know exactly what he was missing.
Needless to say, the past week had been hell. Not that they’d ever been the type to chatter, but besides giving orders, Cane said little else to her. Spending so much time around him, especially when she was at home was putting more of a strain on her than she expected. Why was she so obsessed with him anyway? He never seemed interested in breaking the ice wall he’d placed between them. It would have been nice if they could have been able to talk – if not about fashion which was her favorite topic, then about literature or politics or whatever he liked to talk about. Couldn’t they at least be civil with each other?
Apparently not, Alexandra thought with a smirk as she pulled on her panties over her garter belt hooked to sheer black tights. The last time they happened to be in the same room – the living room – there’d been a silly sitcom on TV and she’d tried to draw him into at least having a laugh with her. But he seemed to have no wish for any ‘bonding’. The moment she started up a conversation, he decided he had something he needed to see to in some other part of the house and excused himself.
Alexandra thought he was taking his professional stance too far. What did he think she was going to do if he just got a little bit closer to her? Ravish him? Or maybe he didn’t want to risk her falling for him. Like she’d ever be dumb enough to do that. He might be the most desirable man she’d ever met, and he might be the r
eason she was having the hottest fantasies on a nightly basis, but there was no chance of her growing any real feelings for him. Heck, she didn’t even know him. And just as quickly as he’d surfaced into her life, he could vanish from it without a trace.
Maybe it was best to keep him at arm’s length the way he did her, thought Alexandra. That way, he could focus on his job and she could pretend she didn’t care either way.
Shoving him firmly from her mind, Alexandra stared at her reflection in the bedroom mirror, the product of more than an hour of primping. Yep, now she looked and felt ready for some after-dark excitement. She’d had to tone down her social activities ever since that mess with the intruder whom they still hadn’t caught or identified. But tonight was Malia’s night and it was happening in the trendiest nightclub in the city, Club Déjà vu. She’d been there a few times and it was definitely an A-lister late-night playground with state-of-the-art everything.
Malia’s fantastic boyfriend Carl, who worked in the entertainment industry as some kind of talent agent, had been great about fixing a few live performances with some major hip-hop star to go with the club’s cutting-edge DJ who’d be providing all the R & B, rock, hip hop, house and mash up music they’d need to really get down.
Alexandra for one was looking forward to the flowing cocktails as well as the chance to soak in the exhilarating ambience that came from being part of an energized crowd. She was sick of being cooped up like a frightened chicken, anxious about her own shadow and unable to have any real fun. Well, none of that tonight. She was going to go wild for the next few hours and nothing had better stand in her way…
***
When Alexandra finally emerged from her bedroom, Cane took one look at her and said in a carefully schooled tone, “No way you’re going out like that.”
Alexandra glanced down at her tight-fitting white halter mini dress with its deep low plunge cowl neck. It featured an entirely backless design with a hem which barely skimmed underneath her bum. She’d been gunning for her club dress to have a risqué factor to it and she felt sure it wasn’t that bad as to elicit that terrible scowl Cane had on his face. Rihanna had worn the exact same thing just last week to go clubbing in London after her last concert. It had cost a pretty penny with its designer price tag but Alexandra had been in the mood to pamper herself which she didn’t always do. And in her opinion, she was pulling off the freakum dress look quite well tonight.
Ignoring Cane’s dark stare, Alexandra twirled and tossed her sleek hair over her shoulder, giving him a view of her exposed back, the dress held up by its halter necktie. She knew how much skin she was displaying and how little was left to the imagination especially since the dress obviously allowed for no bra. Alexandra had nothing to be ashamed of when it came to her body and if she wanted to flaunt it tonight, then Cane or no one could tell her differently, she fumed to herself.
“Please be reminded that you’re just my bodyguard, not my fashion advisor,” she told him primly as she turned back to face him. “I’m sure I look good.”
“Oh, not simply good,” Cane told her in a mild tone that contrasted with his thunderous gaze, adding, “More like whorish and extremely fuckable.”
Alexandra flinched as if slapped. It took a few moments before she could find her voice. “How dare you speak to me that way?” she breathed in anger.
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’m only saying what I’m thinking. And if you were to go anywhere dressed like that, men would be thinking the exact same thing. The last thing you want is to come across cheap especially not at your best friend’s party. So why don’t you choose something more appropriate?”
Alexandra stared at him in helpless fury. Oh man, he was pushing it. She didn’t care how fucking tough he was. She was so ready to scratch his eyes out for talking to her like she was a dumb seventeen year old trying to sneak out to an 18 to 21 club. She knew if she searched deep down, she’d admit to herself that she’d worn the dress to get his attention. She’d wanted to blow his mind with her sexy outfit and ready-to-fuck heels. Okay, so she knew that on a celeb who normally got away with wearing the raciest attires in public, this dress might look quite the thing, but on someone like Alexandra... Still, she didn’t think he had the right to say she looked cheap because she knew she didn’t.
He, on the other hand, looked the freaking bomb. No surprise there, thought Alexandra with grudging approval. Faultlessly neat as ever, he looked breathtakingly stylish in his smart shoes, collared shirt and trousers topped with a matching jacket. She felt struck down by such effortless brawn blended in with so much masculine appeal it actually hurt to look at him. Damn he was fine.
But she’d still maul him if he didn’t stop talking to her like she was some bug squirming underneath his thumb.
And then, she chanced a look at him only to briefly catch a peek of raw, stormy lust streaking across his gorgeous face before it got iced over almost immediately, replaced by that irritably dispassionate look he favored. Hmm, no doubt the dress was doing something for him, Alexandra decided smugly as she pinned him with her darkening gaze.
“Maybe you’re right and the dress is a bit over-the-top for a friend’s birthday bash,” she said with a careless shrug. Her arms lifted as she worked on the fastenings at the back of her neck. “So fine, I’ll just take it off then.”
“Don’t,” Cane rapped out sharply, causing her fingers to still, her eyes wide with innocent surprise. Her body was thrust forward by her raised arms, and she felt her breasts grow heavier beneath her skimpy bodice, the nipples tautening to buds as she felt his gaze seem to sear a laser beam through her clothes. “Alexandra, don’t fucking push me.”
Alexandra loved the sound of his voice getting so gruff and thick that it was almost unrecognizable. Biting sensually on her bottom lip, she advanced on Cane, her eyes never leaving his face. She came to a stop in front of him till her face was just a whisper from his, and she could feel him staring down at her parted lips, which she licked to an inviting level of moistness that seemed to turn his green eyes almost black.
“Or what?” she crooned, her hands resting on his broad chest for a moment. She felt the harsh breath he drew in at her touch, and she fluttered her eyelashes as she walked her fingers down his impressively padded pecs till she was brushing the front of his pants. “Does it excite you to have me shivering in fear, Mr. Hutchinson? You really think I should be afraid of you?”
Her eyes teased him, taunted him as much as her playful words did. He caught her wrists in hard fists before she could venture any lower, and she pouted at being thwarted as he tugged her arms up out of temptation’s way.
“If you were wise, you would be afraid – very afraid,” he said huskily. He flicked his eyes over her face with her invitingly parted lips, and then down at her equally tempting body which he had to know was melting for him. Alexandra shivered with longing for him to finally snap, lose that grip on his control that held him back from giving them what they both wanted.
“Maybe if I’m lucky, you’ll spank me really hard for being bad,” she said hopefully, her eyes glittering as they held his. “I think you know you can make me do whatever you want…if you use the right kind of persuasion.”
His grip on her wrists tightened and Alexandra felt heady from being this close to him, their chests almost touching. She could see every detail of his face; his deliciously smooth, tanned jaw, the golden flecks in his eyes, the strong point in his nostrils and the manly curve of his lips. She couldn’t understand what came over her when she was around him. Maybe she was obsessed. She needed to get him out of her system somehow and if that meant having to lure him into doing what they both knew they shouldn’t, then so be it.
Cane was shaking his head at her, his smile somewhat mocking. “You like playing with fire, don’t you? You like to think this is a game…something you can do to pass the time. After all, we’re stuck together, right?”
He let out a grunt of anger as he let her go abruptly, almost making
her stumble. “You’re just doing this for fun, Alexandra. You don’t really know what you want. You enjoy the thrill you get from being desired by me but I don’t think you’re ready for the reality of being fucked by your bodyguard.”
Alexandra’s cheeks stung as she involuntarily rubbed at her aching wrists, only just realizing how strong his grip had been. “Oh, I’m sure it wouldn’t be so bad,” she murmured with a careless shrug of one shoulder. “I mean, I’ve always been one for trying new experiences. I know we may not have much in common but something tells me we can find a mutual…satisfaction in giving in to what we both want.”
“You could be right,” he said lightly, which caused Alexandra’s heart to lift for a moment before he added in a firm tone, “But I still say it’s too much of a distraction. And that’s dangerous for a man in my position. I can’t let anything happen to you, Alexandra. That’s why I have to stay focused on the purpose of why I’m here. Your father entrusted you to my care and I’m not about to betray that trust. Any other circumstances and believe me nothing will stop me from taking you so hard, again and again until walking normally will be a problem for you for the foreseeable future.”
Oh heavens, yes please, thought Alexandra as her belly flipped and flopped. Alexandra felt like moaning out loud even though she knew he was only speaking hypothetically. But at least now she knew that if it wasn’t for the situation, then he wouldn’t even be hesitating. He wanted her very, very much and was only holding back because of how it might possibly disrupt his function as her bodyguard. She’d just have to convince him that nothing could be further from the truth, but for now, she was mollified enough to remember she had a birthday party to go to.
“I guess I can be good – for now,” she finally said with a small, wicked smile that warned him that in her heart, she was still much too intent on being very bad. Spinning on her heels, she went back to her wardrobe and picked out one of her favorite club outfits, this time in black. It was a leather and mesh mini dress which she knew flattered her hips with its girly flared skirt which was leather while the mesh upper gave a super-sexy contrast. It was stretchy and flirty with the hint of black bra just underneath. When she reappeared Cane had an approving glint in his green eyes.
