And she’s heading straight for me.
With sheer delight, I ignore Will Campbell’s excited chattering about the latest P&L report. Instead, I watch his impulsive sister stomp across the dance floor and make her way up three carpeted stairs toward us, unable to take my lecherous gaze away from the way her toned bare thighs move with every heated step. With each rise of her leg, I swear I get a glimpse of what’s beneath that skirt meant to taunt and make men weak.
It’s virgin white.
It’s lace.
It’s sexy as fuck, and I want to paddle her heart-shaped ass ruby red for wearing something every man in here will be jacking off to later, including me. But I also want to bend her over the desk in the back office and rend them with my teeth before I tongue her to climax under a steady stream of Macallan this time. I want her to come long and hard on my face, my name branding her lips.
I want her gratitude hanging like an apology between us.
I want to punish her until she begs for mercy I won’t grant.
I want to fuck her until she’s boneless, mindless, and thoughtless. Until memories of our night together assault her with a relentless, battering force.
But I won’t. I mean, I will. Just not yet. I’m quite enjoying the flush on her cheeks when she gets fired up.
Take now, for example.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” she rants, stopping in a huff right in front of me. Her fists are balled. Her arms ramrod straight. And those textbook tits of hers are about to break free from the confines of a beaded pale pink bra peeking out from her blouse with each rise and fall of her chest.
Hot. Damn. She is something.
I can’t even be mad she deliberately disobeyed my orders regarding her dress code, because that was a selfish, self-centered move on my part. The men in this place are piranhas. I’ve personally ushered more than one out the door when I’ve overheard the things they wanted to do to her in the alley after her gig.
“Saine.” Her brother scolds her as if she’s a child who just talked back to her elders.
She doesn’t spare him a glance, though. The fact she won’t cower to anyone, her older brother whom I know she adores, or even me—an intimidating asshole—beguiles me further. She’s everything I thought she’d be and so much more.
And it’s the more part that has me hooked.
I thought she gave me a run for my money at the bar that night, but she’s upped her game considerably since then.
Too bad for her I have too.
That night I wanted under her luscious body, her riding the length of my cock until dawn spilled. Now, though? Now I want under her skin so goddamn far she’ll feel defiled by me.
“What seems to be the problem, Ms. Campbell?” I ask, taking a leisurely sip of my Moet & Chandon. I haven’t touched this since the night I sipped it from her body.
She throws a glance at the bottle that sits on the table between her brother and me and her black-lined eyes round. Her lips part. Those breaths of hers shorten and speed up in cadence.
Is she finally remembering how she moaned under my mouth as I sipped the dry wine from the hollow of her throat? Or maybe it’s how she writhed under my tongue when I lapped up a puddle from the arc of her spine as I fingered her to release? Or maybe she’s not remembering a damn thing. Maybe I’m losing my sanity altogether, and she’s completely blanked that night out as if her actions were par for the course. As if I was just another conquest to add to her tally.
“The problem?” she sputters incredulously, that blaze of hers scorching me once again. “The problem?” She draws out that last word, her voice pitched high at the end of it.
I see my new playlist was efficiently delivered.
Though I want to grin, I make sure my mouth stays in a nice even line when I pull my glass away and set it down. I lace my fingers together and rest my twined hands right below my pecs.
Saine Campbell follows my every move, including watching me tongue a stray drop of alcohol from my lower lip. Her chest expands on a deep inhale, and I did not miss how the pink hue on her apple cheeks deepened two shades.
If I was forced to make a guess right now, I’d say she’s not forgotten a second of our time together, whether she realizes it was my mouth all over her or not. But she will. Soon enough.
Daring not breathe in her sweet scent, I swallow my pent-up desire for her and shift in my seat, cocking my head slightly for effect.
“I don’t believe I stuttered,” is my bland response and holy hell does that rile her.
Those blood-red painted lips form a delightful little oval, and all I can envision is sliding my dick in between them until they’re pressed flat to my root. I can only hope that barbed tongue of hers doesn’t slice me open in the process.
“You’re a piece of work, you know that?”
Will gasps in horror and goes to stand, but I wave for him to stay seated. Reluctantly he does. My gaze never wavers from the measuring ones of Saine’s. Flames of indignant fury aim right for me, singeing the tips of my eyebrows.
What would it be like to wake to those bright green eyes every morning? To stare into them every night as they flutter shut in blissed out satisfaction? With the way I’m pushing her, I may never find out.
“Why don’t you have a seat, Ms. Campbell?” I nod to the empty chair on her left. What I really want to do is pull up that slip of fabric she calls a skirt and see if she’s slippery and ready for me. I would bet money she is. “Perhaps we can discuss what’s bothering you like adults rather than this childish display of temper.” I make it a point to glance at my Asprey watch, then look back up at her with a mocking smile. When she stands there, flabbergasted, I tap my watch, adding, “Ticktock. I think you’re to go on soon, right?”
She sucks in air so hard it catches in the pocket of her throat and oh fucking hell, I know that deliriously familiar song. Visions of me sinking two fingers in her ass as I fuck her relentlessly from behind almost causes me to blow. I strategically cross my legs without breaking stride, hoping I don’t have a telling stain on the front of my thousand dollar slacks.
I wait patiently through the building tension, expecting any number of things from her in this moment. Ranting. Creative use of profanities. Screaming, perhaps. I’m even prepared for a swift uppercut. I daresay I deserve any one of them.
What I didn’t prepare for, though, was a smile.
A blinding, brilliant, mind-blowing ear-to-ear grin that nearly makes me fall to her feet in sublime worship.
She is the absolute perfect match for me, and who knew?
Who knew that at one of the lowest moments of my life—my father’s suicide—that she would be the candle I needed to guide my way out of a blanket of darkness.
I’ve focused on that distant flicker far too long. It was almost out when, in a gift from the heavens, there she was.
Literally. There she was.
At the request of my old college roommate, Lance, the third owner of The Revelry, I’d taken a meeting with Will, convinced I would turn down his request for a cash infusion into the club he and Lance co-owned, if for no other reason than there seemed to be some bad blood between Will and Lance and I didn’t want to step into the middle of a shit pile I hadn’t made.
We sat at this very table on a Wednesday morning, and after I let Will run through his spiel, vehemently declaring his issues with Lance wouldn’t be a problem because he was more of a silent partner anyway, the declination balanced on my teeth. It sat there, ready to fall when this mesmerizing voice bowled me over.
I turned my head toward the bar to find the woman I’d been searching for taking inventory, singing a sultry tune, lost in her own little world. The effortless way the lyrics flowed from her lips and how she made me believe them blew me away.
All this time I’d been looking for her, and she’d been practically under my nose.
She is mine.
And this time I’m not letting her escape me in the dead of night.
This time I’m not letting her escape at all.
I run my tongue over my bottom lip and don’t stifle my smile as her gaze follows. I let her know I know exactly how I’m affecting her. “Did you have something you wanted to discuss, Ms. Campbell?” I taunt.
With a slight nod of her head, she says too softly for her brother to hear, “Game on,” before spinning on the heels of those insanely hot boots. Mindless, I watch her walk away, that full ass swaying, provoking. On purpose, I’m quite sure.
Will sounds genuinely appalled when he offers, “I’m sorry for that.”
I’m not.
“She’s a Leo. C-4 with a short fuse.”
That she is. But she’s also a born ruler. Passionate about life. An explosive sexpot that I need back in my bed with near desperation. In my life forever.
“Don’t worry about it,” I assure him, taking another sip of my cocktail as Saine disappears the way she came. It turns me the hell on, but I don’t say that, especially not to her brother. “What’s her deal?”
I ask this as if I couldn’t care less what the answer is. Through shrewd conversations with Will, I’ve come to learn both of their parents died in a car accident when Saine was just twelve and Will was sixteen. Their aunt and uncle raised them, but the incident brought them even closer together, so it stands to reason he is incredibly protective of her. Almost overly so.
“Her deal?” he repeats. His right leg shakes like it’s about to take off.
At first, Will Campbell bugged the shit out of me. He’s a terrible businessman. He’s too lenient on his employees. His nerves are always firing, and he’ll likely have an ulcer by the age of forty-five. But though he’s high strung, doesn’t have a lick of business sense, and we’re as opposite as day to night, Will and I have one thing in common: a weak spot for his sister.
“Yeah. I mean does she hate all men or am I just the lucky recipient of her bad moods?”
Will’s leg stills and he takes me in. He has no idea how much I’ve provoked Saine over the past few months, so I say this as if I’m an innocent wearing my halo as proudly as a crown. Keeping my posture relaxed and my face neutral, though, is harder than it should be.
“She…” He cuts himself off and blows out a breath, relaxing back in his chair. His eyes roam the club and land on a particularly beautiful waitress named Ebony. He watches her flirt with two men who look to be in their sixties. It’s harmless, part of the job, but I can tell it bothers him.
I wait to see if he’ll continue, but the more seconds that pass, the more impatient I become. I find I really want the answer to my question.
I want to know why this amazing woman is alone when I remember the one heavy moment of conversation we had like it happened just minutes ago instead of years.
“What scares you the most?” I ask, unsure where the question came from. She’s on her side facing me, hands tucked under her flushed cheek. Her lips are soft. Her face relaxed. She is so breathtakingly beautiful I can hardly take my eyes from her.
Her blinks are slow. Methodical. Her quiet contemplation puts me at ease. Every time her lids open that sharp gaze of hers plunges into mine, to my very depths and I’m sure she sees me like no other woman before her has.
This was supposed to be one night but God how I want her. I want to get to know her. Each fear, every secret. Her desires and dreams. I want more than just one night, and I’m worried I won’t get it.
Just when I think she’s skirting my question, she wets her lips and whispers, “Being lonely.”
I smile softly and bring my finger up, running it down her face, the baby-smooth skin underneath my pad feeling like satin. Her eyelids gradually close. A soft sigh escapes her.
“Me too,” I admit at the same moment she focuses on me again.
Her lips turn up into a contented, easy smile and I can’t help myself. I react on instinct as if I’ve done this a thousand times before without thought. I close the gap between us and take them between mine.
I kiss her with painstaking precision and with a feeling of wholeness I’ve never experienced. I kiss her until her breaths become mine. Until her body is pressed into me. I kiss her until my head swims with unfamiliar feelings and stray thoughts of what tomorrow could bring. I kiss her until my lips are swollen and sore. Until I can’t possibly kiss her anymore, then I kiss her again. I wind my arms around her and hold her to me like she’ll disappear if I blink too fast, my lips never stopping their selfish taking of hers as I slide into her wet heat once again.
I’m so lost in my own head that I barely hear Will absently hand over a critical piece of information I wish I’d had six months ago.
“Her fiancé cheated on her with our cousin.”
My head snaps his way. He’s still watching Ebony glide eloquently around the floor. I let the words turn over and over until I’m sure I heard them right.
“You’re shitting me.”
What was that idiot thinking? If I had a ring on Saine’s finger, there is no way in hell way I’d be looking at another woman, let alone sticking my dick in her. As it is, I’ve imagined every woman I’ve fucked since I had her underneath me was her.
Will’s eyebrows kick up, and he finally tears his longing gaze away from the waitress. Picking up his mug, he takes a deep swig of beer and slams the glass back down a little too hard before responding, “Yeah. Then he married her.”
CHAPTER 3
Bennett
Her fiancé married her cousin? Well…fuuuck. That is low.
I half wonder if that’s where she was the night we hooked up, but it can’t be, can it? She surely wouldn’t be an attendant in her cousin’s wedding. Would she?
“When?”
“Few years ago now,” he bites out.
Son of a bitch. “That bastard,” I mumble.
He studies me as if he’s confused about something. Like I should already be in receipt of this information. Or maybe he’s deciding if he should trust me with the rest of Saine’s secrets. After an uncomfortably long pause, he must decide I’m worthy. “You don’t know this?”
I raise a shoulder, confused again. “Why would I?”
He starts to respond but whatever he intended to say is cut short when Ebony walks up to our table and stops in front of him, her knee practically touching his. Looks to me as if the attraction between them is not just one-sided. “You guys doing okay?” she asks in this sexy vibrato that raises dicks. Not mine, mind you, but I’d bet money Will’s is saluting her about now.
“Fine,” I reply, but Ebony isn’t even looking at me. She leans over gracefully and picks up Will’s empty, setting it on her tray. Will’s gaze heats as it walks up and down the generous lines of her body. “And you, sir?” she asks, straightening. “Are you fine as well or would you like something…different?”
Will’s nostrils flare slightly but other than that, he keeps his composure. I bite my smile away. I’ve lived longing but not touching for months now, but if Saine’s expression invited me in the blatant way Ebony’s currently is with Will, she’d be flat against the closest wall and I’d be buried balls deep in three seconds flat.
“You know, I would like something different.”
Her lips quirk. “Yeah? What?” She shifts and her knee brushes his. I chuckle, but neither of them pays me any attention.
“Surprise me.”
Her eyes droop a little, and she licks her lower lip. Her voice has thickened considerably when she responds, “I can do that.”
She stands there for a few more seconds; so long I start to feel like a voyeur. Then she smiles softly and drifts away. Will swears under a breath, clears his throat, and adjusts the swelling in his pants, not even bothering to be discreet.
My concentration shifts to the stage where Fallen Angel has appeared. Saine adjusts the mic and laughs with the drummer. Her assistant runs out and shoves something small in her hand, which she immediately pops in her mouth.
Holy Christ, she is so striking. But she’s also smar
t and loyal and so incredibly talented she blows me away every time she opens her mouth, whether it’s to belt out a lyric or even to berate me.
Why would anyone not want her? She’s the complete package.
Spunk and sex. Passion and strength. A woman forever’s are suited for.
And her ignorant fiancé’s loss is my gain because Saine Campbell is going to be mine in every sense of the word.
There’s a slight commotion by the bar and Will is up in a flash, heading to break up what looks to be a fight brewing between a couple of wannabe’s. One is rather stacked, and I might be worried Will would get his pretty face rearranged if I didn’t also spot our ex-WWE bouncer thundering across the club at the same time.
When I’m sure everything is under control, I turn my attention squarely back to Saine. I watch her glide around the platform, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper as she paces, having a hard time tearing my eyes away from the way she moves effortlessly around the stage like she was born there. She’s so comfortable in her skin, in who she is, and that, ladies, is an incredibly sexy, irresistible trait.
I tell my swelling cock to cool it. It’s going to be a long night, and I can’t sit here with a weapon in my pants, or I’ll go insane. I bite the inside of my cheek when Riverdale calls her over, and they put their heads a little too close together as they discuss what I presume is the new set list I provided, each and every song chosen with precision and purpose.
She mashes those dark lips together and cuts her heated eyes to me. When I quirk the corner of my mouth she does the same, but that minx takes it a step further. One she has to know will piss me off.
Wrapping an arm around Riverdale, she presses her mouth to his ear and whispers something. His tongue darts out to wet his lips until they glisten and his arm goes around her waist. Even from this distance, I see his fingers flex into the soft flesh of her hip. He pulls on her until all the air between them is gone. With her supple body flush to his, he turns her in his arms and flashes her a smile that makes me want to punch his fucking face in. Then he brushes a kiss to her nose and reluctantly lets her go when she pushes against his chest.
Drawn to Him: A Romance Collection Page 45
