I cursed my treacherous imagination and the heat in my cheeks, especially when he raised a brow at my expression—I no doubt looked either horrified or constipated.Or both.
He gave me an arrogant shrug.“I wasn’t expecting you tonight.Jerry mentioned you’d arrive sometime this weekend.”He leaned closer, his arm passing right next to me, and I tensed.Darius smelled of rain and spice, a scent I couldn’t place but one that made me want to kiss the arrogance from his lips.
Instead of grabbing me, he pulled his hand from behind my back and handed me a towel with a smirk.“You’re soaking wet.”
Irritated that he made me nervous and knew it, I released my satchel and grabbed the towel from his hands, stifling a breath when our fingers touched.A flare of heat raced up from my hand from the contact, and I couldn’t help the shiver that passed through me.
He frowned.“You must be freezing.”Moving swiftly, he wrapped me in his arms, much more gently than he had earlier.
I froze once more.But before I could curse him out or shove him away, I felt a glorious heat radiating from his body.To my shame, I moaned, needing the warmth before I turned into a human popsicle.
Why I didn’t shove him away, I couldn’t say.I didn’t normally cuddle up with strange men.But Darius didn’t feel predatory.He offered comfort I had been missing for too long.With a tender touch, he pressed my face against his chest.I felt his heart thump against my cheek and wondered if I wasn’t the only one affected by our proximity.But he made no move other than to hold me while my shivers passed.
Belatedly, I realized my hair and jeans were drenching him.“I’m sorry,” I said in a voice more husky than I liked.“I’m getting you all wet.”
He rubbed his hand over my back in slow swirls, making me melt into his warm, rock-solid frame.Then he shifted, pulling away from me.Too late, because I had felt a distinct hardness against my belly before he moved.
He didn’t say anything so I didn’t, but when he put more distance between us, I wanted to protest.
“You should feel better now.”His eyes blazed, a strange hint of color seeming to swirl within the black depths.Then he blinked, and the oddness vanished.
“I feel much better, thanks.”I now understood Jerry’s comments about the flood of women now visiting the club every night.
Holy shit, this guy was potent.Less than ten minutes in Darius’s presence and I wanted to jump his bones.And I thought of myself as a more conservative dater.Yet my body throbbed in all the best places just because he’d done little more than hold me.
I blamed my response on his hotness plus jetlag and a long day’s travel.
Time to go, right now.
I scooped up my bag and jacket, containing a shudder as the coat soaked through the sleeve of my shirt.“Well, sorry to have disturbed you.I see you’re still busy so I’ll just be on my way.”I looked around for my cell phone but couldn’t find it in my bag.“I just need to call a cab.”
“I’m about finished here.I can take you home.”He made the suggestion sound like a command.
“Nope.”I must have said it too forcefully because he raised a brow.“That’s nice of you, but I don’t want to put you to too much trouble.Just point me to a phone and I’ll be out of your hair.”
He handed me a cordless phone from behind the bar, grabbed a rag, and started cleaning the tables in the club.“Do I scare you?”His mouth twisted into a wry smile.
I bristled.“No.But I don’t need a man to dial me an Uber.I’m capable of taking care of myself.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said with a deadpan delivery, his gaze focused on my stiff nipples.
I couldn’t be sure of his intent until he added, “But I’m more than willing to give you a ride…home.After all, it’s probably my fault you’re all wet.”
No expression crossed his face, but I heard the naughty innuendo coating each word.
That jackass!I opened my mouth to blast him when he added, oh-so-innocently, “Had I been upstairs when you first arrived, I could have spared you the rain and told you to come inside.I’m so sorry for your discomfort.”
His eyes gleamed though he gave nothing but polite vibes.But I did hear a weird accent, which made sense of his odd way of speaking.He sounded formal sometimes and uber casual at others.Perhaps not meaning to be so sexual?
The guy had me second-guessing myself.Everything he’d said could be considered innocent enough.Could I be reading into intent that wasn’t there?With a face like that, it was no wonder my brain had glommed onto thoughts of dark rooms and rumpled sheets.
I deliberately turned my back on him and found a list of ride services tacked to a board on the wall.After dialing one to come get me, I frantically searched my bag for my cell, ignoring the handsome elephant in the room still cleaning tables, and finally found it—dead.
The next minutes passed in muted sounds from the music still pulsing away, the swipe of Darius’s rag on dirty tables, and my measured breathing as I forced myself not to look at him, studying the bar instead.
It was all I could do not to run for the door when my ride beeped outside.
“I’ll deal with you tomorrow,” I called over my shoulder in warning, intending to adjust his attitude once I collected my thoughts after a good night’s rest.
