But when I glance across the bartop at Phoenix, she just gives a nonchalant shake of her head.
I frown but tell the woman no thanks.
As I watch her spin and walk away, I wonder if we’ve just let the dangerous spirit slip through our fingers. But then I hear a voice in slightly accented English from my left.
“Well, aren’t you the heartbreak king tonight?”
I spin on my stool to look at the speaker with the sultry voice.
A tiny, delicate, dark-haired woman sits there on the stool beside me. She’s blinking at me from behind dark lashes.
“What do you mean?” I have to speak loudly to be heard above the pounding music.
The song finishes right then, so I can hear her sultry voice clearly as she says, “All night, I have watched you turn down woman after woman with barely a glance. Tell me, do you have a sweetheart waiting for you at home?”
If she’s been watching me so closely all night, I don’t dare even glance at Phoenix now. There’s something different about this woman that I can’t quite put my finger on. She has a different energy radiating from her. An aura of power that feels ancient. I want to do what she says. It’s not quite on the level of Phoenix’s compulsion, but I still feel the pull. Is this just thenatural power of a beautiful woman on a man? Because she is beautiful, even I have to admit it. My hungry beast wakens even though it knows this isn’t to its particular taste.
I smile as I turn my full attention to her. “No. No one waiting at home for me. Just no one who’s caught my eye until now.”
Her lips tilt up in a knowing smile. She swirls her tiny cocktail straw in her drink. “Until now, huh?”
“You must know you are mesmerizing,” I say while leaning slightly in. My monster yawns with interest. “But perhaps flattery isn’t the way to your heart.”
“My heart,” she scoffs while grabbing her drink from the bar. She tosses her head back and downs it in one swallow. I take the opportunity to look back at Phoenix. Her features look slightly strained, but she nods once. I know I’m right. This is her. The bloodthirsty goddess we’ve been waiting for.
I turn my attention back to the woman right as her head tips back down. “Let’s not worry about my heart just yet. Let’s have some fun first. What do you say?”
“Fair enough,” I manage to say.
“Excellent.” The woman grabs my hand in a surprisingly firm grip. She whisks us away from the bar, through the thick crowd, and onto the tightly packed dance floor.
The music seems more alive somehow as she swings back around to face me. As she grins at me and puts my hands on her waist, I feel overcome with happiness. A certainty washes over me that I’m right where I need to be. I just stand there in front of her with what must be a dopey expression. For once, I don’t feel my constant hunger gnawing at me. I’m just floating on this warm feeling.
“Like this,” she says while leaning in closer to me.
I nod because she’s so pretty and I can’t think of a single thing to say. She laughs in a throaty way with her dark eyes flashing at me. “Oh my, you are a delicious snack, aren’t you?”
I nod again because I suddenly find myself very agreeable to anything she says.
She lifts her arms around my neck. We dance to the slow song that’s just come over the speakers. It still has a thumping beat underneath that I feel in my calves. The sensation travels up through my thighs and into my groin.
I yank away from her as I feel my cock beginning to stiffen.
She just laughs again and reaches down to loop two fingers in my belt loops before leaning in. “It’s okay, cowboy. You’re a real gentleman, aren’t you? Just getting over someone special?”
“Something like that,” I manage to choke out.
“That’s okay. I’m not feeling too picky tonight.” She leans in and flashes her eyelashes at me. “Wanna get outta here? Go somewhere quieter where we can talk?”
I nod as my senses start swimming. Somewhere in the back of my head, I remember this woman is dangerous. But really, what can she do to me? I’m indestructible.
She lets go of my belt loops and links her hand with mine again. She tugs me toward the back of the club. I go willingly, curious and lusty as a tomcat. When she pushes through a door into a quiet back alley, I follow like a lemming off a cliff.
“I’m just parked this way,” she says while pulling me along.
“Mmm hmm,” I think I mumble. My feet stumble over themselves trying to keep up with her quick pace. Her hand is so warm in mine.
We’re almost to the darkest part of the alley when suddenly a voice calls out from behind us. “Hey bitch. Let go of the idiot.”
