“Me too.”
Left alone with Alex, her awkwardness returned. After all, aside from what she’d read in the papers, she knew very little about him. For courage, she took another sip of cinnamon nectar.
This time, as the lovely burn hit her throat, it warmed everything from the neck upward. Like brain freeze, only much better.
A group of partiers skipped past, laughing. They made their way to the pool deck, dressed in expensive swimwear. A couple of the faces looked familiar, but she didn’t ask Alex who they were. “See. I told you your party would be a hit.”
“You did.”
“Do all your parties have celebrity guests?”
“Not necessarily, but I do have some regulars, people I’ve known for years. A lot of them have been partying with me since the beginning. They have the means to travel and come to most of my events. I know them, they know me, and they understand they won’t be mobbed in the VIP suites. There are strict rules about who gets in.”
“So I was vetted?”
“I’m not worried about you and your friends. Something tells me you won’t try to corner Adam in a dark hallway, demanding his autograph.”
“I happen to be a fan. How do you know I won’t corner him?”
Alex leaned in a whispered. “Because I plan to keep you all to myself.”
Dana swallowed.
He gestured to one of the quiet nooks, one of the ones cordoned off by a red velvet curtain. “Sit with me.”
All they needed to do to make the space completely private was to untie the cords holding the curtains back. If they did, no one would see them.
She hesitated. Right now, sitting in that nook with Alex seemed just as naughty as sliding between his sheets.
Isn’t that what you wanted anyway?
She might not have anticipated this exact scenario but she’d guessed they were headed in this direction.
He’s not asking you to take part in an orgy. He just wants to talk. Alex is a nice man. Since when is having a conversation a crime?
Only, right now, with the muted lights illuminating the shadows in his face, he didn’t look like a nice man.
He looked like a dangerous man.
And she was in the mood for danger.
There was also a wondrous sort of intrigue shining in his eyes. His eyes glittered with the fascination of a lost man who had just discovered a map.
A part of her wanted to see what he’d do with that map.
He led her toward the nook. It was more spacious than she would have expected, big enough to hold a black leather sectional couch and a couple of small tables. A tall vase stood next to it, filled with ornamental, feathery fronds that draped over one side of the couch. A single sconce cast a dim light over the area. She sat at one corner of the sectional, her rigid posture an indication of her nerves.
“Do you mind if I sit next to you?” he asked.
“I don’t mind.”
Alex sat back, his arm draped on the couch behind her. Dana angled herself toward him and crossed her legs. His gaze flickered toward them. His casual observation didn’t make her feel ogled but it certainly made her feel noticed.
She couldn’t help making her own discreet observations, specifically noting the way his shirt skimmed over hard abs.
He was perfect.
The man from Joe’s had all but disappeared. This man didn’t show the same vulnerability, although she suspected they might share the same loneliness, despite the people flitting on the other side of the curtain. The Alex from Joe’s had let most of his guard down, but this Alex had them firmly in place.
