I stare back at him, my eyes wide, my heart hammering. “I didn’t promise you. I…”
With a sudden shift, he moves, his hands grasping my waist tightly as he presses me against the wall firmly in a way that makes me recoil, thinking he was about to hit me. “Semantics and you know it.” He looks at me, puzzled. He doesn’t hit me or even hurt me; his touch is firm but not cruel. It’s more like he couldn’t stand not to have his hands on me.
I blink back at him, still not sure how to take him or how dangerous he really is. I mean, I know what he’s capable of, I witnessed what he and his buddies were up to last night in that alleyway, but would he hurt me? “I’m sorry, Cruz, I appreciated your kindness this morning, and if I had the choice, I would have left town, but I had to come back. I was desperate for a job.”
His head tilts, his eyes meeting mine in a way that sends a shiver down my spine. “I ask again, what exactly will you be doing for my sister?” His voice is a low growl.
When the silent standoff between us becomes too much to take, I finally answer him. “Dancing.”
His brow shoots up, and I see the crazy look in his eyes, then he bursts out laughing and releases his tight hold on me.
“What’s so funny?” I ask after sucking in a few breaths, trying to regain some sort of composure without his hands on me and the intensity of his eyes boring deep into my soul.
“A shy little mouse like you won’t last a day dancing in that club,” he splutters as if it’s the most hilarious thing he’s ever heard.
I blink back at him. A shy little mouse? “Screw you,” I spit back just because he’s really pissing me off now. How dare he makeassumptions about me. He met me one night. He doesn’t know my personality or what I can handle. Last night I was tired and scared, and squeamish from all the blood. It doesn’t prove anything.
He pins me with his gaze, his smirk still playful. “That’s why you’re back, isn’t it. One kiss wasn’t enough, you want more of me.” He reaches out to pick up a strand of my hair and run it through his fingers, watching as the silky strands slide all the way through. “You’re clever, I’ll give you that, tracking down my sister and getting her to help you find me.”
I want to take a step away from him, but there is nowhere to go. My heart races like crazy, and I already know I’m not going to survive the night in this apartment with him. He’s going to eat me alive, and I’m not sure I have the willpower to stop him. “No… that’s not why I’m back.”
He tucks the strand behind my ear and then dusts his hand over my shoulder. “It’s very convenient that you will be staying under the same roof as me.” His brow, the one with the piercing, rises in that cheeky way that tells me he’s having way too much fun messing with me.
“Sloane won’t like it if you lay a finger on me. I already heard her telling Asher the same thing,” I bite back quickly. His hands on me are a bad idea, because I’m a little terrified of him and because I’m a little terrified I might just want more than a kiss if he tries it again.
His twisted smile widens to an all-out grin. “Did she now? Was my big brother Ash bothering you, little darlin'?”
“No… no… he.” Oh God, why can’t I speak anymore? Words that should come easily to me have completely left my brain, and heat throbs through me like lava waiting to erupt. I have no idea what’s wrong with me, but this man has my body freaking out. No, not freaking out, turned the hell on. “He was the one who gave me the job,” I finally get out.
He quirks a brow but doesn’t look up to meet my eyes, he’s too busy running his hand down the side of my neck, watching his finger as it goes. I stay still, trying not to even breathe in his proximity. Then he leans in closer, his breath ghosting over my ear. “Did my brother make you dance for him, little darlin'?”
My breath catches. “Yes,” I whisper, because apparently my voice has been stolen.
His hand keeps moving down, tracing over my clavicle and then over my breasts.
I swallow the lump in my throat, trying to catch my breath or find something in me to shove him away, tell him to leave me alone, but I can’t. I like his hands on me too much. I feel alive, just like I do when I’m dancing.
With a gleam of enjoyment, his eyes light up. “Will you dance for me?”
“No,” I murmur, knowing I can’t, knowing this is getting into dangerous territory. There is crazy chemistry swirling between us after that kiss.
“But you danced for Ash?” He pouts all dramatically.
“I needed the job, it was the only way.” I almost whimper.
Still, his finger trails down further, running over my stomach now, heading south. “I don’t doubt it. My brother would have seen you coming a mile away and had his fun. Did he ask you to suck his throbbing man meat as well?”
My eyes widen. What on earth! I shake my head, trying to get my breathing under control, as he makes it to my pussy, half because I have no idea what this crazy bastard is about to do and part because I want him to keep going and I’m afraid he’s going to stop. I’m still in mysweaty gym clothes from the dance class, but that doesn’t deter him. His hand slides between my legs, and he cups me there. The only thing between his flesh and mine is a thin layer of my thin booty shorts and my now soaked panties.
“But you won’t dance for me?” he asks again.
I swallow hard. “No,” I answer quickly, my voice all breathy.
His face drops toward mine, and he breathes me in. For a second I think he’s going to kiss me again, but then he pulls back from me, a manic-as-hell look in his eyes. “I’ll order pizza for dinner,” he says, then he’s out the door, striding away from me.
Leaving me with drenched panties and a hammering heart. What the hell was that? And why do I want him to come back and finish what he started?
Chapter 7
