I will not make a plan. I will not make a plan…

I keep repeating those words over and over again as Arlo finishes the second half of his presentation.

I don’t hear a single word that he’s said because of the constant replaying of those words in my head.

Occasionally, I switch to, I will not let his smirk or the look in his eyes control me. All while I try to seem confident and poised and not the least bit concerned with whatever Arlo is trying to convince me of.

“Excuse me.”

I look up to see three men standing in front of Eden and me.

“A bunch of us are going out for drinks and dancing. Would you two like to join us?” one of the men asks with the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen. He knows how to work his eyes, too. They would make me say yes to anything.

“Yes!” Eden says almost automatically.

The man looks to me, reaching down to my soul with his eyes.

“And what about you?” he asks.

I should say no. These men are complete strangers who haven’t even introduced themselves to us. If we go with them, it’s going to be a night of drinking and bad decisions that will inevitably end up with us doing a walk of shame in the morning. But I’m wearing one of the most expensive shirts I have ever worn. I look hot, and I need a fun night.

I feel more eyes on me. I glance up and see Arlo staring at me. He shakes his head ever so slightly at me. He doesn’t want me to go.

I smirk. He doesn’t control me. He doesn’t get to tell me to stay away from him one second and then kiss me the next. And he definitely doesn’t get to tell me not to go to a party with some hot men either.

“Yes,” I answer defiantly.

“Great! It’s just two blocks away. If you are ready, we can walk you over. I’m Clive by the way,” he says.

“I’m Nina.”

“And I’m Eden,” Eden says, pushing herself between me and Clive. “Nina is currently in a complicated relationship. I, on the other hand, am completely free.”

I shoot a look to Eden.

Eden grabs on to Clive’s arm. “What? You are.”

I frown. “These guys don’t need to know that. And I’m not in a relationship anyway,” I hiss into Eden’s ear.

Eden rolls her eyes and then turns to the other two men who are equally as hot as Clive. “You,” she says, pointing to the next hottest man, “escort my friend, and buy her a drink.”

The man she pointed to smiles and holds out his arm. He’s almost as good-looking as Clive but not even in the same ballpark as Arlo.

“I’m Erick.”

I smile as I take the man’s arm, and I am escorted out of the auditorium as Erick tells me all about himself. He’s a college student. Business major. He grew up in England and moved to Italy for school.

I turn back to give Arlo one last smirk, but he’s no longer on the stage. I glance around at the crowd on the floor of the auditorium, but he’s not there either. He’s just gone. And I’m left alone, realizing that Erick is my best chance at getting laid tonight. And, after being sexually frustrated from watching Arlo lecture me onstage while the entire time still feeling his kiss on my lips, I can’t take it any longer. If Arlo won’t have sex with me, then I’ll take the next best thing.

* * *

“Can I get you another drink?” Erick shouts into my ear over the loud music, which has overtaken everything else in the bar.

I nod.

He smiles and then slowly moves through the crowd, toward the bar in the center of the room. It will be at least twenty minutes before he returns. This bar is completely insane. I’ve never been to a bar this crowded before.

Eden holds up her empty drink and points to her date, Clive. He nods and follows Erick over to the bar.

Eden and I start dancing together, which basically just consists of us moving our hips a little from side to side while keeping our feet planted in place. There isn’t enough room to do much more.

Eden shouts something at me, but I have no idea what she said.

She tries again.

I shrug and shake my head.

She frowns.

I smile as I take her hand and dance some more. I feel much better after having a couple of drinks. The only thing bringing me down is the fact that I keep thinking that I see Arlo. Everywhere.

I see him in the face of every man dancing around me. Every time they turn and look at me, I see him.

I see him in the face of every bartender.

I see him lurking on the side of the dance floor, holding a scotch.

He haunts me.

Eden grabs my arm and pulls me close to her so that my ear is just below her mouth. “Arlo is here!”

I pull back and rub my ear from the pain of her screaming into it. I’m going to be deaf by the end of the night if we keep this up.

I laugh as I shake my head and go back to dancing. Now, I’ve convinced Eden that Arlo is everywhere too.

Eden grabs my cheeks and turns my attention toward the far wall.

“What?”

“Arlo!”

I catch my breath when the crowd parts just enough for me to see a tall, dark man leaning against the wall with an amber-colored liquid in a glass. His eyes are fixated on me with a deep grimace on his face.

“He’s here,” I say slowly, looking at Eden.

She nods.

“Why is he here?” I ask.

She laughs. “Because he likes you.”

I bite my lip and then grab Eden’s arm. I head straight toward the restroom, weaving and pushing people aside. I have to talk to her. Now.

When I see the line outside the woman’s restroom, my heart sinks. Of course there is a line.

Instead, I pull her into the men’s room.

“Hey, ladies,” one of the men at the urinal says as we enter.

“Get out!” I say. I walk over to the stalls. “Everyone, out. Now!”

The men start exiting the stalls, some still zipping up their pants. Some look at me amused, but I just glare at them, and they realize just how serious I am. They all leave.

When I’ve ensured that we are alone, I lock the door to the entrance of the restroom.

Eden raises an eyebrow. “Why have you brought me to the men’s restroom? Do you really need to pee that bad?”

I shake my head and take a deep breath. “I need to talk to you.”

Eden blinks a couple of times as I try to figure out where to start, but I have no idea.

“Well…spill,” Eden says.

“I’ve been obsessed with Arlo since the first time I saw him when we were touring his mansion for art class when he saved me. He told me to leave him alone, but of course, I couldn’t do that. I snuck into his party, but he was expecting me to. After dinner, I followed him to his room where he was making out with three other women. I tried to join in. He locked me in his bathroom. He told me to leave him alone. I told him I couldn’t and that I wanted to be in his debt like the other women. He locked me in a dungeon for the night and told me to forget about him. Then, he got naked in front of the whole class. I went after him. And he kissed me. Then, he gave a lecture that was directed at me to never be in his debt. And, now, he’s here.” I take a deep breath after not breathing through telling her everything.

Eden just stands there, staring at me.

“Well?” I ask.

“And the problem is?” she asks with a smile.

I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean, and the problem is? This guy is a bigger mess than I am. One second, he is pushing me away, and the next, he is going after me. You are supposed to give me advice. What should I do?”

Eden smiles. “I don’t know. But it sounds to me like it’s the beginning of some epic love affair.”

“I’m only here for three more weeks. It can’t be that epic.”

“Sure it can.”

“You still haven’t told me what I’m supposed to do. I’ve been obsessing about him like I haven’t any other man before. He’s making me lose my mind.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing. All the other men you have obsessed about before weren’t playing games with you. They were ordinary men. Arlo, on the other hand, has his own issues. I don’t know what they are yet, but it’s clear that he is just as messed up as you.”

I frown.

“Stop frowning. He will never want you like that.”

“So, what do I do?”

Eden laughs. “You already know the answer to that. You flirt with Erick. You make Arlo jealous. You play your game and let him come to you.”

Someone pounds on the door.

“I gotta piss! Let me in, you assholes!” a man shouts.

Eden and I walk to the mirror where we fluff our hair and reapply lipstick. I take the jacket off that I’ve been wearing because there was no place to put it. But, now, I’m ready to turn the heat on.

The man knocks louder on the door.

Eden rolls her eyes at me. “Men and their small bladders.”

We both walk over to the door, and Eden opens it. There are men standing outside, and their jaws drop when they see us.

“Restroom’s yours, gentlemen,” I say as we both strut out of the restroom.

I spot Arlo as we walk back to the center of the dance floor. His scowl deepens at the sight of me in a shirt that barely covers my breasts and is see-through enough that you can see the points of my nipples. I flip my hair from side to side and then blow Arlo a kiss, letting him know that I see him and I don’t care what he thinks. He can either come and get me or I’m going to start flirting with every guy here.

Erick and Clive have returned with our drinks, and I take the margarita out of Erick’s hand and down it.

I’m rewarded with shouts of excitement from both of the men.

“Dance with me!”

Erick starts dancing with me as Clive dances with Eden. I let Erick go further this time than I did the last time he was dancing with me. I let his hands touch all over the curves of my body as I move. Feeling every inch of me. His hands venture up higher to where my shirt is barely covering my chest.

He hesitates, and I grab his hands and push them onto the curves of my breasts.

Erick grins. “You’re the hottest woman I’ve ever danced with!”

I give him a wicked grin and then shout into his ear as I look at Arlo still watching us, “I’m about to be the hottest woman you’ve slept with, too.”

I pull away, and Erick’s face lights up. But I don’t care about him.

Arlo looks even angrier than before. I’m sure he has no idea what I just whispered into Erick’s ear, but just the thought of me saying anything clearly pisses him off. It makes me want to take things even further.

I’m drunk and sexually frustrated and obsessed. It doesn’t make for a very good combination.

I see a table toward the front of the dance floor, and I pull Erick toward it. He follows like a puppy trailing after his owner.

“Help me up!”

His eyes light up as he grabs my hips and boosts me up onto the table.

I start swaying my hips, and I dance wildly on top of the table. Everyone’s eyes fall on me. I don’t think about how this is breaking all the rules and that, at any second, an employee is going to come and ruin my fun. Instead, I just dance.

I’m handed a shot by one of the guys next to me, and I drink it without thinking, letting the tequila quickly slip down my throat, not even feeling the burn.

I wiggle my finger at Eden when she walks over, telling her to join me on the table.

She smiles and then is helped up by two men. We seductively dance together, turning on every man in the room. If Arlo can still resist me after this, then he has more discipline than I’ve given him credit for.

I don’t see Arlo anymore, but Erick is definitely more than into me. His hands are all over me as I move.

I look down again, and I see Arlo standing in front of me. He doesn’t look angry, just unpleased. I don’t see any lust in his eyes, just a man on a mission. A man who is in complete control. I just wish I knew how to get him to give up that control.

He holds out his hand to me. “Get down,” he says firmly without shouting.

I don’t know how I hear him over the noise of the crowd and the music, but I do. I’m so connected to him that I just know what he is saying.

“Why should I?” I ask as I up my dancing, grinding all over Eden.

“Get down, Nina.”

I grin with my eyes. “Only if you dance with me.”

Arlo continues to hold his hand out to me.

I take it, and he leads me away from the table and over to the dance floor.

He starts dancing with me. His hands go to my hips, firmly holding me as we move together. He leads, and I have no choice but to follow. He’s a good dancer without even trying. His moves are smooth and seductive without coming across as desperate, like when I was dancing with Erick.

We don’t speak. We just dance. It’s all I want to do all night. I just want to feel his strong hands on me, guiding me and promising that there is more to come.

I feel safe. I feel special. I feel cared for.

And, damn it, do I want Arlo to care for me all night long like he cared for me when he rescued me from the pool.

“Hey, man, she’s my date,” Erick says drunkenly to Arlo.

Arlo’s frown returns, his shoulders stiffen, and his eyes look dangerous as he slows our dancing and gives Erick his attention. “Well, she’s not yours anymore. She’s mine. Go find another woman to try your slick come-on lines with,” Arlo says.

My heart races in my chest. Arlo called me his. And, although I don’t like the macho male need to claim me like a possession, I do like that he feels any claim over me. If I admit it to myself, I want to be Arlo’s. I want to be his to fuck. His to tease. His to even love. I want it all.

But I can’t let Arlo win that easily. Not after everything he put me through this last week.

“Excuse me,” I say, pushing back out of Arlo’s arms. “I am not yours any more than I am Erick’s. I’ll be deciding who I will dance with and who I will go home with tonight. You don’t get to decide that.”

Both men turn their attention to me. I can feel the anger pulsating off Arlo at the same time I can feel the testosterone and lust exuding off Erick. If I’m not careful, this night is going to end in a fight.

“You’re not going home with Erick,” Arlo says calmly.

“Oh, yeah? You don’t get to control me. I’ll go home with Erick if I want to,” I say sassily.

Eden and her date walk over. “Wow, there is a lot of testosterone floating around right now.”

I give her a look, and she shuts up, but it doesn’t stop her from undressing Arlo with her eyes. I hate that she and half of the class got to see him naked earlier.

I dart my eyes back and forth between the two men. “I haven’t decided who I want tonight. Maybe I want you both. But, for now, Erick, get me a drink while I finish dancing with Arlo. Then, it will be your turn.”

Erick studies us both for a second but then slowly walks off to the bar to go get me a drink.

“Dance with me,” I say to Arlo.

He doesn’t.

“Dance with me,” I say again.

“What are you doing, Nina?”

“I’m trying to dance with you.”

He shakes his head and still stands firmly, refusing to dance with me. I watch as Eden dances with Clive next to us.

Why can’t this be easy, like with Eden? Why can’t I just dance with a guy and then go home and fuck him? Why does everything have to be so damn complicated?

“What are you doing with Erick? You aren’t really going to go home with him. You aren’t going to let him fuck you. So, what are you doing with him?” He cocks his head to one side. “Are you trying to make me jealous?”

I flip my hair over my shoulder and watch Arlo’s eyes follow my every movement. He might have a lot more experience than me at playing calm, cool, and collected, but he’s still a man. He still wants a hot woman like me when I’m dressed like this. He can’t completely hide his urges.

“I’m either sleeping with you or Erick. I haven’t decided yet.”

His lip twitches just a little. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

I grin and shrug. “Well, that makes my decision easy. Erick, it is.”

I turn to go find Erick at the bar, but Arlo pulls me back to him.

“You aren’t sleeping with Erick either. You’re drunk. You and Eden just need to go home.”

I laugh. “You don’t think I’ve fucked men while drunk before? You told me to go find a nice Italian man to fuck while I’m here. Sure, Erick isn’t Italian—he’s English, I think—but he’s hot, and he’ll do for tonight.”

“You aren’t fucking him, Nina,” Arlo says firmly.

I roll my eyes. “You aren’t the boss of me. I can fuck whoever I want, whenever I want.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Why not?”

He shakes his head.

“The better question is, what are you doing here? You like me, and you want me, don’t you? That’s why you are here. You can’t stay away.”

He pulls me closer to him. “No. I’m here because you need me. You’d get hurt if it wasn’t for me.”

I laugh. “The only danger I’m in is getting my brains fucked out by Erick.”

“I’m here to protect you; that’s it.”

“I don’t believe you. You kissed me. You want me.”

His eyes widen for just a second, and then he says, “That was a mistake.”

“I don’t care what you say it was; it was the truth. You want me.” I glance over to where Erick has my drink sitting on the bar. I turn back to Arlo. “But, if you aren’t ready to admit that yet, then Erick, it is.”

I walk over to Eden. “I’m going home with Erick. Stay safe,” I say to her.

“I always do. You, too.”

I nod and then start walking toward Erick, leaving Arlo alone on the dance floor. And then I see it. Erick slips something into my drink. I don’t think he did it with any of my previous drinks. If he did, I don’t feel anything, and it must not be very strong, but he definitely did it now.

I suck in a breath. Arlo was right. Erick is dangerous.

Still, I keep walking toward Erick as I try to decide what my next move will be.

“Why are you hanging out with a Carini?” Erick asks.

“I’m not. He approached me. I only know him from when he gave us a tour of his place and from the lecture tonight.”

“You need to stay away from him, Nina. His whole family is considered royalty in this town but not for good reasons. They live above the law and do things that destroy anyone who owes them anything. Most are never seen again, and those that are go mad.”

I frown as I take in the new information. “Don’t worry; I won’t ever owe Arlo anything.”

Erick studies me, not sure if he believes me. But it doesn’t matter if I’m telling the truth or not. Arlo has made it perfectly clear that I will never be in his debt. That he won’t ever let me even when I should be.

“Does that mean you are choosing me over that asshole?”

I shrug. “Maybe.”

Erick smiles and then picks up the two shot glasses of tequila. He hands me the glass that he slipped something into.

I take the glass out of his hand.

He raises his glass. “To choosing the right guy who is going to rock your world tonight.”

I raise my glass to his, planning on just dumping the contents over my shoulder when he downs his drink.

“Nina!” Arlo shouts at me over the crowd.

I turn and look at him trying to work his way through the crowd that is thick, making it impossible for him to quickly get to me.

“Don’t!” he half-commands and half-begs.

I look back to Erick whose smile is faltering and then back to Arlo. Arlo knows. He saw Erick slip something into my drink. He knows that, if I drink this shot, I’m going to be drugged with God-knows-what substance that I’m sure will give Erick complete control over me.

I absolutely should not drink this shot. I’m not going to drink this shot.

But I like seeing the worry in Arlo’s eyes. He cares about me. I don’t know exactly what other feelings he has for me, but I know one thing. Arlo doesn’t want me to get hurt. He won’t let me get hurt. He proved that the first time he saved me.

If I take this shot, he’ll protect me. He’ll save me.

My heart beats wildly in my chest as the plan forms in my head. If I drink it, Erick will try to drag me away before Arlo can get to me. But Arlo is only twenty feet away. He can get to us before anything bad happens to me.

And, if Arlo saves me, then I will owe him. I’ll be in his debt, and I’ll finally get to repay him with sex and find out the truth behind all the mysterious whispers about his family that the townspeople talk about.

I’ll get exactly what I want.

Only one question remains. If I drink this, will Arlo actually save me?

I study everything about him. The way he is pushing people out of the way in an uncontrollable and savage way to get to me faster. The tightness of his jaw as he focuses on stopping me. The desperation in his eyes as he inches closer to me. But the one thing that convinces me above everything is the emotion and pain dripping off his voice when he yelled for me.

I could be wrong. I could drink this, and Arlo might not give a shit about me. He could let Erick do whatever he wanted to me. If I drink this, Erick could rape me. He could kill me.

“Don’t, Nina!” Arlo shouts again, begging me with everything that he has for me not to do this. Please, he mouths.

I suck in a breath. Arlo will save me.

This is the most reckless thing I’ve ever done. I’ve been obsessed with countless men, but I’ve never risked my life for a man on quite this level before.

But I do it anyway.

I throw the shot back in my throat while I look Arlo dead in the eyes and plead for him to save me.