chapter seven
Max
I FOLLOWED HER INTO THE CLUB, though she wasn’t aware i was tracking her. What a sight she was, too, in that hot-pink dress that fell to the tops of her thighs, the skirt swishing and swirling with that captivating walk of hers. The dress, while simple, showed a lot of flesh. Her shoulders, her back, all that sun-kissed skin on display and driving me out of my ever-lovin’ mind. I couldn’t stop staring.
More like, I didn’t want to stop staring. The fact that she rejected me yesterday, leaving me in the dust without a backward glance, kind of pissed me off. It shouldn’t, because the fact that I’m interacting with her, wanting to get closer to her, is risky. I need to get her laptop, but I can go about it in different ways.
Certainly don’t need to flirt with her, that’s for damn sure.
Lily’s not very observant, though. I learned that quick enough. She seems fairly savvy in some ways yet she’s completely oblivious in others. And that makes me worry for her safety.
For example, this dickwad has such a tight hold on her I can see his fingers pressing into her flesh. From the moment he approached her—which was seconds upon her arrival—I could tell he was no good. I stood on the other side of the bar in the shadows, observing their interactions, ready to spring into action if she needed me. Lily appeared distracted most of the time, as if she wanted to be anywhere but with that guy, not that I could blame her.
Has she ever frequented a club like this one before? Hell, I know I haven’t. I didn’t even know this place existed at the resort. Vice is unlike any club I’ve ever been to before and I’m intrigued. The moment I walked in, the vibe was overtly sexual. Women studied me with interest in their eyes as I passed by them. The music that filled the space had an incessant, primal beat. An energy hummed in the air, pumped in my blood, and I knew I could easily find a woman tonight if I wanted one.
And I do want one—Lily.
As fucked up as that is, it’s the damn truth.
“Who the hell are you?” the guy asks, his nostrils flaring, eyes wide and filled with anger. He doesn’t let her go and that infuriates me. Makes me want to smash his face in, but I need to show some sort of restraint.
“Doesn’t matter to you. Just do as I say and let her go,” I demand, my voice loud, causing more than a few people to turn and look in our direction. Reluctantly, he releases his hold on her and she springs away from him, absently rubbing her arm at the spot where he touched her. “Come here, Lily.”
She hurries over to stand just behind me, never protesting my command, and I’m thankful. I don’t want any trouble, but I feel like everywhere this girl goes, she’s a walking, talking disaster. To keep her out of danger I’ll have to put her under lock and key.
And why does that thought appeal so damn much?
“What, is she your bitch?” the man asks as he starts to laugh. I lunge for him, my hands gripping the front of his shirt, close to his collar, as I yank him up almost to his toes and thrust my face in his.
“Don’t you ever call her that again, do you hear me? Or I’ll fuck up that pretty little face of yours,” I murmur, my voice low so only he can hear me.
He blinks up at me, the anger in his eyes turning to fear, and I let go of his shirt, pushing him away from me so he nearly stumbles and falls. He bumps into a small crowd of women and they all shout out in protest, calling him names as he scrambles to his feet and takes off, the women’s laughter trailing after him.
I turn to Lily, about to ask her if she’s all right, but I find her gaping at me, a shocked expression on her pretty face.
“You defended me,” she says, her voice full of awe.
I brush at the front of my white shirt. Despite how dark the club is, the lights are almost fluorescent and my shirt seems to glow. I didn’t mean to be so damn obvious. I also didn’t mean to end up at some sort of deviant club, defending Lily Fowler’s honor, for Christ’s sake. “Of course I did. That asshole had his hands all over you.”
She takes a few cautious steps toward me, those plump, sexy-as-hell lips still parted in surprise, and my fantasies go into overdrive. I can imagine tracing them with my finger. Slipping my dick between them, hearing her sigh in pleasure just before she licks the head of my cock with her wicked tongue …
“No one’s ever done that for me before. Thank you,” she says sincerely.
Now I’m the one who’s shocked. I push all dirty thoughts out of my head and concentrate on the stunned woman in front of me. “What the hell are you talking about, no one’s ever done that for you before?”
“Rushed to my defense,” she explains, tilting her head to the side, as if she’s observing me in a whole new light. “I’m usually left on my own, having to take care of myself.”
Guilt nails me in the gut and I try to ignore it, but I can’t. I hate her admission, hate thinking of her all alone, all the time. I shouldn’t feel sorry for her. I shouldn’t give two shits about this girl, but … I do. Why? I don’t know her, not really. She’s bound to be more trouble than she’s worth. Only a couple of days in and I’ve already rescued her twice.
Leave. Just turn around and go.
But my feet stay firmly in place.
“That guy …” My voice drifts and I stare at her hard. She’s the one who puts herself in these types of situations. It’s as if she looks for trouble. “He could’ve hurt you if I hadn’t stepped in.”
“I know. It was dumb. I shouldn’t have talked to him, let him get that drink for me.” She moves even closer, and I can smell her. Honey and sunshine. Sweet and warm. “You’re like my white knight.”
“I’m no one’s knight, princess.” I want to say more, but the words get caught in my throat when she wraps her arms around my neck and presses that hot, tight little body against mine. I can feel her, every single inch of her, and my cock twitches in response at the same exact time my brain short-circuits.
“You’re mine,” she whispers, her hand curling around the back of my neck and tugging my head down to hers. “At least for tonight.”
And then she presses her mouth to mine, her lips sweet and insistent, the faintest sigh escaping her when my lips gently part beneath hers. No tongues are involved, just lips and breaths and her fingers tightening around my neck, her mouth so damn soft and damp and fucking delicious. I don’t touch her, just let her guide the kiss, let her have all the control, though it goes against everything I normally do when I’m kissing a woman. I restrain myself from taking it deeper. Harder.
It’s the most difficult thing I’ve done in a long-ass time.
When she pulls away from my mouth, her hand loosening its grip on my neck, I stare down at her, wondering what her motives are. I need to remain suspicious. This girl is the enemy. Hell, more like I’m working for her enemy. I can’t lose focus. “Why’d you kiss me?”
She smiles, managing to be sweet and sexy all at once. Her breasts are nestled close to my chest, the deep V of her dress allowing me a fine glimpse of her cleavage. I could slip my hand beneath the neckline and touch warm, bare skin in seconds. I’d bet good money she’s not wearing a bra. “Aren’t all princesses supposed to kiss their white knight as a way of saying thank you for rescuing them?”
I slip my arm around her waist and tug her closer, her eyes going wide when she feels just how much she’s affected me. She wants it bold? I’ll give it to her bold. “Like I told you, I’m no one’s white knight, princess. No matter how badly you want me to be.”
The sassy look on her face tells me she likes the challenge. “I like it when you call me ‘princess.’ ”
“And I don’t like it when you call me your white knight.” I splay my fingers wide at the small of her back, touching just the top of her ass. I want to smooth my hand down lower and cup her flesh but damn it, we’re in a public place.
A public place called Vice, you idiot. You can do just about anything you want in a club like this.
“Maybe I should call you something else.” Her smile grows. She sure is receptive after nearly getting into a dangerous situation with a complete jackass only minutes ago. “Maybe with that slight drawl of yours, I should call you ‘cowboy.’ ”
I lift a brow. “Drawl?”
“Your accent,” she explains as she slides her hands down the front of my chest, so slow I’m wondering if she’s trying to memorize the sensation of my body beneath her palms. I know I’m sure as hell trying to memorize the feel of her gentle touch. “You’re from the South, right?”
“Maybe,” I say, stretching out the word, letting the Texas back into my voice at full force, liking the spark that lights her eyes.
“Tell me where you’re from,” she demands.
Fuck it. I cup her backside and haul her in as close as I can get her, her eyes going wide, her fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt so I can feel the light scrape of her nails against my skin. “Awfully demanding, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been known to get my way a time or two,” she practically purrs, her lids lowering as she stares at my chest, her fingers loosening their hold on my shirt.
I squeeze her ass tighter, making her squeak. It would be my absolute pleasure to mark that pretty, pale skin tonight with my bare hands but she probably won’t let me. Bossy thing. “Tell me why you wouldn’t sit with me earlier.” I shouldn’t ask. It’s as if I’m trying to torture myself and I might not like the answer.
Her head lifts, her gaze meeting mine, wide and full of regret. “Because I’m stupid,” she admits, her voice the softest whisper.
“You’re definitely not stupid. It was probably the smartest thing you could’ve done,” I tell her, my voice just as soft. Leaning in, I press my cheek to hers, my mouth close to her curved lips. “And it’s Texas,” I whisper.
She turns the slightest bit, her lips brushing the corner of mine, and I keep the groan that wants to escape from slipping out. “You’re from Texas?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say in my best good-ol’-boy drawl. “Never was much of a cowboy, though.”
Lily laughs, the sound melodic. My heart lightens just hearing it, which is the craziest thing ever. Being with this girl … she makes me forget what I should be focusing on. “I find that surprising, considering you’re from Texas,” she says as she pulls away. I let my arms drop from her waist. “Want to get a drink?”
“You think that’s wise?” I glance around, notice that the club has become even more crowded, the music somehow louder. Beams of multicolored light flash, illuminating a couple standing close by, locked in a passionate embrace. The man’s hand is beneath the woman’s top and her hands are gripping his ass as they kiss.
No one holds back in this place. And I bet as the hour gets later, it gets even dirtier here.
“I want to check the club out, see what else is going on.” She takes my hand and starts to walk, leading me toward the back of the building, where the dance floor is. “Or maybe we should dance first.”
“Princess, I don’t dance,” I protest, but she ignores me. Her fingers entwine with mine as she pulls me through the crowd and I keep hold of her, not wanting to let her go. I see the way the men look at her as we pass and it gets my hackles up. They want her and I can’t blame them. She’s fucking gorgeous.
Yet she doesn’t seem to pay much attention to anyone but me.
“I’m not going out there and making an ass of myself,” I tell her as she heads toward the dance floor.
Lily turns on me with a pout, her eyes wide as she blinks up at me. “Come on, cowboy. I want to dance.” She starts to sway her hips and my mouth goes dry. Holy fuck, I could watch her do that all night. “All you’ll have to do is just stand there. I’ll do the rest.”
“No way.” I shake my head. It’s never that simple. I don’t dance; I never really have. But damn, she tempts me. Watching those hips move, the inviting look on her face, in her eyes …
“Please, Max?”
Hell. It’s the “please” that does it. Reluctantly, without a word, I let her lead me out onto the dance floor, thankful that she has us stand on the edge. The music is loud, the crowd moving as one to the beat, and I stand there and watch her, our gazes locked as she starts to move. Within seconds she’s lost to the music as she lifts her arms, her hands in her hair, and she lifts it away from her neck. She closes her eyes, her body fluid, and I want to grab her. Pull her into me, and feel that sexy body move and shake.
But I don’t. I just stand there like she wanted me to, my muscles tight, my skin heated. It’s hot as hell out here with all the gyrating bodies and I can feel sweat start to form on my forehead. She’s driving me out of my mind, and all she’s doing is dancing.
I can’t imagine what she’ll do to me if I ever get her beneath me, naked, wet, and willing. My head would probably explode.
“You need to loosen up.” She wraps her arms around my neck again, just like she did earlier when she kissed me, but this time she grinds her lower body against mine. The song changes, this one a little slower, a lot sexier, and she moves with it, her lids lowering, her lips pursing into a sexy pout, driving me out of my mind with wanting her.
I slip one arm around her and lift my leg so it wedges between her thighs. She takes the opportunity to dip low, and I swear to God I feel the silky rasp of her panties against my knee.
Holy shit.
Pressing my face against the side of her head, I whisper in her ear, “Turn around.”
“What?” She withdraws so she can blink up at me.
“Turn around,” I say again. “Your back to my front.”
Without protest she does as I ask, her ass brushing against my erection, and she flashes me a knowing smile over her shoulder. I grab hold of her hips, my hands loose, letting her sway and move against me. Those plump ass cheeks work my cock as she continues to dance and I let my hands drift down, toying with the hem of her dress. She arches her spine, her head going back at the exact moment I slip my hands beneath her skirt and touch the bare skin of her thighs.
Glancing around, I see no one’s paying any attention to us. Other couples out on the dance floor are getting just as grabby as we are. One man has his hand blatantly between the legs of the woman he’s with, her eyes closed in ecstasy. Another man has his hands tucked within a woman’s tank top, fingers moving busily over her breasts as he devours her mouth with his own.
Lily lifts her arms and reaches for my neck as she turns her head to the side, still moving to the music. I move with her, slowly establishing my rhythm, thrusting against her ass along with the pounding beat. She pushes her chest out as I glance down, captivated by the way the fabric of her dress slides over her breasts, her nipples hard. I race my hands up the outside of her thighs until my fingers encounter the thin, lacy strap of her panties.
All I want to do is rip them off her body. Dive my fingers between her legs and see just how wet she is for me.
I bet she’s fucking soaked.
“Max.” She moans my name as she tilts her head to the side, exposing her neck to my gaze. I lean in and kiss her there, lick and nibble her skin, and I hear her whimper. Feel the tremble move through her body.
I don’t know what the fuck we’re doing, but I’m playing a dangerous game. One that’s going to get me in a lot of trouble.
For the first time in a while, I don’t really care.
“I don’t even know you,” she whispers as I toy with the flimsy band of her panties. Her skin is so soft and I touch her lightly, drift my fingers across her flesh, slide them over her hip. “Yet I’m letting you touch me like this in public.”
“You’ve never done anything like this in public before?” I kiss her just behind her ear, noting the tiny heart tattoo that’s etched there. The heart is broken, a jagged line going down the middle, and I wonder at that.
“Maybe …” Her voice drifts, confirmation that she has done this sort of thing before. Not that I care, considering she’s with me tonight.
Her past doesn’t matter.
“You want me to stop?” I breathe deep her delicious honeyed scent. Her hair tickles my face and I study the giant diamond stud in her ear, wondering if it’s real.
Of course it’s real. Lily Fowler is worth millions. Maybe even billions.
She shakes her head, her hair catching on the stubble on my cheek. “No,” she whispers.
“Making all your secret dirty fantasies come true then?” I ask as I carefully shift my hand to her front, my fingers tracing along the edge of her underwear.
“Almost,” she chokes out when I swipe my finger across the front of her damp panties.
My hand goes still. “Almost? What do you mean by that?”
She rubs her butt against my cock and I remove my hands from beneath her dress, settling them on her hips. “I have another fantasy. A much … darker one.”
Everything within me stills, with the exception of my heart. It kicks into high gear, pounding within my chest, roaring in my ears. “What is it?”
Lily looks back at me, a wicked smile curving her lips. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
I rest my hand against her belly and then slowly slide it up, between her breasts, along her chest, her collarbone, until my fingers are resting against the base of her throat. I can feel her pulse beat mightily beneath my thumb, hear the slight catch in her breath when I stroke her skin. We’re not dancing anymore but no one cares. No one’s paying attention to us. It’s like we’re in our own little private world and all I can see, all I can hear and focus on, is Lily. “Tell me,” I murmur, ducking my head so my mouth is close to her ear.
She melts against me and I bring my fingers up farther, so I’m clasping the front of her neck, my hold feather light. I may want to possess her but I would never want to hurt her, and she needs to know this.
I hope she realizes my intent. I don’t want to break her. Just … tame her. At least for tonight. Then I have a job to do.
Lily shifts her ass against my cock, lifting her head as if she’s giving me better access. She doesn’t say a word, doesn’t tell me to let her go, and I know she likes the way I’m touching her.
Interesting.
“You’ll think I’m a freak,” she finally whispers in response, her hand dropping to rest on the outside of my thigh. Her fingers burn where she touches me.
“No, I won’t.” I tighten my hold on her neck, making her gasp. “Tell me, Lily. You like it when I touch you like this?” She nods but doesn’t say a word. “I want to know what else you like.”
“I want …” Her voice drifts and I can feel the delicate movement of her throat when she swallows. I press my face against hers, my mouth at her temple as I wait to hear what she has to say next, anticipation riding me hard. We’re playing a game, Lily and I. I have a feeling whatever her secret desire is, I’m the one who’s going to fulfill it.
Tonight.
“I’ve never admitted this to anyone before, so it’s hard,” she says, and I breathe deep, dying to know what she’s about to say next.
“Take your time, baby girl,” I coax, my voice low, my mouth right at her ear. I stroke the fragile skin at her throat, my other hand resting on her stomach. I can feel her tremble beneath my touch and everything within me goes hard.
She swallows again before she speaks, her voice hesitant. “My favorite fantasy is a man breaking into my room.” Her words are low and carefully chosen, her head bent forward, as if she doesn’t want to look at me or meet my gaze for fear she’ll see nothing but judgment there. “I’m sleeping. I have no idea he’s in the room with me.”
With my free hand I reach up and brush her hair away from my face, pressing my lips against her temple. “Tell me what happens next.”
She takes a deep breath. “I can sense that he’s there but I pretend I’m asleep. I like … I like knowing that he’s watching me.”
Arousal punches me in the gut and makes my dick even harder. She likes knowing I watch her, too. “So you want to trick him.”
“No. Not necessarily.” She shakes her head, seeming at a loss for words. I can’t believe we’re having this private conversation in the middle of a crowded nightclub, but I’m so attuned to her, she’s so attuned to me … she is everything I see and feel and hear. “More like I want to savor the moment.”
I close my eyes and breathe deep the scent of her hair, thrusting my cock slow and easy against the curve of her ass as I slide my hand back down her throat, caressing her delicate collarbone and then lower, the erratic thump of her heart pounding against my palm. We would be so fucking good together. I shouldn’t do this. It goes against every work ethic I have, messing around with my subject, with anyone related to my work, but I think that’s half the thrill.
Knowing that being with her is … forbidden.
Wrong.
“Then what happens?” I open my eyes and tilt my head down just as she turns to look at me from over her shoulder. I see the arousal in her gaze, feel the shiver that steals through her. She sinks her teeth into her lower lip as she contemplates what to say next.
“I … I don’t know. I never get that far in my fantasy.” Her gaze drops to my mouth and lingers there for a long, tension-filled moment. I wonder if she’s afraid to push the fantasy farther in her thoughts. Most people don’t want to know how far they’d go for sexual satisfaction. “You think I’m weird, huh.”
“No.” I drop my hand from her chest, resting both of my hands at her hips. “I think you’re brave for revealing that to me.”
Slowly she turns in my arms, staring up at me as if I’ve sprouted two heads. “Really?”
I nod. “Everyone has dark fantasies they’re uncomfortable sharing.”
Her expression fills with interest. “What’s yours?”
Pressing my forehead to hers, I whisper, “I sneak into a beautiful woman’s room and watch her while she sleeps. She doesn’t know I’m there and that makes me … hard.”
“Oh.” Her eyes go dark.
“You want to hear more?”
There’s no hesitation. “Yes, please.”
The girl definitely gets off on this sort of thing. “So I take off all my clothes and sneak into her bed, only to discover that she’s naked, too …” I let my voice drift off.
“What happens next?” she asks eagerly.
“Well, maybe I’ll show you.” I lift my head away from hers so I can gauge her reaction.
Her eyes go wider. “How?”
Smiling, I murmur, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”