Page 9 of Room Twenty-Four: Under Their Hands

For some reason this man makes a frisson burn under my skin with just one cold look.

His lean face turns towards Jeremy and he sighs. “Do you want me to take care of you or are you gonna leave, dickhead?”

Jeremy growls under his breath and flexes his fingers on my arm. He pulls them off slowly, insultingly slowly.

The big man growls and stalks closer to us and I smell his clean, spicy scent. It wraps around me and all the nerves under my skin fizzle to life like carbonated soda that’s been shaken.

Jeremy jerks away and holds his arms close to himself, like he’s expecting the man to reach over and grab him.

I’m not so sure he’s not going to. But he just crosses his arms over the big, broad chest that’s covered by a pale silver dress shirt. His camel coat is open over a dark gray suit that’s perfectly tailored to every freaking muscle.

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I think you might as well leave.” His eyes are heavy-lidded with boredom but his muscles are still tight and ready for action.

“Who the fuck are you?” Jeremy’s big, fat mouth just can’t give him the chance to shut up and get the hell out without risking a beating that might actually get him out of my face for awhile.

A low growl is the big guy’s only answer. One of the guards reaches for his gun belt again. I shake my head and he removes his hand.

The stranger stands tall and stalks over in front of Jeremy who’s just now starting to realize that he might have written a check that his body can’t cash.

His hand reaches out and cups Jeremy’s shoulder, hard. I see him wince and his shoulder dips down.

“My friend. The lady asked you to leave. Now I’ve asked you nicely to leave. The next time that I say something, it’s not going to be nice.”

“Fine,” he huffs out and ducks out of the stranger’s hold. “I’ll be on my way. But don’t be surprised if you hear from the board soon, Vi. Nobody around here is exactly confident that you’re going to be able to pull off the growth that you’ve been talking about this year. I know I’m not.”

A low growl and the bigger guy jolts forward, his arms reaching out. Jeremy darts away with a squawk and scuttles out of the door like the rat he is.

“Is everything else alright, Miss Winters?” Both of the guards look like they’re about ready to jump out of their skin.

“Yes, it’s all good.” I smile at them and thank them for coming up so quickly.

After they leave, I turn towards the man that I vaguely recognize. “I know you from somewhere don’t I?”

He smirks at me. “Yeah. We met last night at Rhythms. With the guy in the pin-striped suit.”

I nod my head and smile. “Ah. The scary guy. I remember him.” I stop talking and frown. “But what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to invite you out. Have you ever heard of Club Sin?”

Alexia gasps behind me and I see his eyes dart to her with a grin. “You have.”

“Yeah. I’ve offered to take Violetta but she’s never wanted to go.”

“That’s not true. I don’t have time for that kind of thing, Alexia.”

“You should make time. It’s a wonderful release for a woman like you.” His silvery gaze runs up and down my body, pausing on my heavy breasts and making my heart pound out of control and a breathless ache build in my core.

I put my hand on my hip. “What kind of woman do you think I am?”

He stalks closer and I back into the wall behind me. His hands drop to the wall behind me and I can feel the heat from his body washing over me like a warm breeze, cocooning me from the worry and pain all around me at this damn place. I hate it sometimes.

But this man? He makes me wish for things I’ve never wanted before. I want him to take me apart and rebuild me. Want him to burrow down into my soul, bury himself in my body until I don’t know where he ends and I begin.

He runs his nose along my neck and whispers in my ear, “You need a man to break you and then make you scream until you lose your voice from the ecstasy he’s wringing out of your lovely body.” His shimmering gaze locks on me and I sink into the cool depths, wallowing in the desire I see in those orbs. “You need more than one mere man can do for you.”

I jump and look up into his eyes, stunned. “I’m not into group sports,” I whisper.

“You’ve never tried. My friends and I share all the time. With the right woman. And you’re the right woman, baby.”

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