Sweet As Sin. J. Margot Critch
out of here, or do I have to break your fingers?”
“Fine, I’ll go,” the guy wailed. She let him go and he cradled his injured hand. “Crazy bitch.”
“What was that?” she challenged, not backing down. “I don’t think I heard you.” There was one thing she hated and that was misogynistic, predatory assholes. He hadn’t backed down when she said no, so she literally took matters into her own hands. Hopefully the guy learned his lesson, but if not, she would gladly teach him again.
“Is there a problem?” Alex asked her, suddenly appearing at her side, but turned his attention to the guy as he retreated. He started to follow, but Maria held him back.
“No, I’ve got this,” she said as the other guy slunk out of view, disappearing into the crowd. “I don’t need a bodyguard, you know.”
“So I saw. That was pretty impressive.” He took her hand in his. His large fingers dwarfed hers and she felt the full-body tremor that traveled throughout her, starting with his touch, radiating to her core. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she managed to say as he inspected her fingers while she watched his face.
Alex turned her hand over and frowned. “You broke a nail.”
She looked down and saw that the recently manicured nail on her index finger had cracked off. The manicure had been expensive, and she frowned that it was ruined, but she covered her annoyance with a cool laugh. At least she hoped it was. “It’s no worse off than his pride, though. So, now that you can see I know how to look after myself, you can leave.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not going anywhere.” He smiled, turning on the charm. “Maria, I’m very sorry I interrupted your dance earlier and ruined your fun,” he said. She was skeptical that he was sorry at all. “So I want to make amends.” Pointing to the VIP area, he leaned in, speaking mostly to Beth and Anna. “Ladies, I’ve got a booth in the VIP area over there, and I’d love for you all to join me.”
She knew that his offer wasn’t just to be nice, that there was something else happening behind that devilish smile. But before she could say anything, her friends all nodded in agreement.
“Hell yeah, let’s go,” Beth said, and Maria watched, annoyed as Alex stood between them, cupped his palms around their elbows and led them toward the VIP area, leaving Maria standing alone.
Alex took several steps before it looked like he finally realized she wasn’t following. He turned to face her, his lips turning upward in a grin, knowing he’d won. “Coming, Maria?”
Alex had come up on her and steamrollered her plans to have fun with her friends. Hell, there were a lot of places worse than the VIP area of one of the hottest clubs in Las Vegas. She knew what he was doing. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t play a game of her own. Maybe it was the opportunity to do something she’d always wanted to do.
“Yeah. Sure.”
* * *
Alex escorted Maria’s friends to the VIP area. But the women who flanked him didn’t hold his interest like the woman who trailed them stubbornly. Beth and Anna, as they’d introduced themselves, sat on one end of the semicircle couch. He waited until Maria took a seat next to them, and he sat next to her, again trying not to focus on the way her breasts shifted under her shirt as she moved, settling into the couch, or the way her skirt rode even farther up, revealing more of her tanned thighs. She was curvy, every inch of her body incredible, and he wanted to put his mouth and hands on her and discover her every secret. He blinked and then quickly looked away, hoping to banish the image from his mind.
Beth plucked the drink menu from the center of the low table in front of them and when the waitress came over to the table, she ordered a round of shots for them all. In just a couple of minutes, the cocktail waitress returned and placed a shot glass containing some kind of purple liquid in front of each of them.
Alex looked at the shots with a frown, and considered passing on what looked like little more than liquid candy, but then he shrugged. Who was he to turn down a round of shots with a trio of gorgeous women? So, raising his glass with them, he downed the shot.
His swallow was followed by a grimace. The thing was sweet, pure grape-flavored sugar, and he shuddered and felt his stomach try to revolt against it. To temper the sweetness, he took a mouthful of bourbon. The heat pleasantly covered the purple haze, and he sipped again for good measure. He leaned back with his glass and easily slung his arm over the back of the couch, above Maria, just inches away from what he believed must be the smoothest skin he’d ever desired to touch. He just hoped that he looked more casual than he felt.
She smiled and moved in closer to him, close enough to press her thigh against his, and he stiffened in response to her nearness.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” she said.
Alex shrugged. “What do you think I’m doing?”
“You’re seducing my friends with bottle service so they’ll stay close and then you can keep your eyes on me.”
Maria was good.
“And let me guess, you’ve already called Rafa and told him I’m here, and you promised to watch out for me, right?”
She was really good. He hadn’t called Raf yet, not wanting to interrupt his night with Jessica, but he’d honestly thought about it.
Alex said nothing but sipped his bourbon again. He could feel the alcohol start to warm him pleasantly from the inside. At least he hoped it was the alcohol, and not Maria’s effect on his anatomy.
The waitress approached. “Another round, ladies?”
Alex withdrew his black charge card and passed it to her. “This’ll cover it. And get the women whatever they want.”
The waitress took Alex’s card while the three of them tried to decide which $1,000 bottle of champagne they wanted. He laughed and leaned in, telling them they should probably order one of each. They wholeheartedly agreed.
“You’re going to regret that decision,” Maria said to him with a laugh. “You don’t know the damage this group can do when we have girls’ night out.”
Alex shrugged and smiled. He’d spent more money on way more frivolous items. It wasn’t an issue for him. He might have come from humble beginnings, but he and The Brotherhood had made themselves each quite a small fortune. He had the money, and knowing that his future was secured, he liked to spend it. Their eyes widened as the waitress brought the first bottle of champagne. He remembered being young, just out of grad school, MBA in hand and broke as a joke.
Maria and her friends were nice girls—women, he reminded himself. He knew that they worked hard together at the community center, and they deserved to be treated. Sure, Alex would be down a little cash, but a black-card-funded night in a VIP booth at a hot club probably wasn’t an everyday occurrence for them. He wanted the women to enjoy themselves, no matter what the cost. And maybe Maria had been right—as long as her friends were in his VIP booth, he knew that she wasn’t going anywhere. “Just have fun,” he told them, and remembering Gabe’s words earlier that evening, he smiled. “Get into a little bit of trouble.”
AN HOUR AND copious amounts of champagne later, Alex still sat back in the booth and watched the three women dance together, rubbing their bodies against one another like girlfriends did, turning their backs on and completely shutting down every guy who tried to interject himself—not that Alex would have let it happen either way. No more greasy dudes would be putting their hands on Maria, or any of them.
With a chuckle, he remembered seeing her almost break that one asshole’s wrist. Maria obviously wasn’t the helpless young woman he’d believed her to be. She