Sweet As Sin. J. Margot Critch
of leaving. Maria would be fine. But there was something else that kept him in his seat. He was perfectly content to watch Maria as she put her arms over her head and swiveled her hips seductively. He wasn’t strong enough to ignore her, and he focused his gaze on her sexy movements, the way she flipped her long hair and closed her eyes, as though the music traveled throughout her body and she felt the notes on an erotic level. His posture stiffened on the leather couch as he watched her, and interest stirred his dick. The rest of the club fell away, and he saw only her, as her hips swayed and she pushed her palms down her front to her thighs as she bent over slightly, not-so-subtly pushing her ass in his direction. He added twerking to Maria’s list of talents.
His heart battered the inside of his rib cage, and he swallowed roughly. His dick stood at full attention as he watched his best friend’s sister move seductively in the middle of the dance floor. With her back to him, she looked over her shoulder, and her eyes connected with his. As if she could read his mind, her lips quirked upward into a sly smile, and she winked. And she soon broke off from the group and walked over to him, her steps even and confident and in time with the beat of the music as she somehow balanced on her precarious stiletto heels. Maria leaned over him, resting her forearms on his shoulders, her red lips just inches from his. Alex tried not to look down the gap of loose material at the front of her shirt. He was unsuccessful, and he couldn’t help but get an eyeful of her smooth round breasts underneath her shirt. His hands clenched into fists, fighting the urge to reach up and cup them in his hands.
“Hey, my eyes are up here,” she admonished.
His eyes snapped back to hers. “So they are.”
Her fingers pushed into his hair, tickling the back of his neck. “You know, if you’re going to be my shadow all night, you might as well come dance with me.”
“I don’t think so.” Alex shook his head, but it was a jerky movement as he struggled with control. “I thought you were mad at me.”
“Come on,” she pleaded. “I’m having too much fun to be mad. And you can make it up to me by dancing with me. You owe me a dance, you know.”
“How so?”
“I was dancing with a guy when you so rudely interrupted. You should take his place.”
“I think I did you a favor. That guy was a loser.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because he walked away from you without a fight.”
Her eyes widened. “Would you have fought for me?”
Alex answered without hesitation. “There’s no question.” She smiled down at him, and their eyes met. “Okay, fine. Just one dance.”
She grasped his wrist with both hands, and he allowed her to pull him up and drag him toward the dancers. They didn’t join her friends, but instead found a dark corner on the dance floor. The music vibrated through the crowd, and all the bodies on the dance floor pressed together, bringing them closer, pushing Maria against him. Gabe’s parting remarks had been about finding some trouble. But Alex hadn’t counted on this. He was already in too deep, and he knew it.
Maria turned to face him. She rotated her hips and raised her arms above her head, swaying in time to the music. He didn’t know how Maria, who’d always been a “good girl,” had learned to move that way. His body tensed, and he tried to fight his physical reaction to her.
Her eyes never left his, drawing him in so that the rest of the club disappeared. And even though Alex knew it was wrong, his libido was now in firm control. He couldn’t pull himself away, couldn’t stop himself, and he pressed closer. It was just him and Maria. She turned around, facing away from him, and bumped her ass against his groin. A shock traveled throughout him, and she did it again. Unconsciously, he dropped a hand to her hip and held her in place as she danced, continuing to grind her ass against his dick, and there was no way she missed the fact that he was rock hard. Perhaps it was the alcohol, the driving beat, the lights, the crowd, that had lowered his inhibitions and debilitated his common sense. But she was a beautiful woman, and she was warm, and he wanted her. There was no denying that.
Without thinking—his brain hadn’t even entered the equation, and he was moving on primal instinct—his hand moved around her front and flattened against her stomach below her belly button. His groin was in control, and even though he knew he should stop, he didn’t. He knew what he wanted. And whether it was wrong or not, what he wanted was Maria Martinez.
He pulled her close, so that her back pressed into his chest and she made contact with his hard dick. Maria turned in his arms to face him, so his hand rested high on the curve of that deliciously round ass. Looking down at her, he was reminded that he was dancing with, had his hands on, was holding close, his best friend’s sister. Maria. But as much as he knew that he should push away from her, he didn’t want to. And instead of being smart, he pulled her closer. In her dangerously high heels, the top of her head only came up to his nose. He inhaled, pulling in the light, airy scent of her perfume, and he closed his eyes and savored it.
Why didn’t he know she smelled so amazing?
Who was he kidding—Alex had known exactly how amazing she smelled. He’d known for years. Only now would he let himself accept it. While his eyes were closed, she wedged his thigh between both of hers, straddling it, sliding herself up and down, her hips moving to the beat of the sultry music. Her touch was so damn hot, he had to look down to make sure she wasn’t singeing a hole right through his pants.
Already sentenced to hell for what he was doing, Alex said a silent prayer and grasped Maria’s waist, small in his hands, and instead of pushing her away, he used his hold on her to swivel her body, rotating her hips, so that she ground against him more fully. Her lips parted, and he could see the heavy rise and fall of her chest. She was turned on just as much as he was. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled closer, almost lifting herself off the dance floor, putting her mouth near his ear. Over the music he heard a small gasp that escaped her lips as he thrust his thigh against her. It was all so wrong. He knew he was violating the guy code—no sisters! But he couldn’t bring himself to push Maria away. Goddammit, he wanted to hear that sigh again. He thrust his leg again, against the unmistakable heat of her pussy, rubbing her where he knew she needed it. The sigh became a moan. And her lips found the side of his neck, kissing his pulse point, which he knew was racing. He kept going. The muscles of his thigh continued to rub against her. He kept pace until her heavy breath stilled and her thigh muscles clenched around his. She threw her head back and exhaled roughly as small tremors still coursed throughout her body. He refused to take his eyes away from her as she came.
And then the reality of what he was doing struck him. He froze in spot as he regained his senses. Maria smiled up at him, and she winked, clearly more relaxed than he was. His heart beat even faster as a deep sense of shame settled over him. He was with Maria. And he’d made her come on a crowded dance floor.
Alex’s eyes dropped to Maria’s mouth, her full lips, that damned cupid’s bow that she’d covered in red lipstick, looked so delicious, and he wanted a taste. They stopped dancing, isolated in their dark corner, isolated from the rest of the dance floor, oblivious to everyone, everything. Both of them were breathing heavily, and with each breath she took, her full breasts brushed his chest. The air between them crackled with electricity, and he knew he had to push away from her before he burned himself, or her.
“Maria,” he whispered. He reached out and swiped his thumb over her lips. The lipstick somehow didn’t smudge. Her lips parted, and she drew his thumb into her mouth. She sucked him, stroked him with her tongue. The air rushed from Alex’s chest, and his knees almost buckled. He closed his eyes and let himself feel her and wonder what it would be like to be fully surrounded with her heat. “Fuck, Maria,” he muttered. He needed to get away, but there was no way he could part from her. He was trapped on the crowded dance floor. Frozen in place; needing to get out of there, but completely helpless to her. Alex had been with his share of women, but he’d never been so enraptured by one, and he knew he was in trouble.
Maria hummed around his thumb, the vibration