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“They’re around. What’s it to you, Alex?”
“Have you been drinking?”
“Well, I am at a nightclub,” she said, looking at him, as if it was obvious.
He grabbed her arm. “Come on. We’re getting out of here.”
She pulled back and wrenched away from his grip. “No, I’m not going anywhere. I’m here with my friends. And I was having a good time until you rudely interrupted.”
“Go get them. I’m calling you a car.”
“Fuck you, Alex.” Admirably, she stood her ground, not backing down from him. He looked around and could see that they were starting to catch the attention of the bouncers and staff.
“Maria.” He leaned in, whispering near her ear. “Come on. We’re leaving.” Looking around them, he didn’t miss the way that every guy in the place looked at Maria like she was a lamb in a lion’s den. A stubborn, immovable lamb. Relenting, he sighed. “Fine. If you aren’t leaving, then neither am I.” There was no way in hell he was going to walk out of that club while she was dressed like that.
She huffed and turned on her stiletto-clad heel and stomped away from him, toward two other women he assumed were her friends who stood at a table. He tried to ignore the way Maria’s ass shifted and her hips swayed under her skirt, or the flex of her toned thigh and calf muscles with every step. Grumbling to himself, frustrated, he went back to the VIP area and poured himself another drink. “Jesus.”
“Need anything else, Mr. Fischer?” the cocktail waitress asked him, within twenty seconds of his returning to his table.
Not taking his eyes off Maria, he shook his head. She was facing away from him, but every few seconds, she would look at him over her shoulder. Her large dark eyes were hot, burning him across the crowded nightclub, and her full lips pouted, teasing him, egging him on. Saluting her with his glass, he knocked back the bourbon in one large swallow.
He’d known Maria for years. When he was a child, the Martinez family had saved his life. He’d moved in with the family and out of his slum after his mother’s death and his father’s incarceration, and he never looked back. Alex owed Maria’s family everything, and whether she wanted him to or not, he would look out for her—make sure she stayed safe, and that certainly didn’t mean entertaining any of the thoughts he currently had in his mind.
* * *
Maria could feel Alex’s gaze on her back. Just who in the hell did he think he was? She was just trying to have some fun with her friends, Beth and Anna, dance with some good-looking guys, have them buy her some drinks. But of course, she couldn’t go anywhere in Las Vegas without being seen and coddled by one of Rafael’s overprotective friends. She was twenty-six years old, and completely sick of being treated like a fucking child. It was the curse of being the youngest daughter in a strict, Latino Catholic family. They loved her, and God knew her family was more important to her than anything else, but their watchful eyes were burdensome.
Thankfully, her parents had at least finally recognized that she was an adult. But Rafael was another issue. He flat-out refused to even remotely acknowledge the fact that she was no longer a child. She was a grown woman, she’d seen firsthand all of the terrible things that could happen to a woman, and she knew how to protect herself from those who would wish to do her harm. Since graduating from college, she’d spent months at a time on humanitarian missions with various groups like the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders in areas ravaged by war, disease and natural disasters. Her eyes had been opened to how dangerous the world could be when people were desperate and willing to do anything to survive. But in the mind of her stubborn brother, she was still a naive kid. Hell, she would be an eighty-year-old woman, and he would still be calling her his baby sister.
Alex’s closeness to her brother, and the fact that he had basically been raised in her home, meant that she should probably think of him as her brother, too. But she hadn’t. They’d grown up together, and while she’d always had a bit of a crush on him, somewhere along the way he’d ceased to be the gross boy who’d teased and picked on her, and had become the strong, gorgeous man who lit her every desire on fire.
“Maria, who was the hottie?” Beth asked, breaking through her thoughts. Maria blinked and realized that she was still looking at Alex, who was staring right back.
“Alex. A friend of my brother’s.”
“He is seriously the best-looking guy in here.” Maria watched her friend as she sized up Alex from across the room. “And he can’t keep his eyes off you. Why don’t you go for it? Crawl up on all that muscle.”
It certainly wasn’t beyond the thoughts that Maria had had about Alex. The man was a certified hunk. She may have spent thousands of hours in the middle of the night, in bed everywhere from Las Vegas to Haiti to the Middle East in the midst of fantasies about Alex Fischer. Those strong shoulders, the rippling muscles of his back and the bulge in his pants. “Believe me, I would,” she said, her breath pushing out from her constricting lungs. “But there’s no chance. He still thinks of me only as a kid, Rafael’s little sister.” A good girl. That was how everyone thought of her. Sure, she was a good person, but she also had a wicked streak that she heartily embraced every chance she got.
Oblivious to the conversation Maria and her friends had been having, some guy took the opportunity to join them, sidling up close to Maria, wrapping his arm low around her waist. He said something stupid about her culo, and she rolled her eyes. Idiot. God, she’d had enough of men imposing themselves on her, and her patience was at an all-time low. Can’t a woman just go out and have fun with her friends? She pulled his arm away from her. “You’d better get out of here, pendejo. Before I kick your culo all over this club.” She didn’t need Alex to scare off idiot guys. She could more than handle herself.
But he didn’t walk away; instead, he somehow sidled closer. “Ooh, fiery, I like that.”
The guy had no idea. She’d learned a long time ago while on missions how to deal with chauvinists, catcallers, guys who attempted to touch her uninvited. It wasn’t pretty. She’d seen some real dangerous men in her time. This frat boy in his Old Navy chambray shirt and chinos didn’t interest or scare her. “Listen, man, I’m not playing. Back off!” She turned away from him, trying to talk to her girlfriends.
When the guy laughed and grabbed her ass, Maria whipped around and grasped the guy’s fingers in a grip that twisted his wrist, causing him severe pain. He cried out, and everyone in the near vicinity looked in their direction. A bouncer moved close, but he didn’t stop her. “You know you shouldn’t go around touching people without their permission, don’t you?” She twisted her hand, and as she pinched a nerve ending, he screamed in pain. “So what do you say? Will you get the fuck 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.”
CHAPTER TWO (#ud1b81487-dd85-5822-97a9-55ffe00b28b9)
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 was strong and tough and most definitely knew how to hold her own.
Alex toyed briefly with the idea 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 waved throughout him, and he couldn’t handle it anymore. He pulled his digit from her mouth and before he could change his mind, he quickly replaced it with his lips. He took her bottom lip between his teeth and nibbled lightly until her lips parted, all the invitation he needed for his tongue to find hers, stroking against it. Tasting her. She was sweeter than anything he’d ever tasted, and he gripped her hips tightly, his fingertips digging in before they moved around to cup her ass in his palms.
It was wrong, but goddammit, he didn’t care. He owed Rafael more than to be making out with his sister on a dance floor. But still he briefly toyed with how easily he could get Maria out of the club and back to his place.
No! He couldn’t do that. A moment of clarity flashed behind his eyes, and he realized what he’d just done. The lustful fog that had muddied his brain cleared, and no matter how much he wanted to go further with her, Alex knew he had to end it. He released Maria, letting her fall softly, so that she was standing on her own. She looked stunned. But he didn’t look at the hurt in her eyes; instead, he took out his phone and messaged the car service that he and The Brotherhood kept on retainer for when they needed it. He ordered a town car to come pick up the women, and he looked at Maria. “I just called a car. Get your friends. You’re going home.”
CHAPTER THREE (#ud1b81487-dd85-5822-97a9-55ffe00b28b9)
“DID YOU HAVE fun last night?” Rafael asked, his tone casual and innocent, as they took their seats next to each other at their table at Thalia, one of The Brotherhood’s restaurants, but Maria knew from experience that the conversation was beginning to exhibit all the earmarks of an interrogation.
The waiter slid in her chair, and Maria sat back and watched her brother. He wasn’t the only one with an impassive poker face. Controlling her features, playing it cool, she wondered if he’d found out about the dance that she’d shared with Alex that brought her over the edge. She knew that there was no way Alex would have told him what had gone down between them. However, it wasn’t impossible that someone else at the club may have seen them. Did he know that Alex had kissed her? Or anything else? “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Mr. Martinez,” the waiter thankfully interrupted them. “The rest of the party will be along soon.”
“Thanks, Nick,” Rafael said. They were waiting for the rest of The Brotherhood. Rafael had convinced her to join him in their monthly dinners. “I meant exactly what I said. How was your night out with your friends?”
She shrugged. “It was fine,” she told him, trying to keep her expression neutral. “Actually, Alex was there, and just so you know, he took the role of bodyguard very seriously.”
“Oh really?” Rafael seemed surprised. “I saw him this morning, and he didn’t mention seeing you. I’ve no doubt he took good care of you.”
A wave of heat flushed throughout her, and she knew exactly how well Alex had “taken care of” her. She still remembered the way his lips felt on hers, how his tongue had stroked hers. He’d made her come, for God’s sake. She’d never experienced anything quite like the wanton need she’d had for Alex. She had a wild streak, but she’d never had a guy get her off on a dance floor. And she wanted more like it. More Alex.
“What time did you get home last night?”
“Early enough, Mom,” she assured him, even though she’d regretted the late hour when she’d woken up tired and hungover that morning. Working with the children at the community center had exhausted her and, with a pounding head, had been a challenge until lunchtime, when her hangover had finally subsided. But she wouldn’t tell Rafael that. Not a chance. “I had fun. And despite having him loom over my shoulder, it was really nice hanging out with Alex again.”
“I know you think I’m overbearing sometimes—”
“All the time. You have to learn to trust me.”
