Curves & Alphas: A Paranormal Box Set: (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (30 page)

The slim fit of his simple gray sharkskin suit with notch lapels pulled in tighter around his waist but showed off wide muscular shoulders. He looked like the Adonis my friends were describing him as right at this moment. They were certainly right. He was tall, dark, and handsome, with black silky hair and piercing blue eyes. Even across the room, he had an absolute Colgate smile.

“Logan Worthington,” Eva said with a sigh, as if the name required reverence.

“He’s the youngest billionaire to date,” Brittany added. “A workaholic. Known to be charming when away from the office, according to all the women who were trying to land him. If only I could catch his attention.”

I heard Brittany take in a breath of air as he glanced again back at our table. He was carrying on a conversation, but he periodically made eye contact with me time and again. I couldn’t fathom why. He just kept looking my way. Maybe I had something on my dress, or in my teeth, or hanging from my hair. I had a desperate urge to go to the bathroom and look myself over, but my legs trembled each time he looked at me, as if something electric shot between us. I’d never had such an immediate connection with anyone, though my mind doubted that was what this could be. I had to just be connecting with the girl-crazed chatter about him continuing on around me. It must be catchy. I’d get over it.

“So, who’s that man,” I asked, gaining looks from everyone at the table, as if I were the stupidest alien from outer space that had ever landed here on this planet. “What? I heard the obvious, his name, his occupation, and his bank account, what one could read in a newspaper. It’s Logan Worthington, billionaire, businessman. I can see he is drop-dead gorgeous, but what else? Anything outside of the fact that everyone not only wants to crawl in bed with him, but also wants access to his hefty pocketbook?”

My tone struck even me as I took in the glares and mystified looks of those around me. I’d overcompensated for my reaction to him by being snarky, not at all like myself. I wasn’t a petty or jealous girl like I’d just sounded, trying to fake figure out why he was a big deal because I knew he would never be interested in me, but I secretly wanted him to be. The whole ridiculous way of thinking just was so far from my personality that I didn’t know what to do with myself or how I could manage to erase what I’d said. But I couldn’t even lie to myself and say I didn’t want the answers.

“Well, he’s the youngest billionaire to date. He hosted this party, which would account for the expensive drinks and food, the elaborate trappings of the place. Although, the way I hear it, that is all his personal assistant, as far as the planning, the details, go. He could care less. He’s charming, everyone says so, and surprisingly not the player he could be. Another reason everyone wants to land him. On top of the money and looks, he’s actually nice. What a concept. One I’d love to get to know more about, personally.”

“Oh” was all I managed as he looked my way again, this time flashing me a killer smile when he caught me looking back.

I think I smiled, or managed half of one at least, before I looked away, down at my napkin that I then felt obliged to play with suddenly, the intense urge all consuming. I needed some distraction. Apparently my brain knew that. I was finding it hard to catch my breath, like he’d shot me with a lightning bolt. My body heated, shook, and I hadn’t a clue why the fierce reaction. Yes, he was beyond anything I’d seen before, cuter, more fashionable, the one everyone wanted to be with, and yet, he was looking at me. I outright panicked now about why.

“He keeps looking at you?” Brittany added, that tone of I-don’t-get-it in her voice.

“I know. Why?” I asked, the words hissing through my gritted teeth as I began to fiddle with the cloth napkin like I was examining the weight of it, trying to figure out what it was made of. I made the napkin a matter of deep introspection just to avoid dealing with the why of my current situation. “Is there something wrong with me? Is there some hair bizarrely out of place or something?”

“Wrong? No. You look beautiful. He noticed. He keeps noticing, in fact. You lucky bitch,” Ava added on, trying her best to sound happy for me rather than jealous. I wouldn’t call her petty, just unable to disguise her true feelings. I couldn’t fault her. She was here to land the right guy, not the right business card like I was.

“Right,” I sighed with a disgusted huff. “Why would he be interested in me? Never mind,” I added quickly, not letting her get in a word edgewise as her mouth moved but no sound came out. “Honestly, give me the dirt.”

“Okay, okay,” Ava said, her hands up in surrender, though her smiling mouth took a downturn as her face tightened up in perplexity.

“As I said, world’s youngest billionaire. He now owns the huge family conglomerate, which deals in everything from technology to liquor. On top of that, he owns nightclubs and luxury hotels. He owns this building, in fact. He took the mass fortune his dad made of the company and practically doubled it in just a few years. He’s a shark in business, and a sensitive lover in bed with just a hint of the right kink, according to his last girlfriend. At the moment, though, he is single, and tonight, he might as well be bait in the water. The piranhas are hungry, as you can see from the feeding frenzy out there. Wish I could manage to get in on it.”

“Wow,” was all I managed in response, watching him work the room since he currently was not looking this way.

Even though I could feel all eyes at the table on me as I watched him unashamedly, I ignored them. Instead, I watched as he talked with the governor, shaking his hand, getting a pat on the back from the man as if they were old friends, though they had to be decades apart in age. They obviously knew each other, though, and were more than comfortable having a conversation. Although from this distance I couldn’t hear his voice, the way he looked when he talked looked genuine, kind and caring, so unlike the majority of businessmen I dealt with on a daily basis. I knew uncomfortable or fake when I saw it, and he was neither of those things.

Chapter Three

It took everything in me not to hyperventilate as Logan walked over to our table. As he strolled our way, his long strides sure and confident, I kept expecting him to veer off in another direction, but instead, he made a beeline for us. I kept looking away, watching him out of the corner of my eye, as did Brittany, obviously, as we both stumbled over our words until our conversation ended completely the closer he got. Thankfully, the other two men at the table were enthralled by whatever Ava was going on and on about at the moment.

“Good evening,” Logan began, catching the attention of all of us as he stepped up to our table. “I hope you are enjoying your evening so far.”

“We are,” Ava said right away, the overenthusiasm in her voice a tad high-pitched, though I was sure he was more than used to the phenomenon, as he had not even flinched as I had. “This is an amazing event, from the food to the drinks to the conversation.”

“Good to hear,” he mused, turning to Brittany and then to me.

I froze a moment, having lost all knowledge of social graces, praying he wouldn’t engage with me in any way even as I begged the universe for him to. If this confusion showed in my eyes, he didn’t seem to respond to it.

“Are you enjoying yourself as well?” he said to me, his eyes looking directly into mine with a seriousness that the question did not call for.

I got lost for a second in piercing blue eyes that had the depths of an ocean to them, the same ocean that the color mimicked. I swallowed hard, attempting to bring moisture back into my suddenly dry mouth. I screamed at myself in my head not to embarrass myself, though I seemed doomed to do so as each second ticked away.

“I am. Thank you,” I finally managed.

“I’ve not had the privilege of meeting you before, I don’t believe,” he said. “I would have not forgotten such a beautiful woman. Would you grant me the pleasure of learning your name?”

I smiled, unsure how to respond. I was caught off guard, not just by the comment, but by the genuine delivery of it. He wasn’t just a playboy, one offering a compliment to get his way, as most men I met who complimented me were. I had dealt with schmoozers who complimented my pretty face just to have something to compliment each day. At those times, my body automatically hissed in response, but this time it literally purred with excitement. I wanted to rub up against him like a cat in heat. Caught off guard by not only him, but my reaction to him, I tried to recall my own name.

“Ashlyn Davis,” I finally got out.

“Pleased to meet you, Ashlyn Davis,” he said without missing a beat. “I’m Logan Worthington. Would you now be so kind as to agree to dance with me? I’ve asked the band to play one of my favorite songs. They are waiting on your response to begin. No pressure, though.”

He winked at me, causing me to feel a swoon coming on like a woman out of one of those old-timey romance novels. I finally got it as his hand stretched out, waiting for me to place mine in it. I nodded, getting a bigger grin from him, like a kid who’d just gotten the okay to raid the candy jar. I caught the smile, feeling it pull at my face as I cringed, waiting for some explosion as my skin touched his, palm to palm. I felt the sizzle, the fire that seemed to erupt between us, moving through me like an earthquake.

As I rose, shaky, with his gentle tug on my arm, the band began to play a long intro, as if on cue, as he led me to the dance floor. I don’t know if the sea of people already there, waiting, parted for us, but out of my peripheral vision it appeared so. He only stared at me, making my breath continue to hitch with each gasp of air I took.

He pulled my body to his, not a question but a statement at that point, as the words to the song,
True Companion
by Marc Cohn, began. He had good taste in music as far as I was concerned if this was one of his favorites.

“Baby, I’ve been searching like everybody else,” the singer of the band belted out as Logan snaked his arm around my back, his other moving my left hand up high into the air. His fingers laced with mine, causing friction, a heat, to simmer between us.

“Can’t say nothing different about myself,” the band guy sang as Logan’s large hand splayed across my back, his fingertips pushing against my skin, making me feel like I wasn’t wearing anything, like he touched me intimately, causing a blush to take my face, knowing that everyone there watched, wondered who I was, and what this prince among men, obviously New York’s most eligible bachelor, was doing with me.

He’d pulled me in snug against him, until I felt his warm breath bath my ear. He moved with an assured ability to guide me along, pressing my hips to him, making my hips sway along with his in an erotic, sensual dance. I didn’t need to worry about knowing the steps. Anyone, even someone with two left feet, could dance with this guy leading them.

“Sometimes I’m an angel and sometimes I’m cruel,” he sang lightly into my ear in his hauntingly deep voice as he took a few steps back, moving me along as if we’d rehearsed this dance a hundred times. “But when it comes to love I’m just another fool.”

We spun, my feet moving in the same pattern as his. Even as they barely hit the ground, his lips brushed my cheek, causing me to stop moving my lungs altogether. I soared rather than fainted, though. He had to be some sort of dance instructor on top of the list of the many things he did, and did well. With the bulges of his hard muscles against my soft, rounded curves, he moved me as if I weighed nothing. I’d never felt lighter, and when he pulled back to look into my eyes, I’d never felt more beautiful.

He rocked back, pulling me against him, my back foot popping up, more of a balance thing than anything else. Yet, when we paused, the crowd around us clapped. I started, but then smiled to see the look on his face, so pleased with himself, without a hint of arrogance. I was, for once in my life, Cinderella at the ball.

A few lines went by, him continuing to look into my eyes as we whirled around the floor, until he chimed in again, stopping my heart, practically paralyzing me though my body continued to follow along with his, making me feel like a puppet, one who hoped her master would never let go of the strings. I could have dwelled on this out-of-character fact, but instead, he began to sing along again.

“There ain’t no act of God, girl, could keep you safe from me.”

It hit me hard how he was flirting with me. With me! This Adonis of a man was flirting with me. And, he was not mincing words. A silly grin had become plastered on my face as we continued on, the song now just a beautiful medley that I could barely hear. Good thing, or I would have missed what he said next.

“You look so beautiful in that dress. It perfectly matches your hazel eyes. You have bewitched me, body and soul,” he said with an uncomfortable laugh, one that didn’t fit him. “Yes, I am quoting a movie. I’m at a loss for words in your presence.”

“You are? You could have taken credit. I didn’t realize. Only, I don’t have a clue what to say to you, to any of this.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Please, just agree to leave with me. Let me take you out, to someplace more private. I want it to be just the two of us. I want to get to know you. Please. I’m begging, and I don’t do that.”

“I can only imagine that you don’t have to,” I said back, my voice lighter than usual, soft and quiet.

While reason shouted that you don’t leave with a virtual stranger you’ve just met, he didn’t seem a stranger here to anyone but me. I could only imagine from the looks I swear I felt boring into my back that every jealous eye on me would give whatever it took to get asked to leave with him. Yet, he seemed to mesmerize me, his eyes, his smile, his voice. I was drawn to him like I’d never been drawn to anyone else in my life. It wasn’t lust, though that existed between us so thick I could taste it, but we connected, on some level I’d never experienced before. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, I was willing, stupid or not, to get burned here.

What the hell? You only live once
, I said to myself in my head as my mouth said, “I would love to go with you. Just give me a second to grab my purse and tell my friends where I’m going.”

“Absolutely. I’ll call for the car and then wait by the far door,” he said, pointing through the crowd to a door off to the side, one that said “No Exit.” I was sure such rules didn’t apply to him. In fact, they were probably made so that only men like him could break them.

“Sure,” I breathed out as the loss of his arms around me hit me in some sort of profound way.

It felt like I stumbled back over to the table, but no one made mention of it as I got back to it, all eyes on me.

“That was some dancing out there,” Ava said ecstatically, practically jumping out of her chair. “I could see him whispering in your ear, not that I was watching. Well yeah, I was, we all were. What did he say?”

“He asked me to leave with him,” I said, grabbing my purse, trying to remain cool though nothing about me felt that way. I’d regressed, not just back to sweet and quite, but back to adolescence. I felt like I had a school-girl crush on some television star.

“He what?” Brittany chimed in. “And you said yes, right?”

“Yes,” I said with a laugh and a grin so big my eyes squinted. “So, if you don’t hear from me by tomorrow morning, and I don’t answer my cell, call 911.”

I took off for the door then, barely hearing them gasp, comment, and lecture as I made my way through the crowd toward him. All eyes still on me, I only had eyes for him. I felt the same way on the back stairs that he led me down, surprised I didn’t miss a step. Now, I felt like Cinderella leaving the ball, only if I lost my shoe I was sure he would have stopped and gotten it and put it back on me, not letting me run off given the grip he had on my hand. By the time we hit the street, a Rolls Royce Phantom Limo waiting, I figured I’d better pinch myself in case I’d fallen asleep at the table and was making a fool of myself by dreaming and probably drooling.

A driver, fully dressed as such, tux and all, opened the door as Logan guided me onto an L-shaped leather couch that could seat five comfortably, and which sat across from a fully stocked bar. The beauty of the warm wood grains and off-white leather gave the vehicle a warm, inviting feeling, which was further enhanced when he took one of my hands in his again.

“I’m so glad you agreed to come. Would you like a drink?” he asked.

“I shouldn’t. I had enough at the party, but I guess another sip of something would be all right. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I’m a little nervous,” I said with a hard swallow, suddenly shaking so much that I had to look down at my legs to make sure that fact wasn’t visible. A mix of being in unfamiliar surroundings, a unique situation, and his fingers laced with mine, were taking their toll.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Do you want to go back?”

“No. No, it’s not you making me uncomfortable, it is the trappings. Again, I’m probably saying too much, and you will want to take me back, but this is my first time in a limo. I grew up on the poor side of town. Very poor side, like not always knowing if there would be food, poor. And I probably shouldn’t have admitted that. But, even having gotten used to business dinners and all, I’m still not sure I have the skill set for all of this.”

“You are fine,” he said right away, a smooth, steady cadence to his voice that held not even a hint of being forced or uncomfortable himself.

I’d finally become bold, a real go-getter, in my job, but yes, I was so out of my element here that I felt I’d traveled into another realm. All I was promising myself was that I would be real, true to myself, and not someone I though he wanted me to be. I wouldn’t have a clue as to what that would entail, anyway. Regardless, I was going to be me, and thus I would only ride this out as long as it genuinely lasted. I hated fake girls that lost themselves trying to land a rich guy. As much as I couldn’t explain the attraction, there was no point in changing myself to make it last longer. I could protect my heart. At least, I hoped I still had that ability.

“Really?” I asked, not for approval, but for confirmation that this evening was not going to be ending anytime soon. I was more than curious about him as well. I met wealthy business owners daily, and most didn’t have half the personality he had shown in less than an hour.

“Really. I want you to be you. I want to get to know the woman you are. I love how open and honest you are, including telling me what is making you uncomfortable. That is rare, and something I value highly. I’m taking you to one of my nightclubs. We will have the VIP treatment all the way, including a private booth all to ourselves. I want to know all about you.”