Sweetwater: The Kihn (The Sweet Series) (38 page)

“Are you afraid of being too close to me?” His voice is dark, his eyes piercing when I look at him. His voice sounds arrogant. “What? You’re here—but you don’t have to enjoy yourself?”

“No! I mean... no, that’s not it.” I meet his dark gaze.

He stands, holding his hand out. “Humor me.” His voice is deep, husky, and my breath catches as I take his hand. He leads me onto the dance floor and takes me into his arms. My heart starts pounding, hard and fast. “Are you all right?” he asks, gazing down at me.

I nod, not trusting my voice. We fit together well on the dance floor. It seems we fit together well just about anywhere.

“I love your dress,” his dark voice vibrates in my ear.

“Thank you.” My voice doesn’t want to work right. It comes out all soft and fluttery.

His hand strokes the skin on my back. “You smell wonderful.” He kisses the top of my head. “Sweet.” His voice caresses my skin and I sigh, pressing closer. His arms tighten around me, and I shift against him, feeling better than I have all day.

He chuckles softly by my ear as he feels the tension leave me. “Better?” I hear the smile in his voice.

I sigh. “Much.” I snuggle as close as I can while still dancing. His low laugh vibrates through my body. I tease, “My warden decided to let me out for the evening.”

“Hmmm, you must have been a good girl,” he says softly.

“I don’t think it’s a good girl the warden is hoping for,” I answer tartly. Without missing a step, Lucas leans his head back and laughs. I pull away as much as he’ll allow. Glancing around the room, I see people watching us. “Shhh!”

As the music ends, Lucas swings me out from his body, twirls me under his arm, and pulls my back up against his front. Leaning down, he kisses the side of my neck, making my knees go weak. As he leads me back to our table, several people nod in greeting.

Emma Rae and Andy stay on the dance floor for the next song, and I head to the restroom. Lucas walks with me, but an acquaintance stops him. He has one of the waitresses show me where the bathroom is. She’s real polite, taking me right to the door.

As I wash my hands, the door opens to admit a beautiful, exotic-looking woman with long, black hair. She leans against the door as it closes. I sense a prickle at the base of my neck. This isn’t good.

I watch her from the corner of my eye as I open my clutch and take out my lipstick. I leave the purse open because I have a metal nail file lying in easy reach. I glance in the mirror at her while I reapply my lipstick. She isn’t much taller than I am, maybe five-four, but she looks older, and her beautiful face is distorted with unconcealed rage.

“He’s marked you!”  Her voice is full of disbelief and anger, and I catch a slight accent. My hand unconsciously moves to the makeup-covered hickey on the side of my neck. “Do you think I will not fight for him?” she demands.

I turn to look at her. “Excuse me?” I understand her perfectly, but I’ve taken an instant dislike to her and decided I won’t play along.

“You are not the first,” she laughs, “and you certainly will not be the last. Lucas and I have a—volatile relationship. We take these little respites, when our passion becomes too… intense, with Lucas doing what he usually does.” She smiles condescendingly at me.

I just look at her. I can think of several good comebacks, but I have learned from experience silence is usually more effective. She steps over to the sink, smooths her hair and looks at me in the mirror. I drop my lipstick back in my purse, palming the nail file.

“He belongs to me. I will never let him go,” she states firmly. S
he suddenly smiles at my reflection. “You are very young.” Her voice is almost friendly now as she turns toward me, and I know I’d be smart to leave. “Lucas has very… eclectic tastes. He’s quite hedonistic. I’m sorry, but you won’t hold his attention for long. I am the only one who can, the only one he comes back to, and even I must put up with his… philandering.” I feel as if she’s kicked me in the gut. It’s as if she knows my secret fear, and she’s zeroing in on it. The unmistakable pity in the bitch’s voice pisses me off. I don’t like her one bit, and I tell myself, again, to leave.

“Let me give you some advice,” she says gently.

“Why would you do that?” I ask sarcastically.

“As I mentioned, you seem so young. Lucas is a very demanding lover. He
prefers
his women experienced, able to withstand his—type of lovemaking—his lust.” I swallow convulsively and feel ill when I think of Lucas and this woman having sex. “You do know what I mean, don’t you?”

I turn to go, but she grabs my arm before I can open the door. “Powerful men such as Lucas always attract women. Don’t make the same mistake so many have, believing you mean more to him than you do. He needs a steady supply of women for
one
reason. Don’t be a fool thinking he wants more than your—”

What? What does she mean he needs a steady supply?

She notices my reaction. “You don’t know!” She smiles slyly and practically purrs with malice. “Ask Lucas—”

I jerk my arm free, open the door, and walk right into Emma Rae. “Lucas sent me to get you,” she says.

“Here I am,” I say, my voice shaking.

“What’s wrong?” She looks past me at the door.

“Let’s just go.” I think I’m going to be sick.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She gives me a dubious look. “I’m okay,” I assure her.

As we head back to the table, people stare at us. This place is packed, and most likely half of the women here have been Lucas’ lover.
What the hell was she talking about?
I feel nauseated from my encounter with her. Can I do this? Can I handle confrontations from women in Lucas’ past? A tiny little voice says,
what if they aren’t in the past?
In my heart, I know she’s lying, but
what
was she talking about? By the time we reach our table, I feel as if I’m on display.

Lucas stands, drapes his arm around my waist, and leans into me as he inhales deeply. I sit when he pulls my chair out. “Is everything okay?” he asks, sitting beside me.

“No,” I say softly, looking at him. He is so handsome it hurts my heart.

“No?” He lifts an eyebrow.

“Can we leave, please?”

He raises both eyebrows in surprise. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

“I ran into your lover in the bathroom.”

“Sofie…” he says in warning and narrows his eyes. I look at him, my eyes wide. His take on the silver glint that signals danger. Maybe I’m being stupid doing this, but I can’t help it.

“How many?” I whisper, but I know he can hear me. He regards me steadily. Do I want to do this here? Do I want to do this at all? I’m smart enough to know you
don’t
poke the bear.

“What are you doing?” His deep voice is quiet.

“Wondering how many I will have to deal with. I mean, since they seem to be everywhere,” I say softly. I see Emma Rae and Andy watching us.

Lucas shifts in his chair, and I look back at him. He glances around the room, and when I pick up my wine glass, my hand shakes slightly. As I take a sip, Emma Rae gives me a look.

Lucas rests his arm across the back of my chair. “Did someone say something to you?”

“Your lover.”

“Sofie…” The muscle on the side of his jaw jerks. He regards me for several moments.

I look back at him. “She said
several
things to me, Lucas.” I want to scream and—hit something.

He looks into my eyes and frowns slightly. He abruptly pushes his chair back. “Excuse me, I need to find Dominic.” Without another word, he walks away.

“Where’s Lucas going?” Emma Rae asks.

I look in the direction he’s gone. The woman who confronted me in the bathroom steps in front of him. She looks upset. Her arms move about in agitation. Lucas leans down to say something, but I can’t see his face well enough to gauge his reaction.

“Andy—who is that woman talking to Lucas?” When Andy says nothing, I look back at him. He has his head down, staring into his drink. “Andy?”

He glances at me. “I think she’s an old friend of his.”

So she wasn’t lying. She had, or maybe still has, a relationship with him. I look back, and Lucas and the woman are nowhere in sight. I turn toward the table and meet Emma Rae’s eyes.

Emma Rae stands, grabs my arm, and practically turns my chair over as she pulls me from it. “Andy, excuse Sofie and me, we’ll be right back.”

I keep an eye out for Lucas as she leads me through the crowd. She pushes the door open to the ladies’ room, holding it for me. She doesn’t waste any time after the door closes. “What’s going on, Sofe?”

I look at the two women primping in front of the mirrors. I don’t care to broadcast my problems in front of strangers. Emma Rae steps over to them. “Excuse me—could you please give us a moment here?” She ushers them out the door so quickly they don’t have time to argue. “Okay, what gives?” She leans against the door as if she’s willing to keep anyone wanting to come in, out.

“Emma Rae, I need to talk to you about this in the worst way, but I can’t here. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

She blinks at me. “All right. A hint?”

I take a deep breath. “I’ve been confronted—sort of—by three of Lucas’ previous—or maybe not—lovers. The party we went to in Springfield, his stables yesterday, and here.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Wow.”

“Yeah.
And
—this morning—he got all jealous about the kiss Taylor gave me at Christmas, stormed out, and left me hanging all day.”

“The kiss where Taylor practically sucked your tonsils out?”

I give her a look. “Emma Rae!”

“What? Lucy told me!”

I take a deep, cleansing breath. “Emma Rae—” I want to tell her, I need to confide in her so she can advise me. I give her a meaningful look.

“Oh—my—gosh! You’ve slept with him!” she hisses.

“Shhh!” I bend down and look under the stalls.
Now’s a hell of a time to think of that.

She stares at me with her mouth open. “You’re in love with him!”

“Nooo!” I shake my head. “No.” It’s my turn to look at her in shock. “What am I going to do?” I wail.

She grins at me. “Emma Rae! I can’t be in love with him.”

“Why not?”

“Because… he has women all over the place!” She’s missing the point here.

Someone pushes against the door, wanting to come in. Emma Rae moves away from the door and gives me a hug. “Come on, we’d better get back out there before they think we’ve ditched them. We’ll talk later. Nice hickey, by the way.”

My hand flies to my neck. How embarrassing! How—high school! Of course, I never received a hickey in high school. At the time, it always seemed like a guy’s way of marking his territory, kinda like pissing on a tree. Now… just the thought of Lucas putting his mouth on me and marking me is somewhat arousing.

“It’s okay, you can barely see it.” She grins. “You just need some more concealer.”

“You think Andy will think you ditched him?” I say, trying to get her attention off my neck.

She laughs, “He knows better.”

She opens the door, and we make our way out into the crowd. It looks as if the band is on break and we have to wade through even more people. I wonder where Lucas is and if he’ll be ready to leave. We see Andy step away from the bar and move toward us.

“Andy!” Emma Rae wraps her arms around him. He hugs her and gives her a quick kiss.

Andy keeps his arm around Emma Rae as they step up close to me. “Sofie, Lucas wants you back in Dominic’s office.”

“If he wants me, why doesn’t he come for me?” That man is the bossiest person.

“He did but…” Andy grins at me.

I sigh deeply. “How do I get there?”

He points out the direction I need to go and tells me to open the door and go in. Lucas is expecting me.

As I walk down the empty hallway, a large man steps away from the wall. “Miss Reece.” He bows slightly. Another bouncer, I think. How does he know who I am? I continue down the dimly lit hallway.

When I reach the door labeled Office, I take a deep breath and push the door open. “Lucas, Andy told me that—”

Lucas stands across the room by a desk. There’s another man sitting in a chair with his legs propped up on the desk, and as I come into the room, he stands. I don’t notice him too much because two other men stand on either side of Lucas, who is shirtless. I open my mouth and then close it.

The three strangers look at me. Lucas holds a black sweater in his hands, and he glances at me from under his dark lashes. One corner of his mouth tilts slightly.  I stare at his chest wondering what the hell is going on. He pulls on the sweater and rakes his fingers through his hair.

“Gentlemen, would you excuse us please?” he asks quietly, keeping his eyes on me.

They never utter a word; they just do as Lucas asks, walking past me. The man who’d been sitting at the desk is the last to leave. He lays a hand on Lucas’ shoulder as he moves past. When he ambles by me, he smiles. He is handsome with dark blond hair just long enough to pull back into a ponytail, but his eyes catch my attention. They are such a pure aquamarine that they are startling. And right at the moment, they hold a spark of amusement. He goes out, closing the door behind him.

I look back at Lucas. “What’s... going on?” I ask.

He saunters toward me. Why do I feel as if he is continually stalking me? I lick my dry lips. The warmth of his slow, sexy smile and his eyes raking over me leaves me breathless. “Andy told me you wanted to see me,” I say nervously as I step back.

He doesn’t say anything. He moves toward me as if he’s afraid to make any sudden move that will frighten me away. He just might.

“What happened to your girlfriend?” I ask. He continues his course and I take another step back, holding out a hand toward him. “You can stop right there.” I’m really starting to get pissed at his silence, and the look in his eyes is making me extremely nervous. “If you think you can come straight from her to me, you—”

He jerks me into his arms and silences my words with a hungry, demanding kiss that melts my anger. As he holds me, I relax against him and wrap my arms around his neck, burying my hand in his hair.

He strokes my back where my skin is exposed and pulls me in tighter, closer. I give myself over to his kiss, which alternates between rough and tender. I part my lips to his insistent tongue, letting him take possession of me.

His kiss is endless as he plunges his tongue in and out with a rhythm that makes me yearn for more. He slides his hand into the front of my dress to cup my breast and rub his thumb over my sensitive nipple. When I moan softly, he pushes one side of my dress off my shoulder and slides it down my arm, exposing my breast. He bends his head to take my nipple between his teeth and bites hard enough to make me cry out. Stroking his tongue across the pouting peak, I writhe against him.