Twisted Lies (Dirty Secrets) (7 page)

Shit!
My tongue stopped mid-twirl. I didn’t even realize I’d been doing it.
Damn it!

I scowled at her before draining my glass. I should be at home, sleeping. Instead, I was leering at some man like I was a sex-starved freak. I snatched the drink he’d sent.

“Jesus, what the hell am I doing here?” I mumbled under my breath.

Tabitha hip-checked me, wiggling her body to the thumping beat of the music. “It’s okay to break out of your vanilla world and walk on the wild side.” She raised her eyebrows.

“Uh-huh.” I sighed. “Absolutely not! He’s off-limits,” I responded flatly.

He was gorgeous, just plain fucking gorgeous. His dark hair was shaved short. His searing grey eyes made me seriously horny. His stark features blended well with his chiseled cheekbones and painfully hard jaw. His body was pure rippling muscle, but he was completely not my type. He looked like CEO material, and I was damn sure I wasn’t remotely close to his type of woman, especially with my nontraditional clothing and tattoo-covered back.

I deliberately turned and pulled my long auburn hair over my shoulder, giving him a full view of the intricate tattoos covering my back. I was hoping he would just move on to the Barbie-looking women eyeing him with lustful eyes. I smugly looked over my shoulder, but he was still standing there, staring at me.

Shit! Well, this is new.

Running my hands through my hair with trembling fingers, I mumbled, “Tell me again. Why am I doing this shit? I’ve got a ton of work to do.”

Tabitha rolled her eyes. “Like what?”

“I have clients depending on me.”

Tabitha choked on her martini. “Sin, you’re a clothing designer, not a doctor. Besides, you haven’t had a date in months. You work nonstop. Just enjoy the interest of a sexy man.”

Feeling his scorching gaze, I turned and stared at him. His eyes flashed as he arched his eyebrow at me. There was no smile. It was probably something he didn’t know how to do. When he crossed his muscular arms, my eyes traveled up his tall, well-built body, stopping at his piercing, bright grey eyes. My fingers clenched, wanting so badly to run through his blunt-cut midnight-black hair.

Shit, shit, shit.

It was going to be another long night of pushing Beast, my favorite vibrator, to the breaking point.

Breaking eye contact with the man, I looked over at Tabitha. “I need to stop. I don’t want to raise his expectations because I’m damn sure not taking him home tonight.” I nudged her. “Why don’t you go over and tame him?”

Tabitha pouted playfully. “Well, unfortunately, the gorgeous lion isn’t into me. If he were, I would be over there in a heartbeat, ready and willing to take him down as if I were on a safari.”

I laughed, nearly choking on my drink. “I’ve never had a man stare at me with such intensity. It’s like I’m a deer he wants to chase down and eat. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not opposed to being eaten by a good-looking man.” I wiggled my eyebrows.

Tabitha swatted me playfully. “You’re so naughty, and I love it.”

“But what’s up with the I-want-to-rip-you-apart stare?”

“Well, go find out,” she responded dryly, gently prodding me forward.

I shot her an annoyed scowl, rooting myself to the spot. “Hell to the no.”

Tabitha groaned. “What happened to fun Sin?”

I grinned. “She sharpened her his-dick-ain’t-worth-the-trouble detector. With this guy, my detector is ringing like a motherfucker.” I winked at her. “Beep, beep, beep.”

Tabitha laughed. “Girl, you’re a hot mess.” Her cell rang. “About time. That’s Ram calling. I have to go somewhere quiet to hear. I’ll be right back.” She started to walk off, and then she stopped. “And when I come back, I want all the juicy details on the lion. Now scoot.” She waved good-bye before walking away with her cell pressed to her ear.

I turned and stared at him. His eyebrow lifted, and my own answered.

“Oh, fuck it.”

I strode toward him, and as I stopped in front of him, I tossed my long hair over my shoulder as I licked my bottom lip. Awareness strummed through me. I planted my feet firmly, gathering my strength around me, until the menace shrouding him like a veil ceased to intimidate me. I forced my gaze to linger over him, and then my eye caught sight of it—the all-seeing eye tattoo on the side of his neck.

Sweet baby Jesus! I’m in big fucking trouble.

“What do you want?” I asked.

Our eyes locked. The power of his demanding stare willed me to lower my eyes, but I forced myself not to do that act. His eyebrow lifted, and my eyebrows furrowed. His eyes traveled from the top of my head down to my curvy body, seeming to like everything about it. I swallowed hard, trying hard not to squirm under his sensuous stare. He lifted his glass to his crazy-sexy hot lips and sipped his drink. My breasts tingled and my nipples went rock hard.

Jesus, who the fuck is this man?

“The question is, do you know what you want?” he rasped with his eyes flickering in the twinkling city lights.

Holy shit!

I had to squeeze my thighs together as my sex clenched with need. His face twitched. I pinched back the urge to caress the light jagged scar running across his eyebrow.

“Does that line normally work on women?” I rolled my eyes.

Humor flashed in his eyes, but then it faded, and his grey eyes glinted. For a long couple of minutes, we just stared at each other.

“You tell me.” His voice was diamond hard.

Uncertainty crept up on me. “Can’t confirm or deny.” I inclined my head, refusing to cower.

His grey eyes assessed me as I waited for him to say something.

“This is not a battle, darling.”

His deep drawl had my heart instantly pounding while chills formed along my arms. His magnetism intrigued me, much to my annoyance.

“If it were, you wouldn’t have a chance in hell of winning,” he said without a trace of warmth in his cold eyes.

Something about this man made me rise to his unspoken challenge.

“I beg to differ. I tend to fight dirty.”

His eyes flashed. There was no humor, just raw steel. Awareness hummed through me.

“We’re not fighting, so you can relax. I just saw a beautiful woman and bought her a drink.”

His low, gravelly voice strummed over my body, and a vision of him whispering very kinky shit while fucking me flashed through my mind.

Shit!

I couldn’t look away from this arrogant ass. My creative streak wouldn’t allow it. He was a work of art. He wasn’t classically handsome or a pretty boy. He was very attractive in a rugged and dangerous way. With eyes the color of steel, it was the way he watched me, like he could read my mind and knew exactly what I was thinking. And I was thinking of all sorts of filthy, dirty things that I bet he was well versed in doing.

“Is this your first time here at McKay?” One of his dark eyebrows cocked.

I squirmed from the dampness in my panties. “First and last.” I ignored my arousal and focused on him.

“Not your type of crowd?” The corner of his mouth twitched with suppressed amusement, but it was gone as soon as it had arrived.

“I don’t do kink clubs. I like my sexual exploits to be a little more private,” I retorted.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “You have no idea what you’re missing, darling.”

My mouth parted at his words. My pussy clenched so hard that my knees almost buckled. This wasn’t good. This was going way past the normal snarky-flirt-and-then-walk-away routine. Something about him intrigued me, and I couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Fuck!” I blurted, fighting the crazy impulse to lay myself at his feet.

He lifted his damn beautiful brow again, and I forced myself not to freak out from the pure sexiness of this man.

A small smile played on his lips. “Is that an invitation, darling?” He lifted my hand before I could stop him, and then he brushed his hard lips against the back of my fingers. “Because I’m more than happy to accept.”

When I felt the nip of his teeth against my skin, my breathing became shallow and erratic. I quickly pulled my hand back. “It wasn’t an invitation. It was a statement.” I held up my mostly empty glass to my lips and tilted it, draining the contents for liquid courage. I was horrified and disgusted that my body was responding to this cocky bastard.

He stared at me like a cat playing with a mouse. “Let me get you another.”

My heart jumped in panic. “No, not interested,” I hastened to say. “Look…” I arched a brow, waiting for his name.

He arched a brow right back.

“Okay…so you buy me a drink but refuse to give me your name?”

He stepped closer. He was so close I could smell the tantalizing fragrance notes of sandalwood, cedar, and rich amber from the cologne he wore. His hand lightly touched my hip, like he was branding me as his possession. I should have moved away, but frankly, I couldn’t. My mind was telling me to get my shit together, but my body rebelled and became even more aroused.

“My name is meaningless since you’re too afraid to explore anything beyond this drink.” As he leaned over, his lips deliberately brushed my lobe while he whispered in my ear, “Such a shame. I was just starting to have fun.”

He pulled back and gave me a sly, dark stare that licked my skin, setting me afire. His arrogance should have been irritating, but all I could think was,
How would his calloused fingers feel on my bare skin?
Curiosity added to my inner struggle.

“So I guess that makes you the big, bad wolf in this club,” I stated flatly.

He shrugged. “No, I’m just a man who recognizes a woman who’s bored with men dropping at her knees.” He cocked his head. “Your mind and body crave a challenge. You want to know what it would feel like to drop to your knees before a man.” He raised his eyebrow. “Do you want to take a walk on the wild side, darling?”

Mesmerized, I watched his hand reach out.

His calloused finger slid across my cheek. “Do you want to play with the big, bad wolf?”

My eyes fluttered at his words. I could almost imagine myself kneeling between his thighs with his huge hands wrapped around the back of my head. I swallowed hard, snapping back from the edge of insanity. This man was definitely a do-not-touch situation. Pulling away, I was determined to put some distance between us.

“I’m not interested.” The words tumbled out of my mouth.

He stroked his index finger over my bottom lip. “There is no strength in denial, darling.”

My mouth fell open, and then my tongue flicked over the pad of his finger, tasting a hint of scotch and cigar.

“Good girl,” he said lazily, watching me with a heavy-lidded gaze.

Fear spiked.
Sweet Jesus, this man makes me want to lower myself at his feet.

That would defy everything I was—strong, powerful, and in charge. My head snapped back, and my lips snapped shut, but he caught me firmly by the jaw.

“Calm yourself. Don’t run from what your mind and body know you need.” His fingers clamped onto my chin, gently stroking as if he were calming a baby. The peacefulness of his touch contradicted the iciness in his eyes.

My thoughts spiraled. I cleared my throat and swallowed hard. “Get your hand off my face.”

It annoyed me that he touched me so casually, so possessively. There was no asking for fucking permission. He acted like I actually belonged to him.

His slight mocking smile returned, and his hand dropped from my face. I knew he’d let go because he wanted to, not because I’d demanded. This man was like no man I’d ever encountered. He brought out a submissive side that I hadn’t been aware I had, but I had no intention of ever exploring. I needed to leave. Playtime was over, and I was grabbing my toys and going home—alone.

“Well, this was entertaining, but I’ll pass on the bullshit you’re shoveling.”

He took my hand with a domineering gleam in his eyes. My breath caught as I felt the slide of warm liquid between my thighs.

“I’ll see you again, darling.” His fingers caressed my palm, revving the scorching connection between our bodies.

My clit throbbed with greediness. His mesmerizing touch stoked the flames of awareness, holding me captive. The dark sensual promise in his eyes chilled me to the bone. He was trouble with a capital T.

I blinked, snatching my hand back. “Don’t count on it.”

I stepped around him, and I could feel his eyes everywhere on my body as I eased my way through the crowd. My hands were trembling as if I were a junkie who needed a fix and mystery man was my heroin. By the time I made it out of the club, I was kicking myself for getting sucked in by his games.

What a total waste of damn time.

Pulling out my cell, I dialed Tabitha. “Hey, Tabi! Where the hell are you?”

“At the bar, looking for you. Where did you go? I came back, and you and the lion were both gone. Please tell me you decided to take him home.”

Frantically, I waved down a cab. “Oh, hell no! He was too…everything. Look, I’ve got a raging headache. Give Mr. Steele my apology.” I hopped into the cab and gave the driver my address.