“Oh sweet fucking mercy!” An unexpected wave of heat shot through her channel. Her pussy clenched at the emptiness as shards of exquisite sensations careened through her channel.
“Talk to me, babe.”
“You wouldn’t understand,” she whispered, her eyes watering then. She wasn’t going to cry. She wasn’t a weeping willow kind of woman who poured her heart and soul out to a stranger and this stranger already looked at her as if he knew her so intimately, so completely.
He could destroy her if she told him too much.
The phone rang in the distance and she jumped at every jingle.
“Expecting someone?” He slowly backed away from the sofa and she released a sigh of relief as he entered the bedroom and left her alone for a moment.
“Yes?”
The silence was deafening. She peered over the furniture. With her hands tucked under her chin, she watched him as he paced.
“Sure, yeah. Okay.” He parted his legs and rested one hand on his waist while gripping the phone with the other.
The brooding look was sexy as hell but it also made her nervous, too. When Nicholas didn’t say anything more, she panicked. She squinted at the door, trying to determine if the suite was locked or unlocked.
All hotel rooms locked from the inside when the door closed, she mused, thinking it probably wouldn’t hurt to throw the deadbolt, too.
She had just started for the door when Nicholas said, “Yes, I’m still here. What is it that you need?” A second later, he added, “I see.”
“What?” she mouthed.
He held up his index finger and mouthed, “Give me a minute.”
It was then when she noticed a distinct difference in the playful man he’
d been and the man he’d instantly become. His face was as hard as stone. His jaw was set, teeth clenched. “Sure, I’ll be happy to come down and sign the receipt. Thanks.”
He returned the phone to the cradle and studied her for a long time before he said, “I approached this the wrong way.”
“What do you mean?”
“The bartender can’t close out my tab without my signature.” His response was slow and calculated. “I need to go sign. I’m sure he’ll provide some information, too. What do you think?”
“They’ve never had a problem doing it before.” She wanted to tell him it was a trap. Tony’s men wouldn’t have left the club without questioning the bartender. If the bartender had suspected anything at all, he could have been bought for a price.
“Frequent this place, do you?”
“No.”
He went to the wet bar, retrieved the keycard, and returned to the sofa where she’d reclaimed her earlier seat. “Anything you want to tell me before I go down there?”
“Yeah. Don’t go.”
* * * *
Nicholas bought himself some time by going to the bathroom and sending off a group text. Have a sexy woman here in the suite, but something is up. I’ve been ordered downstairs to settle up a tab. Not looking too good here, fellas. Before I brought the little lady upstairs, I noticed six bouncer-types scouring the club. They were looking for Sable. I’m sure of it.
Immediately, Mac fired back with You’re one lucky son-of-a-bitch. I happen to be in the area. In the parking lot as a matter of fact. Figured when I didn’t hear from ya, you’d found the kind of trouble you couldn’t handle. Meet ya in the bar.
Gotcha.
Nicholas waited another minute, flushed the toilet, washed his hands, and reentered the suite. “Sable?”
He walked in the adjoining bedroom and master bath. She wasn’t there. That’s when he rushed back to the living room and noticed the obvious right away.