The blonde turned around in her seat. I started back in surprise to see Penny staring back at me. Shame shot through me when I realized that I had been fantasizing about taking her to a hotel to enjoy a night of pleasure. My dick, however, was anything but remorseful.
“Shit,” I said and leaned away from her with an embarrassed grimace. “I’m sorry, Penny. I didn’t realize it was you sitting here.”
“It’s fine,” she shouted over the music, though her cheeks were pink. “I was just sitting down for a break from dancing.”
I nodded.
“So, where is Alyssa?” I asked, scanning the crowd for any sights of my daughter. “I imagine this was her grand idea of you coming out here to the nightclub.”
A smile tugged at Penny’s red lips. I found my eyes focused there for a moment longer than appropriate before I pulled my gaze away.
“You’d be right,” she said. “And I think she went into the bathroom. I told her that I would be at the bar.”
“Well, wrap it up. Alyssa isn’t even old enough to be here,” I said. “The both of you are going home for the evening. I don’t want either one of you dancing and drinking around this club. I know the men that come here.”
Penny sipped at her wine. “Then, why are you here?” she asked boldly.
I didn’t get a chance to respond. Alyssa sidled up to Penny and stopped short when she saw me sitting on the bar stool. Horror filled her eyes as she immediately went to adjust a dress much too short for my liking.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was meeting Neil for a drink,” I responded, shaking my head at Alyssa’s dress in exasperation. “Really, Alyssa? That dress is kind of inappropriate, don’t you think?”
“It’s not any shorter than Penny’s,” Alyssa pointed out with a pout.
I kept my gaze focused on Alyssa because it was entirely too tempting to look over at the slender pair of thighs I had been drooling over earlier.
I reached for Alyssa’s arm. “Come on, girls. We can all go back to the condo and—”
Alyssa shrugged my hand away with glittering eyes. “No, Dad. I’m an adult. I’m not drinking, obviously, because I’m not old enough, but I came here to dance. I can handle myself, believe it or not.”
I didn’t want to believe it, but she had a point. She was an adult and I had taught her how to take care of herself. I watched as Alyssa blended into the crowd on the dance floor before I downed another glass of whiskey.
I studied Penny’s profile as she finished the last bit of her wine. She appe
ared to be relaxed after a few glasses, but still alert to her surroundings. Curiosity burned within me.
“Are you going to tell me why you aren’t talking to your mom?” I asked.
Penny glanced over at me with a frown. “Why does it matter so much to you? It’s a long story.”
“I’d be glad to hear it,” I said, standing up from the bar stool. “Come talk with me in a booth back in the VIP lounge.”
“What about Alyssa?” she asked. “Never mind. She’ll come find you when she’s done dancing.”
I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “Exactly. We can talk in private without having to shout over the music.”
“Sounds good to me,” Penny said, rising from the bar stool. She swayed for a moment and I grabbed her around the waist to steady her. Electricity shot straight to my dick and alarm bells went off in my head.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “Apparently that last glass was one too many.”
“No worries,” I told her, letter her go just long enough to take her hand. “I’ve got you.”
But whose got me? I wondered.
CHAPTER SIX – PENNY
I relished the feeling of Gabriel’s hand in mine while I followed him away from the dance floor. He led me through a series of doors where security guards kept watch. The sound of the music turned into a faint heartbeat in the distance when he pulled me into what appeared to be the VIP lounge, judging from the abundance of expensive clothes and security details throughout the room.