The guy that had shot his way into her world, literally, had blown her mind, and left her high and dry. Not that she blamed him.
The man was dangerous with a capital D.
“Come on, honey, I didn’t mean to leave you sitting here all on your own,” Rachel said, grabbing her arm.
“Don’t worry.”
“We’re having fun. Come on, let’s dance.”
Before she knew what was happening, she was on the dance floor. Rachel let out a whoop as a long, upbeat number came on. Arika didn’t recognize it, and copying her friend’s moves, she tried to dance along.
By the time the song ended they were both laughing, but Rachel wasn’t ready to leave the dance floor.
“Have you seen anyone you want to leave with tonight?” Rachel asked.
“Nope.”
“You’ve got to have seen someone.”
“I’m just enjoying dancing and being away from everything.” She grabbed Rachel’s hands and whooped. “Come on, stop worrying so much about everything.”
They danced together, and as she anticipated, two guys moved between them and Arika let them, especially as Rachel looked more than happy to be part of that sandwich.
Leaving the dance floor, she stood in line for the toilet, waiting her turn. Pushing some of her hair off her face, she folded her arms across her chest, trying to keep her composure. She wasn’t one for wasting her time in nightclubs. She should be at home studying even though she’d done as much studying as anyone could do. The line didn’t take that long to diminish, and she was in and done within minutes. She left the bathroom and came to a stop as she bumped into a very hard masculine chest.
She recognized the scent of him immediately.
Her body tensed up, and as she looked up, she saw him. Vincenzo.
“Arika,” he said.
Just the sound of her name coming from his lips made her ache for more.
“Vincenzo.” She glanced around, seeing no one. “I … what are you doing here?”
“This is a nightclub for people to have some fun.”
“You’re here on a date.”
“Not on a date.”
“Oh.”
“You?”
“No date. My friend from work wanted me to come. She kept nagging me, and I finally caved.”
“You’re not having fun?”
“It’s not really my scene.”
“What about dancing?” he asked.
She couldn’t believe they were discussing dancing.
“My dance partner was stolen.”
“Then he wasn’t a good partner.”
“Oh, it wasn’t a he, more of a she.” She shrugged. “So, how have you been?”
“Busy.”
“Right, I better go.”
She really didn’t want to.
As she made to move past him though, he caught her arm. “Want to dance with me?”
She should pull out of his arms, shake her head, and tell him no.
She didn’t.
“I’d love to dance.”
He slid his hand down, taking hold of hers and leading her onto the dance floor. Biting her lip, she tried not to show how fucking happy she was about this. She spotted Rachel dancing with the two men she left her with.
Ignoring the fast beat of the music, Vincenzo took control, drawing her close to him. One of his hands was at her waist, the other near the base of her back.
“Why did you come to this nightclub?”
“Is this one owned by your bosses?” she asked.
“Just answer the questions, Arika.”
“Rachel picked it. She said it was a good one and that it was a lot of fun. I didn’t think about who owned it or anything like that. Should I leave?”
“Not yet.”
“If it’s so dangerous for us both to be seen together, why are you dancing with me right now?”
“Because, you’re just a woman in a bar and I’m just a man waiting to get laid.”
She looked up at him.
He wasn’t looking around the club but focused on her.
“No one will ever know who you are. We can have women that are a one-time-only deal.”
“Ah, the double standards.”
“Have you thought about me, Arika?”
She loved and hated it when he said her name. It made her a little weak.
“Have you thought about me?” she asked.
“I asked you first.”
“Do you always get what you want?”
“Most of the time.”
“That must be nice.”
“It has its benefits. Of course, it makes me very spoiled.”
She didn’t see a point in lying to him. “Yes, I thought about you. A lot.”
“At this very moment, Arika, we’re two people in a bar. We have no past, no future.”
“Okay.”
“So, what I want to know is if you’re willing to come to my apartment within the city a few blocks from here and have yourself completely and totally fucked by me.”
She had stopped dancing.
“You can say no,” he said.
“You want to sleep with me?”
“No. I want to take that cherry, Arika. I want to give you a night you’ll never forget. I want to fuck your mouth, your pussy, and if at all possible, fuck your ass. I want to consume you, and tonight I will do that.”
“For one night?”
“For one night. There will be no repeat performance.”