“How do you feel?” That dark voice drummed through my flesh.
I had to catch my breath before finally turning over to face him. “I feel better. When did you bring me back here?”
“You never opened the club’s front door. Luck was on my side, however. Dylan returned right as I was outside banging. He left some special cd that he wanted to play for his girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?”
“Well, he didn’t call her that. A good-looking blonde was with him, all dressed in a suit.”
Denise.
“Once he let me in, I came to your office,” Maceo continued. “You looked uncomfortable on the couch.”
“And you figured I would do much better in your bed?”
“Oh yes.”
I fought back my grin. Maceo didn’t need any more ego-boosting from me.
“Thank you.” I looked down at my clothes. My jeans and shirt were still on. He’d been a gentleman all night. I stretched again. “I should go.”
“Why?”
“Tonight is a big one. The bride-to-be scheduled a month in advance. Her rsvp list is huge. The whole club will be packed. Even my brothers are helping bartend.”
“What can I do to make that event easier for you?” He sat up. The blanket fell down into his lap and revealed the bulk of muscle that his designer shirts had shielded. “Christine?”
“You’re so hot.”
“Yes, I am.” He licked his lips. “Do you think I’m worthy?”
“Yes.” I guided my gaze all over him, painting his bare flesh with my own heated lust.
“Focus.” He grabbed my attention and brought my gaze back to his face. “What can I do to make the evening easier for you?”
“You’ve already done enough.”
“I’m off tonight. Can I help?”
“I don’t think I need it.”
“I can bartend.”
“Can you dance?” I joked.
“Definitely, but as we’ve already agreed,” Fire blazed within his eyes, “I’ll only dance for you.”
I gulped in my fear. I wouldn’t let my anxiety of this new relationship trap me. It had to be pushed aside. Whatever Maceo brought to the table, I needed it. I craved it, in fact, this sensation that he managed to wrangle me with. Was it love? Maybe, or possibly something more. I had no idea, but I yearned to know. The urge to dissect these emotions kept me in that bed with this gorgeous and possessive man.
“I don’t need you to bartend or dance, but I would love for you to be by my side.” I winked. “Maybe you can just be my slave.”
“Hmm.”
I had to bite my lip and squeeze my thighs together to keep from moaning. This man was lethal, a beast even, one that was wild, yet hungry to be tamed. He was dangerous, but searching for a safe haven with me.
“I very much would like to be your slave.” He picked my body up and carried me off the bed. Just like that. At one moment, I was on the bed. The next, I lay in his arms.
“Can I audition for the job?” he asked.
“Where are we going?” I asked as he opened the door and carted us down the stairs.
“I want to show you something.”
“What?”
“You’ll see it when I show you.” He stuck out his tongue and continued to take us down the stairs.
Like his bedroom, all of the walls were white. Yet, outside of the room, tons of photos hung—images of him laughing with an older woman that looked just like Maceo, portraits of him making funny faces with probably nieces and nephews. A huge image sat at the end of the stairs. He stood next to three other brothers, right in front of a huge building with the sign reading, Moreno and Sons. An older man smiled at them from the right and appeared as if he were about to cry.
“Stop for a minute. Is this your father?” I asked.
He kept us in front of the photo. “Yes. That’s my dad. These are my brothers.”
“Wow.”
“We’re all hot. Aren’t we?”
“Pretty much.”
“They’re all little players, too. My brothers. No matter how much I tell them of the things I’ve learned, they still love the idea of conquests. I think it will take time, like it did for me.” He continued to take us down the stairs. “But that’s not what I wanted to show you.”
A few minutes later, he’d put me down and we both stood in a huge garden. Two small waterfalls flanked the left and right. They flowed into this circular pond that was shaped like a flower. Lily pads floated on the surface. Something swam within the water. I stepped closer. Large koi fish circled around lily pads and nibbled at a few.
“I love frogs, but it’s been hard to attract them to this pond, since my koi keep eating the lily pads before they get to truly blossom.” He grasped a hold of my hand. “I had to buy fully grown pads to put in. Do you think they’ll last?”