Excerpt
“Hey,” the slime ball remained undaunted in the face of Lyssa’s obvious disinterest. “I’ve been watching you for a while. Whoever you’re waiting for isn’t worth it, babe. You better believe that I would never have left a hot piece like you alone for five minutes in a joint like this.”
Geez, didn’t she attract the charmers, Lyssa groaned inwardly, her patience having reached the snapping point.
“Really, I’m not interes—”
“I’m Dan, by the way. What’s your—”
“Hi sweetheart,” Lyssa started in surprise and relief as her stranger, the one she’d been so blatantly ogling earlier, moved in suddenly between her and Mr. Slick.
There was a sexy, knowing grin on his face. Lyssa restrained herself from throwing her arms around him in gratitude...just barely...but the smile she turned on him stretched wide across her face.
“Sorry I’m late.” His voice was a deep baritone that resonated down to her toes and made her whole body vibrate like a tuning fork at the perfect frequency.
He winked at her, and then leaned forward, placing a soft, warm kiss right on the leaping pulse of her throat. Lyssa’s eyes dropped closed on a sigh as she soaked in the sensations. His breath was warm, teasing, and she nearly groaned when he opened his mouth over her neck and just barely touched his tongue to her skin. A world of sensation was concentrated into that one touch, this one brief moment, and everything else was forgotten, including the music blaring around them, the room full of people, and one oily lounge lizard that was no doubt staring at them with his mouth hanging wide open.
“Uh, hi,” Lyssa finally answered, mortified by the telling hitch and croak in her voice. She shivered deliciously and inhaled his scent into her lungs. He smelled of leather and warm vanilla.
He hesitated a second longer before pulling back, but he kept one arm around her, a large hand splayed across the small of her back as he turned to face their gaping audience. His touch burned through the thin silk of her dress like someone had just lit a campfire at her back.
“Who’s this?” he asked casually. “A friend of yours?”
Lyssa cleared her throat, still trying to force her racing heart to return to a normal rhythm. She was very afraid that the booming echo in her ears could be heard by the entire bar. “This is, uhm...Dan. He offered to wait with me until you arrived.” Lyssa replied in a purposely sweet tone of voice, noting with pleasure that Dan’s slick smile was finally wavering.
“Dan. I hope you’re not trying to pick up on my girl.” Her stranger’s voice was hard with a warning that sounded awfully real even to Lyssa, who knew better.
Dan the Man hesitated, and she could tell that he was weighing his options. Apparently deciding not to waste any more time when he so obviously wasn’t going to score with her, he quickly made his apologies to them both for intruding on their evening, and slithered away.
Lyssa breathed a sigh of relief as Dan disappeared in the crowd, “Thanks,” she said. “That was just about to get ugly.”
“No problem,” he answered with an easy grin, his voice a deep rumble.
“I’m Lyssa James.” She put her hand out to him. His grip was warm and strong over hers.
“Lyssa.” He said her name slowly, carefully, as if he were trying it out for size. “Nice to meet you, Lyssa. I’m Gideon Bennett.” |
