He didn’t respond until the drinks were in front of us and he’d slid a large bill to the bartender.
“I already know what’s gonna happen, so there’s no trying involved,” he said.
“Is that right?” My tone was flirty and full of challenge as I accepted the margarita on the rocks he offered up. The sweet liquid hit my tongue. “Do I look like a sure thing to you?”
Rix knocked back his shot and set the glass on the table behind him. Turning my bar stool to face him, he slid between my legs. My skirt inched up my thighs. The movement had me hyperaware of my lack-of-panties situation. The hand that landed on my knee and slid up under my skirt kicked my awareness into extreme need. I drank deeply, draining half my glass.
The beat of club music thumped around us while tourists partied and laughed, paying no mind to what we were doing. It made me bold, made me want him to touch me in ways I shouldn’t want to be touched in public. I thought of the enclosed booth last night, and how if I’d been bolder, I would have grabbed his hand and pushed it under my skirt and let him touch me while we watched the erotic scene onstage instead of luring him into a storeroom.
Heat slicked my center, and I wanted him to feel how wet I was for him even now. One more gulp and I finished my drink. Liquid courage coursing through my veins with the need, I scooted forward on my bar stool, my legs spreading further around his knees, and Rix’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he slid his hand higher.
“You tempt a man, duchess.”
“Good thing he’s the man I want to tempt.”
His fingers were within an inch of where I wanted them, but still he didn’t touch me. The bartender’s voice interrupted, but I didn’t move.
“Another round?”
“Yes.” Rix reached his free hand into his pocket and tossed a bill on the bar top. He used the movement to get closer, and I bit my lip as one finger slid across my slit and stroked.
Silver fire flashed in Rix’s eyes, and I wondered if mine sparked darkly. I wanted him. Needed to feel him.
When the bartender returned with our drinks, Rix nodded to the money. “We’re all set.”
He ignored his shot as he handed me my drink.
“You’re never gonna think of margaritas again and not remember how I finger fucked your tight little cunt until you came against my hand,” he whispered in my ear.
I took a sip, willing my hand not to shake as he slid a finger inside me.
Oh God. I tightened my grip on the glass as he teased me, thrusting his finger in and pulling it out.
“Is that right?” I murmured, trying to sound saucy, when what I was truly doing was fighting to keep my hips from grinding into his touch.
“That’s right. I’m gonna have you biting that lip as you come, trying to keep from crying out, before you finish that drink.”
That’s when Rix’s thumb joined the action, finding my clit.
All the noise in the bar was drowned out by the blood pulsing in my ears. My field of vision shrank to only Rix, and every sensation swirling through my body centered on his touch. My orgasm was quick, intense, and blinding.
I squeezed my eyes shut, slammed my glass to the bar, and gripped his arm. My nails dug in, but I couldn’t loosen my hold. My lip stung as my teeth pressed down. I willed myself not to cry out, and almost lost the battle when he thrust again and pressed.
Pleasure licking at every inch of my insides, I tugged at his arm, a silent plea that I’d had enough and any more would make me a public spectacle. Rix mercifully pulled his hand free from between my legs. In the shafts of neon coming from the club lights in the ceiling, the skin of his fingertips glistened. From me.
Instead of wiping it away, Rix sucked his finger and thumb clean.
“You ready?” he asked, as if I hadn’t just watched one of the most erotic acts of my life.
All I could do was nod. I’d come in ready to play, and the game had been turned on me in the best way possible.
Rix led me out of the bar, his hand on my lower back. Johnny was parked on a side street two blocks away in the Escalade. When Rix opened the door and then followed me inside, the SUV rolled forward. Around and around we drove until apparently Johnny was sure there was no one following us. This time, he pulled alongside the curb in front of my house.
I looked to Rix, and the expression on his face told me he wasn’t coming inside.
“I got some work to finish up and I’ll be back.”
“What kind of work?” The question was out before I could stop it. I knew I wasn’t getting an answer. Heck, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted an answer.
Rix’s expression was guarded. “Just work. I’ll be back when I can.”
“I interrupted you.” Guilt lanced through me, but I wouldn’t give back this last hour for anything.
“You’re never an interruption.” His words were clearly a lie.
“Why did you come if you were busy? You didn’t need to.”
Rix lifted a hand to my face. “If my woman says she’s drinking alone, I’m not the kind of man to leave her to it.”
“Still—”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be back soon.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips before reaching past me and opening the door. “Don’t wait up.”
“Be safe,” I whispered, pressing my lips to his cheek. I had no idea what he was going out to do, but I was sure of one thing. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t.”
I could only hope he was right.
DRUGS. MONEY. GUNS. THEY’D BEEN my world for years, but I was ready to get out. Valentina wasn’t the kind of woman I could keep while doing what I did, and I wasn’t willing to let her go. What I could let go of was drugs, money, and guns. But when you were as bound up in the game as I was, nothing was ever simple.