Author: Jaci Burton

“It annoys you.”

“It doesn’t annoy me. It’s just unprofessional.”

“Okay. Savannah. Or should I refer to you as Ms. Brooks? Or Miss Brooks? Or is it Mrs. Brooks?”

She rolled her eyes. “Now you’re being annoying.”

He laughed. “Let’s roll, Sa-van-nah.”

He’d enunciated every syllable of her name. Slowly. She might prefer the nickname after all.

They went outside and Cole led her to his Lexus. Mid-range, not the cheapest, but not top-of-the-line, either.

“This car is nice,” she said after he climbed inside. “But for some reason I expected you to be driving…I don’t know. A Lamborghini or Ferrari.”

He laughed as he put the car in gear and drove away. “I don’t piss away my money on frivolous shit like cars. I’m on the road half the year anyway, so what’s the point in having an expensive car I don’t have time to drive?”

And again he surprised her.

They stopped for a nice dinner and then drove to the club. Though she wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting—something high-end, in the downtown area, maybe? This wasn’t it. The club was in a nondescript tan brick building. It looked more like an office building than a nightclub, and if it wasn’t for the ostentatious blinking sign proclaiming it Club Caress, she’d never have known it was a hot spot for the twenty- and thirty-something crowd.

And a hot spot it must have been, because the parking lot was full.

Cole pulled up out front and grinned at the valet.

“Hey, Mark,” he said, tossing his keys as he rounded the vehicle.

“What’s up, Cole?”

He held out his arm for her, and they went inside.

It was pitch-black, except for all the crazy lights, and the noise was earsplitting. She felt the heavy beat of the music in her chest as they made their way through the crowd, and it didn’t take long for Savannah to realize that Cole knew everyone here. People waved and called out his name, and women shot evil looks in her direction.

Clearly, he was a popular guy.

He slipped his hand in hers when the crowd swelled around them. Cole led her through the mix of people standing in their way. Fortunately, he was like Moses and the oglers were like the Red Sea, because they parted to let them through to the bar.

The bar was something to behold. Sleek and a shiny, polished black, it had to be fifty feet long. Colorful, neon backlit bottles glowed in rows as high as the ceiling. It was a true work of art.

“Take a seat,” he said, and she shifted onto one of the cushioned bar stools.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked.

“Sparkling water would be fine for me.”

He lifted two fingers and a female bartender with short red hair and beautiful, full lips came over.

“Riley. What’s up?”

“Not much, Kara. How’s it going tonight?”

“Busier than a one-armed paper hanger. What can I get for you?”

“I’ll have a double shot of Patron Silver. The lady wants sparkling water.”

She nodded. “You got it.”

Kara served up Cole’s shot and poured Savannah’s drink into a glass, leaving her the bottle.

“Thank you,” Savannah said.

“You’re welcome, honey.”

“You gonna run a tab?”

Cole nodded and slid Kara his credit card. He downed his drink in one swallow. She poured him another shot, then went on her way, but not before another bartender, this one a brunette with cleavage that made Savannah jealous, came by.

“Hey, babe. Haven’t seen you for a few days,” she said.

“I’ve been busy.”

She reached across the bar and squeezed his hand. “Don’t be so busy. Miss you around here.”

The woman cut a glare to Savannah, then sauntered off.

“One of your many girlfriends?” Savannah asked.

Cole downed his shot, which was replaced right away by a tall glass of what she assumed was ice water. That Kara was efficient.

He smiled at Savannah. “Lulu is a friend.”

“She doesn’t like me being here.”

“She’s protective. I get a lot of women hanging on me, trying to get something from me. Lulu watches out for me.”

“So, she’s like your bodyguard.”

“Not exactly. But I’ve helped her out in the past. She thinks she owes me the same.”

Savannah had no idea what that meant. Helped her out how? Financially? Or did he beat up an ex-boyfriend for her? It was none of her business, really, she was just curious, especially since Lulu kept shooting scathing looks her way, and it was the kind of look a woman gave another woman when said first woman was trying to move in on the other’s boyfriend.

Maybe Cole was unaware of how Lulu felt about him.

And maybe Savannah needed to watch her back tonight, especially considering Lulu wasn’t the only one giving her looks that might kill. Cole was obviously a regular here, and several women stopped by to hug him or kiss him on the cheek. They lingered only long enough to say hello once they saw Savannah, but they glanced contemptuously at Savannah as they walked away.

“I’m not very popular here,” she said as he hugged one of his many admirers and took his seat next to her.

He frowned. “What?”

“Your female friends are shooting daggers at me.”

He scanned the crowd. “No, they’re not.”

She shook her head and turned around to face the bar. “From your friend Lulu to every woman who’s come up to greet you. Every single one of them has given me a look that would drop me dead to the floor if it had a weapon attached to it. Obviously you’re very sought after.”

“Nah. They’re just my friends.”

“Maybe from your perspective. Not theirs. Open your eyes, Cole. These women are in love with you.”

He snorted.

“Okay, fine. They’re at least in seriously heavy lust. And they don’t appreciate that you’re not here solo tonight.”

Cole had no idea where Savannah was getting her ideas. These were his party friends, his drinking buddies, and his dance partners. None of them were girlfriends. While it was true he never brought a date here, he never made any promises to any of these women that would give them hope of being exclusive. So why would they be pissed that he brought Savannah?

But as he sat and talked to Savannah, he kept his gaze on the women hovering around them.

She was right. They weren’t happy. Whenever he happened to glance at them, they were all smiles. But as soon as he turned away, they folded their arms and gave Savannah the death glare.

Huh. Who knew? He tried to be honest with them and let them know how the game was played.

Maybe they hadn’t been listening.

“Let’s dance,” he said to Savannah.

Her eyes widened. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea.” He held out his hand.

She shook her head. “Remember what I told you about this not being a date? I’m merely here to observe.”

“Good.” He took her by the waist and lifted her off the bar stool, then grabbed her hand. “You can observe me on the dance floor.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “Do you ever take no for an answer?”

“Absolutely. I’m not that kind of guy, Savannah.”

She sighed and moved in closer to him on the crowded dance floor. The music was loud, the beat gyrating, and Cole got into watching Savannah dance.

She had moves, and once she relaxed and got into the music, she could shake her hips just right.

His objective in getting her on the dance floor was to shake loose some of his groupies. Now that he knew they were getting possessive, he wanted to put an end to it, let them know that when he was here with a lady, they needed to go about their business and find their own fun. It was one thing when he came to the club as a single. Then it was a free-for-all and he didn’t mind choosing one woman after another to dance and party with.

But them claiming ownership of him at the club? His life didn’t work that way. He was a free agent and no woman was going to put a claim on him. If he wanted to bring a date—even though Savannah wasn’t really a date—then he’d damn well do that.

Except he wasn’t checking out the other women to see if they’d found other amusement. He was concentrating on Savannah, on the skintight dress she wore and the way it hiked up on her legs whenever she raised her arms over her head and swiveled around in a fast circle. She got his blood pumping, and when the next song slowed things down, he couldn’t resist sliding his arm around her and drawing her close.

She narrowed her gaze at him and gave him a wary look, but he figured she must like dancing because she didn’t walk away. Instead, she flung an arm around his neck and slid close, but still kept her distance. It made him want to grab her and feel her body touching his.

“You are dangerous, Peaches.”

“We’re just dancing here, Cole. Don’t read anything into it.”

“Not reading anything. This is just business.”

“Of course it is.”

They were both lying. She shifted her hips, her body inches from his crotch.

Tempting. Oh so tempting. And his dick was getting hard.

Savannah was a smart woman. She had to notice, so he put his hands on her hips and swung her out, this time making sure when he pulled her back, he tugged her close.

She immediately pulled away, creating that inch or so of space between them.

It didn’t help, because she knew how to move, and when she turned her back to him and swayed her hips to the music, he broke into a sweat.

She might not be grinding against him, but he still felt her.

Christ. Maybe she was deliberately torturing him, or maybe this was her way of telling all his friends to fuck off by the way she danced with him. Either way, he was hard as steel and his balls were throbbing.

If they were alone he’d know exactly what to do. He’d wrap his arm around her waist and pull her against him, then slide his hands up to her sweet, full breasts, cup them until her nipples hardened, pull the top of her dress down, then turn her around so he could taste her sweet mouth. When he had his fill of kissing her, he’d move down and suck on her nipples until she moaned. He’d strip her down and lay her on his bed so he could lick her pussy and make her come. And then—

Yeah. The direction of his thoughts wasn’t helping his erection. Fortunately, the song ended and another one started up.

“Mind if I take over?”

One of his club friends—Sheila—stepped in front of Savannah.

Savannah half turned and met Cole’s gaze for a fraction of a second before she turned to Sheila and smiled. “He’s all yours. I need a breather anyway.”

“Hey, wait,” Cole said. But Savannah had already disappeared into the crowd.

So maybe the signals he’d gotten had been all in his head, because she’d sure walked away easily enough.

SAVANNAH WATCHED THE WOMEN SQUEAL WITH JOY AS Cole was swallowed up by sequins, spandex, miles of legs, and a lot of hair.

She could tell from the look on his face when she’d walked away that he’d been confused, then angry. With her. She wasn’t sure what she’d done wrong. She’d told him from the outset that she wanted to observe and nothing more, but he’d acted affronted when she’d wandered off to sit and watch instead of interacting with him.

It wasn’t her fault she didn’t want to act like his date. She wasn’t his date.

He’d wanted to dance. She’d danced. And maybe the dance might have gotten a little hot—maybe she’d been more than affected by being so close to him, but she’d kept her distance.

And okay, that whole distance thing had been difficult, especially when he’d tugged her against him, and she’d felt how hard he was—everywhere. It had been tempting to stay there, to run her hands over his broad shoulders, to test his abs and see if they were as real as the photos she’d seen.