Page 4 of Daddy Billionaire Dragon

“Nic,” she says, taking my hand.

The minute our fingers touch, I feel a spark shoot down my arm. Whoa. That’s another first. Probably static, I try to reason, knowing that I’m bullshitting myself. Apparently she felt it too as I see her eyes widen and her lips part. Her hand is now firmly enveloped in mine and even though I know that I should let go, I hold her hand in mine, long after our brief handshake. The lack of a ring on her finger has me feeling disproportionately relieved and happy. Her skin is as soft as velvet, and I’m tracing little circles on her wrist with my thumb. The slight indrawing of her breath tells me she likes what I’m doing. Good. I like it too.

I finally release her hand from my grasp when I catch TJ’s pointed look and cocked eyebrow over the blonde friend’s head. Nic appears self-conscious as she withdraws her hand from mine, not quite knowing what to do with it as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

“What can I get you to drink?” I ask while my brain is coming up with excuses to touch her again.

“I’ll have whatever you are having,” she says.

“Got it. TJ, you going to get the lady a drink or bore her to death?” I ask, looking at TJ, who seems to be flirting shamelessly with the blonde. She’s already giggling and blushing and making googly eyes at him.

“We’re happy to talk. For now. Aren’t we, Penelope?” He winks at the blonde, making her giggle harder. I roll my eyes and ask Thomas for two glasses of scotch on the rocks.

When Thomas gets our drinks, we clink our glasses and take a sip.

“This is good,” Nic chokes out the words after swallowing a huge mouthful. Her eyes are watering a little.

“I can get you something else,” I offer.

“No, no. This is fine. I don’t really drink a lot. Wasn’t expecting the burn at the back of my throat. And I probably shouldn’t have had such a large sip,” she says sheepishly, looking at me from under her eyelashes, biting her lower lip. I am so tempted to run my thumb over her plump lip.

“Lived in New York long?” I ask, taking a sip of my drink instead. I want to think that the conversation is flowing more easily, but honestly it’s a wonder that I’m able to say anything at all, when a major part of my brain is occupied trying to come up with ways of convincing her to spend the night with me.

“No, I just moved last week actually. God, I love this song,” she says, swaying her body in tune to a 70s soft rock song that has just started playing over the speakers. The unintentionally large sip of scotch seems to have relaxed her nerves. I’m mesmerized by her. But here’s my chance to finally get her in my arms.

“Dance with me,” I say, holding out my hand, not pausing to think just how out of character this is for me. I have never asked anybody to dance with me before.

Chapter 2 - Nic

I stare at Lex’s outstretched hand with its long, beautiful fingers. I am actually noticing a guy’s fingers and finding them beautiful. The moment I saw him, I knew he’d be trouble. His smoky gray eyes have a predatory glint in them. But the first time his hand touched mine, I felt a shiver run down my spine which had me totally freaking out. When he brushed his thumb over my wrist, I had to suppress a moan. I am not sure that dancing with him is such a good idea. I am scared of what it might lead to.

But I can almost feel the air sizzle around us. The attraction, the chemistry is undeniable. And according to Penny, the whole purpose of coming out tonight was to find a hot guy for a one-night stand. You apparently don’t move on from a broken relationship till you have had sex with a random stranger. At least, that’s what Penny says. I have tried telling her that I am so over Manuel that I don’t even spare him a single thought anymore, but she clearly doesn’t believe me. Tonight, she was like a woman possessed, hounding me till I gave in. So I put on a killer dress, applied some makeup, threw on my highest heels, and we set out from the apartment we share in West Village to this secret bar she’d heard about from a friend.

I had my reservations about the whole thing, but when I spotted him, I thought perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. I wasn’t really planning on doing anything, no matter how much Penny pushed me, other than ogling the sexy hunk from a safe distance. That was until Lex and his friend TJ approached us.

There’s something magnetic about him. The guys he is with are drop-dead gorgeous as well, but I’m finding myself simply being pulled to Lex, even when I see the glint that screams danger in his smoky gray eyes. He is not wearing a tie and a few of the buttons of his shirt are open. I have this crazy image flash across my mind where I’m undoing all the other buttons and running my hands all over his muscular chest. Even from underneath his suit jacket, it is easy to see the bulge of his arms.

The sane part of my brain tells me to refuse him the dance. Being in close proximity to him, moving in arms, feeling his touch on my skin will be nothing short of playing with fire. But my hand moves out of its own volition and grasps his, allowing him to lead me to the center of the room. The song has a slow, languorous beat and I feel my body swaying in tune to the rhythm.

He places a hand on my waist, pulling me closer to him. The warmth from his body makes me want to press my body against his and breathe in his musky, spicy scent. When his eyes lock with mine, I blush under the intensity of his gaze and look away, even as I feel desire burning in the pit of my stomach. My arms snake around his neck as I interlace my fingers at the nape. My body is not obeying the commands of my brain at all.

I am tall at five feet nine inches, but even with my four-inch heels adding to my height, he is still taller than me. My fingers are itching to run over his sexy end-of-the-day stubble. He looks like one of those sculpted statues of the Greek gods come to life.

We don’t say a thing as we hold each other and look into each others’ eyes. I am oblivious to everything but the man who has his arms around me. His gaze is pure lust as his eyes wander leisurely down my body, making my breath hitch. I never knew it was possible to get so turned on by a mere look, but the increasing wetness between my legs says otherwise.

I realize that the song has ended only when he stops moving. Neither of us wants to let go, but we can’t keep standing in the middle of the room either. But before we can move away, another song starts playing. It is a fast number; we don’t really have an excuse to keep holding each other as all his other friends along with TJ and Penny also join us on the dance floor. Soon, I find myself dancing with all his friends one after another. It is a surreal experience, dancing with so many extremely attractive men, but my gaze keeps wandering to Lex, and he keeps looking at me as well.

After about half an hour of dancing, I’m tired and walk to the bar to get a drink. I’m glad when Lex follows me. Penny is taking turns dancing with the guys as they ply her with champagne. I can tell that she’s having the time of her life.

“Let’s take it back to where we are sitting,” Lex says. When I nod my assent, he leads me by my hand to their corner. It feels good to be alone with him. I find myself wishing that the others don’t come back at least for a little while more.

We sit on a comfortable couch and even though there is plenty of space, Lex sits next to me, with our thighs almost touching. He casually places a hand on my exposed knee; I jerk when his hand makes contact with my bare skin, biting my lip to suppress a moan. I absolutely do not understand my body’s reaction to his touch. Nobody, not even my long-term ex-boyfriend Manuel has ever made me feel this way.

“Are you having a good time?” he asks, leaning forward, almost whispering the question in my ear. His warm breath on my ear is like a caress.

“Yes, more than I imagined,” I say with a small smile, looking up at him. His face is inches away from mine and it is tempting, very tempting to lean forward and kiss his lips, but we are in a very public place. Besides, I don’t go around kissing virtual strangers.

I clear my throat as I try to move away from him, wanting to put some distance between us. But his arm comes around my waist, pressing me to his side.

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