Page 6 of Deadly Sights

One song transitions to Daft Punk’sGet Lucky. The irony makes me smile and wag my finger at my friends. Except for the occasional tingle of awareness, I lose myself to the music. I can’t pinpoint the source from the crowded dance floor. When the third song plays, Chelsea leaves to get a drink, leaving me with Moni and Danae. Tamara is off to the side with a woman who looks like her ex. I’ll ask her about the woman when we go shopping together.

The sensation along my nape intensifies. As I do a twirl, an arm wraps around my waist and pulls me into a hard chest. Danae and Moni stop mid-step, their eyes bulging and mouths hanging open. Then Moni forms the shape of a D with her fingers and places it over her heart before letting her hands travel below her waist. Then she winks. Danae is more discreet but no less obvious with two thumbs up, giving me her approval.

They don’t know about the heat flooding my veins or my body’s signals going haywire. I calm my instinct to toss him overmy shoulder and slam him to the ground. Instead, I home in on what’s putting my senses on high alert. I don’t detect any malice from him. His hold is firm but I can easily break it. The problem, if there is one, is the compulsion to get closer, to rub my ass against his dick until he gets hard.

Get a hold of yourself Nadira!

The man behind me doesn’t tower over me, which would be hard to do as I’m 5’9”, but he’s tall enough that he needs to bend to whisper in my ear. “I’ve been waiting for you all night.” His voice comes out deep, like velvet chains that are deceptively soft but will not break under any pressure. It sparks images of a large man wrapped around me.

Then his words sink in. Is he the person I felt watching me earlier? Or is he someone who shouldn’t know about me at all? I keep my body loose, not betraying the instant I become alert to everything around me. His scent, pine and citrus, invade my senses, but I hold the distraction at bay. We dance until the song ends.

He pulls me closer. “Can I take you somewhere to talk?”

I nod as I inventory the weapons I’m wearing. There are the knives hidden in my heels, the gun strapped to my thigh, and the wire hidden in my earrings. If he tries anything, I’ve come prepared.

He takes my hand and leads me to a less crowded area in the club. I survey my surroundings. If a fight breaks out between us, I can slip out from view in the hallway beside us. My dress may be a problem if things get messy. I should have worn black.

While I think of all the ways I can disable or end him, he swings us around until my back is to the wall and he blocks my view of the club. I’m right about him not towering over me. He’s probably three inches taller than me, but I’m momentarily stunned by how wide his shoulders are. And his arms… He isn’tflexing, but his biceps strain against the fitted material of his shirt.

As I trail my eyes up, I try not to shiver as he rubs his fingers in soft circles above my hips. When I get to his face, my brain blinks out before rebooting to come online again. How on earth did I grab his attention? Handsome men only approach me when I try to stand out, which I typically avoid doing. He surpasses handsome with his wavy brown hair, golden-brown eyes, and smile that’ll con a nun out of her panties.

Mesmerized, I watch as his full lips form words over bright white teeth that contrast with a tan that speaks to either him loving tanning salons or living a life full of travel to warm climes. When he stops moving his mouth, I raise my eyes to his waiting gaze.

“Sorry, what did you say?” I ask, realizing that my knack for observing everything has disappeared under this instant attraction.

He’s put me in a vulnerable position and I have yet to react. Without explanation, I swing us so his back is to the wall. The man doesn’t seem to mind.

He grins at me. “Something in the air told me I’d meet my destiny tonight. I was thirty percent convinced the first time I glimpsed you and the quiet confidence you wear.”

“And now?” I can’t believe the breathy question comes from me. Or the way my heart rate doubles the longer his stare sears through me.

“Hmm.” He runs a finger down my scar.

The slight caress should bother me. It does bother me, but not in the way it should. I suppress a shiver instead of the need to pull away and hide my face.

“When I saw your eyes, I was seventy-five percent certain, but now I’m one hundred percent sure.”

“Considering we haven’t exchanged that many words, what sold it for you?”

He leans forward until his breath kisses my ear. “Your breath smells like my favorite dessert, and I’m fighting the battle of a lifetime by not kissing you and tasting how perfectly you complement the chocolate you ate.” He pulls back after his admission, his thumb still circling the spot above my hip as if he needs the reminder that I’m in his arms.

I swallow… Nope; I gulp at his admission as my eyes stray to his mouth again. Sinner’s lips. Where are my defenses? Why do I find it hard to analyze his words and mine everything he does for red flags?

“Forgive me if I find that hard to believe. You don’t even know my name.” I take a deep breath, inadvertently inhaling his piney scent and almost closing my eyes as it draws me in.

He shrugs. “That will come. What matters more to me is putting a face to the woman I belong to, and making sure she knows it, too.”

CHAPTER 3

GIRLS NIGHT IN

Nadira

“Ican’t believe I missed the hot guy that carried you away,” Chelsea says, repeating some iteration of the same thing since we left the club.

She’s staying over at my place, a tradition we started a year into our friendship. She has a room dedicated to her for her overnight visits. Before we turn in, we perform the ritual of decompressing and talking over the night’s events. Chelsea hands me a bottled water before spreading out on my sofa.

“I can’t believe after that doozy of a line, we didn’t exchange names.” I bang my head against the chair I’m sitting in.

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