Page 58 of The Perfect Stranger

Chapter Twenty

She was uneasy, eyes darting all over the ballroom as Garcia moved her around the floor. She was looking for me, and for that, my lips twitched. For the first time in a long time, something as small as that gave me pleasure. The song ended, and Nina was quickly abandoned by her partner when another man approached. She looked desperate to get away, keen for him to believe any excuse just so she could avoid dancing with him. He looked like the type of guy who would push her face onto his cock without letting her up for air. The selfish fuckers.

My feet began walking before I even told them to, bypassing the congressman’s wife along the way. I was behind Nina as she was being yanked to the dancefloor. Wrapping my hands around her waist, I pulled her safely against my chest until the fucker released her arm. He turned, ready to scold like she was a little child. Instead, he tried to engage, a challenge I had no interest in entertaining.

It was Nina who held my attention.

The way her breath hitched when she fell against me. The way her body molded against mine like a perfect fit. She held me tight, arms over arms, never letting go.

“You ready?” I murmured against her ear. Her eyes closed, quivering as my voice rumbled against her cheek.

“We were about to dance,” the douchebag barked, indignant.

“No, you weren’t.” With my hand on the small of her back, I led Nina to the dance floor, pulling her body tight against mine. She smelled like a basket of berries. Sweet and enticing.

Our cheeks touched, and her heart thudded. She was nervous. I put her in this state. This was good. We danced like our bodies automatically fell in sync. She let me guide her with ease, and it felt far too natural to have her so close.

The moment of perfection was interrupted by reality. Eyes were watching. Without much effort, I was easily able to locate the source. In one corner stood the congressman’s wife whose spitefully jealous glare only made her surgically enhanced face twist with ugliness. Her arms were crossed, a glass of champagne dangling loosely from her fingers, its contents sloshing over the edges. A mere ten yards away was Chief Delacroix. With narrowed eyes he continued to study me, still unable to place my face. My welcome here was quickly wearing thin, but I needed just a moment longer.

“Who are you?” Nina managed with a shaky breath.

A criminal. A stalker. A killer. You pick.

“Someone you probably don’t want to know.” I didn’t want to lie to her. I was already doing enough damage to the girl just by being here. I grazed my rough cheek against hers, and again she shivered.

“Then why are you dancing with me?”

“Because you intrigue me, Nina Cross.” She stiffened when I said her name. Above the music, I could hear her nervous swallow.

“I’m just another face in the crowd.”

I smiled at her modesty and then cringed. She had no idea how wrong she was. Her beautiful face was a target. “Even if you were in masquerade, I would know those lips anywhere.” I opted for the better side of the truth.

Her cheeks warmed against mine, and I didn’t want to let her go. If this was any other night, it would be perfection. Nina would be mine, and she would be safe. But it’s not. Two warring cartels were on the prowl and I—the one who made her weak at the knees—would be the one to take her back to the wolf pack.

“So you know who I am, tell me who you are?” she persisted.

I looked to Delacroix who held my gaze with his cell to his ear. “You should be careful who you trust, Nina,” I warned, hating the severity of the words and the effect it had on her. She tried to pull away, but I held her tight.

“Why?” I could hear the panic in her voice. “What makes you say that?”

Delacroix ended his call, his hand frozen mid-air as he watched. It was time. “Thank you for the dance,” I said, regretfully pulling away.

She caught my arm, eyes wide and loaded with so many unanswered questions. “Please, just wait. Tell me who you are?”

I leaned in one last time and inhaled her delicate scent.

Intoxicating.

Pure.

Don’t lie to her.

My lips grazed her ear, and she shivered.

Then I told her the four words that summed me up.

Four words that spoke of her grim future.

---