Page 4 of Married Into Love

“To karma!” the other guys hollered out as I sucked back my drink, making me almost choke on it. Some of the alcohol went up my nose, and I was still feeling the burn a couple of hours later when Ryan bailed on me to head back to the hotel. But I’d downed quite a bit more since we’d gotten to the club, so it wasn’t bothering me enough to make me want to leave early with him. It was a damn good thing, too. About five minutes after Ryan walked out the door I was poleaxed by my reaction to a stunning blonde who camethroughit.

She was practically being dragged into the place by another blonde who paused to chat with the bouncer standing just inside the doors before she tugged on my blonde’s wrist and led her over to the bar. And yeah, that was how I differentiated the two women in my mind—my blonde and the other blonde. With everyone’s talk about me tempting fate, my reaction to her should have had me out of that club as fast as my legs could take me. But I couldn’t even drag my gaze away from my blonde, let alone leave her alone in a meat market likethatclub.

The two women captured a lot of attention from guys as they made their way to the bar. Not that it was a surprise, considering the way my blonde’s curves filled out the tiny dress she was wearing. The dark green material was stretched taut across her heart-shaped ass, and from what I’d seen of her when she’d been walking in her tits were threatening to spill out of the top. Her blond hair flowed down her back in a mess of curls, and the strappy black heels she was wearing made her legs look like they went on formiles.

I’d been too far away to get a good enough look at her eyes with how dark the club was to know what color they were, but I hadn’t missed how plump her lips were. As I made my way over to where they stood at the bar, some douche sidled up next to her and stared at her ass while he waited for her to notice him. My fists clenched tighter the closer I got, and I sped up my pace when she looked over her shoulder at the guy. I watched as she shook her head and stepped closer to the other blonde. When he didn’t take the hint and reached out a hand towards her, I took the final strides that got me directly behind them and wrapped my hand around hiswrist.

“What the fuck?” he slurred, pulling onhisarm.

I tightened my hold on him and pushed him backwards so I could slide between him and my blonde. “Take a hike,” Igrowled.

“Hey! You should be the one to back off. I saw herfirst.”

I felt a soft touch on my shoulder and felt the burn of having her hand on me through my shirt. “Are you blind as well as deaf? Or is it that you’re too drunk to remember that she already made it clear she isn’t interestedinyou.”

“Who do you think you are?” hegrowled.

Glancing over his shoulder, I spotted two bouncers closing in on us. “I’m the guy who’s going to be able to stay in this club while he watches you get dragged outta here. That’s whoIam.”

“Wha—” he asked, his question cut off when I released his arm and both bouncers grabbed hold of him to pull him away fromthebar.

I lifted up my hands, palm out, to show them I wasn’t a threat. The other blonde stepped to my side, and the bigger bouncer offered her a smile. “We’ve got this one, Ariana. But is this other guy”—he jerked his head at me—“bothering you and yoursister,too?”

I stilled, a growl rumbling up my throat at the thought of being separated from my blonde before I had the chance to learn her name at the veryleast.

“Nah, he’s good. He stepped in to help Alessia out since he was closer to us than youguyswere.”

Alessia.At least I knew her first name if the bouncer didn’t want to listen to her sister. It was unusual enough that I might be able to find someone who could track her down with just that and a description. Lucky for me, I wouldn’t have to figure out a plan to make that happen since the bouncer nodded, winked at her, and helped his co-worker drag the drunkassholeaway.

“Less than five minutes in the club, and you’ve already managed to find yourself a white knight,” Ariana teased her sister as she nudged me over to the empty stool next to Alessia. Then she scanned over my shoulder and lifted a hand to wave at one of the bartenders to gain their attention. “A coconut rum cocktail, a vodka soda with a splash of grapefruit juice and lime, and”—her gaze shot to me, and she liftedabrow.

“Vodka tonic with a twist of lemon, preferablyKetelOne.”

“Make mine Ketel One, too,” Ariana added. “And Malibu for the coconut rumcocktail.

“Ariana,” Alessia hissed from nexttome.

“What? After shit like that, we deserve the best.Don’twe?”

“I’m not sure about either brand being the best”—I turned on my stool and finally got my first up-close look at Alessia—“but I can’t argue about you deserving it. Becauseyoudo.”

Those plump lips of hers parted on a gasp, but they weren’t what held my attention. It was her bright green eyes, filled with a mixture of surprise, relief, and a healthy amount of feminine appreciation. I wanted to see what they looked like when she lost control, her pussy a tight vice around my dick when she climaxed while her eyes went hazy because her orgasm made her seestars.

Digging in my back pocket, I pulled out my wallet and grabbed a few twenty-dollar bills to toss onto the bar. “Allowme.”

“Oh, no. Really. I couldn’t,” Alessia stammered. “I should be the one buying you a drink after you saved me from that guylikethat.”

“That’s not gonna happen, beautiful. When you’re with me,Ipay.”

“When I’m with you?” she echoed, her brow wrinkling in confusion. She tilted her head to the side, and a lock of blond hair slid over her shoulder and fell betweenhertits.

I hadn’t imagined the way they threatened to spill out of the top of her dress when I spotted her walking into the club. My palms itched with the need to yank the dark green material up to cover those delicious swells so nobody else could see them. I’d never been one to care what a woman wore when she was out, but Alessia already had me feeling possessive over her and we’d barely met. My reaction to her was too different to ignore and as I’d told Ryan earlier in the limo, I wasn’t going to fuck up like the other guys had done when I met my one. My instincts were telling me Alessia very well could be that for me, and I wasn’t going to leave her tonight withoutfindingout.

“You heard the man.” Ariana gave her sister a gentle nudge, and Alessia got on her toes to step up so she could slide onto the stool next to me. Then Ariana took the one on the other side of her. She leaned towards her sister, eyes similar to Alessia’s locked on my face after she got settled. “A gentleman always pays, right?” She didn’t wait for me to agree before she continued, “And you already proved yourself to be just that with the way you stepped in to help mysister.”

“But—”

“You’ll have to forgive Alessia. She’s not much of a club hopper, so she isn’t usually comfortable with guys paying for her drinks,” Arianaexplained.

Alessia’s green eyes widened as her sister spoke. Her cheeks filled with pink, and pearly white teeth bit down on her bottom lip. She was sexy as hell, and so damn cute that an unfamiliar pressure began to build in my chest. It only got worse when a dimple popped in her left cheek as she offered me a shy smile. For the first time in my life, I understood what my dad had meant when he’d told me it had only taken one look for him to know that my mom was meant tobehis.

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