Page 68 of His Game (His Obsession 1)

VEDA

I'd never made an ass of myself in a club this nice before, but that's exactly what I planned to do tonight. If I was about to leave this world, I was going out with a bang. And this was the perfect dress to do it in.

The place had three levels. On the main level, where we were, women wearing scraps of material just barely wide enough to keep them legal hung upside down from ropes high above the heads of the crowd on the dance floor, shifting to new poses along with the music before twirling to "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd below. A man in tails and a top hat on top of the bar misted the dancers to keep them cool, and shot girls in sexy tuxedo shirts and tight black shorts and heels walked around with sparklers stuck in the corners of the trays they carried.

Above us were more tables overlooking the dance floor at a level with the acrobats. And on either side of the club, just inside the front doors, stairs led down to a third level. As we walked past, I quickly looked away, not wanting to know what happened down there.

After Luca dropped five hundred cash to secure us a table behind the roped off area right off the dance floor, I flagged down the waitress, not caring if I seemed rude. Yelling above the heavy beat of the dance mix playing, I ordered a lemon drop martini and a shot of their best tequila.

"Make that two shots."

I looked over to find Luca holding out a hundred-dollar bill toward the pretty, dark-haired, brown-eyed waitress, but his eyes were on me.

"And keep them coming," he told her.

"Yes, sir." Taking the cash, she moved to the next table, where Enzo and Tristan sat with their backs to the wall.

As we waited for our drinks, I watched the dancers, trying desperately to keep my mind off of what was going to happen, and failing miserably. By the time the waitress showed up with my alcohol, I was trembling violently and having trouble breathing. Tequila spilled over the edge of the shot glass as I lifted it to my lips with a shaking hand, and I nearly cried with relief when the nasty stuff burned its way down my throat, warming my insides just enough to keep me from breaking down completely. I wished I’d never overheard them talking. I wished I didn’t know this was the night I was going to die. That this was only Luca giving me one last night out.

"Veda."

I turned my head to find him in the chair right beside me. I searched his face, silently begging him to tell me everything was okay. That he'd changed his mind. Hell, maybe even that he loved me. But he said none of those things.

Blue eyes seared my skin everywhere they roamed, from my eyes to my lips and lower, to my breasts and even my legs, burning with something I didn't understand. Unable to take the intensity of his gaze, I tried to turn away, but his hand shot up and gripped my jaw, forcing me to look at him.

Slowly, his thumb rubbed my bottom lip, smearing my lipstick as the tears I could no longer contain slipped silently down my cheeks.

His mouth came down on mine, hard and hungry. He tasted like salt and tequila, and my hands came up to grip his shirt. I meant to push him away, I did. But that's not what happened. Instead, I hung on tight. Like maybe if I could hang on tight enough, he could keep me here with him.

Breaking off the kiss, he kept his hand on my jaw, holding me still as he put his mouth near my ear. "You make me weak, vita." He pulled back just enough to bring his face into focus. Still holding my jaw, he brought up the fingers of his other hand, shoving one into my mouth and rubbing something bitter on my gums. He pressed a hard, fast kiss to my bruised lips and released me.

I began to panic and tried to rub off whatever he'd just put in my mouth, but he grabbed my wrists and held them in my lap. "Leave it."

"What is that?" I yelled over the music.

When he saw my terrified reaction, he frowned and took my face between his hands, forcing me to still. "Shhh...just relax," he told me. "It's just something to help you have a good time."

I tried to get my racing thoughts under control. "You drugged me?" I didn't do drugs. Never had. The one time I'd tried to smoke pot, I’d hated the way I’d felt the entire time and had sworn off everything except an occasional alcoholic beverage ever since.

He brushed my hair off my face in that way he always did. "It's okay," he told me. "You'll like it. Trust me."

Trust me.

I started to laugh. I couldn't help it. That was the most absurd thing I'd ever heard in my short life.

Luca suddenly stood. "Come on." Taking my hand, he brought me to my feet, then leaned down and said something to Enzo. He nodded and stood also, but didn't follow us as Luca led us out onto the dance floor and took me into his arms. His left hand took my right, tucking it beneath his jacket against his hard chest as his other hand splayed wide on my lower back.

Even in my heels, the top of my head barely came to his jaw, and I felt small and insignificant in the crowd of people. I held myself stiff at first, concentrating only on holding back the screams that threatened to burst free. But gradually, I gave in to the music pulsing through my veins as we swayed to the beat in the small space we were allotted by the crowd.

Luca was an amazing dancer. Or maybe I was just high. Either way, it didn’t really matter. I don't know how long we were out there. I only knew that with every minute that passed I relaxed more and more, my body molding to his like I was meant to be a part of him. I found myself smiling as I tilted my head back and watched the lights spin around us. Something warm and wet touched the side of my neck. His lips and tongue. It felt good, so I moved my head to give him better access.

His hand slid down until he was cupping my ass, and he pulled my hips closer until I could feel him against my stomach, hot and hard and swollen. I slid my hand around the back of his neck, holding his mouth to my skin as he bent me back right there in the middle of the dance floor, his lips and tongue burning a trail over my collarbone and lower, until he was stopped by the material of my dress. With a growl I felt more than heard, he tugged at it with his teeth.

"Luca," I moaned. I wanted him. Right there on the fucking dance floor. I didn't give a shit who watched. But apparently, Luca did, for he suddenly righted me so fast the room spun and I almost fell on my ass. However, his arms were still around me, holding me up until I could do it on my own.

And then we were moving, dancing our way through the crowd. I laughed with delight as he maneuvered us through the throng of dancers, shoving people out of the way with one arm when they wouldn't move.

The next thing I knew, we were in a dark hallway and Luca had me pressed up against the wall. His mouth came down on mine. Hard. Hungry. Wiping everything from my mind but what was happening this moment. His hands were on my outer thighs, lifting my skirt so high I knew anyone who walked back there would see my navy lace underwear.

---