Fire In His Eyes (Secrets & Seduction #1)(4)

“I am designated driver tonight. I may have one drink later, but nurse that one. I only want you to have three tops or you will never forgive me tomorrow. If someone buys us drinks, don’t worry, I’ll dump them when no one is looking, so just sip that one.”

She didn’t have to tell me that. I wasn’t much of a drinker anyway, not anymore, but once an older sister, always an older sister, and breaking her of the habit of bossing me around wasn’t worth the effort. “Yes, ma’am,” I responded.

Our drinks arrived and I took a sip of the delicious cocktail. I loved martinis and indulged in one every now and then. A group of rowdy guys to our left began to cheer as someone at the pool table sunk the eight ball. Ana and I both glanced over.

“Oooo, army bucks! So buff!” she drawled and elbowed me in the ribs. I looked over at the five guys around the pool table and appreciated the view immensely. “So, which one do you want?” she inquired.

“We just got here!” I grumbled.

“Let’s get their attention, and then go dance. Then they can watch us!” She laughed shrilly and sure enough they looked our way. I was embarrassed, and began to turn away when one of the guys caught my eye. He lifted his beer in our direction, and took a long sip as he watched me over his bottle of Corona. I smiled at him and turned around. My heartbeat accelerated. He was hot, incredibly hot. His ice blue eyes sparked with fire almost knowingly. How was that possible? He definitely seemed interested.

“Gotcha,” Ana muttered, and swung back around to me. How were these things so easy for her, I wondered. I laughed at her, and she said, “Hey, he is still watching, let’s go dance.” She grabbed me by the elbow before I could respond, and yanked me off my stool. That must have looked attractive, I thought to myself. “He’s a hunk if I ever saw one, and he is the one.” I followed her and the music grew in tempo the closer we got to the dance floor. She positioned me so that the guy had a good view of us dancing, and every time I glanced his way, he was still watching us. I liked to dance and knew I did it pretty well. Another song came on and blue eyes kept watching us. A few guys came over and tried to dance with us, but Ana just kept steering us in another direction, not rudely, but enough to say we weren’t interested in them. I glanced at ice-blue eyes every now and then, and he would tilt his bottle at us, or wink. God! He was gorgeous and my heart rate hitched another notch. He wore black jeans and a white t-shirt with a Tommy Hilfiger logo on it, and the t-shirt showed that he had a fine physique. Very fine. His head was shaven, and his face was rugged, with a strong chin and angled cheek bones. He had a tan that indicated he spent a lot of time outdoors. The way he kept looking at me, though, just kept my senses heightened; it felt like he was undressing me right there on the dance floor. I couldn’t blame him though because I was doing the same thing to him.



After four or five songs, Ana and I went back to the bar. The place was filling up and we did not want to lose our seats. As soon as we sat down, Adonis began to make his way over to us. My heart rate picked up another notch. He sat on the stool next to Ana because that was the only one available at the bar, but still kept staring at me. I picked up my drink and took a big sip.

“Want another?” he asked. His voice was like velvet, smooth and clear.

I nodded.

“Here, switch with me,” Ana said and got off her stool. Blue eyes slid onto her seat not breaking eye contact.

“Hello, gorgeous!” Blue eyes said and inched closer to me.

“Hi,” I replied nervously taking another sip of my drink, not realizing I had finished it.

He turned and called to the bartender, “Another one, please,” he indicated to the bartender that the drink was for me, and the bartender nodded.

Blue eyes, then turned to me and smiled. His teeth were perfect. “My name is Victor Ciccone. And you have to be the most beautiful girl I have seen in long time.”

“Thank-you,” I said shyly.

“You’re welcome!” He laughed. “You didn’t seem this shy on the dance floor. You can move! I was imagining you moving like that under me in my bed.”

“Y-you did?” God, that was a stupid thing to say. I wasn’t used to this flirting business. I had no experience. I wasn’t Ana.

“Yes, I did. And, it was good. I pleased you very much.” He gazed down the length of my body and that look was a caress. I could see from his face he liked what he saw. It was a compliment without words. I was surprised I wasn’t more nervous, but Ana was right there watching us. He was incredibly attractive. Oh my, if my heart beat any faster I was afraid it was going to burst right out of my chest. “So, what is your name? I want to know what to moan in my sleep when I dream about you tonight.” Was this for real? Did guys really talk like that to pick up a girl? I didn’t know. But, it was definitely working on me. This guy was turning me on, and he hadn’t even touched me. Yet!

“My name is Monica Michaud,” I said as I reached out my hand to shake his. It was like electricity. A shock went through my entire body. I felt warm all over, and I knew it wasn’t from the drink. I only had one. The guy was pure animal magnetism, pure sex appeal.

He did not let go of my hand, or break eye contact. He held it and used his thumb to caress the top of my hand. He pulled me closer, and we were mere inches apart. He tilted his head to the side and put his face into my hair behind my ear, and inhaled. “You smell delicious. I bet you taste good, too,” he whispered in my ear. He softly kissed my cheek and trailed light feathery kisses from my temple to my lips. I gasped at the sensations he evoked in me. “Dance with me?” he asked and began to draw me out of my chair.