Up close, she was even prettier than my original assessment from across the bar. I saw a shimmer of silver dusting her eyelids that made her blue eyes pop in a way that made me think I could drown in them.
“Charmed,” she said with a slight grimace as she gave me her hand. Her skin was warm against my palm, and I felt the intense urge to kiss it. What the fuck? I didn’t act like the perfect gentleman with women. I was far from that kind of guy. That’s why most women loved about me.
“Alexa and I have watched all your fights, at least the ones they televise,” Stacey said. She was practically bouncing on her heels. “You are so good.”
“You’ve watched them all?” My question was directed at Alexa.
“Stacey watched your fights. I was busy studying,” Alexa said. She stared down at her drink. I sensed that she was uncomfortable with me there.
Her aloofness made her even more irresistible. Yep, this was the girl that I planned to have underneath me calling out my name tonight.
CHAPTER THREE – ALEXA
I couldn’t catch Stacey’s attention. It was fully glued on Shayne, who seemed to be intent on getting as close to me as possible. Every inch that I slid closer to the railing of the dance floor was another inch that he took invading my space.
Staring at my drink, I tried to ignore the man who seemed even larger than life than he did on the TV screen. When our hands touched during his introduction, I felt a tingle of desire that ran straight from my hands to my pussy. No matter what my body’s reaction was to his presence, though, I refused to act like some lovesick fangirl. He was just another guy as far as I was concerned, which meant that I could feel free to try to ignore him.
That proved to be more difficult than I expected when his friend started asking Stacey questions, and before I knew it, Stacey seemed to be spilling every detail about both of us.
“A recent college graduate and a 4.0 to boot. Impressive,” Shayne said. His lips were right next to my ear. My heart has started to pound faster in my chest. The music had gotten louder, but he didn’t need to be that close.
“Thanks,” I said curtly. I didn’t look at him. I wasn’t going to fall all over him just because he was a minor league sports celebrity. I knew his type. He had bad boy written all over him. No doubt he was looking for a roll in the hay. Why he wasn’t talking to Stacey, though, made no sense to me. It was pretty clear that she would probably have sex with him in the middle of the dance floor if he just said the word.
“You come here often?”
How lame. There was a part of me that understood he was making polite, appropriate conversation, but I had no patience for it. “Nope. This is just a last hurrah,” I said. I hadn’t failed to notice that Stacey had somehow procured another round of shots, for both of us and our new friends.
“That sounds exciting,” Shayne said. “What exactly does a last hurrah entail?”
“Hanging out with my best friend for the weekend, having some drinks, dancing and enjoying the music,” I said. I could just imagine what Shayne would do for a last hurrah. “The DJ tonight is sic. He’s hot right now all over Chicago. That’s why there are so many people here already.” Great, now I was the one who was babbling.
“I see someone else who is pretty hot,” he replied. “You want to dance, Alexa?”
I finally turned my full attention to him, more out of shock than anything else. Damn. His eyes flashed in the dimly light room, and when the strobes cast their light over our table, I saw the flicker of silver that he was famous for. I could just imagine would it would be like pressed up against his rock hard body on the dance floor. Having his hands on my hips as they swiveled against mine. I swallowed hard. This man was one-hundred percent virile and sexy, and the part that annoyed me was it was clear from the expression on his face that he knew it.
“Stacey’s one of your biggest fans,” I said, ignoring his question. The full force of his intense stare was making my knees feel weak, and I was sitting down. I saw his eyes flicker up and down my body several times, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was undressing me in his mind. “You should really talk to her.”
Shayne slid even closer to me, and I was now firmly wedged between the railing and his body. “I don’t want to talk to Stacey. I want to talk to you.” I could smell his cologne, and it made me want to bury my nose in the collar of his shirt.
“Why?” The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it. I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Surprise? Chagrin?
“Is it a crime that I enjoy talking to intelligent, beautiful women?”
“Right.” I rolled my eyes and brought my fingers up to do air quotes. “Talking.”