Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 149209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“I think I am in love.”
“That was fast. Less than a week.” Del arched a dark brow.
“More time will not change what I feel, except to make it deeper. She is strong and vulnerable, smart, adorably stubborn, and in utter need of someone to love. How can I resist?” He flashed Del a self-deprecating smile.
“How, indeed? If you intend to resist, figure it out fast. She’s here.”
Ali whipped his gaze up to the bank of cameras and smiled.
“Aww. She’s wearing a damn trench coat,” Del groused.
Laughter bubbled up inside Alejandro. “Of course she is.” Her little rebellion. “But I will bet she wore what I sent her underneath.”
“I can’t wait for this.” Del rubbed his hands together.
With blood burning a path through his veins, Ali burst out of the security office and stalked toward the front door. Del followed close behind.
Alejandro intercepted Shanna two seconds after she walked in. “Querida, are you all right?”
As Shanna strode in, she lifted her lashes in a skittish glance. “Fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Her guarded tone sent off alarm bells. So she was trying to push her armor back in place, put distance between them. He frowned. Perhaps he had pushed her too hard last night…or made her feel too guilty.
“When you did not arrive at eight-thirty, I grew concerned.”
“No need.”
He reached up to help her with her coat. She jerked away. “Don’t. Just wait until…”
“We are on stage and I’m supposed to perform by fucking you?”
She swallowed and sent him a shaky nod that seared his guts with panic. After tonight, she was going to turn around and walk out of his life if he didn’t think fast.
“Is something wrong?” He gentled his expression.
She looked away. “This is business. You’re doing what you need to do. So am I.”
“Shanna, this is not a business dealing or mere sex to me. I want it to be more than that for you, too.”
She shot him a wary stare. “Until Saturday, I have to focus on fixing my problem. You want me to dance for the joy of it, not for the trophy. I can’t be joyful if I already know before I dance a step that I can’t win.”
Alejandro sighed. He’d hoped he’d gotten through to her during their ice cream date, at least in some small way. But he’d been deluding himself. She was determined to shut him out and focus on nothing but the prize.
“Not to interrupt, kids,” Del said, “but you need to make your way back to the room so you can get started. Showtime is in eight minutes.”
Resisting the urge to rake a hand through his hair, Ali gnashed his teeth. He needed a minute to collect a few props and his thoughts.
“Can you show her to the room?” he asked his business partner. “I’ll be there in five.”
Ali didn’t wait for the answer. He brushed past them, into the security corridor, and let the door slam behind him. Dread and anger crashed to the bottom of his stomach. Unless he acted fast, this could well be his last chance with Shanna. He had three minutes to figure out how to turn her head in his direction, convince her he wasn’t simply out to save his business or get laid, and persuade her they could be more permanent partners beyond tonight.
Miracle, anyone?
Del escorted Shanna through the club. She was aware of people all around her swaying and writhing to the techno music. But her thoughts… Alejandro had the lock on those.
Last night and today, he’d acted like he cared. Why? She’d told him over and over this was business.
Yeah, did it feel like business when he was deep inside you, making you scream? Or when he fed you ice cream and did his best to be there for you?
The man had her so confused. What should have been nothing more than a temporary arrangement for the sake of ferreting out a mutual enemy—and okay, maybe a little mutual pleasure—had suddenly become very tangled. In the space of a few days, she’d come to think of Ali as a fixture in her life. The thought of that fixture being removed hurt.
So dangerous. How could she focus on the competition with everything hanging over her head if she had to add new and scary emotions for Alejandro to the mix?
“Follow me,” Del said.
They crossed the dance floor and pushed aside a couple panting heatedly and letting their fingers do the walking. He escorted Shanna into a long hallway. At the end, he held a door open.
One peek inside, and she sucked in a surprised gasp. This was out of a fantasy! Plush, like a Pasha’s palace. Rust, gold, bronze, with accents of black and cream. An enormous bed. Pillows everywhere.
The audience would be bigger in this room. And closer. The odds of someone to bringing in a camera was definitely greater.