Impossible Odds

9

“Then you’re f*****g crazy,” she hissed. “I’ve been called worse.” Giada flailed, making a weak attempt at struggling against me for the first time since entering the storage room. Her face was still rigid with contempt, but her body was giving in to the fear. “My sister and cousins are here with me. They’ll start looking for me if they haven’t already.” “You know what I think?” I asked in a low rumble with my mouth close to her ear.

Her movements stilled until the only motion in the room was the rhythmic vibrations from the music. “I think you don’t want anyone to find us. I think you take things hoping one day, someone just like me will track you down and make you answer for your crimes.” Her breathing shuddered in the abnormal stillness of our isolated bubble buried deep within the chaotic nightclub. The pounding bass penetrating through the walls pulsed at the same frantic rate as her rioting heart. The contrast between the frenetic energy outside and our cocoon of strained silence magnified the senses. It made time stutter on its continuum as if the universe itself knew the poignancy of this moment. A tilting of the Earth’s axis until nothing made sense. A shift had occurred in those eternal seconds. Something monumental and catastrophic. Overwhelming and divine. The tight lines around Giada’s eyes smoothed, and her pupils dilated until the only color remaining was a ring of deep forest green. She took in a long, steadying breath as if gathering her courage, then parted her lips. “And if you’re right?” The words were a whisper. Barely more than a shaky breath, yet so much more. They were a reluctant confession. Surrender. Giada’s gaze was still guarded, but a new wary vulnerability was embedded in her features. I searched deep into her kaleidoscopic gaze to make sure I hadn’t misread her, but there was no derision, only desire. Like a shark scenting blood in the water, my predatory instincts screamed at me to claim my prize. To seize what was being offered with greedy abandon. But even drunk on the prospect of victory, I knew that yielding to my hunger for her would be disastrous. Deciding to test her resolve and give us one last chance to avoid disaster, I lifted myself away from her, leaving a foot of space between us. She could have shoved me backward onto the buckets, giving herself plenty of time to slip away, but she didn’t. The brazen temptress didn’t move a muscle. “Turn around,” I ordered firmly, the gravel in my voice betraying the slip in my control. Giada held my gaze as she debated internally. I refused to soften my stance or give her any reassurance. I wasn’t there to coddle her. If she was brave enough to toy with the devil, she could summon the courage to dance with him as well. Eventually, her lips pursed with determination, and she spun around to face the wall. “What exactly are we doing here?” “You’re doing as I say and not asking questions.” It was the only response I could give her because I had no other answer. I had no f*****g idea what we were doing or where it would lead. She peeked over her shoulder. “What does that mean? I don’t want you to hurt me.” “Shouldn’t you have considered that before you stole from me?” Giada started to turn back around. “Stop,” I barked, freezing her in place. “The only thing that may hurt when we’re through is your pride. I’m not in the habit of brutalizing women. If you want to leave, then leave, but if you have the strength to accept the consequences of your actions, then turn around and put your hands on the wall.” Her eyes slid briefly to mine before she complied. Watching her bend to my will, obeying my commands, raised a mighty storm of masculine pride in my chest. I felt invigorated, as if I’d scaled a mountain and stood on its highest peak, towering above the rest of the world. This lioness of a woman was giving herself to me, and I would take all I could get. “That’s a good girl,” I murmured, closing in behind her. My hands drifted to her waist, and my mouth lowered to the smooth skin of her exposed shoulder, but I didn’t kiss her. I simply inhaled her tangy, sweet scent and trailed my lips to her neck and up close to her ear. “I told myself to ignore you after our conversation in the casino. To forget every dirty thing I wanted to do to you and stay focused on my job, but when I realized what you’d done, it was too much. I had to find you.” Giada arched with my words, her head angling to give me more access to her neck. I lowered my hands, winding them around to the front of her jeans and deliberately popped open the top button. “Are you already wet for me? Shall we find out?” I lowered the zipper, then eased my hand inside her pants but left her silk panties between us. My touch drew a breathy moan from her lips. Her panties were drenched. “Someone likes a little kink in their play. Does a taste of fear turn you on, Giada? Do you get off on not knowing what I might do next?” I retracted my hand and clasped her pants, yanking them down over her hips, along with her underwear. She gasped at the sudden movement but never shifted her hands from their place on the wall. “You rejected me that night. I came onto you, but you rejected me.” “Like I told you then, I didn’t want to want you.” I leaned back to admire her rounded backside, stroking my palm over the supple curve of her ass. “But that didn’t stop you, did it? You had to go and f**k with my head, rearranging my priorities.” In one swift motion, I pulled back and brought my hand down hard against her firm flesh, the sound reverberating in the confined space. My hand immediately returned to the site of the offense, caressing over her heated skin. I was curious how Giada would respond to being struck. It was entirely possible someone as strong-willed as she was would be outraged, incensed over being degraded. I should have known better. Giada wasn’t like any other woman I’d known. Her responses were unpredictable. She didn’t cry out or curse me. Struggle or lunge to escape. No. The little temptress released a guttural moan that had my c**k swelling painfully against my zipper. She didn’t hide her emotions or give a man what she thought he wanted to hear. She was untamed and raw, and I wanted to conquer and claim every bit of that purity. It made me furious. A woman was not on my agenda, and a relationship did not fit in my life. I wasn’t the type of man to have a girlfriend, let alone settle down and raise a family. My anger bled with my desire, stirring up a tornadic burst of emotion. I pulled back and unleashed a second strike on her opposite cheek, my breathing becoming rushed and heavy. I was losing control. This woman made me feel unstoppable and utterly powerless at the same damn time. When my hand dropped down between her thighs, seeking her warm center, what I found leached all sanity from my reeling mind. Giada wasn’t just wet; she was dripping arousal. The thick, sticky evidence of her lust coated the inside of her thighs.