“Felix was suave, a lot like you, actually,” she began when he shot her a glare.
“There’s a difference between being honest and suave and being a criminal,” he said, not happy at all to be compared to her ex.
“Whatever,” she said with a flip of her hand. “He was smooth, and I was the low man on the totem pole at the office, so when he began flirting with me, I was flattered. I didn’t know that he knew everything about me, including my financial and family status,” she said with remembered fury.
“What does that matter?” Axel broke in. “You could be an orphan and your appeal is still overwhelming,” he told her.
“Save the compliments, Axel. I don’t buy them,” she said, remembering all too well how Felix would compliment her. She didn’t trust a man’s smooth chatter.
“Just stating the obvious,” he said.
She chose to ignore that. “I got into a relationship with Felix, not knowing he was still screwing anything on two legs. He didn’t use a hell of a lot of discretion, either, but I was so busy with work I didn’t think to check into his extracurricular activities,” she said with disgust.
“It’s not your fault. You should be able to trust the person you’re in a relationship with,” he told her.
“Well, I learned that trust isn’t something you just randomly give away. It’s certainly something that has to be earned.”
“I agree with that.” The conviction of his statement made her wonder what he’d been through.
“It didn’t take long before I figured out that Felix had a lot of judges in his pocket, and he was using his connections to help criminals get away with murder, drug trafficking, and several other crimes. I found papers in his office when my suspicions grew, and I immediately went to the district attorney, who’s a friend and someone I knew I could trust. He told me they’d been trying to build a case against Felix for a long time, but the weasel always managed to get away with his criminal activity. So he had me stay there for a while longer, though he was worried about it. I finally collected enough evidence against Felix that John, the DA, charged him and pulled me the hell out of there. Felix has been coming after me ever since. But it’s been going on for six months and I’m still standing, so I’m not too worried about it.” She took a drink of wine to coat her parched throat.
“You shouldn’t be so cavalier about this, Ella. Your testimony can lock this man away for years to come. Don’t you think that’s worth being cautious about? If he has such connections, he’s going to use them,” Axel warned.
“He’s a lowlife and he’ll have justice served to him on a silver platter. I won’t allow him to scare me and I won’t change my life to run from him.” She didn’t break eye contact with Axel, needing him to hear her.
They both stared intently for several breathless moments before his lips turned up just the slightest. “Damn, woman. You’re a pain in the ass, you realize that, don’t you?”
“I have a lot of alpha cousins. I had to learn to be tough really fast.”
“Point taken. Just as long as you know I’m not leaving until you’re safe.” Gauntlet thrown.
“Fine, if you truly have nothing better to do, but you won’t ever find me cowering in a corner.”
“I wouldn’t expect to.”
They changed the subject as they finished their meal, and then suddenly Axel was standing, catching her off guard. “Let’s dance, Ella. I need to hold you.”
Oh, that timbre of his voice, the way he looked in his suit jacket with his hand held out for hers. If he asked her to slip off to a quiet corner to make love she was sure she’d say yes.
Silently, she took his hand and practically floated onto the dance floor, sighing when he cradled her in his arms and began to slowly move her across the small space.
“I wouldn’t have imagined a man as big as you would dance so smoothly,” she said, leaning back so she could look into his face. She was only a few inches shorter than him thanks to her heels and she loved how their bodies were lining up.
“Dancing and sex go hand in hand. If you’re good at one, then you’re good at both,” he said, a seductive smile spreading across his face.
“I don’t know how you manage to get away with saying such obnoxious things yet make it sound almost sexy, but I have to tell you, I’m slightly impressed,” she said with a laugh that died quickly when he pushed the flat of his hand against her lower back and pulled her against the hardness of his body.
Her mouth formed an O, and her tongue darted out to moisten her suddenly dry lips. His gaze zeroed in on the movement before his hand ran slowly up her back, then traveled downward, smoothing across her backside, only to return and rest on her lower back.
As he slowly spun her in a circle, her breathing deepened and her head felt like it was as light as a feather. She couldn’t draw enough oxygen, couldn’t get her heart to stop racing. Some said dancing was foreplay. After tonight, she had to agree.
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, the tip of his tongue feathering across her bottom lip before his teeth gently nipped and sucked it partly into his mouth while he pulled her against his hardness and ground his hips.
“Oh,” she gasped, hungry for so much more than food.
“Are we still strangers, Ella?” he asked.
She knew exactly what he was getting at. One and a half dates shouldn’t have been enough for her to allow him into her bed, but she couldn’t say no, couldn’t shake her head, couldn’t imagine how she’d survive the night if she didn’t go home with this man.