She slides down my leg and bites my lip, nearly undoing me.
Skirting past me, Nika smooths her hair back and adjusts the cocktail dress.
She pivots and takes in my disheveled suit, the aggressive stance, and the way I’m breathing hard and radiating barely controlled violence. “Try to look…less dangerous.”
I gesture around the suite at the destroyed furniture, the shattered lamp, and the overturned table. We can’t possibly hope to hide this disaster. She shrugs and arches an eyebrow.
What the hell does she expect?
I grab my shirt in both hands and rip it open. Buttons scatter, one pinging off the wall. I run my hands through my hair, mussing it even more. Making myself appear less like a killer and more like…
Like a guy who’s done something else that would explain the noise.
Nika tips her head to the side and retwists her dress. She pulls the door open and half-hides behind it.
Two thirtysomething male security guards stand in the hallway, wearing hotel blazers and expressions that say they’ve seen everything.
The taller one’s eyes go immediately to Nika, noting the dress, the flushed cheeks, and the slightly rumpled hair. He raises a bushy brow.
“So sorry. I was… We were…” Nika glances at me, then back to the guards. “A bit too rambunctious. That’s why I got the penthouse, so no one would hear us through the walls. My fiancé and I are long-distance. It’s…been a long time. You understand.”
Fiancé? She’s quick-witted, I’ll give her that.
I take a few steps sideways, keeping myself barely visible and exuding the image of a man halfway to satisfied, with my hands in my pockets and my shoulders relaxed.
The employees exchange a knowing glance before peering past her, trying to glimpse into the darkened suite. Checking for signs of a more serious situation.
Nika glances over her shoulder again, her head silhouetted against the bright hall light. “Mick, sweetheart, tell them you’re not trying to kill me.”
Mick. Sweetheart.
She’s got a good memory.
I drift closer so they can get a better view of my tousled hair, partially undressed state, and thoroughly debauched appearance.
“Kill her?” I huff out a laugh and rake a hand through my hair. “Never. Sorry about that. We got a little carried away.”
The shorter guard’s face relaxes, his mustache twitching with his smile. “Right. Well. Try to keep the noise down. We do have other guests. The people downstairs complained.”
“Absolutely.” Nika presses a hand to her cheek like she’s embarrassed. “I’m so sorry. We’ll try to be quiet.”
“Enjoy your evening.” Mustache nods and heads down the hall with his colleague.
Nika closes the door and flicks on the light.
I stride toward her, ready to pin her again and conclude what we started before the untimely interruption. “Come here,sweetheart. Let’s finish this.”
Her hand finds the slit in her dress and slides the fabric aside, revealing the long line of her stocking-clad thigh and a black lace garter. What’s she trying to do, distract me to death?
“Max.” She shakes her head and sighs. “You have to know by now that nothing is that simple.”
I lift my hands to grab her as she lunges at me. She drops into a crouch and jabs an object into my leg. Sharp pain prickles my left thigh, then morphs into a tingle.
Realization hits at the same moment the drug does. She played me.
Leaden weight floods through my system, my knees buckling first. I try to catch myself, to stay upright, but my body refuses to obey.
Instead, I crumple.
