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‘What makes you think I’m going anywhere with you?’ she challenged.
His eyes gleamed. ‘Principessa, for once in your life, do what is best for you. You do not want to test me right now. I can guarantee you that. You certainly don’t want to do it here, in full view of your captive audience.’
A quick glance around showed they’d drawn even more interested glances now Darren had scurried away. Thankfully, the club had a ‘no photography’ policy, but that didn’t mean their every move wasn’t being recorded by security cameras.
‘They’re not staring at me. You’re the one making a spectacle of yourself.’
Once again he didn’t respond. She got the distinct impression he was holding onto his control by the thinnest thread. The staring contest lasted a full minute.
Then, blood roaring in her ears—with embarrassment only, she was sure—Carla walked off the dance floor and climbed the steps to the VIP area. Antonio handed over her clutch and jacket, then stepped forward to make room as they left the club.
Supremely conscious of Javier’s seething presence behind her, she could barely walk and was thankful when they emerged into fresh air.
She immediately struck out for the busy intersection three blocks away. Less than a handful of steps later, Javier stepped firmly into her path. ‘Where the hell do you think you’re going?’ His voice was a razor-sharp blade, lethal and unmistakeable in the semi-darkness.
‘I told you I’m not going anywhere with you.’
‘Think again.’
‘Do me a favour, Javier, and leave me the hell alone!’ She whirled round and tore blindly down a side street.
She noticed two things mere seconds into her flight. One, the alley was smoky and dark with a single yellow bulb strung high above their heads. Two, it terminated in a dead-end a few hundred feet away. She heard Javier snarl a do not disturb instruction to Antonio before his sure, measured footsteps echoed between her frantic ones. A dozen feet from the sheer wall soaring high in front of her, she turned and stood her ground.
He stalked closer, his dark clothes lending him an air of unbridled masculinity and danger.
Despite herself, she shivered. ‘You don’t frighten me, Santino.’
He laughed. ‘I know I don’t. But we both know why you’re running. Rest easy, chiquita
, you’re in luck. I’m in the mood to give you exactly what you want.’
CHAPTER NINE
JAVIER’S EYES NARROWED on her, his senses still grappling with the changes in the woman standing in front of him. Perhaps it was the rage boiling his blood that had him so unbalanced. Or the flaying alarm that had gripped him when he’d returned to the penthouse and found her gone. Either way, he straddled the very edge of control as he watched her sassy mouth tighten.
‘As usual, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t care for whatever it is you think I’m in the mood for.’
‘What the hell are you wearing?’ he sliced at her, his gaze taking in the dramatic beauty of her face, the shiny leather hugging her hips and thighs, and the top that was slashed in too many provocative places to require a bra. The transformation from innocent to sultry siren was playing holy havoc with a libido he’d spent the last forty-eight hours battling. And failing.
‘They’re called clothes, Javier,’ she threw back at him.
He stalked closer. She retreated. Her back touched the damp wall and she froze.
He consciously unclenched his fingers and sucked in a sustaining breath. ‘I returned home to find you gone. No note. No phone call. Had it not been for Antonio, I wouldn’t have had a clue where you were. And when I find you, you give me attitude?’
Her eyes sparked in the dim light. ‘You hung up on me mid-conversation. What did you expect, that I would be curled up in a ball of misery, crying my eyes out?’
‘I was in the middle of a meeting when we talked. I rearranged my schedule and took the rest of the meeting on my flight back from LA. If you’d bothered to answer me when I called you back once my meeting ended, we could’ve finished our conversation.’
She frowned. ‘I got no call from you.’
‘I landed three hours ago. Check your phone.’
Rebellion blazed for a second before she dug through her tiny bag. She activated it, her eyes widening a touch. ‘I was in the nightclub. I didn’t hear it.’
‘Clearly. You were too busy on the dance floor, running away from your problems by rubbing yourself against the first available guy. I’m flattened by the overwhelming sense of déjà vu.’
‘I wasn’t rubbing myself against Darren! We were working on your precious campaign. And even if we weren’t, what’s it to you? So what if maybe I wanted to spread my wings a little? Does it state in my contract that I have to remain celibate while performing my duties to the almighty Javier Santino? No, it doesn’t.’
