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His free hand cupped the back of her neck, and his fingers were warm in the desert night air. She trembled when his lips met hers, having difficulty remembering the last time a kiss had made her feel like a nervous schoolgirl.
Ethan didn’t kiss like a porn star, at least not how she’d decided he would based on the movie she’d seen. His lips were soft and gentle, the barest brush against her mouth, and he pecked her once, then lingered longer the second time.
When it seemed as if he might pull away, leaving her wanting, Sam reached out and held his face between her nerve-dampened palms, keeping him locked in place. Her tongue grazed his lower lip, and in its wake she nipped him lightly, then hesitated, afraid he might be spooked by her forwardness.
She felt his smile, though she couldn’t see it, and he whispered, “I knew there was a bad girl in there.”
He pushed his body firmly into hers, his grip on her neck tightening as he deepened the kiss from his end. His tongue delved into her mouth, teasing hers with a wicked curl and sending sparks of pleasure rioting through her body. He tilted his head for a better angle, forcing her mouth wider, and she drank in his unique flavor as her tongue brushed his. Ethan Silver tasted like pure lust—spicy and dangerous—and she couldn’t get enough.
He pulled away after a minute, and Sam made a small noise of protest. Ethan kissed the tip of her nose, his cheeks flushed, his smile sweet.
“Now you’re properly dazzled.”
And damn if the cheeky devil wasn’t right.
Chapter Seven
The Provocateur Suite was dark when Ethan returned, his head still buzzing from the heady flavor of Sam’s kiss lingering on his lips. He hadn’t expected one kiss to knock him for such a loop, but the way she yielded to him and the eager need she conveyed with only her mouth set his whole body aflame.
He’d walked Sam to her room with the promise that he’d show her more impressive sights the next afternoon—though he didn’t yet know where he planned to take her. She’d kissed him good night, and damn if he wasn’t excited about seeing her again.
Kelly hadn’t arrived, meaning she was probably off doing something she’d regret later—either coke or a megalomaniac producer. If that was the case, it was anyone’s guess when she’d show up. Assuming she showed up at all.
He chucked his leather jacket on the sofa in the living room and was about to head for the bed when a lamp on the corner table clicked on. Ethan’s heart stopped. A man in a charcoal-gray suit was seated on the couch, his arm stretched across the backrest, displaying his best approximation of boredom.
“I was beginning to wonder if you’d skipped town,” the man said, crossing his legs and lighting a cigarillo. His salt-and-pepper hair was thin and slicked back, and the sharp angles of his nose and chin made him seem more like a feral animal than a human.
He blew out a plume of purplish smoke and narrowed his black eyes at Ethan. “Aren’t you going to say hello, Ethan? A dear old friend shows up out of the blue, and you don’t have a kind word to say?”
“Hello, Julian.”
“It’s a real shame you missed the party tonight. I was hoping to have a chat with you.”
“I didn’t feel like going to one of Antoine’s parties.”
“The girls were sad. You’re always so popular.” Julian took another puff off his smoke and let the cloud slide from his lips like a wispy snake. “And since when did you decide whether you could or couldn’t go to my and Antoine’s parties?”
“You’re taking credit for them now?” Ethan looked at the front door, wondering if he had a shot in hell of making it. There was no point in running. Julian might come across as calm, but Ethan had been introduced to the snub-nosed revolver Julian carried and didn’t feel like renewing the acquaintance tonight.
He sat on the couch as far from Julian as he could get and tried to stay calm. So far they were just talking, and the older man could be content to talk for a good long ti
me as long as he wasn’t being talked back to.
“I think you and I both know who’s in charge here. You knew what you were signing on for. You stupid kids think you’ll find a loophole, you think I don’t know all the shitty tricks you’re going to pull. I know all the excuses. I know all the lies. You can’t fuck me over, Ethan. I own you.”
“You don’t own me. I owe you ten grand. Once that’s paid off, you and I are done. Just like that.”
Julian snapped his fingers. “Just like that? You think it’s going to be so simple?”
No, of course it wouldn’t be that simple.
If you owed Julian five dollars, you might as well be signing your soul over to the devil. Ethan had known what he was getting into when Kelly had asked to borrow the money, and he’d known it was a bad idea, but at the time a bad idea was better than nothing.
He knew how wrong he’d been now.
“I can get you the money.”
“You know I’m in no hurry.” A smoke ring floated high into the air, a dirty halo hovering over them both. It was oddly fitting given their surroundings. “I have plenty of uses for you. Provided you meet your end of the bargain.”
