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“Hi,” a voice whispered in her ear. She turned to find a guy with dimples and incredible blue eyes visually eating her up. “Dance?”
Okay, he was attractive. Who was she kidding? He was gorgeous. The way he looked at her made her burn. But to dance with him? Touch him? Hmm. The thought of getting physical with this guy—with most any guy—wasn’t quite as tempting. For her, it was always that way.
Except with Alejandro.
“I—I…”
“She’s spoken for tonight.”
Alejandro. She recognized that deep, slightly accented voice caressing the back of her neck. And the tingle that shimmied up her spine when he wrapped his arm around her bare midriff in a gesture designed to lay his claim.
Dimples shot her a brief look of regret. “Sure, Mr. Diaz.”
“She’ll be around later, in the chrome room.”
That information perked Dimples up. He raked her with a lingering glance. “Sweet. I’ll definitely be watching.”
Before Shanna could protest, Alejandro urged her forward, to an employees-only entrance, and shut the door behind them. The decibel level went down about a thousand percent.
She whirled to face him “You invited him to watch us?”
Shanna was glad she’d managed to parlay her shock into actual words quickly. Because once she saw his casual black shirt unbuttoned all the way down the front, exposing a healthy glimpse of hard-steel pecs and smooth bronze skin, she lost her train of thought.
“Yes, I did. He is one of the newer regulars and he was here last week. Think of him as a potential suspect.”
His voice brought her gaze back up to his face, where a hint of a smile played. The bastard knew she’d been staring at his chest.
She needed dispassion, not lust. Focus. “He had no idea who I was. No concept that I’m Kristoff’s partner.”
“Not that he let on. But if he was guilty, why would he tip his hand?”
Good question. One for which she had no answer.
“You are not required to play this scene. Do you want to change your mind?”
He was wrong; she was absolutely required to play this scene, at least if she wanted to win the competition and hold that trophy in her hand after sixteen years of hard work. But that wasn’t the only reason. If she wanted to find out if Alejandro had been right about her desire to exhibit, she had to go through with this. And if she wanted to know if she could actually feel pleasure in this man’s arms… Well, then she couldn’t chicken out.
“Just lead the way.”
With a slow nod, Ali grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, then led her down the hall. Despite her nerves, Shanna had a hard time ripping her gaze from his tight ass, displayed so mouth-wateringly in black slacks. The view alone made her want to jump him. That had to stop. This sexual hunger wasn’t like her. Being too into him wasn’t a good idea, either. She wasn’t into flings, and a guy who co-owned a club like Sneak Peek probably wasn’t into relationships.
Tearing her gaze away and focusing on her surroundings, she noticed they filed past some open doors containing offices brimming with computers manned by staff members. A wall clock said it was ten `til nine.
The butterflies in her stomach were head-banging and had set up a rave. She wondered if she was going to throw up before she and Alejandro got started.
He stopped in front of a door. “Relax. You will be fine. We’re going to handle this together.”
“Why are you being nice about this?”
He cocked a brow, the strong angles of his face dusted by shadow and stubble. The frankly sexual stare he sent her made Shanna suck in her breath.
“Certainly, it has not escaped your notice that I want you.”
How could it when the thought thrilled her so much? She shook her head.
“Good. I also want to catch the scum taking advantage of our members. You want to catch him, too, so Kristoff’s video doesn’t fall into the judges’ hands. It is a win-win for us both.”
“Is that the only reason?”
He shook his head. “I suspect you’re not the untouchable bitch you wish me—and everyone else—to believe you are.” He shot her a wolfish grin. “But I intend to find out tonight for sure. Personally, I think we will be very hot together.”
Before she could protest and slap up the armor he’d verbally stripped away, he thrust the door open and walked through.
They entered the room she had observed the Master and Slut use yesterday. Only things had changed. The chrome bed had been pushed to one corner, at the edge of the stage. The rest of the furniture had been moved out, leaving a large amount of the painted concrete floor well lit and totally empty. The bedding had changed as well. Luxurious white and silvery linens with fluffy pillows dotted with beads and tassels decorated the bed, looking sumptuous on top of the downy blanket. A far cry from yesterday’s stark black sheets.
