AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I got the girl, boss.” He jerked his head toward the office, and again, the picture of an innocent lamb entering the lion’s lair popped into her head.
Lisbeth stepped into the ultra-modern chrome and leather office, then jumped when the door slammed behind her.
Samson appeared from the other side of an open closet door, his sculpted upper body in full view.
Juliet was right. Lisbeth couldn’t deny that the man was hot just as she remembered him—rough-edged and raw. And yes, she was getting married in a few months, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t look. Lisbeth would have to be blind or dead not to notice every angle and slant of Samson’s chiseled torso. His body had filled out with defined muscles, cut in all the right places, and not just a solid gut, but one with that gloriousVthat came from hours in the gym—hours of sweating, grunting, and panting.
Oh, God, get hold of yourself!
Her lips tilted upwards at the familiar tangle of amulets around his neck and multiple ear piercings. She remembered comparing him to a modern-day pirate rather than a slick club owner.
He cleared his throat, and to her horror, Lisbeth realized she was ogling like a teenager, not the accomplished businesswoman she wanted to project.She tore her eyes away from his magnificent midsection to find him smiling, a predatory almost cocky grin like he knew what she was exactly thinking. Not good. Not good at all.
A slight panic swept over her, but she quickly reprimanded herself. She’d certainly seen a man’s torso before, although not one as magnificent. She forced her mind to concentrate, but her eyes betrayed her as they continued to peruse the new tattoos covering Samson’s body. A full sleeve covered one arm, and on the other, a half sleeve from his shoulder to his elbow with a warrior shield on one very defined pec. Samson lived up to his name in every way possible.
“You wanted to see me?” Lisbeth stated the obvious to reel her mind back to business. Samson asked her here, so, in essence, he needed to entertainher.
Yikes, wrong choice of words. There would be no entertaining or reminiscing, just business talk. Why did this man make her feel so awkward and tongue-tied?
Samson tilted his head, and his brow furrowed, the brightly lit office giving him a clear image of Lisbeth. For a second, she expected him to come to the same realization she did a half hour ago, but the moment passed.
“Quieter here. Easier to talk.” His words didn’t interfere with his intense gaze.
Lisbeth nodded to the closed door behind her. “Is he your bodyguard?”
Samson huffed out a laugh. “Nah, Jax is just a friend from back in the day.”
Interesting, because she was also from “back in the day,” but she didn’t remember anyone named Jax working at the Oasis.
Lisbeth mashed her lips together as her eyes traveled lower to the tailored black pants anchored dangerously low on his narrow hips. She blinked a few times, then focused on the tail of a snake intricately inked around one hip that coiled around his abs before disappearing lower into his— Nope, she didn’t recall that tattoo either.
“You like my snake?” His low, gravelly voice sent a shiver up Lisbeth’s spine until her muddled brain made sense of his words.
“I . . . y-your snake?” Great. Now she was stuttering.
Samson’s knowing grin was firmly in place as he pointed to the serpent, thoroughly enjoying her dazed reaction as he played with words.
Her eyes fixed on the colorful asp. “Very interesting.” The pitch of her voice probably had every dog in Vegas covering its ears.
He turned back to the closet and reached for another shirt, and yes, the muscles in his back were just as developed. He plucked one in black linen off a hanger, shrugged into it, then slowly buttoned up the front like some erotic strip tease in reverse. The fitted button-down from before accentuated the cut of Samson’s muscles, but this one was a whole new level of sexiness.
Get a grip! You’re engaged to be married in three months!
His lips quirked into a wicked smirk she remembered all too clearly.
He extended his hand toward the sitting area on the other side of the room. Lisbeth moved across the thick carpet, passing a fully stocked bar against one wall, then stopped at the one-way window showcasing the club's first floor.
“Talk about a birds-eye view.” She gazed out over the crowd meshing together, happy for the diversion. “Looks like opening night is a success.”
He stood close enough to smell his cologne’s heady, musky scent. “Gotta admit, it does give me a rush.”
Samson’s towering presence of well over six feet always made her feel protected years ago—even though she’d never admit it to Juliet.
Since she hit puberty, being taller than most girls and some boys weren’t always easy. Her long, skinny legs had made her clumsy, and the mean girls in middle school called her beanpole. By high school, Lisbeth wasn’t the tallest anymore, but she’d gotten used to looking a man in the eye, or in Edward’s case, being taller when wearing a low heel.
“Why don’t we sit.” He motioned to the leather couch and chairs.
She backed away from the window and positioned herself on the edge of the couch cushion as Samson settled into the matching chair across from her. His eyes narrowed like something about her was familiar too. She’d forgotten how his light blue eyes contrasted with his tawny skin tone and the dark scruff around his sculpted jawline, or how . . .
