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Time to go before she chickened out.
Her heels clacked on the stairs as she made her way down, feeling rather breathless. Before she reached Rick’s door, it opened, which made her wonder if he’d been listening for her. Blue eyes stroked over her figure, examining her from head to toe. Taking the opportunity to do the same, Maria sighed inwardly at how good he looked. Also wearing all black, he had on the leather pants she’d seen him in before and a black t-shirt that hugged his body, showing off his muscles and golden tan. The blue of his eyes shone brightly, even in the negligible light of the hallway. He gave her a short nod of approval when he was done looking her over.
“Good enough for you?” she asked, feeling both irritated and nervous at his close scrutiny.
A little smile curved his lips, not mocking exactly, but definitely amused. “You look perfect. Good enough to eat in fact.”
Warmth spread through her as a blush rose in her cheeks. Not something that happened to her on a regular basis. Suddenly she felt a little off balance, a little less confident even though he’d just complimented her. And a little more excited.
“Thanks… um, you were wearing those last night,” she said, gesturing towards the pants, feeling the need to get the attention off of herself.
Rick raised his eyebrow. “Was I?”
Realizing she’d just given herself away, Maria blushed again. Dammit. “I was in the parking lot when you came home, and I saw you. Are we going to the same place you were at last night?” she asked, hoping to change the subject.
“Yes.” Reaching out his hand, he smiled again when she automatically put hers in his. His palm was warm but not sweaty, and when he curled his fingers around hers she felt a little jolt of electricity right down her spine. “Come on, let’s go.”
The ride was surprisingly relaxing. Although Rick wouldn’t tell her where they were going, the conversation flowed easily enough. After all, they’d been talking just about every morning for the past week. She told him about the latest drama going on at work with a new female server and the two guys trying to get her attention, apparently not realizing she was obviously crushing on one of the line cooks. Mostly he just listened and asked questions as they drove downtown, making Maria even more antsy.
It had been a while since she’d been downtown, and she still didn’t have a clue where he was taking her. When she tried to tease it out of him, he just shook his head and refused to answer.
“It’s better to show you,” was all he would say.
Annoying.
When they pulled up to what looked like a warehouse, with a parking lot full of cars, she was intensely curious. As far as she knew, there wasn’t much around this area, and while the cars made it obvious there was something here, she wasn’t sure what it could be. At least there were plenty of cars. She was already questioning her sanity a bit for letting him take her somewhere without telling her their destination. It’s not like she really knew him, not very well.
Considering they were in what seemed more like an industrial district, his mysterious behavior and their all black attire, she was almost a little bit worried he was going to reveal he was a vampire or something. Obviously she’d been reading too many urban fantasy books lately. But hey, their current surroundings would be the perfect location for him to lure her to if he was.
“Where are we?” she asked, looking around the lot. There was another couple getting out of a car and walking towards the door, which made her feel a little better. The man was wearing similar clothing to Rick and the woman was wearing a short, shiny red skirt even shorter and tighter than Maria’s, paired with a black bustier that pushed her breasts up as if offering them on a platter. She was clinging to the man’s arm as she tottered on insanely high heels which made Maria worry about the woman’s ankles.
“Stronghold,” Rick said. When she turned to look at him, his face was impassive, and she realized he’d been watching her watch the other couple. There was a tension in his voice she hadn’t heard before, although his tone was smooth and controlled. She suddenly got the impression he was showing her something he wanted her to like and was nervous she wouldn’t. “It’s a club I go to sometimes.”
“For dancing?” Somehow that just didn’t fit with him, or with the couple who had just gone through the plain looking door. It definitely didn’t fit with the anxiety she sensed in him.
“No. Although there is a dance floor. Come on.” Turning away, Rick opened his door and got out. Definitely nervous. He usually wasn’t so abrupt when he talked to her. Although she could see he was on his way to her side of the car, she opened the door and got out without waiting for him. Sometimes chivalry was nice, but she always felt stupid just sitting in a car and waiting for a guy to open it, as if she couldn’t handle it herself. Holding a door open for her to walk through made sense, sitting and waiting in a car didn’t.
He just gave her a little smile and pushed his hands into his pockets, turning to walk briskly towards the door the other couple had gone through.
Step into my web, she thought. But she followed anyway.
The tension in his shoulders seemed to grow as they approached the building. Which only fed her curiosity. Seriously, what was behind the door?
A lobby, it turned out. And not a particularly flashy one. She could hear music coming from the far door, which was guarded by a giant. An attractive giant with creamy dark skin and melting chocolate eyes, but still a giant. While Rick made her feel kind of dainty, he didn’t actually make her feel petite or small. Especially when she was in heels. The giant did. He was tall and broad and nicely muscled, wearing nothing but leather pants to show off his muscled chest and shoulders, a line of dark hair going down from his belly button into his pants.
A hand wrapped around her arm, pulling her gaze away from the giant’s crotch. Oops. Not her fault, the happy trail had led her there.
“Try not to check out my friends,” Rick said, a little wryly.
“I wasn’t checking him out,” Maria said. “Not in that way.” She glanced over at the giant who winked at her, and she knew he’d heard. “Not that you’re not very attractive.”
The deep rumble of laughter made her grin as Rick pulled her over to the desk where a very perky and alert little black-haired pixie was practically bouncing in her seat. The leather dress she was wearing had cut outs all over the bodice and gave the impression of exposing more than it covered. It looked fantastic against her pale skin, emphasizing her slight figure and the curves she did have.
“Hi Rick,” she chirped, big blue eyes peering at Maria from thick black lashes. “You brought a guest. The subs are going to be devastated.”
Subs?
Before she could ask, Rick was introducing her to the pixie. “Lexie, this is Maria. Maria, this is Lexie.”
