Claimed by the Sicilian Tycoon(6)

Lady in red? Andros turned in his chair, following Carl’s gaze. It rested on a woman sat at the bar, her long, long legs crossed. One foot was dangling in midair, and attached to it was a shoe that made him raise an eyebrow. Bright, bright red, with a heel at least five inches in length, and deadly sharp at that. Those shoes shouldn’t have worked at all with her red hair, Andros thought, red hair that was pinned in an elaborate twist on top of her head, with just a few wavy strands falling down her back and shoulders. And the dress…he shifted a little now, the familiar ache in his groin grabbing his attention. It too was bright red, short but not too short, falling mid-thigh, and molded to every single curve.

Signora in Rosso…

“Beautiful, is she not?” Carl asked, and Andros nodded slowly.

She was gorgeous, stunning. After just a very brief look Andros knew that the entire package worked in every single way, and felt himself pause as he accepted that. Accepted the fact that he hadn’t seen anyone quite as sexy in a very long time, if ever.

How had he not noticed her the moment he entered the room? More to the point, what the hell was she doing here? Few women came to Club Belmont, and when they did, they never looked like her.

“Who is she?” he demanded.

Carl shrugged. “Not sure. She’s been here since I arrived what, about an hour ago? I noticed her the moment I came in.”

“She’s just been sat at the bar?” How could he have failed to notice her?

“Yes. It’s odd,” Carl said. “I’m not the first to have sent a drink over. James Withers and Peter Whitting Prior both sent her champagne—typical move on their part, never mind the fact that she is not the sort of girl to drink champagne—and she refused them regardless.”

“Why is she not the sort to drink champagne?” Andros asked, curious.

“Come on, old chap,” Carl laughed. “That is the sort of girl to have you downing Tequila and Sambuca, one after the other.”

“And yet she is here. Not the sort of place one can find such drinks.”

A pause and Carl frowned. “I never thought of that.”

“Perhaps she’s waiting for her husband?” Andros asked, shifting a little at that thought. He did not, as a rule, steal other men’s women. Such behavior was not something he would feel comfortable with, and why would he want a woman who would willingly drop a man she’d given vows to the moment another demanded? No, even for the lady in red he would not make that exception.

“Not a husband. She isn’t wearing a ring,” Carl said, and Andros was surprised by the relief those words made him feel. “She might have a boyfriend, though. I intend to find out either way.”

Andros shook his head slowly, and placed his cup down on the table. The decision, it seemed, already made. “I would prefer that you did not.”

Carl laughed softly. “Ah, of course. I should have known she would catch your eye.”

“Because of her beauty?”

“No, because there is something about her.” Carl paused for a moment, and drummed his fingers on the table. “I can’t work out what it is, but something is…unusual…”

Andros couldn’t help but agree. Apart from the body, and the hair, and the little he could see of her face, she did have an indescribable air to her. Her foot was dangling back and forth, her fingers tracing the outline of the frosted tumbler sat between her hands, and as he watched, she laughed softly at something the bartender said.#p#分页标题#e#

His stomach muscles clenched, his dick hardened. Andros was standing before he thought to do anything else.

“If you’ll excuse me?”

He did not wait for Carl to reply, simply strode over to the stand at the entrance of the dining room, and nodded at the elderly man stood behind it.

“The woman at the bar,” he demanded. “Who is she?”

“Mr. Casstellini, a pleasure to see you again. Let me see…” The clerk clicked—painfully slowly—a few keys on the small laptop discreetly hidden on his stand, before frowning. “Ah, that was easy enough. She is the only woman to have visited today.”

“Her name?”

“A Miss Lyra Matthews,” the clerk said.

“And who recommended her?”

“Bear with me, sir…”

Andros shifted, flicking a glance behind him as he did so. It went straight to her. Lyra. The word ran off his tongue, and he shuddered slightly. His erection was uncomfortable, would be noticeable if he didn’t do something about it soon…

He frowned slightly. He wanted her. There was no question at all of that.