Dirty Aristocrat(24)

'I came to England. I met Robert and the rest is history.'

He looked at me curiously. 'So how on earth did you meet Robert?'

I shook my head. 'I'd rather not talk about it.

For a second his eyes narrowed suspiciously. I stared at him steadily.

He looked at his watch. 'You still up for The Dirty Aristocrat?'

I nodded. 'Yeah. What actually goes on in there?'

'It's an anything goes kind of place.'

I leaned forward. 'Why do you go there?'

He looks at me expressionlessly. 'Usually for an anonymous fuck.'

I looked at him long and hard. 'Why?'

'Because I like it.' A smile spread across his face. 'Because I get bored easily.'

'Don't you ever want to be in a relationship with someone?'

'I don't know. I've never met a woman yet who has stopped me from  wanting other women, so what's the point of pretending to her or me that  we're in a relationship when I'm not truly committed?'

'Fair enough.' I said, fixing my eyes on him, not liking what I was  hearing. Chloe was right. He was a womanizer. An unapologetic,  unabashed, unrepentant manwhore. Yet I could not stop wanting him.

He raised his eyebrow at a passing waiter and signaled for the bill.





CHAPTER 21


Tawny Maxwell

The foyer of The Dirty Aristocrat was claustrophobic, small and dark and  hot. We went down some red steps and into a place with red lights and  purple velvet curtains everywhere. A queen size bed with purple sheets  and red cushions had been roped off. Presumably it was meant to evoke  the sensation of entering a brothel, or a courtesan's boudoir.

I could feel the heat from Ivan's hand around my waist as we moved  deeper into the club. It was heaving and the music was very commercial.  They were playing Gangnam Style as we made for the bar. Somehow it  seemed perfect in such sleazy surroundings. A gay couple sat on top of a  massive speaker kissing passionately, and the dance floor was  jam-packed with writhing, half-naked bodies.

Ivan led me to the bar. There was one empty stool. He curled his hands  around my waist and, picking me up, popped me on the seat. I squealed  with surprise.

'Why did you do that?' I asked, a little bit embarrassed and a little impressed with the show of brute strength.

'You wanted to be here. Remember? Anything goes,' he replied with a glint in his eye.

'Oh yeah?' I challenged daringly.

He gave me a look that made something happen between my legs. Jesus! Such a thing had never happened to me before.

'What're you drinking sexy lady?' he asked staring into my eyes.

For a moment my mind was a complete blank. Then I said the first thing that came into my head. 'Tequila with salt and lemon.'

He smiled. 'A fire drink. Excellent choice.'

He didn't even have to order the drinks. A switched on barman had not  only heard the order, but had already fulfilled it. Two glasses came  sliding across the bar towards us and stopped dead in front of us.         

     



 

'Impressive,' I said.

The barman smiled, put down a saucer with lemon wedges and a salt shaker, and went on to another customer.

I looked at Ivan. 'Don't you have to pay for this?'

'I have a bar tab running. The bill is settled monthly.'

Wow! A regular haunt then. We did the salt, alcohol and lemon thing.

'Whoa,' I said, my face scrunched up with the sour taste of the lemon. I had never had tequila before.

'Another?' he asked.

'OK,' I agreed immediately.

We did it all again.

'Whoa,' I said, trying not to cough.

'Another?' he asked with a devilish grin.

'OK, but this is the last one,' I said firmly. 'I already feel ten times merrier for no good reason.'

'This time let's do it the Mexican way.'

'What's that?'

'Warm without the salt and lemon.'

I raised my eyebrow. 'Surely that would take all the fun out of it.'

The corners of his eyes crinkled. 'On the contrary.'

He spoke to the barman and two shots came sliding towards us.

He clinked his glass to mine, his eyes telling their own story. 'Anything goes.'

'Anything goes,' I agreed, and let the drink slip down my throat.  Without the salt I could actually taste the peppery taste of the drink.

'Like it?' he asked.

I nodded. 'I do actually.'

PSY's Daddy came on and it could have been the Tequila or the feeling of  being so damn close to him, but my foot started tapping.

'Wanna dance?' he asked.

'Thought you'd never ask.'

He laughed and pulled me off the stool. The palm of my free hand somehow  ended up on the wall of his chest. Heat radiated out of him into my  skin.

'Damn, you're solid,' I whispered, my knees all of a sudden quite wobbly.

His hand tensed around me. He was just keeping me upright, I guess.

We got to the floor and suddenly all those people trying to be so sexy  seemed funny so I started clowning around doing all the totally unsexy  moves from PSY's video. I flicked my hair back from my face and,  pointing my forefinger at him, screamed the words, 'Hey, where'd you get  that body from?'

He was good for it. He copied my earlier goofy dance moves and shouted back, 'I got it from my Daddy.'

I laughed.

He fell to his knees and to my surprise executed some unexpectedly cool  moves while on them. The tequila started buzzing in my head and we  carried on like two fools until the song ended and I smiled sunnily up  at him.

The next track was Galantis's Peanut Butter Jelly.

'Spread it like,' he prompted, miming the action of combing his hair.

'Peanut butter jelly,' I bellowed, and turning wriggled my butt  provocatively at him. He slapped it and I whirled around with  exaggerated surprise and showed him my middle finger. Laughing he spread  the fingers of both his hands and made circles with them.

He looked so ridiculous I had to laugh.

It was the most fun I'd had since the hogs ate grandma and I was giving  it all I got, widening my eyes, and making silly faces, when he suddenly  grabbed me, pulled me towards him, and kissed me. The laughter died in  my throat. His cologne flooded my senses. Delicious. Everything around  us melted away.

Oh my God! It was like our mouths were made of chocolate. They melded  into each other. We were just a hot mess of lips, tongues, saliva and  desire. I became lost in him.

Spread it like. Spread it like. Spread it like.

I felt the effects of his kiss down to the tips of my toes. When he raised his head I could only stare at him dumbfounded.

'Oh wow!' I said, my lips tingling.

Reaching my hands around his neck, I pulled his head back down and  carried on kissing him. I was like a hungry animal that had been kept in  a cage and not fed for days, while it could see the food just outside  its reach. I could have stayed like that forever, just drowning in the  sensation of that mind-blowing kiss if he had not pulled me off him.

'Hey,' I protested, frowning up at him.

'This club is not wild enough for what I want to do to you,' he muttered thickly and dragged me off the dance floor.

We were standing facing each other at the coat counter, waiting for my  coat, when I saw a woman behind Ivan approaching us. She was slim with  shiny, dark-chocolate hair and her skin was smooth and olive toned. She  was staring at me intently. Not taking her eyes off me she tapped Ivan  on the back. I watched him turn and look down at her.

'Isla is having a party,' she told him. 'You can come. There will be  girls there for you.' She let her eyes slide toward me. 'I can take care  of her while you are busy.'         

     



 

Hot bling was blasting in the background. The expression on Ivan's face  did not change in the slightest, except for the sudden tightening of his  fingers on my hand.

'Maybe next time,' he told her flatly.

'Shame,' she said looking at me. 'I really like your little friend.'

'Have a great time at your party,' Ivan said and turned his back on her. I looked up at Ivan. His face was a frozen mask.

The girl who had taken our ticket emerged from the back room with my  coat. She put it on the counter and he took it and helped me into it.

We walked out into the cold air and Ivan took hold of my elbow. I looked into his eyes.

'Did you want to go to that party?' I asked.

He shook his head. 'No, I can go to parties like that any day of the week.'

'Good,' I said.

He hardly spoke in the car. I stole a few glances at him, but he seemed  to be in his own thoughts. He parked in the underground car park. I  turned to look at him.

'Thank you for a lovely evening.'

He smiled. Slow and sexy. Oh! I'm so screwed.

'It's not over yet,' he said softly.

'No?' There were butterflies in my tummy.

'Come on, I'll walk you to your door.'

'Makes sense,' I joked, but my voice sounded nervous.

He came around and helped me out. We walked without touching, but the  air between us was throbbing. I did not look at him in the lift. When we  got inside the apartment he closed the door behind him and I turned to  look at him. His eyes were veiled. I stared at him nervously. It had  been fun in the nightclub, but now that we were at the point where it  all got serious, I felt incredibly nervous. Whatever buzz from the  alcohol seemed to have completely exited my system.

'Should we have a drink first?' I asked.

He shook his head slowly and began to advance. Sensuality dripped from  him. 'Shit, Tawny. I'm going to make you scream so hard tonight,' he  promised.

I opened my mouth. There must be something clever to say to that. My  mind was a blank. Oh sweet Jesus. Then my legs began to move. Backwards.  I was retreating. Damn. Who'd have ever thought I was such a coward? My  mouth started making words.