Electrified(2)

Moving like a caged animal set free, she wound her way around to the front of the club, flashing a few more dazzling smiles mixed with her signature innocent-yet-electric gaze to those who noticed her on the move. Like a heat-seeking missile, she landed right next to the dark-haired gentleman of her fantasies.

Coincidentally, the only empty seat up front near the stage was the second one at his table. Coming to a stop next to that chair, she gripped the edge of the wine-colored leather, praying she didn’t faint from nerves.

There was no way she could sit. She was already going rogue with being out in the club on a Friday. She felt Petey’s gaze on her back and saw the other bouncer, Big Mike, clenching his hands and watching her from the front entrance, and knew as sure as she was breathing that Asher was counting backward from a hundred before he barreled his way over there to rescue her.

The problem was, Sienna wasn’t acting on her own volition. Something altogether new was driving her.

Animal instinct.

Sienna made her own rules for a reason, and her most important one was staying safe and off the floor on weekends, when the club was filled to the max with adoring fans. Yet here she was, standing out in front, pretending to watch Petal and Sydney while a man stared at her profile. A man she wanted.

She wasn’t even sure what “wanted” meant, but there was some strange desire burning inside her. A fire whipped through her entire body, setting a blaze to her heart and sending tingles to the area down below, barely covered by the tiny scrap of pink lace.

Unsure of herself, she gripped the chair for balance, and had nearly convinced herself to walk away when she heard a deep hello directed her way.

A response bubbled up in her throat, but when she glanced at him and his intense dark gaze snared hers, she wasn’t able to get it out.

The music that pounded loudly around them seemed to fade away, the people surrounding them becoming suddenly insignificant, and the cavernous room shrank until it was only him, only her, just the two of them left in the universe.

Sienna gave a small nod and smiled back.

“Well,” he said slowly, “I guess I’m pretty damn lucky, Sienna Flower…” He ran a hand through his hair, obviously not knowing how to finish his sentence.

She ripped her gaze from his and gave herself permission to quickly check him out a little closer. Sienna guessed him to be almost forty due to the touch of gray at his temples, although his body said mid-thirties. His hair was cut short on top, just long enough for natural waves to form, and left a little longer on the sides, enough to curl around his ears. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to run her hands through the thick black ripples.

He was really something special. Sienna saw men all day, every day, not to mention each night, and not one compared to the man staring at her from across the cocktail table. She might not have feared his type from high above on the stage, but with him right in front of her eyes, inches away, she was petrified.

Not of the man, but of the way he made her feel.

“That’s me,” she finally stuttered in response. In an effort to save face, she said, “I just snuck out to see my friends in their new act,” then nodded her head unnecessarily to indicate the stage.

“They are very good,” he agreed, then narrowed his eyes slightly and cocked his head. “But not as talented as you, or as beautiful.” A tiny dimple formed when the corners of his lips tilted up slightly, and there it was…his smile. Not a full one, but the hint of what it could be like if expressed fully. It would be glorious, beyond glorious.

Seeing the large, strong man flash a small smile at her made Sienna shudder. It was what she’d been waiting for since the night before, or maybe even weeks.

Suddenly she wished she could be the one to put an even bigger smile on his face. It would be decadent, and she knew if she experienced that, she would be like an addict, wanting more.

The thought was too much for Sienna to take, and she started to move away. She’d never felt an intense attraction like she was experiencing now, and she might have wanted to explore it more, but she couldn’t afford to allow herself that luxury.

“I’m up next,” she said with a tinge of regret. “I have to go.”

His eyes darkened, the brown turning nearly black. “That’s what I’m waiting for. You, Sienna Flower.”

Against her will, she leaned forward slightly, forgetting for a moment that she was out on the floor on a Friday. This beautiful man drew her in, making her want to break every rule she’d made for herself.

But reality came slamming back along with the loud music, the crowd that surrounded them, and the knowledge that this was a really, really bad idea.