Rico was enjoying himself. Teresa’s hand slid back and forth across his shoulder, then moved up to the nape of his neck, where her fingers threaded through his hair with slow strokes. His skin was sizzling and every drop of blood in his body suddenly rushed south.
“Now, if you don’t mind,” Teresa said, giving the other woman a sweet smile, “my husband and I have other plans.”
“Husband?” Serenity looked from Rico to Teresa and back again. “You’re married?”
Rico bit back an oath as the actress’s voice hitched high enough to be heard at the surrounding tables. His marriage had never been public knowledge. His and Teresa’s time together had been so short that not even the media had caught on to it before she had disappeared from his life. Now, though, that looked as if it was about to change.
“Well, damn it,” Serenity said on a full-bottom-lip pout, “you could have mentioned it.” When she stood up in a huff, she punched her breasts out to make sure he could appreciate what he’d be missing, then turned and sashayed—the only word to describe the swing of her hips and the long stride of golden legs—out of the bar.
When she was gone, Teresa made a move to get up, but Rico caught her around the waist and dragged her down onto his lap. Her sexy, curvy behind nestled on top of him and Rico knew a whole new world of discomfort. He groaned, but held her in place. Yes, there was pain, but there was also need and want and a hunger like he hadn’t known in five years. She wiggled, trying to get up, but her movements only fanned the flames licking at him.
“Let me up,” she said in a whisper. “People are watching.”
“You made sure of that when you walked up and rubbed yourself against me,” he told her, enjoying the memory almost as much as the feel of her sitting on him.
“I didn’t—” She broke off. “Fine. I did.”
“Question is,” he asked, “why?”
She looked down into his eyes and seemed to consider whether she would answer or not. After a long minute or two, she tore her gaze from his and muttered, “You looked like you wanted to be rescued.”
“Ah.” He hid a satisfied smile. He hadn’t needed saving. Teresa had chased off the actress for her own reasons. Maybe his plan of seduction was actually working better than he had thought. “That’s another lie. You’re very good at it, by the way, but not good enough.”
“Well, if I read you wrong and you didn’t want to be saved from a conversation with that vacuous twit, I’m so very sorry.”
A smile ticked up the corner of his mouth. “Twit? Have you met Ms. James before, then?”
“I don’t need to talk to her to recognize the type,” Teresa said, studying her fingernails now as if the secrets of the universe were scribed there.
“Which is?”
She shrugged and that little movement had her shifting on his lap again. Rico had to hiss in a breath to keep from groaning aloud. It was the sweetest kind of pain he’d ever known and he was in no hurry to ease it.
“She’s pretty and has great boobs, which she probably paid a fortune for, and that’s about it.”
Rico smirked at her. “You can tell this with a glance?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “But if you want to chase Ms. Boobs, just say so.”