Then and there, he determined he would take her ... before another could. She was his, and he had every intention of staking his claim to her, tonight.
Now.
Someone jostled her elbow from behind, sending her plastic cup flying from her grasp to clatter dully onto the ground.
“Hey!” Jessica Talvert yelled, whirling around to deliver a blistering tirade.
A hand snaked out and snatched the necklace from her neck. Her throat burned as the chain snapped under the pressure. The thief took off through the crowd before she could even raise a hand to stop him.
Jessica gasped in outrage, following the thief without thinking. The necklace was her only physical link to her past. She was never supposed to take it off--never. She couldn’t lose it!
Jessica pushed through the milling throng, running after him as best she could. He stayed ahead of her, slippery as an eel, weaving through the bodies effortlessly while she was hemmed in. She soon lost him, and jumped up to look over the crowd, ignoring the angry looks she got. She spotted the hooded figure running toward an alley squashed between a strip club and a bar.
Heart pounding with adrenaline, Jessica squirmed through the closed bodies. It was like trying to squeeze through a crack in the wall, and she wondered how the thief had managed it so quickly and easily. After a minute, she broke through and raced past a man hawking naked girls and went into the alley.
An immediate feeling of danger clutched her chest, squeezing her ribs like two gods snapping a wishbone.
A narrow band of light stretched through the center, leaving the sides in utter blackness. Garbage littered the cracked pavement. A clatter of cans sounded deeper, stirred by wind or fleeing feet, she didn’t know. She heard the sounds of a scuffle, of meaty fist strikes and the crash of metal.
Jessica stopped halfway down the alley, catching her breath, wondering what kind of shit she was in now. Was it worth it? She thought the necklace was, but there was no way she could take on a grown man by herself. Or whatever was fighting up ahead.
Suddenly a man stepped out of the shadows and walked towards her with a cocky stride. Had she run headlong into more trouble? Jessica instinctively backed up a step, remaining wary and tense ... until she saw what dangled in his hand.
The silver medallion twirled on its chain, glinting in the failing light and the glare from a distant street lamp. Startled into immobility, Jessica looked blankly up from her necklace to the man. Whatever questioning words she’d had fell forgotten from her mind.
A tension seemed to fill his body, belying his easy, relaxed stance. His left thumb was hooked in his waistband in easy confidence. He held her necklace with his right hand, playing with it as he watched her steadily with an unblinking stare that missed nothing and seemed to see straight through her clothes. Jessica didn’t stop to wonder why he was standing there, or what he’d done to get her necklace back. She should’ve been grateful. She should’ve demanded that he return it to her. But she couldn’t do anything but stare at him, dumbfounded.
The spunk she’d always prided herself on possessing deserted her. She blamed it on shock, on unfamiliar surroundings, on being practically attacked. But those were lies. She’d been all ready to kick ass and chew bubble gum until she saw him. She felt like she’d been kicked in the gut and all the breath knocked from her lungs.
He easily outdistanced her own height, standing at least 6’ 2” , but that wasn’t what had her entranced. He was naked from the waist up, and though she’d seen plenty of practically naked men and women running around the streets, this man put them all to shame. Thin, silver studded rings glinted wickedly from each nipple. His sculpted chest was sparsely covered with hair, hiding none of the beautiful planes, and it moved in a straight, purposeful dark path down his rippled belly and into his jeans--which were tantalizingly unbuttoned, as though he’d hastily thrust them on after carnal pursuits and raced out into the night.
That alone was enough to fuel the coldest woman’s fantasies--even her own. She’d never seen a man with pierced nipples. She wondered what they felt like. Her fingertips prickled with the need to flick those rings.
The shredded, torn jeans he wore fit him like a glove and left little to the imagination.
What they covered had her mind racing to find out his secrets, and hoping he’d slip and fall and tear the jeans the rest of the way off. A patch of skin on one hip showed, and one lingering glimpse at it told her he didn’t wear anything beneath those jeans. If the zipper slid a little lower, she could see everything....
She’d been schooled to at least make a pretense of being a lady, to quash baser instincts. Lessens of ‘good girls don’t’ and ‘bad girls do’ seemed to mesh in one confusing jumble, and she couldn’t for the life of her think of why any good girl wouldn’t do a man like this.
Jessica swallowed, working moisture down her tight throat as she tore her eyes away from his groin. Her eyes felt indelibly seared by that prominent bulge, just waiting to burst out at any moment. Slowly, she worked her astonished way back up to his face. The hard line of his jaw came into view, sharply outlined with black stubble. Full lips quirked at her in a cocky half-smile.
He closed the distance between them, but Jessica barely noticed, only knew he was coming closer. All the better to see him.
She frowned at his amused lips, then peered straight up at his eyes. Sleek, inky hair clung to his throat and streamed over his forehead in rakish abandon, looking mussed and incredibly sexy. Bedroom hair. Smoky bedroom eyes. Brown and flecked with gold, they were mesmerizing and glowed with sensual promise from the light behind her. He appeared to have trace Spanish blood in him--as did many of the locals, giving them darkly sensual looks and deep, bronze skin.
He looked as delicious and sinful as chocolate ... but with bite to it.
He was definitely a heart breaker. Women probably fell all over themselves for one peep at him ... just like her. She tried to be annoyed, but irritation was the furthest thing from her mind.
He held her gaze, watching her intently beneath heavy, straight brows, eyes reflecting the tension in his body.
Jessica blushed so brightly under his intense, knowing stare, she was sure she glowed in the dark. She tore her eyes away from his and focused on his lips, blushed again at her errant thoughts, and dropped her gaze yet again to his chin. Her eyes kept straying down that belly to his unbuttoned fly. His fly bulged impressively, and she wondered absently if anything was going to jump out and bite her. And if she’d really fight it off if it attacked.
“Like what you see, chere?” he finally asked in a velvet drawl, breaking her out of her stupor.
If she’d had fur, she was sure it would ruffle and prickle under that stroking, baritone voice. With an effort, Jessica dragged her gaze back to his, hating that her interest was so damned obvious. Hating more that she continued to blush. She was so hot, she felt like she’d break out in a sweat at any moment. What did she expect?
She’d probably been drooling at him like he was a juicy steak for at least five minutes.
Something changed in him, and his look turned to one of amusement at her perusal.
His gaze dropped to her feet, and he roamed his way up her body, leaving her strangely flushed and aroused. She hadn’t thought it was possible to become aroused just looking at someone, let alone a stranger, and she didn’t like the feeling one bit.
Get a grip, she told herself, and fixed him with a stern stare. “Did you see someone run by here?” she asked, then immediately thought about how stupid that probably sounded. She didn’t know how long she’d gaped at him, because her brain was strangely foggy, but he was holding her necklace and she’d heard the brief fight.
Dammit. She normally curbed her impulse to ask dumb questions. It was hell being a blonde. Society just had no idea the burden they placed on already burdened minds.
He didn’t seem to notice her dumb blonde moment.
He leaned back on his heels. “I did. I found sometin’ you lost, cherie,” he murmured, cocking that smile again. He held up his hand, dangling her necklace before her eyes. The medallion glinted and twirled on its chain.
His husky, drawling accent caressed her ears like a melody, sending shivers up and down her spine like smooth silk. Jessica shook herself with an effort. It was time to stiffen her spine and stop thinking between her legs. She was as bad as a man.
“Thank you.” She reached up to take it, but he snatched his hand back.
