“No need to call for reinforcements. As I was telling Schwarzenegger here, I was just resting for a moment. I’ll leave.”
The hell she would. “I wasn’t going to say that. There’s no need to hurry. In fact, if you feel the need to…rest a bit more we can go back upstairs.”
“We?” She tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “And why would I go anywhere with a complete stranger? I don’t know you. You could be crazy.”
The bouncer snorted and shook his head, much the way Parker wanted to. A complete stranger, wow. Parker didn’t want to toot his own horn, but he’d been on more magazine covers than some of the movie stars he produced films for. He was called the
“Prince of Hollywood” or sometimes the “Movie Midas”, because every film he produced turned to gold. Yet, from the disinterested way she was watching him, Parker was willing to bet that even if she knew all of that, she’d still be hesitant about going into the room with him.
How refreshing.
“True, but there’s a couch and all the free overpriced, watered-down drinks you can drink. Plus it’s going to annoy the hell out of him.” This time the smile broke free, turning her pretty face beautiful. Damn. “I can promise you I’m not crazy, but then again, a crazy person would say the same.”
“So true.”
“Then what do you have to lose.”
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Head over Heels
“Only my life.”
“There is that. But I promise not to kill you.” When she still didn’t look convinced, Parker took his hand from his pocket and raised it in the air, with his index and middle finger pointed up. “Scout’s Honor.”
“When you put it that way, it’s almost impossible to resist.” She smiled.
“Almost?” Parker wondered what he’d have to do make the offer irresistible.
“Yes. Almost.”
“Hmm…” Leaving was no longer an option for him. Parker was there to stay.
“Almost means there’s something I can do to convince you.”
“There’re two things.”
Parker loved a good negotiation. “I’m listening.”
“The door stays open at all times.”
“Deal.”
“I text my friend to let him know where I am and he’s allowed to come up at anytime.”
He… Parker didn’t like the idea of a he, but she did say friend. “Deal.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
Her eyes widened as if she was surprised, then flashed with amusement. “This club may not suck so much after all.”
“Great.” Parker stepped away from the wall and pushed the door all the way open for her. “Maybe we’ll put that on the napkins and billboards.”
Laughing, she walked past him and into the room. The night was looking up already.
www.samhainpublishing.com 13
Lena Matthews
Chapter Two
Cyn couldn’t believe she was accompanying a strange man into the private VIP room at the hottest new club in town. Although some people would have been blasé about the whole thing, for her it was borderline taboo. As silly as it sounded, Cyn wasn’t as flamboyant as most of her friends. Okay, to be fair, it was hard to top her out-there friends, but then she never really tried.
Unlike everyone else, Cyn had been fed the responsibility line her whole life. She was raised to believe it was her duty to take care of her family first, then herself. So while her friends were off clubbing, she could usually be found working late or taking care of some family issues.
But tonight, oh tonight, was going to be a different story. Cyn had never considered herself much of a risk taker, but tonight she was going to do something daring. She was stepping out of the dutiful daughter role and into femme fatale. Well, maybe not femme fatale, but something akin to it.
The idea of a vixen version of herself made Cyn chuckle. The boldest thing she normally did was to use one toilet seat cover instead of two. Oh yeah, Mr. VIP Man’s virtue was safe. Unfortunately, because the man was hella fine.
On average, Cyn wasn’t one to be attracted to men outside her race. It wasn’t a prejudice, just a preference. But now she was going to have to seriously rethink white boys. When she’d been arguing with Schwarzenegger, Cyn hadn’t really paid much mind to the interloper, but as soon as he interrupted, all her attention moved to him. And rightly so.
Dressed all in black, he loomed over her and the bouncer by several inches. Cyn wasn’t a slouch at five eight so that meant her host was at the least six three. His light shoulder-length hair was a strong contrast to his tanned skin.
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She wasn’t willing to give up on a good looking guy just because he was pigmently challenged. Yes, rethinking her bias against white boys was first on her list of things to do tonight. Closely followed by flirting with said white boy.
As they entered the VIP room, Cyn looked around the posh surroundings, duly impressed. Although the thumping beat of the music reverberated from below, she could envision conversation actually taking place in this room. The leather couches looked plush and she couldn’t wait to rest her tired feet. A woman who sold shoes for a living couldn’t be seen rubbing her aching dogs. It just wouldn’t do.
“Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll get us some drinks.”
“Sounds heavenly. I’ll have a diet soda. In an unopened can, please.” Cyn collapsed onto the couch, stroking her hands over the soft as butter leather. Ever so discretely she slipped off her shoes and wiggled her toes. Nirvana.
“Unopened can?”
“Yes, I still don’t know you,” she reminded him smugly. Cyn might want to spread her wings, but she didn’t want to spread her legs…unwillingly that was. There were a lot of crazy men out there and she refused to fall victim to one if she could help it. “No offense meant, but anyone worth
