Page 28

A high-pitched squeal plucked me from my thoughts as the songs switched over. Tiffany threw her arms in the air.

"This is mysong!" She jumped up from the table and grabbed my arm. "Come on, bitch, we're dancing."

The familiar look of wanting to argue settled back over Az's features. He moved to get up, but Craig put his hand on Az's chest and gently pushed him back into the back of the booth.

"Let 'em go, man. Stay in line of sight, ladies." Craig said, giving us a wink.

I leaned forward slightly, intending to kiss his cheek for being so reasonable and sweet, before I caught myself and froze. I blinked several times before letting Tiffany pull me out of the booth and mouthed 'thank you' as she pulled me away.

We found a spot on the dance floor where we could still clearly see the guys and fell into the music as we started to dance with each other. The strobe lights bounced off the various shiny surfaces in time with the seductive EDM beats of the music, and the bass reverberated through my body. I could feel the effects of the whiskey working on my system, getting lost in the motion and the music.

As we danced, I felt arms wrap around my waist. I started and spun around, my heart thundering in my chest momentarily.

"Benson?" I blinked several times as recognition crept into my mind. The tall brunette in front of me grinned in response.

"Funny running into you here, Tory." He pulled me in close, and I let him.

Ending on bad terms was an understatement for how our breakup had gone, but his arms around me felt good. I slid myhands around his neck, and we moved together on the dance floor. The ache in my body wasn't for him, but my alcohol-addled mind didn't care where the soothing came from.

Suddenly, his warmth was gone, and I swayed on unsteady legs at the loss of support. Az had Benson by the collar, pulling him away, but his blazing blue eyes were locked on my face. He shoved the other man into the mass of writhing bodies behind him before crowding into my personal space.

"We need to talk, Victoria." He growled, and heat spread through me at the sound.

It had nothing to do with the whiskey. I nodded as he grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the dance floor and toward a hallway behind the bar. Az kept a firm grip on me as he dragged me into the hall that led to the back offices. I squinted against the sudden change from the dimly lit club to the harsh fluorescents of the hallway before noticing that his hand was bleeding.

"Az, your hand." I spoke.

"It's nothing." He grunted, squeezing his injured hand into a fist as he continued toward the furthest office. "I'll deal with it later."

He didn't say another word until he dragged me inside the small room and slammed the door behind us.

"What the hell were you thinking? Letting some random guy get that close when you know how fucking dangerous it is?" He seethed.

I whirled around on him, the room spinning slightly from the sudden movement. Blinking away the swimming feeling in my head, I did my best to pin him with a stern glare.

"Excuse me?!I don't think I heard that right, because I know you weren't just trying to tell me who I can and can't dance with." I could hear the slurred edges to my voice, and I was sure that it wasn't helping make my case very much.

We stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Az's face was flushed from the alcohol, and he looked angry. There was some other emotion on his face that was more distracting than was comfortable. It was very unfair that such a giant pain in my ass looked incredibly tasty in a suit. The top couple of buttons had been undone at some point, and his intricate tattoos were peeking out from under the fabric. I realized he was talking while I was staring at his mouth. It definitely wasn't making a hot tingling sensation spread across my core.

"You really must not have a survival instinct! Do you know how fast a well-placed knife would snuff the light out of those pretty brown eyes?" He snarled. As the words fell out of his mouth, he looked just as surprised as I did that he'd said them.

Compliments didn't change the fact that he was, again, going out of his way to ruin my night. "I saw them checking weapons when we came in. Craig assured us we were safe. And not that it's any of your business. I wasn't dancing with some rando. Iknowhim." I spat as I moved around him to get to the door, letting my words drip with insinuation. Let him think whatever he wants about it. "If that's all you have to say, you can shove it up youraz-hole. I don't have to sit here and–" He cut me off with an annoyed groan.

"Fuck!" He growled, grabbing me by my upper arms, turning me around to face him, and pushing my back into the door. None of the movements were gentle. My head spun again, and it took a second for the swimming feeling to settle down.

He looked at me intently, anger and lust waging war on his face as his blue eyes kept dipping to my mouth. My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn't stop myself from licking my lips as I watched him fight with himself.

"You get under my skin, Princess." His voice was barely above a whisper before his lips crashed into mine in a scorching kiss that sent sparks streaking through my veins.

His kiss felt like raw desire and a desperate urge to possess me. It made my knees weak, and I couldn't stop myself from surrendering. I moaned into his kiss and parted my lips to let him explore further. I felt the corner of his mouth turn up in approval, and he released my arms. One hand slid down my side, finding the hem of my dress and toying with it as his fingers danced across my thigh, his other hand wound into my hair and tugging gently.

I slid my hands up his chest and around his neck, arching my back into him. When he broke away, his grip on my hair tightened, and he tilted my head to blaze a trail of kisses down the side of my neck. I groaned between the heavy panting to catch my breath and rolled my hips against him. He pulled back, leaving scant inches between us, that infuriating smirk plastered on his face.

"Ask nicely, Princess." He breathed, pulling my hair a little harder.

"Az…" I started, but my voice died on my lips.

He looped one arm around my back and pulled me off the door, pivoting around to walk me backward to the desk. He sat me on the edge, effectively pushing my short dress up around my hips.