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“Are you okay?” Marissa sounds sad for me. I explain what I saw, and they don’t even try to tell me they’re sure it’s not what I think. We have an honesty policy when it comes t
o men.

“Yep. I’m just an idiot. I really don’t feel like trying to compete with that. Not that I could an
yway.”

Shannon asks what I want to do. Do I want to stay or go somewhere else? I say I’d rather go somewhere else than stay here, and they agree to leave. I know they don’t want to go yet, and I appreciate the offer. It’s a big place, and I probably could manage to avoid Julian all night, but I’m in a shitty mood now and would just rather leave. My argument with Luke just makes the night suck more. Damn! It started out so good. I need to get my credit card from Luke and tell Lauren we’re leaving. I tell them I’ll be right back down. We make plans to meet by the front, and they’re going to find Jenna and the other girls we have lost somewhere in the club. There are two ways to get upstairs, and I go the opposite way from where I just saw Julian. I’m determined to get out of here without seeing him again. I know I didn’t see him doing anything that should have me so upset, but the image of those two beautiful people together like that just keeps reminding me I’m out of my league. I make it to Luke’s bar unnoticed. He sees me right away but ignores me. Really? I get Jordan to close out my tab and give me my credit card back. I see Luke walking toward me, and I hurry up and sign the receipt. He opens his mouth to say something, and I just turn and walk away. I hear him call my name, and I just keep going. Fuck him! Crap. I forgot to get Lauren. I decide to just tex
t her.

Alexa:
we’re leaving. Are you c
oming?

She responds right
away.

Lauren:
no. See you
later.

I assume she’s going home with Luke. Oh well, I
tried.

I stop by the bar on the other side of Orion for a minute. I’m shaking I’m so upset. I’m pissed at Luke and Julian and also sad and disappointed. The bartender sees me and asks me if I need anything. I’m about to say no when I notice two very blonde, very drunk girls next to me doing shots. I change my
mind.

“A shot of Patrón Silver pl
ease.”

“Do you want to start a
tab?”

“No, I’ll pay
cash.”

He brings the shot over and sets it in front of me. I pick it up and glance at the girls sitting beside me. They’re ham
mered.

“Hey. Wait for us. We can do a shot toge
ther.”

One of the girls is looking right at me. Ah, female bonding at its finest. Next they will ask me to go to the bathroom with them. I don’t wait and do the shot quickly instead. I immediately feel shitty because the girl that was talking to me looks totally off
ended.

“That was so not cool.” Yep, she was off
ended.

She shakes her platinum blonde head at me. I honestly feel bad for being such a bitch. I had no intention of doing any shots tonight, let alone two, but now I feel I need to do another with them. I motion to the bartender I want another. I know this is probably not a good plan. Last time I did shots was with Brady on his birthday. He was turning twenty-six and started talking about how he was going to do twenty-six tequila shots himself. We managed to convince him we should do twenty-six shots collectively instead. There were five of us there, Luke included, so we all went around in a circle and did a shot until we reached twenty-six. I did five in like twenty minutes. I was so drunk and so sick that I didn’t drink anything for weeks. I haven’t had a shot until tonight, and surprisingly it went down easily. Hopefully the second will as
well.

The bartender sets my second in front of me. I hold it up to toast with my new fr
iends.

“Here’s to saying fuck off to guys who make you feel like
shit.”

I toss it back and set my glass down on the bar. The girls repeat what I said and do their shots. I hear them saying something about us girls needing to stick together when I feel my phone vibrate. Marissa is texti
ng me.

Marissa:
hu
rry up

Alexa:
coming

Shit. I forgot they were waiting. I’m a freaking mess. I hurry down the stairs as fast as I can in my four-inch heels. By the time I get all the way near the front, I’m feeling the alcohol. I see Marissa and Shannon waiting for me. What happens next is like a movie. I’m just about to make my escape when at the last second I’m noticed and my get away plan is foiled. As I’m walking toward the girls, I feel a hand grab my elbow from behind. I hear Julian before I se
e him.

“A donde vas, A-lex-a?”
He always drags the syllables out in my name when he’s emphasizing a point. He says it almost scoldingly, like a mom would say it to a child who’s misbehaving. It annoys me. Right now,
everything
is annoyi
ng me.

I spin around quickly and paste a big fake smile on my face. I also pull my arm away so he isn’t touching me. I can’t think straight when he is. He tilts his head and frowns as I step away fro
m him.

“Leaving. We’re heading over to Reign.” We’re actually probably going home, but I don’t want him to know he ruined my night, so
I lie.

“I thought we decided we would be spending some time together ton
ight.”

“Change of plans, Julian.” I say it with my fake smile still plastered on, but I sound like a total bitch, and I know it. The tequila is making me brave, and my defensives are on high alert. Not only was I anxiously waiting around for him, but watching his interaction with the supermodel has me feeling like a
loser.

“
Qué pasa
, Alexa? Why are you pissed a
t me?”

He knows I saw him with her, and he knows I’ve been waiting around for him. He wants to play this game, and I’m not up f
or it.

“I’m not pissed, Julian.” And the truth is I’m not mad at him. He really didn’t do anything wrong. I tell him the
truth.

“I’m just over this thing, whatever it is, or
was.”

I say the words resignedly and gesture back and forth between us indicating there’s something between us. Well, I may as well have waved a cape in front of a bull. Julian steps to me and pulls me to him with one hand around my waist. I’m pressed up against him and feel his heat everywhere. Damn it. He leans down so his mouth is on m
y ear.

“This ‘thing’ is so far from over, Alexa, and you know
that.”

I try to pull away, but he flexes his arm and holds me
close.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting. I had a few things I needed to take care of first so I could give you my undivided atten
tion.”

I don’t say anything, and when he pulls back a little, I see confusion as well as a hint of hurt in his eyes. “You were seriously going to leave without tellin
g me?”

I look around and notice we have an audience. We’re near the entrance/exit of the hotel to Ocean Drive, so most people coming and going pass through here. I see my friends as well as other nosy people staring at us, watching this crazy scene unfold. Julian only looks at me, not caring that a bunch of strangers are watching his every move. He’s still holding me close, and he isn’t letti
ng go.

“I just saw you. You looked to be taking care of some
other
unfinished business. Here’s a little piece of information about me, Julian. I’m not a fan of mixed sig
nals.”

The look he gives me is hard and serious. “Do you feel me against you right now, Alexa?” He’s referring to his erection, which I definitely can feel. “Is there anything ‘mixed’ about that si
gnal?”

I shake my head. I don’t question his attraction to me. I can literally feel it against my leg. I’m just not so sure now that I’m the only one he’s feeling it with tonight. I’m also not sure I’m up for this game anymore. Julian is trying very hard to pull me back in, and I’m trying to decide if I want to f
ollow.

“Please don’t act this way.” His tone is ple
ading.

“What way, Julian?” I know exactly how I’m acting. Je
alous.

“Like you have anything to be jealous of. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the moment you ran into me in the stairwell.
Solament
e tu
.”

Only me? I so want to believe that. I haven’t stopped thinking about him either. He still hasn’t let me go, and I realize I’ve stopped trying to get away. My body already feels addicted to his touch, and I can’t deny how much I want to be with thi
s man.

“Please stay and talk t
o me.”

“Okay, I’ll stay.” I say it softly, and obviously I convince him I’m not going to make a break for it because he finally relaxes his hold on me. I tell him to hang on, and I walk over to where my friends are waiting f
or me.

Shannon is the first one to speak. “That looked intense. What did he
say?”

I don’t feel like sharing the whole conversation. “That he wants me to stay and that he isn’t with that
girl.”

“So I guess we’re staying?” Marissa doesn’t sound surprised o
r mad.

I shrug my shoulders and apologize. “Yes. S
orry.”

“No worries, we’ll stay too.” Shannon smiles at me. “Go do your thing and text us l
ater.”

I turn around and start back to where Julian is waiting for me. He’s leaning against one of the bar tables and smiling at me. It’s so hard to be mad at him. He says and does all the right things. I’m still upset about seeing him with that woman, but he’s here with me now, not her. He takes my hand when I get close enough and leads me away. I’m not sure where we’re going, and I don’t ask. I just hope it’s somewhere private. I really want to be alone with Julian. I’m all over the map with my thoughts and feelings, and I’d like to just get back on solid ground with him. We wind our way through the crowds and end up inside the hotel. He leads me to an elevator and uses a special key to get us access to what appears to be a private area. He doesn’t let go of my hand when we’re in the elevator, but he doesn’t make any other moves to touch me. This is the first time we have been alone since the time in the hallway, and to be honest, I’m ready for him to touch me, really touch me. I find myself staring at his lips and imagining them on mine. We’re both silent, and I’m dying to know what he’s thi
nking.

Chapter Eleven

The elevator opens into a little lobby area with smoked glass doors in front of us. Julian walks toward the doors and swipes a key to open them. We walk out onto a small private patio that looks like something out of a magazine. We’re at the top of the hotel facing Ocean Drive, so we have a beautiful view of the water and of the sky. There’s a small, white sectional couch and matching chair with big, blue pillows and a dark wood frame that look similar to the ones at Orion. A beautiful blue-tiled mosaic table with a small built-in gas fire pit sits in the middle of the patio. It’s lit, and the flickering flames throw light and shapes off of the smoked glass walls that surround the patio on the other three sides. There’s a very Mediterranean feel to this space, and I imagine this is what it must look like in Greece. It’s crazy to feel this secluded when there are thousands of people around us in the hotel and on the streets. I notice two bottles of wine and two glasses on the table, and I hear soft jazz music playing in the background. I’m not sure if I’ve ever been in a more romantic setting. My mind goes dark for a moment as I wonder if Julian gets romantic with women up here on a regular basis. Damn, why can’t I be happy and just enjoy this moment? I piss myself off. Thankfully, his soothing voice snaps me out of my unpleasant tho
ughts.

“I was up here trying to get this ready so I could bring you here tonight. I didn’t have much notice you were going to show up. I asked Luke when he first got here around eight, but he didn’t let me know until almost ten. He said he couldn’t get ahold of
you.”

I’m not surprised. Luke didn’t even try to get ahold of me until ten. I keep that information to m
yself.

“It’s beautiful, Julian. It feels like we’re the only two people in the w
orld.”

“Really? That’s awesome to hear because that was the plan when I designed the s
pace.”

I hear the pride in his voice. “The patio is private, and only people who rent either the honeymoon suite or the royal suite have access. Luckily for us, neither of those rooms is rented ton
ight.”

“That is lucky, but I’m sure you’d rather have the revenue from the rooms being re
nted.”

He looks at me with a shy smile. “No, Alexa. I’d rather be up here with you than make money off it tonight.” That’s what I mean about Julian always saying the right
thing.

We are still standing, and he takes my hand and leads me to the couch to sit down. We sit very close, and he continues to hold my hand. It feels like we’re on a first date, and considering how we have interacted so far, this feels so normal. We have definitely taken a few steps backward, but in a goo
d way.

“I thought maybe we could do things a little different tonight. When I realized I never even got your phone number, I knew we had some backtracking to do. And as hard as it has been all night for me to keep my hands and mouth off of you, I’m determined for us to get to know each other a little be
tter.”

I giggle a little when Julian mentions he wants his hands and mouth on me. I totally feel the same way, and I honestly would rather skip the get-to-know-you-better part of the evening. But because Julian has gone to all this effort, I decide to enjoy this little seduction
game.

“I already know a lot about you, Ju
lian.”

“Really? Suc
h as?”

I recite some of the stuff I’ve read on the Internet using my best announcing
voice.

“Introducing Julian Bauer, the thirty-year-old Cuban owner of the Hotel Del Marco in beautiful South Beach, Florida. The Bauer family owns and operates Bywater Properties, one of the largest property-development companies in South Florida. Julian has one sibling, a younger brother named Daniel who is twenty-seven. Mr. Bauer graduated from The U where he was a standout baseball player headed for the pros until he decided to join the family business. He is currently one of south Florida’s most eligible bachelors and always surrounded by a flock of beautiful w
omen.”

Julian is laughing, really laughing at my description of him. “Someone has really done her homework. You know you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet, A
lexa.”

“I know that, Julian. If I did, I wouldn’t be here
now.”

I’m totally teasing him. I really could not—and I tried to—find any dirt on Julian. The worst things to read were all about how he surrounds himself with beautiful
women.

“That bad, huh? I try not to read stuff about my
self.”

“Did I get any information w
rong?”

“You may have reported a couple inaccuracies like the fact that I’m actually half Cuban, half Argentinean, but overall that was a pretty good dossier you compiled on me, Alexa. The only problem now is that you seem to have me at a disadvan
tage.”

“And why is that, Ju
lian?”

“You know so many personal things about me, and the only personal things I know about you besides your name is how you look and sound when you’re about to
come.”

I swear he does it on purpose. He tries to shock me when he says stuff like that, and he just did. I thought we were staying away from the sexual stuff for a while. I clear my throat so I can respond, and Julian senses my embarras
sment.

“There’s no reason to be embarrassed, Alexa. It was a beautiful thing, watching you come against my leg. Next time I’d like to feel you come against another part of my
body.”

This was supposed to be a get-to-know-you conversation, and so far the only thing I know is that we’re both still thinking about fu
cking.

I decide to fight fire with fire. “Well if that’s the case, Julian, I think I’m the one who’s at a disadvantage because I still have no idea how you look or sound when you’re about to
come.”

Julian is very close to me, and I swear I can feel the heat coming off of his body. If he started ripping my clothes off right now, I would not be surp
rised.

“
Dios mío
, Alexa. You’re something else. Keep saying things like that to me, and I promise the talking portion of this program will be ending very
soon.”

I meet his gaze with the same intensity he’s directing at me. “Promises, promises, Julian. I just hope you’re not all
talk.”

Julian leans into me and puts his face right in front of mine. I look at his lips because I can’t look him in the eyes anymore. I slowly lick my lips in invitation because I’m sure he is going to kiss m
e now.

“Like I said earlier, Alexa, I’m determined to get to know you better before I fuck you tonight. If I even start to kiss you or touch you, both of our mouths are going to be too busy pleasing each other to do any talking. So stop trying to make me harder than I already am and tell me if you prefer white wine or red
wine.”

He pulls back without kissing me, and I’m left trying to catch my breath. Literally. I swear if he would have touched me right then, I would have orgasmed. I’m that turn
ed on.

I choke the word out because I can hardly talk. “White.” I’ve already had those two shots of tequila and a vodka cranberry earlier, but suddenly I do not feel buzzed at all anymore. Julian moves away and reaches for a bottle that’s sitting on the table. He opens the white and pours us both a glass. He hands me my glass and raises his in a
toast.

“To getting to know each other be
tter.”

I repeat the words. His toast is much more eloquent than the toast I gave upstairs a little whil
e ago.

“Do you prefer white, Julian, because I would have had the
red?”

“I’m not a big wine drinker at all, so either is
okay.”

“I haven’t seen you drink much at all actu
ally.”

“I don’t drink much, Alexa, and hardly at all when I’m at
work.”

I guess I look surprised, and he no
tices.

“Why does that surprise
you?”

“Because you own a hotel with a nightclub and several bars. Alcohol is always around, and I’m sure it’s a big part of conducting busi
ness.”

“That’s all true, but I choose not to indulge much. It’s a personal choice, but I clearly support people having a good
time.”

He doesn’t offer more, but I know there’s more to the story. I don’t pry. My thoughts shift to Brady, and I think how great it would have been if he ever would have chosen not to indulge. Every night out with him was a party, and I should have known from the very beginning he had a problem. After going through that, I would have no problem if Julian told me he didn’t drink a
t all.

“And you, what do you like besides white wine, mojitos, and vodka/cranber
ries?”

“I’m actually not a big drinker either, Julian. Although it doesn’t seem like it the last few times I’ve been here. I seem to drink more when I’m around you than I normall
y do.”

And it’s true. I really haven’t been drinking much over the last year. I partied hard the year Brady and I dated. Too hard. And when he died, I couldn’t stop feeling guilty about my part in his disease. Drinking and doing drugs were things I wanted to get far away from. Julian asks me a question that brings me back to the pr
esent.

“Why is that, A
lexa?”

“Because you make me nervous, Julian, and when I’m nervous, I sometimes find a drink calms me
down.”

He scoots even closer to me, if that’s possible. “Why do I make you nervous?” He’s actually playing with me and trying to make me nervou
s now.

Oh my God. Really, Julian? I want to scream, “Because you’re so fucking hot I can’t think straight around you,” but I don’t. I don’t answer that question at all and change the su
bject.

“What else do you want to know about me, Julian?” I think I want to stick to the basics
here.

“
Todo
, Alexa,
todo
.” I’m not sure how to feel about that. He wants to know everything? It makes me feel great and freaks me out at the same time. That’s what the problem here is. I love hearing him tell me how much he wants me and how beautiful he thinks I am, but at the same time it scares the shit out of me. I can’t seem to keep my guard up for very long when he’s around me, and I just don’t want to get hurt by him. I already know, judging by my reactions tonight, he has the power to hurt me, and that isn’t a good
thing.

“Well, let me even the playing field out a little, Julian.” I start to recite my own information in much the same way I di
d his.

“Introducing Alexa Reed. Alexa is twenty-five and will be turning twenty-six in June. She was born and raised in South Florida. She has two older sisters, Tracy and Jill. She is a Seminole, which is kind of an issue because Mr. Bauer is a Cane.” Julian laughs out loud at that. “She is employed by Wilson & Mitchell Properties, which is one of Bywater’s largest competitors, as a sales and marketing consultant. She is currently working at the Bayview Towers property in Coconut Grove, where she also lives with her two best friends, Marissa and Shannon. She loves music, all music, and loves to sing even though she can’t carry a tune. She played soccer and tennis in high school and was a good athlete, but not good enough to go pro. Oh, and she speaks enough Spanish to know if someone is talking about
her.”

I’m trying to make this playful and light, and I’m winded by the end of my speech. I thought I was being funny, but serious Julian is staring intently
at me.

“And Alexa is si
ngle?”

That makes me laugh. “Um, yes, isn’t that obv
ious?”

He doesn’t say yes. “And
Luke?”

Luke? Where in the hell did that come
from?

“And Luke is another one of Alexa’s best friends. He has been for y
ears.”

For some reason, I sense Julian doesn’t believe me, and I wonder what the hell was said between them tonight. I don’t want to talk about Luke, so I change the topic. I decide this is the perfect opportunity to ask about the woman I saw Julian downstairs with ea
rlier.

“And the supermodel with mile-long
legs?”

I try to say it jokingly, but it doesn’t come out as playfully as I want it to. His response isn’t playful either. The mood between us keeps subtly shifting depending on the nature of our convers
ation.

“Her name is Caroline, and she’s someone I went out with a few t
imes.”

Translation: someone I slept with a few times. He offers a little more information, which I’m grateful for. “She isn’t happy I’m no longer interested in going out with her and wanted to share that with me ton
ight.”

Yeah, I’ll bet she’s unhappy, and I’d also bet she doesn’t get turned down much. I haven’t even slept with Julian yet, and I feel connected to him. And possessive. As we have been talking, we have sort of snuggled into each other, and I’m pretty much leaning back onto him. He wraps his arms around me, and I start to really relax for the first time tonight. It may be the wine (and tequila), the beautiful night sky, or just the fact that Julian is making me feel so comfortable. I even feel relaxed enough to put my feet up on the
couch.

“Those shoes are hot by the way.” I smile at the compl
iment.

“Thank you. I just got
them.”

“You like shoes, don’t you, Alexa?” Um, yeah. What girl do
esn’t?

“Yes, why?” I’m sure I sound defensive. I’m always justifying my shoe addiction to so
meone.

“Because all three times I’ve seen you, you have been wearing very sexy, very high, expensive s
hoes.”