The Billionaire's Masquerade (The Friendship Series) (21 page)

With that in mind, she lifted her head back and stared right into his eyes, daring him as she’d seen other women do.

“I’m Rocco.” He took her hand in his, felt the trembling and was shocked. Rocco watched her carefully, realizing that this woman was not a member of the idly rich scene that normally would hang out in a nightclub like this. Of course, nor was he. Idle, that is. Rocco didn’t have time for night clubs and the irritating idleness that seemed to be part and parcel of the crowd which frequented this scene. But he read people easily and he knew that this woman, this lovely, nervous and gentle woman was not used to being in an environment like this.

If the lushness of her figure had not clued him in, the trembling in her hand certainly would have. He might intimidate other women, but they were experienced enough to dull their nerves with alcohol. This tiny woman delicately took a sip of the drink he’d bought her instead of gulping it down. He almost chuckled when she tried to smother her cringe at the taste. He suspected there was a great deal of alcohol in the drink. The bartenders at this establishment knew that patrons who were more inebriated were less tight with the cash as the evening progressed.

“What’s your name?” he prompted when she simply stared at him.

Brianna continued to stare up at the shockingly handsome man, trying to get her brain to start working. Unfortunately, she was stumped by his question. This was an easy one most of the time. She looked at him, looked down at her drink and shook her head slightly. When it finally came to her, she brightened. “Bri!” she gasped.

When the man chuckled, Brianna felt her face flame up and was eternally grateful for the dim lights of the club. “So you’re named after cheese,” he said softly, moving slightly closer as her inability to hide her feelings piqued his interest. “Interesting.”

She shook her head, trying to figure out why she felt like she’d just said something funny. “Brianna,” she stammered, feeling like a ridiculous school girl on a first date. She could do this, she told herself firmly. She had to! The man she’d been hunting tonight had walked right up to her so there was no excuse, no room for failure. She had to get this story!

With that in mind, she looked back up at him, her mind shifting from nervousness because she was inappropriately attracted to the man and moving into a “professional journalist” mindset. Or trying to. He was a bit too close and he smelled…delicious. Shaking her head, she focused on his eyes instead of how wonderful and spicy he smelled.

“So Rocco,” she said, trying to think of all the movies she’d seen where women picked up men in bars. “What are you doing here tonight?”

Rocco saw the transformation, realized what she was doing and could almost read her mind. She might be shockingly beautiful on the outside, but inside, she was adorable. There was no subterfuge with this woman. She might be here looking like every man’s dream woman, but she was ready to bolt out of here at the earliest opportunity. Rocco loved beautiful women and he was fascinated by mysteries. This lovely brunette stimulated both his body and his interest. A powerful combination to a jaded womanizer, he thought as his eyes sharpened on her pretty, green eyes.

“Besides talking with a beautiful woman?” he replied, amused by her obvious line. She was even more stunning closer up and he was intrigued by the transformation that had just happened. “Would you like to dance?” he asked.

Brianna was stumped. First of all, she didn’t know how to dance and secondly, the idea of those strong, large hands touching her was actually frightening. “You just bought me this drink,” she replied, swallowing as she tried to come up with another reason why they couldn’t go out onto the dance floor.

He almost laughed at her obvious attempt to avoid dancing. “I’ll buy you another later,” he said and started to take her hand.

She panicked and came up with the first thing she could think of. “I don’t really like this song,” she said, almost yanking her free hand back and hiding it behind her back. She smiled tremulously, but she could see the amusement in his eyes.

He leaned forward slightly. “We’ll wait then. How about if you come up to my table?” he suggested. “The music is a bit less overwhelming there.”

Brianna thought that was a perfect idea. “Lead the way,” she replied, smiling brightly.

Rocco put a hand around her waist, his fingers touching her lightly but Brianna’s nervousness still increased. Even in these ridiculous four inch heels, she didn’t come up to his chin. She didn’t like feeling small! She liked being tall and strong but somehow, this man made her feel silly and all girly. She wasn’t a girl! She was a journalist! She was tough and strong and completely non-girly!

They approached the stairs and he swept his hand, indicating she should precede him. Brianne gripped her drink in one hand while taking the bannister of the spiral staircase with the other. With each step, she was painfully conscious that his eyes were just about level with her butt which, in her mind, was not adequately covered. She tried to race up the staircase, but the steps were too precarious and she had to move slowly so that she didn’t trip on her own feet and fall on her face. That would really be embarrassing and how easy would it be to get the story if she was too humiliated to even talk? So she walked up carefully, trying to pretend that she didn’t mind him looking at her butt and reminding herself that many of the women in here purposefully wore dresses that would allow intimate peeks while walking up the stairs.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she spun around, worried that he might have gotten one of those peeks. As he came level with her, she looked into his eyes, trying to gauge how much he’d seen, her hand unconsciously moving to tuck her dress against her skin. A bit belatedly, she realized but it was instinctive.

“You have beautiful legs,” he said as his face came level with hers, his voice deeper and huskier.

Rocco stood there on the stairs, his body completely out of control as he looked into her pretty, green eyes. He wanted this woman. And it wasn’t one of those languorous feelings of desire that slowly spiraled up inside a person. No, this was gut-wrenching, instantaneous lust. It was a pounding, painful, aching need to possess her body, to feel her writhing around him because of the things he wanted to do to her. He wanted to look into her eyes when he pushed himself into her heat and he wanted to watch her face as he took her to a pleasure that was so out of control, she couldn’t even speak.

That need shocked him but he didn’t back away from it. He wanted her and reveled in that feeling. It broke through the boredom that had been pestering him for a while. There was something special about her, a mystery that didn’t add up. Perhaps that was all this was, he thought with increasing desire as her nervousness overcame whatever role she was trying to create for him.

What was her story? He wondered long and hard as he took the final two steps that would bring him to the top floor. He didn’t let her move away either. As he looked down at her, his hands trapped her while he pressed her gently back against the railing. The fascinating texture of her soft body pressed against his was startling. Never before had he felt so rocked to the core and by such a simple, relatively innocent touch.

Yes, he would have this woman, he thought silently. And he would find out why her eyes widened with fear and confusion whenever he touched her. He would learn why she looked almost taken aback by the desire he could see spiraling in her own eyes.

List of Elizabeth Lennox Books

The Texas Tycoon’s Temptation

The Royal Cordova Trilogy

Escaping a Royal Wedding

The Man’s Outrageous Demands

Mistress to the Prince

The Attracelli Family Series

Never Dare A Tycoon

Falling For The Boss

Risky Negotiations

Proposal To Love

Love's Not Terrifying