Chapter 2
2
NIKKO
T he bass thumped through my chest like a second heartbeat as I stepped into the club. It was the usual Miami chaos: neon lights, bodies pressed too close together, the smell of sweat mixed with perfume and cologne, and a DJ shouting something unintelligible over the music.
This was my scene. The Miami nightlife offered excitement and escape that you couldn’t find just anywhere. People came here to forget their nine-to-fives, their failed relationships, or just to feel alive in a way that the daylight couldn’t offer—and making people feel alive was my special talent. Well, women, at least.
They flocked here in droves.
They all came to Miami on Spring Break with one thing on their minds—sex. Random hookups and crazy stories to take home with them like a souvenir. I wasn’t in the business of denying them what they wanted.
I scanned the crowd, my eyes trained to spot the newcomers. The way they moved, a mixture of hesitation and thrill, always gave them away.
Guys like me loved this time of year. It felt like being on the hunt. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. These women were looking for me. Not me specifically, but what I offered. Danger. Good looks. Charisma.
And the most important factor—anonymity. I was a stranger. They would never see me again. They could be as freaky as they wanted to be and no one was going to know but me and her.
Diego nudged my shoulder, nodding toward the bar.
“Drinks first?” he asked, though we both knew the answer. This wasn’t our first rodeo.
I smirked. “Obviously.”
We made our way to the bar, bumping into bodies of every shape and size. It really was a full menu tonight. Anything I wanted was here for the taking. Big boobs, little boobs, tall and skinny, petite and plump. I was not a particular man. I liked all of it but tended to lean toward the ladies with the lumps. I liked a woman I could hold on to without risking injury from a sharp hip bone. I liked a nice handful of soft and silky skin. I wanted to lie on a woman and appreciate the tenderness of her body.
I took the opportunity to scan the crowd. Sunburned shoulders, cheap glittery dresses, and a kind of wide-eyed eagerness that practically screamed, Show me something wild.
Diego leaned in close, raising his voice over the music. “Blonde at two o’clock. Total knockout.”
I followed his gaze to a group of women near the dance floor. Sure enough, there was a blonde in a red dress that left nothing to the imagination. She laughed at something her friend said, throwing her head back like she didn’t have a care in the world. Diego’s type, no question.
“Go for it,” I said, clapping him on the back. “I’ll hold down the fort.”
Diego grinned, his teeth gleaming white in the strobe lights. “Don’t have too much fun without me.”
He made his way through the packed people. A predator in his own right. I watched for a moment, amused by the way he homed in on the girl. He liked the model type. Legs to their ears and blonde hair. Everything in between didn’t matter to him. He was a leg man. I turned back to scan the scene myself.
There were certainly a lot of candidates, but I would need to narrow it down. For now, I needed a drink.
I flagged down the bartender, a guy named Marco who’d been serving me for years.
“Back again, Nikko?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
I shrugged. “You know me. Can’t stay away.”
“It’s packed in here tonight,” he said.
“And you’ve done your due diligence, right?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes. “Everyone in here is twenty-one at least. We don’t fuck around with that.”
“I’m trusting you,” I joked. “Can’t be risking picking up a piece of jailbait.”
“I’m going to start charging you an extra finder’s fee,” he said. “I feel like you use my bar as a meat market.”
“I do.”
Marco chuckled. “Same drink?”
“Yeah and keep it coming.”
As he poured, I let my eyes wander. The club was packed tonight, but nothing really stood out. Same crowd, same scene. I was starting to think I’d made a mistake coming out. Yeah, there were a lot of tourists, but none that were really getting my attention. I didn’t want a drunk one. I didn’t want a loud one. I would know her when I saw her.
“Thanks,” I said and took my usual whiskey sour.
I sipped the drink, the initial sip always so sharp it almost made me wince. I savored the familiar burn as it warmed me from the inside out.
And then someone elbowed me.
My first reaction was to shove the guy. But it was no drunk frat boy that bumped me.
It was a woman.
She was short, curvy in all the right ways, and currently glaring at Marco like he’d personally insulted her. She smacked her hand on the bar, the sound barely audible over the music. “Hey! Can we get some service over here?”
I watched her with amusement.
“I’ve been up and down this damn bar and you keep ignoring me!” she shouted but I doubted Marco could appreciate her anger. And to be fair, she wasn’t the only one vying for his attention to get a drink.
Marco ignored her, which was fair. She was tiny, and I probably blocked his view of her.
“Relax,” I said, leaning down so she could hear me. “He’ll get to you.”
She turned to me, her eyes blazing. “I’ve been standing here for fifteen minutes while he makes your drink and everyone else’s. No offense, but maybe you could move your giant self somewhere else? You take up half the bar.”
I laughed, genuinely amused. “No offense taken. But maybe I’ll buy your drink instead. He actually likes me. And I don’t yell at him.”
Her glare softened into suspicion. “Why would you buy me a drink?”
“Because you’re funny,” I said, flashing her my best grin. “And I like your…” I let my gaze linger just long enough to make her blush. “Energy.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. “Fine. Vodka soda. For me and my friends. Four of them. You buy one, you buy four. Or you could just get your buddy’s attention and let me buy the drinks myself.”
“Coming right up,” I said, waving Marco over.
When the drinks arrived, I handed her one and raised my own. “Cheers. To…”
“Not being ignored at bars?” she offered, clinking her glass against mine.
“Perfect.”
She sipped her drink, her lips wrapping around the straw in a way that was… distracting. Plump lips with a faint shade of red that lo oked good on her. It complemented her pale skin rather than making her look like a clown. Fair skin was a rarity around here.
My eyes roamed over the total package. A little too much makeup but not nearly as much as some of the other women in the club. Her blonde hair looked like silk hanging around her bare shoulders. But it was the eyes that got me. The perfect shade of blue. Mine were an icy shade while hers were rich and the darkest blue I had ever seen on a woman. Maybe it was the lighting. I didn’t know why and I didn’t care.
Target acquired.
“Not from around here, are you?” I asked.
“What gave it away, Sherlock?” she asked, her tone dry.
“You’re white as a ghost. And the fact that you were too polite to shove me out of the way.”
She smirked. “I’m from Idaho. It’s still winter there. I go from ghost-white to ivory. At least that’s what my foundation tone tells me.”
I laughed. “Idaho, huh? What’s an Idaho girl doing in Miami?”
“Girls’ trip,” she said. “Making up for lost time.”
I nodded. “Good place for it.”
Before she could reply, one of her friends swooped in, giggling and grabbing her by the arm. “Hannah! Come on, we’re dancing!”
So her name was Hannah. Cute .
“Sorry,” Hannah said, turning back to me. “I?—”
Her friend, apparently not one for apologies, shoved her into me. She stumbled, her drink sloshing onto my shirt. I caught her by the waist before she could fall, and her body pressed against mine.
That’s the kind of softness I’m talking about.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” she said, trying to pull away. But I wasn’t ready to let go.
I slid my hand down to her hip. Again, I was met with a handful of curves that felt right. Her face, inches from mine, was flushed with embarrassment or maybe the heat of our sudden closeness.
“It’s fine,” I muttered, my voice lower than I intended. “It’s just a shirt. ”
Hannah looked up at me, her dark blue eyes wide, searching my face as if trying to figure out if I was just being nice or genuinely okay with the drenched fabric sticking to my skin. “I really am sorry,” she repeated, her voice soft and sincere.
“Consider it an ice breaker,” I said with a smirk, hoping to lighten the mood.
“You two kids have fun!” her friend said with a bubbly laugh before she rushed away.
“Oh my God,” Hannah groaned. “I’m so sorry.”
“No worries. But you need a new drink now.”
Her eyes met mine, and for a second, the noise of the club seemed to fade away. “I… I guess I do.”
I waved Marco over again. “Another round for the lady.”
“Already?” he asked, with a smile. “I like her.”
While he went to make the drink, I leaned closer. “So, Idaho, what’s the plan for the rest of the night?”
“Stick with my friends,” she said, though her tone lacked conviction.
I grinned. “Doesn’t look like they’re sticking with you.”
She glanced toward the dance floor, where her friends were already lost in the crowd. When she looked back at me, I saw a flicker of uncertainty. Then her shoulders squared, and she lifted her chin. “I guess I’ll have to improvise.”
“Improvise with me,” I said, bold as hell.
Her lips quirked into a smile. “You’re trouble, aren’t you?”
“Always,” Marco said, sliding a napkin across the bar.
I laughed and shook my head. “Tell me your name,” I said to her.
“I’m Hannah.”
I already knew that, but I liked hearing her say it. And I only took what was offered.
“Nice to meet you, Hannah.”
“And you are?”
“Trouble,” Marco said and put a fresh drink down on the napkin. “We’ve been over this. This one’s on the house. You two have fun. ”
He went to the other end of the bar and I looked at Hannah. “I’m Nikko,” I said. “And I’m the guy you’re going home with tonight.”