9. Chapter Nine #2
“Never mind,” I muttered, scanning for Mia in the crowd, avoiding contact with Alyssa’s glassy gaze.
“No.” Her hand was against the side of my face, enticing me to look again. “Talk to me.”
“You’re drunk.”
“And you’re too sober. What’s your point?”
I clenched my jaw but didn’t answer. Right now, I was at work, and I wouldn’t get into a drunken fight.
Even with my anger rising, I was still turned on, tuned into her, much more than I wanted to be.
Her flowery perfume wafted toward me every time she swayed, and the scent made me hard, or harder, because I’d been semi-hard from the minute I’d walked into the room and we’d locked gazes.
“You’re so frustrating.” She stepped to the side and almost toppled over.
The last thing I wanted was to touch her again, but my instinct to protect ran deep.
I held onto her elbow while she stabilized herself, and then she yanked off her heels, using me for balance.
Once they were off, she was a good three or four inches shorter, and I gazed down, taking in her athletic, petite frame.
She really was the prettiest woman I’d ever seen with her long hair, her big eyes, and the steel rod of determination that ran through her. Stubborn.
“Let go of me.” She tugged her elbow out of my grasp, even though she’d been using me for balance. She stepped away and almost fell. I tried to steady her again, but she held up her hand. “No. I can take a hint. You don’t want anything to do with me. Fine.” She threw up her hands. “Fine.”
She stormed away, and I suppressed a grin.
She walked like a dog chasing a scent, weaving this way and that.
Stubborn . At the bar, she ran her hand along the surface until the bartender noticed her and served her another drink.
Not exactly what she needed. She gave the guy the widest smile and then leaned over the bar again, her breasts a plate for him to feast on.
My jaw clenched. Weren’t there rules about overserving people?
“Pasha?”
I turned, a frown on my face, and there was Jazz, her gaze roaming between Alyssa at the bar and me.
Jazz opened her mouth and then snapped it closed as though she’d thought better of whatever she’d intended to say.
“Mia asked me to get you. One of the groupies is puking in the bathroom. Puke-Woman and her friend need a ride back to their hotel.”
“Thanks,” I said to her, seeking Mia in the crowd, and then I headed in her direction. A distraction from Alyssa was just what I needed.
When I returned from dropping off the two women at their hotel, Alyssa was outside the side entrance. The bartender she’d been flirting with was smoking a cigarette beside her. In the parked car, I debated my options.
I could circle around and go in the front door or radio to get in another entrance.
I could breeze past her as though I didn’t care she was testing my patience.
Or I could confront her, do any number of things I’d thought about doing tonight.
Option three was the most appealing and also the worst idea. She’d been drunk an hour ago, and judging by her trip to the bar after she’d left me, she’d had no intention of slowing down.
I wanted her, but I needed her for the dance routine. Drunk Alyssa was a complication I couldn’t indulge in. The first and third options were weak—one made me a coward, and the other suggested I had no self-restraint.
Option two. If the bartender was a bad guy, I might get a sense on the way past. I wouldn’t leave her out here to be taken advantage of.
As I opened the car door, the bartender leaned into Alyssa and whispered something in her ear.
She laughed, and my stomach clenched. As soon as her gaze connected with mine, her smile slipped.
“You’re still working?” she asked as I got closer.
“Of course. The party is still on.” The light above the door lit up a small space around her and the bartender, a halo, a cocoon, more intimate than I liked.
She was a flirt, a tease, and my attraction to her was superficial. I didn’t know her. Lust. Nothing more.
“Hey,” she said, grabbing my arm on the way past, a silver clutch poised precariously in her free hand. “Can I talk to you?”
“What am I?” the bartender asked with a laugh, gesturing between us. “Shoulda known you’d end up being a cocktease. Offer yourself on a plate and then snatch it away.” He smirked and tipped his chin at me as though he expected agreement. “Am I right?”
I clenched my jaw in response and was tempted to punch the guy or sweep Alyssa into my arms. “You don’t deserve her.” I held out my hand for her to take and led her inside and down the hall toward the storage area.
As a security measure, I’d toured every space attached to the conference room, and I had a set of keys to every door for the night.
After unlocking the supply room, I let her in and then followed.
Decorations, extra tables and chairs, place settings, and other essentials for the conference room were stacked in neat rows.
Near the back was a kitchenette. An empty desk sat off to the side, the command post for anyone running a huge catering event.
I locked the door behind me and stared at the white steel. Bringing her in here was a bad idea. Better than creating a scene on the dance floor or somewhere else in the conference room, though.
I sighed and turned to her. “You want to talk?”