Chapter 12
Ace
“Just a heads-up, the guys are on their way here. If you don’t want to see Kian, you might want to leave now,” Quinn says as she looks at her phone.
My stomach drops. “He’s coming here? How do you know?”
Quinn smiles weakly and looks at Jordyn, then back at me. “Well, it’s like one of those GPS tracker things that people have on their kids’ phones. I just have one on my husband’s that he doesn’t know about.”
What the hell? She tracks her husband without him knowing?
“Don’t worry. He totally tracks me, too,” she adds with a laugh. “We’re a little… obsessed. It’s fine. Anyway, they are heading in this direction, so I assume they checked the surveillance after you texted him from Jordyn’s phone.”
Shit.
I should go.
The last thing I want to do is make him even madder by being in his bar.
“I’m going to go. I’ll be at work tomorrow, though,” I say, getting off the stool. I turn to leave, but my phone pings, stopping me in my tracks. I pull it from my small shoulder bag and open the message from an unsaved number.
Unknown: Do not even think about leaving.
Crap.
Looking over at Jordyn, I nibble on my bottom lip and sigh. “He told me to stay.”
She smirks. “Then I guess you should probably hang out a little longer. Besides, he almost has all the glitter off and needs a refresh.”
The three of us burst out laughing, and I have to admit, it feels good to giggle with a couple of girls. It doesn’t last long, though. The second Kian walks in, I feel it. Almost like cool air settling over the room.
Spinning around, I scan the space for him and come to a stop when I meet his dark, devilish eyes. He stares at me as he moves toward us with three other men.
As he gets closer, I find myself taking a step back.
We spent almost the entire night in a dark club and then a dim hotel room.
But now, I really get to see him, and he’s even more intimidating than I remember.
Instead of having a jacket on this time, he’s in a dark gray dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing off his intricate tattoos.
The same tattoos I kissed while I rode his cock in the middle of the night.
It’s impossible to breathe when he walks up to me. Tilting my head back, I look up at him. Sooo far up.
Was he this overwhelming the other night?
He studies me with his nearly black eyes that can see right through me. It’s unnerving. I have to force myself not to fidget under his stern stare.
“Trying to sneak off again, angel?”
The name sends a shiver through me, little sparks of arousal igniting. “No. I was just going to the bathroom.”
Which isn’t a total lie because I do need to pee, especially after downing two lemon drops back-to-back.
Kian takes a final step toward me, and I shuffle back until I bump against the barstool I vacated a few minutes ago. Narrowing his gaze, he gives his head a single shake and comes forward until he’s so close I rest my hands on his chest.
He leans down so his mouth hovers over my ear. “Naughty girls who lie get spanked, angel. Lying is naughty. So is leaving without saying goodbye.”
My pussy clenches at the thought of Kian spanking me. His hands are so large, they’d surely leave a mark on my ass.
Why does that do things to me?
Kian straightens and peers down at me with a stern expression.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t think it through before I left. It had nothing to do with you. I had a great time.”
His brow relaxes slightly as he studies my face for a long moment. “And were you truly just going to the bathroom?”
How does he read me so easily?
Dropping my shoulders, I sigh. “No. I was going to go home.”
We stare at each other silently for a long time.
“How do you know Jordyn?” he asks.
“She’s my boss. I’m the lead choreographer for the resident burlesque show at Emerald Palace.”
Kian blinks several times, the lines in his forehead showing as he starts to frown. “Choreographer?”
I nod and reach for my drink because his proximity is making me tremble. Why does he smell so good?
When he brings his left hand up to run it over his face, I catch a glance at his tattooed knuckles with my nickname on them.
ACE.
I know he didn’t get that tattooed on his fingers for me, but damn, I still like seeing my name on him.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?” I ask quietly.
He stills and drops his hand to his side. “Why didn’t you say goodbye?”
Closing my eyes, I chew the inside of my cheek. “I woke up early and figured it would be better if I left. We said no names and no ties. So I was giving you what we agreed on.”
Around us, the bar buzzes. Jordyn is still perched on a stool next to us, but she’s making out with a man I assume is her husband, Kian’s brother.
“Was your car parked at the hotel?” he asks quietly.
I shake my head, my heart pounding against my ribs. I’m playing with fire. I’m just not sure why I’m enjoying it so much.
Kian leans down again, his breath warm on my neck as he gently tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Going forward, you do not ever leave somewhere we’re at without telling me goodbye. That is a rule. Do you understand, angel?”
After trailing his index finger down my chin, he slides his other hand down and settles it at the base of my neck.
My entire body aches as I tilt my head farther back to look up at him, meeting his stern expression. I nod.
Staying silent, he raises his eyebrows and tightens his fingers, putting the smallest amount of pressure on the sides of my neck.
“Yes. I understand.”
As soon as the words come out, he relaxes his hold and strokes my pulse point with his thumb. “You look beautiful tonight, by the way. The most beautiful woman in the room without a doubt.”
My chest constricts as a lump forms in my throat. Am I seriously getting emotional over him saying sweet things to me? He can’t possibly mean it. There are hundreds of gorgeous women here. Yet, he hadn’t stopped staring at me since he arrived.
“I’m still going to put you over my knee for ditching me and then lying to me just now,” he adds quietly.
Gasping, I snap my gaze to him. “I said I won’t do it again.”
Kian gives my neck another squeeze. “That’s why I’ll take it easy on you this time, Ace. What is your real name, by the way? Since you obviously know mine now.”
Every muscle in my neck tenses. “Lacey Santoro.”
The corners of his lips tip up. “Beautiful name. Just like you. Just like your sweet little pussy.”
Kian leans against the bar and watches, while I’m pretty sure I turn bright red as heat spreads all over me.
Unable to resist, possibly from my arousal and possibly from the alcohol, I reach up and touch his short beard, scraping my fingernails through it. “Happy belated birthday, Kian.”
He slides one hand to my back, his eyes never leaving my face as he strokes my cheek with the other. “Thanks, angel. It was a pretty fucking perfect birthday if you ask me.” Then he winks, and I’m pretty sure my panties are a sopping mess right now.
Neither of us says anything; instead, he pulls me against him and reaches for the drink waiting for him on the bar.
“I’m afraid to ask what that is you’re having,” he says after he takes a sip from his glass.
Smiling, I pick up the half-full martini glass and offer it to him, but he makes a face as he shakes his head, making me giggle. “It’s a lemon-drop martini. My first time ever having these. They’re so yummy.”
“So yummy, huh?” he asks dryly, though he’s smirking.
“Uh-huh,” I answer as I suck down the rest.
My pussy tingles from the way he looks at me. When I set my empty glass down, he chuckles. “I’ll take your word for it, angel.”
Shrugging, I laugh as Jordyn steals a cherry from the condiment tray on the serving side of the bar and pops it into her mouth.
“Come home with me.” The words are whispered into my ear, deep and velvety. I think I could practically orgasm from Kian’s voice alone if he keeps talking to me like that.
He’s asking me to come home with him. Not to a hotel room. Not to the bathroom for a quick fuck. To his actual house.
It’s probably a terrible idea.
Kian Savage isn’t just a rich, traveling businessman.
He is the mafia of Las Vegas.
And I’m not sure where my family stands with his.
I’m also not sure I want to ask.
Him being who he is complicates things, which is exactly why I wanted no names, no ties.
I should say no.
I should…
“Okay.”