Beck And Call (32 page)

with soft lights and sensual Latin music any day. Or

better yet, the serene atmosphere of her favorite spa,

which is where she planned to celebrate her own

bachelorette party in a month’s time.

The now much longer conga line approached. Cara

whooped and swayed in front, leading ardent followers

between the tables.

“Come on, Lexi.” She made a grab for her as they

passed by the table.

“No, thanks. I’d rather sit here and watch you.” Lexi

hated making a spectacle of herself and joining the

conga line clad in the short, tight black mini skirt Cara

had all but forced her into was definitely out of the

question.

She cringed as Cara stopped, planted her hands on

her hips, and glared at her. “You promised, Lexi. You

promised me a fantastic time tonight. These are my last

days of freedom, for Chrissakes! The least you can do is

help me enjoy myself.”

Lexi refrained from reminding her semi-inebriated

friend that she didn’t need anyone to have a good time.

Cara could have a full-blown party in a padded cell all

by herself.

Instead, she put down her mineral water and let

herself be pulled up, her protests ignored as Cara forced

her in front of the line.

“Now wriggle that ass and show me what makes my

brother so hot for you!” she commanded.

“Cara!”

“Oh, don’t be such a prude,” Cara replied, her

American accent distinctive in the jumbled mix of

Cockney and middle-class tones. Her hands slid up over

Lexi’s hips and anchored at her waist. “What is it you

English say? Don’t be such a big girl’s blouse? Now

move!”

Pushed from behind by the restless line, Lexi

moved forward, going with the sway of bodies. She

opened her mouth to explain that the expression was

normally reserved for wimpy men not women, but

stopped as she felt Cara’s warm breath tease her ear.

“Don’t think I haven’t heard you and Enzo going at

it like crazed monkeys. You don’t fool me for a second

with that Mary Poppins facade. Underneath those

don’t-touch-me clothes, you’re a sexy little vixen.”

Lexi turned shocked eyes to her friend, frantically

trying to recall when Cara could have heard her with

Enzo. It must’ve been—

“The night of your birthday party last month,” Cara

supplied helpfully. “You probably thought I’d left. I’d

crashed in the back room. Your screams woke me up.

For such a prude, you’re very...vocal in bed, aren’t you?

Or was it your brand new status as my brother’s fiancée

that got you so hot?” Her crude chuckle grated on Lexi’s

nerves.

“Sorry if the noise woke you...” She flinched as the

hand around her waist tightened almost painfully.

“If that’s your thing, then go for it, I say. But do you

think you’re doing the right thing?”

“I beg your pardon?” The loud music made her

think she’d misheard, but when she glanced over her

shoulder, the look in Cara’s eyes told a different story.

Lexi tried not to react to the mild venom she saw there.

“It’s easy to confuse great sex with love. And as

much as I love him, Enzo can be a jerk sometimes. I

mean, he’s not exactly the homebody type. He works

really long hours. Hell, sometimes he doesn't come

home at all, just sleeps at his club. You sure you want to

put up with that?”

Lexi frowned. “Should you talk about your brother

that way?” She tried to pull away.

Cara stayed right behind her. “He's my brother; I'm

stuck with him.” She paused a beat. “But there's no

reason why you should be.”

Lexi missed a step and stumbled as the restless

dancers pushed the conga line forward. “Are you trying

to tell me something?” Were the fears she’d harbored

since becoming engaged to Enzo real? Did Cara hate

the thought of her marrying her precious brother?

The younger woman gave a shrug. “I just think all

this happened too fast. Maybe you need to think about

it some more before you rush into a mistake you’ll

regret.”

“The same way you rushed into your engagement to

Ian after only three weeks?”

Her hands dropped from Lexi's waist and she

stopped in the middle of the dance floor. “You think I'm

making a mistake? Or are you jealous because Ian

asked
m e
to marry him even though you dated him

first?”

“I’m not jealous and I never said you were making a

mistake, but obviously you think
I
am by marrying

your
brother.”

Cara’s lips turned downward. “Maybe I'm giving

you advice that I hope my own brother would give me if

he thought I was making a mistake.”

“And does he?”

“No, he knows I'm happy with Ian.”

“And I'm happy with your brother, so let's drop this,

shall we?” For several seconds, the mutinous look

remained in Cara’s eyes. “Cara?”

“Come on, keep the conga movin'!” someone shouted

from behind.

“Fine, just make sure you're doing the right thing,

considering your age and all.” Undisguised malice

accompanied the words and Lexi’s heart sank even

further.

“Gee thanks, but I don’t think twenty-nine qualifies

me for the recycling dump just yet.”

Cara flicked back her hair, shameless at her insult.

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t. And I don’t think I want to know.”

When Cara tried to force Lexi to resume the conga, she

pulled away. “I think I'll go and sit down now.”

Heart pounding, she returned to the table and

swallowed a mouthful of mineral water. It wet her

throat, but she wished it was something stronger. As

designated driver, however, she had no choice but to

stick to water. Unfortunately, it did nothing to stop the

anxious emotions rampaging through her.

She placed the glass on the table and paused as she

caught sight of her engagement ring.

Enzo.

Warmth calmed her anxiety.

Enzo, the love of her life. Her other half. Her soul

mate.

She hadn’t believed such intense feelings could

exist between two human beings until she met Enzo.

Four weeks ago, after only three months of dating,

he’d asked her to marry him, and all her dreams had

come true. Eastwell Manor was booked, courtesy of a

last-minute cancellation, and her fairytale dress now

hung in her closet. In two months’ time, she’d walk

down the aisle, join her life with Lorenzo Saldana’s, live

happily ever after, and make gorgeous babies.

A smile broke over her face. All of a sudden, she

couldn’t wait to get back home, coax him round to her

apartment, and have monkey sex with him.

God bless the day Sally had talked her into joining

her salsa class.

She’d spied Enzo the minute she’d walked into the

salsa bar on the third week of lessons—a dark, brooding

figure in the corner of the main bar. Having already

met him and received his frosty reception at the house

she’d showed to him and his sister that morning, she’d

been reluctant to approach him again, even though his

eyes

seemed

pinned

on

her.

She’d

watched

surreptitiously as he rebuffed all attempts from the

women in the class to seduce him onto the dance floor.

Tall, sleekly-muscled, clad in jeans and a tight

black T-shirt, the word
smoldering
seemed to sum up

the raven-haired hunk who’d watched with lazy

amusement as she attempted the complicated salsa

moves.

In the end, she suspected that he’d taken over her

practice out of pity as she’d tortured the dance steps.

But all it’d taken was one touch, one look into his

deep, green eyes, and she’d lost her heart. Well that,

and him molding her to his body halfway through a

particularly sensual move, fisting one strong hand in

her hair and whispering hotly in her ear, “I’m gonna

fuck the hell out of you tonight.”

Of course, she’d slept with him that night, swept

away by feelings so strong, Mount Vesuvius at full rage

couldn’t have stopped her from claiming him as hers.

That he felt the same made heaven a truly

wonderful, glorious place to be.

Except for the snake in paradise.

From the start of her relationship with Enzo, Lexi

had felt Cara’s mild disapproval. She couldn’t pinpoint

the problem because they’d seem to hit it off after being

introduced by Lexi’s childhood friend, Sally. Cara hero-

worshiped her brother, so her blessing meant so much

to Lexi.

But lately, she’d begun to wonder whether Cara

had faked her goodwill. With her stark warning just

now, Lexi could no longer pretend that she had Cara’s

blessing. But why did she hate the idea of her marrying

Enzo so much? Couldn’t she see how happy she made

Enzo, and vice versa?

Lexi’s solitaire ring glinted in the strobe lights of

the club, and her warm glow receded as she recalled

how disastrous her previous relationships had been.

Take Ian, for instance. Contrary to Cara’s inference

that she was jealous, she’d felt nothing but relief when

Ian had turned his attentions to someone else.

Although they’d dated for a while, Lexi had never felt

he was
the one.
And frankly by the time she broke

things off, Ian’s intensity had scared her a little.

Cara had struck a nerve, calling her a prude. Or at

least that’d been the label hung on her before Enzo had

showed her that gentle loving could also be red-hot. Her

experience with Ian had left a bad taste in her mouth.

But with Enzo, she’d discovered the true meaning of

making love.

A tingle shimmered through her and her nipples

puckered as she recalled his hands on her just this

afternoon. The dramatic cut of her blue silk halter-top

had meant no bra tonight and the material chafed with

a delicious pleasure-pain sensation, which caused her to

bite her lip. Warmth flooded Lexi’s face as she

acknowledged that no matter how often she made love

with him, she always yearned for his touch. And as

she’d come to realize, there would be no relief until she

received what she craved—him between her legs.

She shifted in her seat, desperate to ease the

swirling heat in her pelvis. The seam of her thong

pressed against her clit, the damp material causing

delicious friction. A moan escaped, but the sound was

thankfully swallowed by the loud music. Eyes shut, she

took a deep, restorative breath. Another hour, give or

take, and she’d be with Enzo. He’d ease her need and

make things right.

As for Cara...

The shout of the returning conga line ended her

thoughts. She arranged a presentable smile on her face,

pressed her thighs together to stem the throbbing, and

looked up as Cara plopped down on her seat. The silver

and jade beads of her long necklace swung over the

bosom of her tight green tube dress.

“Ready to leave?” Lexi asked the trio of sweaty,

smiling women.

Fiona, the pint-sized, blonde American friend of

Cara’s, reached for the pitcher and poured drinks. “Not

yet. I need to cool down a bit first. That guy I was

dancing with sure sent my temperature soaring.

Woohoo.” She fanned herself with one hand and tipped

her glass to her lips with the other.

“Yeah, his hand soared all the way up your top,”

Sally grinned, flicking her black hair off her shoulders

and reaching for her drink.

“He was just making sure his number was stored in

a safe, secure place.” Fiona grinned back, batting false

eyelashes.

“That rules out your panties, then, doesn’t it?” Cara

winked at her.

“It would’ve, if I wore any,” Fiona shot back.

The table erupted in hoots of shocked laughter, and

Lexi couldn’t hold back her grin. As much as she

would’ve preferred the spa, she was glad to see the girls

enjoying themselves.

When they tottered off for one last dance, Lexi

pulled out her cell phone and sent a text message.
Half

an hour. Your place or mine?

She received a response within seconds.
Mine.

Hurry. I’m ready and waiting. Love U.

Me too. See you soon. XX

Smiling, she put her phone away.

“Right, shall we go?” she asked as soon as they

returned from the dance floor, itching to be away.