Sinful Rapture (The Rapture Series) (2 page)

“Why?” Holly was instantly concerned. “Is he sick?”

“No, homicidal,” Maddy confessed. “If he gets his hands on your ex-fiancé I’m afraid he’ll beat him to a bloody pulp. I intend to take him home and keep him distracted.”

Oh. Holly grimaced. Luc had never liked Ted. Now she didn’t doubt he was prepared to do some painful damage.

“Good plan,” she teased.

Maddy kissed her cheek. “Enjoy your night. The bastard isn’t worth your tears.

“Damn straight.” Sasha took her arm and tugged her toward the edge of the grotto.

“Let’s go, chica.”

***

Liam Conner passed through the scrolled iron gates and entered the three-story mansion that consumed the entire block.

Made of shiny metal with lots of glass and sharp angles, it looked like an expensive home created by a modern architect, not the most exclusive sex club in Vegas.

Bypassing the line of hopefuls waiting to gain entry, Liam boldly stepped past the security guards who were attired in Armani tuxes in celebration of Ladies’ Night and entered the shallow foyer.

Men in his position didn’t ask to be let in.

They demanded entry.

A huge change from his childhood.

Just ten years ago he’d arrived in Vegas from Dublin with nothing but the shirt on his back.

He’d been the youngest of ten children born to Patrick and Alice Conner. He dearly loved his family, but he’d known he was never going to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a construction worker. And since there would never be money for a proper education, he’d taken matters into his own hands.

Starting off as an amateur, then a professional gambler, he’d accumulated enough money to start an Irish-style pub just a few blocks off the Strip. And then another. And another.

Then six months ago he’d fulfilled the first part of the dream that had brought him to Vegas.

He was now the proud owner of the Angeli Casinos.

Tonight he intended to fulfill the second dream. The one that had started a year ago.

A hard smile curved his lips, making the hostess stumble in astonishment.

He barely noticed her dazed expression or low sigh of appreciation as she tried to show off her curves revealed by her black leather corset and matching thong.

He was too accustomed to females gawking at his sculpted male features and the thick satin of his russet hair that he kept cut short.

There was only one woman who he wanted to attract.

And tonight he wasn’t leaving without her.

Entering the main room of the club, Liam came to a halt.

Astonishingly sophisticated, the glass and metal room was an elegant canvas that could be altered by the high-tech laser lightshow. Even the furnishings and expensive artwork were easily portable so they could be switched out, depending on the flavor of the night.

Casting an impatient glance over the crowd of females who were seated at the round tables that framed the small stage, he quickly turned his attention toward the long bar that ran the length of one wall.

His prey wouldn’t be interested in the male strip show, no matter how tempting the dancers.

She wasn’t into beefcake.

Nope. Not at the bar. A frown tugged at his brows as his attention shifted toward the small dance floor where a dozen women and a few half-dressed men gyrated to Beyoncé.

His heart missed a strategic beat.

In the middle of the crowd he could see the top of Holly’s dark head.

Bingo.

Preparing to battle his way to her side, Liam was abruptly distracted by a stunning, dark-haired woman who stepped directly into his path.

“Now how did I know you were going to show up here tonight?” Sasha mocked, the purple lightshow playing over her high, Slavic cheekbones and faintly bronzed skin.

Liam folded his arms over his chest. Unlike the other men in the room he was wearing casual jeans instead of leather, with his chest was fully covered by a white cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

“You sent the text telling me where to find her,” he said, well aware the mysterious message must have come from this woman.

No one had been more surprised than he’d been when he’d received it, but he hadn’t wasted a second. Jumping in his Mercedes sports car, he’d made it to this club on the edge of Vegas in record time.

“Don’t make me regret it,” the woman muttered.

Liam didn’t bother to reassure her.

This day had been a lesson in frustration, taking its toll on his nerves. He wasn’t in the mood to play nice.

“You have a room?” he instead demanded.

Giving a snap of her fingers, Sasha glanced toward the hostess who hurried forward with a small key card.

“Here.” She pressed it into Liam’s hand after a short hesitation. As if she was having second thoughts. “She’s fragile.”

Liam frowned. “I have no intention of hurting her.”

“What do you intend?”

He narrowed his green eyes that were lightly flecked with gold. “You’ve done your part, now butt out. This is between me and Holly.”

“Dios.” Sasha scowled, studying his grim determination. “I hope I haven’t thrown her from the frying pan into the fire.”

“Oh, she’s going to get burned,” he purred, his blood heating at the thought of at long last getting his hands on the stubborn woman. “And she’s going to like it.”

Done with the small talk, Liam simply walked away.

He’d wasted a year.

He wasn’t wasting one more second.

With the ease of a man who carried with him a natural, ruthless authority, Liam moved through the crowd that parted before him. The music pounded and the lights created a dazzling display, but he barely noticed. His attention was locked on the woman who was dancing far too close to a bare-chested idiot with bulging muscles and a death wish.

Coming up from behind, he leaned down to speak directly into her ear.

“Hello, princess.”

He felt her stiffen before she was whirling around to regard him in shocked horror.

“Liam.”

His lips twisted with rueful amusement. If his ego wasn’t rock-solid, this woman would have ground his pride to dust over the past twelve months.

The thought had barely passed through his mind when he was distracted by the sight of her slender body barely covered by a tiny sheath of silver lamé.

That had to be Sasha’s doing, he wryly concluded.

His sweet Holly was more of a buttoned-up, straitlaced kind of woman.

“Are you having fun?” he drawled, making no effort to disguise his interest in the amount of flesh she was flashing.

Predictably, her chin jutted to a militant angle. So stubborn.

“I was. What are you doing here?”

Liam flicked a glance toward the male behemoth who moved to stand at Holly’s side.

“Go away.”

The male scowled. “What the hell?”

Liam allowed the stranger to glimpse the savage predator just below his polished surface.

“Now.”

Instinctively the man backed away, swiftly swallowed up by the females who surrounded him like a school of piranhas.

Christ.

“Hey, we were dancing,” Holly protested, her hands on her hips.

Liam’s gaze lingered on the plunging neckline of the barely-there dress.

He’d always suspected she was hiding something wonderful beneath her starchy suits.

Now he knew…

Perfection.

“How much have you had to drink?” he abruptly demanded.

“What business is it of yours?” she countered, her eyes flashing with golden fire. Shit, she was beautiful. “I’m not on the clock.”

He stepped closer, his hand cupping her face. He had to touch her.

To feel the satin heat of her skin beneath his fingers.

“Tell me.”

Her lips flattened, as if debating whether to refuse to answer. Then, when his expression assured her he wasn’t going to back down, she gave an impatient shrug.

“I’ve had one margarita. Satisfied?” she ground out.

A smile curved his lips. He’d had to make sure she was capable of thinking clearly.

No way was he going to be accused of taking advantage.

“Not yet.” His thumb traced the lush promise of her mouth. Damn. How many nights had he tortured himself with thoughts of those lush lips wrapped around his cock, sucking him dry? He went hard as a rock. “But I intend to be.”

She stiffened, but she made no effort to pull away. “Look, I’ve had a really bad day and I’m not in the mood—”

“I know,” he interrupted.

“What?”

“I know you’ve had a bad day and I’m here to make it better.”

Her eyes widened. “You? I don’t think so.”

She took a sharp step backward, her expression wary. Liam, however, didn’t miss the pulse at the base of her throat that pounded at frantic beat. It wasn’t fear that was making her heart race and her eyes dilate. It was good, old-fashioned lust.

His cock pressed against his zipper, the pleasure/pain forcing him to choke back a groan.

Dammit. When he climaxed it was going to be with some part of Holly wrapped around him.

Fingers. Mouth. Pussy.

It didn’t matter which.

“Get used to it, princess,” he warned, watching as her tongue peeked out to wet her dry lips.

She took another defensive step backward, her cheeks flushed.

“Why don’t you go do whatever or whoever it is you’re here to do?”

“What a fabulous idea.”

He reached out, grasping her by the waist. Then with one smooth motion he had her tossed over his shoulder and was headed toward the back of the club.

What the hell?

Holly tried to grasp what was going on.

It’d been shocking enough to have Liam suddenly appear.

Like the day hadn’t been crappy enough? Now the man who’d been the bane of her existence for the past six months had to ruin her brief attempt to enjoy a wild, carefree night?

And worse, he was acting as if he was some Neanderthal who’d just crawled out of his cave.

A surge of belated outrage raced through her. Curling her hands into fists, Holly pounded them against Liam’s broad back.

“Put me down.”

Without warning he reached up to give her a light smack on her backside.

“Hold still or I’ll spank that delicious ass until it’s rosy,” he said, his hand lingering to soothe the sting.

Holly’s mind went blank.

Did he…

Was he…

Holy shit.

A sharp-edged desire ripped through her, stealing her breath.

She wasn’t stupid.

She’d recognized the instant attraction that had exploded the first time they’d met at a charity event last year. Hell, it was hard to miss your entire body going up in flames from a mere handshake.

But she had already been dating Ted and she wasn’t going to allow her hormones to lure her into a relationship built on passion.

Her mother had.

For all the good it’d done her.

She’d ended up with an unwanted child with a man who could barely remember her name.

No thank you very fucking much.

And her caution had been proven right when Liam had somehow managed to convince Vigo to sell him the company that the older man had promised to Holly.

Bastard.

The attraction hadn’t disappeared.

Hell, they could barely stand next to one another without setting off sparks.

But she’d fiercely ignored her sizzling responses while he’d watched her with a mocking amusement that set her teeth on edge.

Certainly he’d never threatened to smack her ass.

“Have you lost your mind?” she demanded.

“From the moment I caught sight of you.”

“Where are you taking me?”

His pace never slowed. “Someplace we can talk in private.”

Oh lord, had Liam realized she’d been jilted and decided she needed his particular brand of sympathy?

“I don’t want to talk.” She gave his back another whack, nearly breaking her fingers. Damn. She’d known he was all chiseled, lean muscles. Unlike Ted, he spent his lunch breaks at the gym, not at five-star restaurants. But still…he was as hard as a rock. “I want to dance and drink and have a good time.”

“Okay, we don’t have to talk.”

“Fine. Then take me back.”

His fingers gave her ass another squeeze, the heat from his hand searing through the thin fabric of her borrowed dress.

“You said you wanted to have a good time.”

Her breath was wrenched from her lungs. It felt good. So damned good.

Distracted by the excitement jolting through her body, Holly nearly missed Liam halting next to a security guard to whisper something in his ear.

It wasn’t until her head bumped against his back as he began to climb the steps that she realized he was headed to the upper floors.

“Liam, stop,” she muttered. “These stairs go to the private rooms.”

“I know.”

The pounding music began to fade as they reached the second floor, a soothing hush wrapping around them as he headed toward the end of the hall.

“They’re for people who want to—”

Her words faltered as he halted in front of a door, then astonishingly, produced a slim key card so he could push it open.

“To what, princess?” he pressed as he stepped into the room, kicking the door closed behind him.

With a soft click, the lock slid into place, and something dark and utterly dangerous slid through her.

A need. A hunger that terrified her.

“Dammit,” she breathed. “I’m not in the mood for your condescending sense of humor.”

Slowly Liam lowered her to her feet, his fingers gently pushing her long hair from her face.

“You think I’m condescending?

She shivered, feeling oddly lightheaded.

It had to be from being carried around like a sack of potatoes, she told herself.

It couldn’t be because she was alone in a sex club with Liam Freaking Conner. Or that her ass still tingled from his touch…

“I’m well aware you think I’m a silly, worthless brat who was given her position because her father is Vigo Angeli,” she forced herself to rasp. “I’m just a joke to you.”

His eyes narrowed, his hand moving to cup her chin. “Don’t tell me what I think. You have no idea.”