Fire & Vice: In His Sights

Chapter 5

"I think Alexandr might have told on me," Lucy yelled at Amber over the pounding music as she pointed at her bodyguard. She eyed the stoic looking Russian who had been trailing her around since her last bodyguard mysteriously disappeared after leaving his post that one time Mack had let himself into her apartment and almost kissed her.

The guy whose name she couldn't remember right at the moment - because tequila seemed to be an incredible memory eraser - was looking down at his phone with a concentrated frown as he furiously typed. Damn. She probably shouldn't have told her bodyguard where she was going for the evening. She was sure the man intended to ruin her good time. But she also knew that Vladimir would have her back at the mansion and out of a job in the snap of his autocratic fingers if she stepped too far out of line. He considered her to be his responsibility; the little sister that needed looking after now that his own little sister was all grown up and married off.

Lucy decided she loved dance clubs if this one was the standard. It was dark and seductive, with bright colourful lights that flashed only across the dance floor and lit up the bar area. She thought she looked unusually cool tonight. At first, she'd been hesitant when Amber'd helped her get dressed in a short black skirt with no stockings, lace up boots and a short cleavage baring top that showed flashes of her belly, but she fit in perfectly with the dancing bodies all around them. To Lucy's eyes, Amber looked amazing in a short black T-shirt dress draped over her curves clinging to her breasts and around her hips. Her lips were painted bright red and her eyes were heavily made up with black wings in a way that made her blue eyes look mysterious.

Lucy lifted her hand and snapped her fingers in front of her face then giggled. Amber, who had been dancing behind her, laughed and grabbed her hand. "What are you doing, weirdo?"

"He can take my freedom, but he can't take my life!" Lucy yelled and snapped her fingers again. "I watched Braveheart. Can we have another shot? They taste disgusting, but I like the way they feel!"

Amber laughed hysterically. "The quote is, 'they can take our lives, but they can't take our freedom'." She grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged her toward the bar. "I think I've corrupted you baby girl!" she shouted above the music. "But why not, tomorrow's already going to hurt like a b***h!"

Amber flashed two fingers at the bartender and mouthed 'tequila'. He nodded his head and made a show of spinning the bottle for their delight. She paid for the drinks and downed hers quickly after sucking the lime wedge and licking salt. Lucy was about to follow suit when her bodyguard intervened with a heavy hand on her shoulder and a shake of his head.

Lucy looked crushed, like her new toy had been taken away. Amber sighed. "Don't say I never did anything for you, sweetie." She took the man's face in her hands, slid her body seductively against his and smashed her lips against his mouth.

Lucy watched in wide-eyed amazement for about three-seconds as Amber stuck her tongue down Alexandr's throat before she remembered her drink and immediately set about downing it. Once the drink was in, she winked at the amused bartender and twirled back onto the dance floor while her bodyguard disengaged from Amber, a dazed expression on his usually unyielding face. Amber sauntered away from him as though she hadn't just sucked the soul out of a Russian gangster.

"That was seriously badass!" Lucy laughed as they danced together when Amber rejoined her.

"Take notes, little girl. That's how the big girls command a situation." She nodded toward the big man now pacing the edge of the dance floor, his eyes hot on Amber with something between lust and vengeance in their depths. "Look at him! I think I just broke that bad boy!"

Lucy laughed hysterically, taking Amber's advice to heart and indeed making some serious mental notes. Amber was turning out to be a real heroine and role model all rolled into one. She knew how to single it up in the big city! She was sexy, fun and full of wicked, delicious ideas.

"Uh, speaking of men-" Amber yelped. "What's Bounty Hunter doing here?"

Lucy whirled on her heels and stared frantically around the flashing lights of the club until she spotted Mack's big, tall form cutting a path through the crowds straight toward her. She immediately stopped bouncing and contemplated whether she should turn and run or fling herself toward him. Her fuzzy mind was telling her it was the alcohol making her want to run toward him and she should definitely run away because the severely annoyed expression on his face didn't bode well for her, but her stupid feet seemed to want to carry her toward him.

Then, before she knew what was happening to her, she was in front of him, her head tilted back looking up into a face so handsome it should be outlawed for ruining women's panties everywhere. She wasn't as short as her sister, but she still had to crane her neck to look at him. He was way taller, like probably 6'4" and big all over. He was wearing that mouth-watering leather jacket over a pair of dark blue jeans and heavy combat boots. His spiky hair was wilder than usual, sort of all over the place.

Her lips quirked happily. Even though she thought he was mad at her for some reason, she was just so giddy with excitement at seeing him. She leaned in close, so he could hear her, but also to get a sniff of his deliciously masculine scent. Leather combined with masculine soap and a hint of something else that always seemed to cling to him.

"You mad at me, Mack?" she asked, staring intently up at him.

He stared right back, his flinty eyes holding hers with a power that rooted her to the floor. She didn't know what it was about this man, but each time she saw him, each tiny little interaction, he wove his spell tighter and tighter until she knew she would do just about anything he commanded. With or without reason. He was that damn sexy.

Then his expression softened just the tiniest bit and she knew she had him. The tough bounty hunter had a soft spot for her. "I should be angry, Lucy," he said in his impossibly deep voice.

"But you're not." She grinned up at him, relief tinging her voice.

He shook his head slightly. "You're f*****g cute when you're drunk. How much have you had, baby?"

Warmth flooded right through her body and especially to the part of her that seemed to want him most and loved the way he called her baby. Lucy lifted a hand and tried to think, ticking her fingers one at a time. "We had a margarita at the restaurant. Amber said we had to eat before we started in on the heavy stuff-"

"She's smarter than she looks," he grunted casting a scathing look toward Lucy's friend who was writhing on the dance floor, trying to catch the attention of Alexandr the Bodyguard. Alexandr the Bodyguard looked as though he both wanted to murder and kiss Amber.

Lucy opened her mouth to defend the other woman when someone bumped into her, sending her careening into Mack's chest. He caught her and held her against him, not loosening his arms. She could feel his fingers spreading slowly, soothingly across the bottom of her back. She tilted her head up, melted chocolate gaze memorizing his face as she swayed to the music in his arms. Though he didn't move he seemed perfectly content to allow her to do whatever she wanted so long as she didn't attempt to break free.

For a timeless moment she got exactly what she wanted; she got to touch Mack Hudson to her heart's content, free of all her usual inhibitions. The room around them, the press of bodies, the pounding music, all disappeared as she moved against him. She lifted her arms, pressed her palms flat against his shoulders and moved to the rhythm of the music, the beat of their hearts, the quickening of their breaths. She twisted her hips and bent her knees, dancing in his arms, sliding her hands down his chest, her eyes locked on his, watching the blue fever in his eyes as it erupted into flames.

"How many drinks?" he demanded, his voice a husky growl.

She shrugged, still dancing. "Maybe five or six?"

He nodded, his face turning grim. "You had much to drink since coming to town or is this your first time?"

Lucy clung to him, sliding her arms around his neck and pressing her breasts against his chest until she was flush against his body. He stiffened for just a second and then his arms tightened to steel bands around her back crushing her against him and holding her in place. He dropped his head, his lips caressing the tip of her ear. In spite of her alcohol fueled haze, she felt his every touch with a blazing clarity that set fire to the blood in her veins. She moaned and squirmed against him.

"You need to answer the question, baby," he groaned against her ear, his warm breath feathering down her neck.

Lucy shivered in delight and turned her face to the side, tilting it up, her lips brushing against his. She hadn't meant to kiss him, if the barest touch of their lips could actually be called a kiss. Especially after what he'd done to her five months earlier. But the instant rigidity of his body, the desperate longing on his face told her that, yes, he was considering that slight caress a kiss. A sense of power, along with an answering need pinged through Lucy, turning her legs to liquid. She was very glad he had such a tight hold on her.

"I don't remember the question, Mack," she admitted.

He chuckled, his body relaxing somewhat as she continued to sway in his arms. "I asked if you'd been drinking much since coming to town. I want to know how bad this hangover's gonna be for you tomorrow. Trust me, darling, I have experience."

"Mmmm," she moaned against his throat, snuggling closer. "I like when you call me names."

He laughed again. "Okay, baby, I think that about answers my question. Time to get you out of here."

She nodded and smiled into his deliciously warm throat. "Okay, Mack. Can you please take me home?"

"That's exactly where I'm taking you," he said, an edge to his voice as he bent to swing her up into his arms.