Catch My Breath

Brent shook his head, chuckling.

“We were just having a friendly conversation. No need to get territorial. Nice meeting you, Lia.” He tilted his glass toward me and walked off.

Alastair positioned himself so he was standing in front of me.

“Was he bothering you?”

“What? No.” A weird sense of déjà vu crept through my body. “Why?”

“He has a habit of hitting on anything in a skirt.”

“So do most warm-blooded men.” I smiled, moving my eyes along every well dressed inch of him.

“Enjoying the view?”

I glanced up at him through my lashes. “Maybe.”

“Is there something I can do to make that a more definitive answer?” A lazy, sexy grin curled his mouth.

My heart took up residence in my throat, pounding furiously. I should be annoyed that he just showed up without an explanation for his lateness, but I liked flirting with him. A lot.

A pretty blonde server walked over and placed two drinks on the bar. One of them was the minty martini I’d been enjoying all night.

“How did you know I was drinking these?”

“I saw that guy you were with buy them for you.”

“You’ve been watching me?” Panic seized my chest.

How is this happening again? I’m thousands of miles away from home. Being tracked and stalked by another over privileged, possessive rich guy wasn’t on my vacation itinerary. The walls felt like they were closing in around me, crushing my lungs. I dug my fingernails into the velvet cushion on the barstool. He was watching me? I’ve been here for an hour and he’s been in the shadows keeping tabs...

“Lia.” His voice cut through the vacuum, snapping me back to reality. Heat radiated from his eyes, drawing me closer. It muted everything else in the room and calmed my nerves.

“I simply noticed you were here with your friends while I was sidetracked by some clients. That’s all. Your sparkly dress is hard to miss.”

He had a point. The dress did scream look at me.

“Sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

He stared at me with an unreadable expression, making my insides twist anxiously. At least last week I knew he was staring at me out of lust. This was unnerving.

“Did you have a nice time at your sister’s wedding?”

“Yeah, I did. How was your week?”

“Typical.” He angled his body closer. “Except for the fact that I spent most of it thinking about you.”

He’s a smooth operator, this one.

“Did you?”

He nodded, running his knuckles along my cheek.

“Anything you want to share?”

Sliding his fingers down my arm, he skimmed them over my hip, settling on my waist. Goosebumps poked out all over my skin. I knocked back the martini like it was a shot. It went down much too easily for such a strong drink. My face was already a bit numb from the previous ones.

He scanned the room quickly before pulling me closer.

“There is a time and a place for sharing,” he said, dipping his head closer to my ear. “This is not one of them.”

A smile evaporated from his face as he backed away from me, leaving a chill in the air between us. Puzzled, I followed his frigid gaze. I saw nothing but people enjoying themselves.

“Is something wrong?”

Alastair didn’t answer right away. His constant scanning of the lounge freaked me out a little. It was too bad that the blonde server hadn’t been by to replenish my martini. I could have used another.

“Everything’s fine,” he finally said. I met his eyes and was floored by the hardness in them. Even his expression was stony.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

There was something about the clipped, almost dismissive way he responded which bugged me. I sat on the velvet stool, swiveling to face the crowd. The room wiggled a bit thanks to my fuzzy martini brain.

“I have to take care of something. I won’t be long.”

“Can it wait?” I asked, turning back to him. He slid his cell phone in his pants pocket.

“No,” he looked at me coolly, “it can’t.”

I watched him disappear down a hallway toward the hotel entrance. Shaking off an unsettled feeling, I ordered another drink and went back to sit at the table.

“Having a good time, Lia?” Darren winked at me.

“Sure.”

“Did Alastair leave?” Stephanie asked, frowning.

“No, he’s taking care of something,” I said, waving my hand.

“How many of those have you had?” She eyed the glass.

“Not nearly enough,” I muttered.

A bunch of other people had joined the table, but I ignored the conversation. I had to know what he was doing. After a beat, I stood up and went to see what the hell was happening.