Chapter 34: Chapter 34

He stood there rooted in his spot as he slid his gaze over her. She was almost completely unrecognizable, dressed in a pair of fitted jeans, with tears in strategic places, and a sheer ivory top that she might as well have been naked under, for all the good her low cut, mid drift baring tank top did to cover her lush, full breasts. She sat at the bar, her fingers curled around the stem of an empty wine glass as she leaned into a good looking middle aged man, dressed in what Lucas knew to be a tailor

made Armani suit. Jealousy whipped through him when she threw her head back and laughed at something the man said, her unbound hair brushing against her back. He had never once seen her laugh with such abandon, but here this stranger, whose eyes had not once made it to her face, was being treated to the sweet sound of her hushed giggle. When the man’s hand settled on her leg and began to stroke far too close to that secret place between her thighs, he lost it.

With angry strides, he brushed past any and every person in his way until he reached the couple. With all the finesse of a bull in a china shop, he sidled up to them and inserted his body in between them. He didn’t even spare the man a glance as he glared down at Yolanda.

“Lu—cas! Wh—at are you do—ing?” She hiccupped.

He narrowed his gaze, taking in her flushed cheeks and dilated pupils. “You’re drunk,” he said flatly.

She flashed him a wobbly smile as she shook her head far too vigorously for her to be sober. “Not drunk. Ti—psy. And you’re be—ing

rude to my frrrriend.” He frowned when she slurred that last word.

“Come on. I’m taking you back upstairs. We’ll get some dinner from room service and see if we can sober you up.” He reached for her then, but before her could grasp her arm the man who’d she been flirting with chose that moment to jump off his stool and position himself to his side, so that he had no choice but to go through him if he planned to get her out of there.

“Hey, the lady and I were having a conversation—”

“Well it’s over. She’s with me and I’m taking her back upstairs.” The man stepped closer toward him, forcing Lucas to size him up since it appeared he was going to have to fight his way out of there. Just a couple of inches shorter than himself, the man was well built, and he knew that he may be a bit outmatched if it came down to brute strength, but if this old Casanova thought he would beat him because of his stocky build, well then he was sadly mistaken. He wasn’t leaving that bar without Yolanda, and he would take on ten more bodybuilder wannabes just like him if that was what he had to do to get her out of there.

“Yolanda never mentioned you. She said she was single—”

“Well she’s not.” He glanced down at the man’s left hand, before pinning him with a hard glare. “And neither are you. So, unless you want to explain to your wife how you wound up with a broken nose while on business in Vegas, then I suggest you move.”

The man couldn’t disappear fast enough, apparently realizing that a one night stand wasn’t worth the probing questions he’d have to answer later.

“That was rude. You’re such a bully.”

He spun around to face Yolanda, noticing that her hiccups had stopped. She looked like she was starting to sober up just a little, but she still had a long way to go.

Grasping her arm, he dragged her to her feet but let out a string of curses when she teetered tottered on her four inch heels, forcing him to wrap his arm around her waist to keep her from falling.

“Why the hell are you wearing stilettos when you almost never wear heels?”

“They were the only ones that went with this outfit,” she complained.

He rolled his eyes as he gave a quick shake of his head. “Yeah, we’ll talk about that outfit later,” he grumbled as he hauled her against him and ushered her toward the elevator. Keeping his arm secured around her waist, he didn’t release her until they were safely ensconced in his hotel room and he’d lowered her onto his king sized bed. She’d barely touched the bed before she flopped down onto her side.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” she groaned.

“Serves you right,” he muttered under his breath as he reached for the phone to order room service. When he was done he placed the phone back in its cradle and sat down on the bed where Yolanda was stretched out. She’d flipped over onto her back, and had propped herself up against some pillows.

Although her hair was wildly disheveled, he could see the light returning to her eyes and knew that after she got some food in her she

would be good as new.

Without a word, he stood to his feet again and marched into his bathroom where he filled one of the hotel glasses with tap water.

Walking back into the room, he held it out to her.

“Thank you,” she said weakly as she clutched the glass and downed the water. Three more times he did this until he was sure she was no longer dehydrated.

Once again, taking a seat on the bed, he nailed her with a hard look. “What were you thinking going down there dressed like that and getting drunk? Were you trying to get taken advantage of?”

She shrugged, her expression defiant. “It’s Vegas. I’m allowed to have a little fun.”

He arched a single eyebrow. “Fun? That’s what you call picking up strange men in bars?”

“I’m an adult, Lucas,” she snapped. “If I want to get drunk and have a one night stand, that’s my business.”

“That’s what you were doing down there? Carousing for a one night stand when you knew I was on my way down there to meet you for dinner? Were you trying to make me jealous?”

From her shocked expression, he knew the thought had never even entered her mind, which infuriated him even more. She had been down there on the prowl for men, but not to make him jealous at all. She’d

been down there looking for a quickie affair, while he on the other hand had been up in his room thinking of how he wanted to spend these next few days doing nothing else but making love to her.

In one fluid motion, he shot out his hand and dragged her across his lap. She was so startled by the action that she didn’t even struggle and he easily clamped his arms around her, imprisoning her in his embrace.

Still holding her trapped against his body, he lifted one hand to tangle in her hair, tipping her head forward, so that their lips were only inches apart. As if realizing his intent, her eyes widened and she tried to pull away.

“Lucas, let go of—”

“If you wanted a male whore for a one night stand, why didn’t you just call me? After all that is how you see me,” he said angrily before he crushed his lips against hers. He was so furious with her that it spilled forth in his kiss as he plundered her mouth with his lips. He didn’t coax, he didn’t tease, there was nothing gentle about the rough thrusting of his tongue as he claimed her as his.