“Why the hell did you have to come here with De’s cousin when you know how she feels about you?”
Topaz wrenched her arm from Simon’s punishing hold. “How she feels? What about how I feel, Simon? That’s the one thing you never seem to consider!”
Simon stepped closer, taking both her arms in another tight grip. “You knew this would be a big mess.”
“Alex asked me to—”
“You should’ve turned him down.”
“Who the hell are you supposed to be!” Topaz spat, pulling herself free of his embrace. “Certainly not my fiancé and definitely not my husband. De saw to that quite nicely.”
“You played a part in it too, Topaz,” Simon reminded her, wincing at the look she sent him.
“Oh?” Topaz replied with a start, her expression clearing. “How so? As I recall, you ended things because she told you to.”
“You know what? Let’s not get into this,” he decided.
“Fine!” Topaz threw back, turning to walk away. “I don’t have time for this anyway,” she added.
“Too busy with work, I suppose?”
“And what does that mean?” she whispered, turning back to face him.
Simon pulled her into another punishing grip. “Would it make a difference if you knew? Would it!”
“Simon!” Topaz hissed, attempting to break free of his hold. “Simon, let go!”
Unfortunately, Simon had no chance to respond to Topaz’s fevered request. He was suddenly jerked away from her. Topaz’s eyes widened to small moons when she saw Alex. She watched as he handled Simon Whitley like a rag doll. His massive hands wrapped around the man’s neck as he shook him violently.
An image of the night in the park flashed in her head when she saw Alex’s hand clench into a fist. Memories of the three men in the park brought a gasp past her lips and she rushed to grab his arm.
Alex was ready to deliver his blow when he heard Topaz softly coaxing him to calm down. He realized what was happening and seemed to snap out of the rage. Turning the tables on Topaz, he took her by the arm. “We’re leaving,” he muttered, pulling her through the silent, astonished crowd.
The walk to the sleek, dark Navigator was void of conversation or laughter. Alex helped her into the passenger side, before taking his place behind the wheel. Only the hum of the SUV’s engine filled the silence. The radio did not play. Topaz relaxed against the butter-soft suede seat, until she noticed them bypass the exit to her home. Her concern mounted when they also passed the downtown exit toward her condo.
“So where’re we headed?” she asked, keeping her voice light.
“My place,” he pointedly replied.
“The restaurant?” she queried, purposefully misunderstanding. When Alex fixed her with a stony glare, she nodded.
The SUV stopped. Alex left the truck and walked around to assist Topaz from the vehicle. When her feet left the step rail, he prevented her from moving any farther. One of his hands clutched the passenger door while the other braced against a side window.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t,” she assured him, her lashes fluttering madly. “I just didn’t want you to kill Simon, no matter how much he deserved it,” she teased.
Alex’s smile was not forthcoming. “I don’t plan on staying long.”
Topaz watched him closely. “I don’t mind,” she whispered, the soft look on her lovely dark face relaying the true meaning of her words.
Alex looked away, then turned away completely and walked toward the house. Topaz followed, taking note of the tension in his broad shoulders. The house was dark, with the exception of the track lighting that shed shallow golden light into the lower-level rooms.
In the lounge, Alex grabbed a palm-sized remote from one of the bookshelves. After he pressed a button, Billie Holiday’s haunting, sensual voice colored the silence. Alex tossed the remote to a chair and headed toward the bar with long purposeful strides charting his path. He took a cooler glass from one of the shelves of the built-in bar and reached for a bottle of whiskey. He was in the midst of pouring the stiff drink when he looked up and saw Topaz standing in the doorway. His probing stare rested on her for a moment, and then he set the drink aside without taking a sip. The same purposeful strides closed the distance between them. His massive hands folded over her hips as he pulled her into a kiss. The act was hot and commanding as his frustrations and desire were released in an erotic mixture.
Topaz shuddered, her arms encircling his neck—her fingers splayed across the back of his head. She arched closer to him, eager to feel every chiseled inch of his powerful form. Faintly, she heard him utter a low, guttural sound and she gasped at the increased pleasure it brought her. Alex deepened the kiss, his tongue slowly thrusting and caressing the dark sweetness of her mouth. When she suckled his tongue, in a scandalous fashion, he broke the kiss and lifted her against him.
Topaz felt herself being lowered to one of the long, overstuffed sofas. Alex’s massaging touch moved from her hips to her waist and back, as his lips suckled her earlobe and the diamond stud she wore. Her lashes fluttered, her breathing gaining more volume.
Alex’s attention was drawn to her full bosom, heaving seductively against his chest. He buried his nose in the deep cleft there and inhaled the scent of the soft perfume clinging to her chocolate skin. One hand covered her breast and squeezed gently, his thumb brushing across the nipple straining against the material of her blouse. Slowly, he began to ply the exposed skin of her cleavage with soft, moist pecks.
“Alex ...” Topaz moaned, her nails searing his back through the material of his shirt. Unconsciously, she nudged her chest against his mouth—desperate to feel him there.
The kisses slowed, then stopped completely. Alex rested his head against her chest and inhaled deeply as though he was struggling to control his need.
“I should get you home.”
His deep voice sounded muffled against her skin, but Topaz heard every word. Smiling, she caressed his flawless light caramel skin. Her fingers stroking his brow, the sides of his face, then his jaw, she urged him to look at her.
“I don’t have a curfew,” she softly informed him.
Alex brushed his thumb across her mouth, before helping himself to another taste. He suckled her bottom lip, his fingers moving to the wrap tie around her blouse.
Topaz gasped again, this time feeling the material of his shirt against her bare skin. Alex pulled the blouse from her shoulders, but didn’t remove it completely. A soft, helpless sound passed his lips as his eyes feasted upon her nude form.
“I knew you’d look like this,” he whispered, caressing the firm dark mounds of her breasts with his eyes, then his mouth.
