in that club. He didn’t look like the most dangerous man in the room, even though she knew with utter certainty that he was. She was sure that Dex could have Aidan crying on the floor in less time than it would take for her to blink.
“Sweetheart?” Aidan fired a glance back at her. “You involved with this jerk?”
Involved? Ha. “Not in a million years.” Her answer was automatic. She stayed away from trouble. She didn’t get into a relationship with it.
Dex smiled at her.
His smile made her stomach feel a little odd. It was a sweet smile. Almost tender.
Then Dex winked at Lacey. “Don’t make promises that you don’t intend to keep.”
She hadn’t made a promise. She’d flatly said “not in a million years” because it was a true statement and—
“You’re still here.” Dex waved vaguely toward Aidan. The band had started to play another of their slow, romantic tunes. “This is getting old,” Dex added. “You’re between me and my lady, and I need to talk to her so…I’ll ask nicely just one more time. Ahem. Get the fuck out of my way.”
That was asking nicely? Lacey could only shake her head. What would it sound like when he wasn’t being nice?
A snarl escaped Aidan. He jabbed his index finger into Dex’s chest. “Listen, asshole….”
Uh, oh. “Um, Aidan, you don’t need to—”
Too late. Dex had grabbed him—or rather, he’d grabbed the finger that Aidan had shoved into his chest. Dex did a quick twist, applied what she knew had to be wicked pressure, and had Aidan on his knees, with his hand locked behind his back in seemingly the next second. “Didn’t your parents ever tell you,” Dex asked in his cold, emotionless voice, “that you don’t put your hands on other people?”
“Dex!” Lacey surged forward. “Let him go. Now.”
Dex looked up at her. Smiled once more. And kept right on holding Aidan’s hand behind his back. “You look lovely tonight. Is that a new top?”
He wasn’t serious. But, yes, it was new. “Let go of his hand before you break the man’s fingers.”
Dex actually pouted. His lips curled down as he said, “Am I the kind of fellow that would do something like that?”
“You are exactly the kind of bastard that would do something like that.”
He shook his head. “You wound me. I was simply defending myself.”
She rolled her eyes. “Let him go.”
“L-let go…” Aidan gasped.
“Fine.” Dex immediately freed him and stepped back.
Aidan rose slowly, a bit shakily, and glared at Lacey.
Hold up. Why is he glaring at me? She’d defended him! If it hadn’t been for her, he would have still been trapped by Dex.
“Your ex is an asshole!” Aidan spat. He fisted his fingers. “And you are not worth my time.”
Her jaw dropped.
Aidan began to storm away.
Dex casually stepped into his path. “Hello.”
Aidan flinched.
“If you will remember, I was counting points with you earlier. I think I started with my first point, then my second, and I feel I must end our conversation with our third point.” He smiled. “A very important point that you should never, ever forget.”
Uh, oh. She knew his smiles were dangerous things.
“Third…” Dex tilted his head and let his gray gaze sweep over Aidan. “She is worth far, far more than you are ever capable of giving. That’s why she was out of your league from the beginning. She just wanted to dance, not to fuck, and if you ever give her attitude like that again—if you ever look at her with that much rage in your eyes again—you’ll be sorry. You want to fight someone, come at me. Only me.”
But Aidan wasn’t in the mood to fight. He was in the mood to get out of there, fast. He shouldered his way through the crowd and didn’t look back.
“You have terrible taste in men.” Dex watched Aidan leave. “I mean absolutely horrible. What in the world were you thinking?”
She tapped her right foot.
His gaze slowly swung back to her. His smile came again and lit his eyes. “Want to dance?”
“You are not serious.”
He waved toward the dance floor and all the cuddled-up-close couples. “This is my speed, and I’d love to dance with you.”
Unbelievable. She shook her head and marched past him. She hadn’t seen Dex in weeks—a situation she was very grateful for—and now he’d just popped back up to ruin her night for shits and giggles—
His hand wrapped around her wrist. His touch seemed to send a surge of pure heat all the way through her body.