Watch Me by Shelley Bradley Read Free Book Online Page B

their liquid fortification. Several men crowded around a twenty-something woman downing shots, like they were waiting for her to give one—or several—of them a sign that she was ready for action.
    The whole place oozed sex.
    She so didn’t belong here. Sex had never been her…thing. She’d had it, of course. A college boyfriend had been her first, but he hadn’t had much experience. Nor had he understood her dancing. They’d spent the relationship fighting because he assumed she was sleeping with her dance partner at the time, which she hadn’t been. A few years later, she’d had a one-night stand after a wedding. Stupid—and awful. Downright bad sex.
    Jonathan…utter disaster—right on the dance floor they’d practiced on for years. She’d clung to him out of desperation. He’d taken her body as if exorcising some demon. The whole episode had lasted less than ten minutes. And created months of pure havoc.
    By tonight’s end, if she wasn’t careful, she would be adding Alejandro to the list. She’d said she wouldn’t have sex with him. But she wondered… Would failing to have actual sex in public convince this blackmailer that they were for real? Not likely. It would probably look like a trap. They had to ferret out this jerk before the California Dance Star. Shanna sighed. But that wasn’t the only reason for contemplating surrendering to Alejandro. Could she actually resist a man that sinfully sexy, especially when he was seducing her by fulfilling her secret exhibitionism fantasy? He made her feel sexual, made her believe that he understood her. Admitting that fact was painful, but even when
    -46- Sneak Peek: Watch Me
    Alejandro annoyed her, he turned her on. Maybe…the chemistry between them was worth exploring.
    And maybe she was out of her mind.
    Crossing the room, Shanna was conscious of male eyes following her. God, why had Alejandro sent her this sheer halter top, held in place by nothing more than two little bows, along with a matching wrap-around skirt? Insisted she wear a skimpy outfit in shades of soft creamy-gold that blended in with her skin?
    “Hi,” a voice whispered in her ear. She turned to find a guy with dimples and incredible blue eyes visually eating her up. “Dance?”
    Okay, he was attractive. Who was she kidding? He was gorgeous. The way he looked at her made her burn. But to dance with him? Touch him?
    Hmm. The thought of getting physical with this guy—with most any guy—wasn’t quite as tempting. For her, it was always that way. Except with Alejandro.
    “I—I…”
    “She’s spoken for tonight.”
    Alejandro. She recognized that deep, slightly accented voice caressing the back of her neck. And the tingle that shimmied up her spine when he wrapped his arm around her bare midriff in a gesture designed to lay his claim.
    Dimples shot her a brief look of regret. “Sure, Mr. Diaz.”
    “She’ll be around later, in the chrome room.”
    That information perked Dimples up. He raked her with a lingering glance. “Sweet. I’ll definitely be watching.”
    Before Shanna could protest, Alejandro urged her forward to an employees-only entrance and shut the door behind them. The decibel level went down about a thousand percent.
    She whirled to face him “You invited him to watch us…?”
    Shanna was glad she’d managed to parlay her anger into actual
    -47- Shelley Bradley
    words quickly. Because once she saw his casual black shirt unbuttoned all the way down the front, exposing a healthy glimpse of hard-steel pecs and smooth bronze skin, she lost her train of thought.
    “To play. Yes, I did. He is one of the newer regulars and he was here last week. Think of him as a potential suspect.”
    His voice brought her gaze back up to his face, where a hint of a smile played. The bastard knew she’d been staring at him. She needed dispassion, not lust. Focus. “He had no idea who I was. No concept that I’m Kristoff’s partner.”
    “Not that he let on. But if he was guilty,