Heart Racer (4 page)

And all thoughts of common sense flew out of his brain.
 

When she made a move to go back to the bathroom, he made a move, too, and he was a lot faster than she was.
 

In a moment, he had her locked in his arms.

She started to struggle. Hard.

His hold on her arms only tightened, her struggles somehow only making him more aroused. He had never forced a woman to bed – had never had any reason to. But right now, there was nothing he wanted more than to dominate Roberta Granger, to make her realize that he was a man and that he was strong enough to overpower her.

“Stop struggling,” he gritted out.

“Then let go of me!”

“The more you struggle, the more you make me want to take you!”

She froze, but her eyes shot fire at him.
 

He looked down at her – all the way to her breasts, her gloriously naked and abundantly full breasts. They were so deliciously shapely and round that he wondered if they would fit his hands. The thought that it wouldn’t had him swallowing, his lust threatening to get rid of what little of his self-control he had been able to hold on to.

Such beautiful breasts
…and the sight of them had him fighting even harder for control.
 

A hungry look had touched his face, and when Bobby realized what he was staring at, she couldn’t help stiffening.

It was a bad move.

She knew it the moment she did it, but by then it was too late.

Her breasts, with its pointed rosy tips, brushed against his chest when she straightened, and the contact had both of them reacting like they were hit by a bolt of lightning.
 

A growl escaped the man holding her captive.

She stiffened again, something about that sound reminding Bobby that this man was more dangerous than any other man she knew. She was so out of his league it was terrifyingly ridiculous, and yet here she was, naked in his arms.

This time, she wasn’t too proud to beg. It was the only way to save herself, to keep her life from changing. She knew that without him saying a word, the knowledge more intuitive than experiential. “Please let me go—” she cried out, the sound a mixture of stunned disbelief and excruciating pleasure as he bent his head down, his hands moving down to clasp her waist tightly as his hot mouth closed over one pink tightly drawn nipple.

Oh God.

This couldn’t be happening.

She tried to hang on to her sanity, her hands moving up to press against his shoulders. She wanted to push him away but she couldn’t. “Please—”

She stopped.

He had started to suck.

He. Was. Sucking. On. Her. Nipple.

Sucking.

Hard.

Her eyes closed. Her head fell back. Her lips parted in a silent moan.

It was too much.

Someone knocked furiously on the door. “Leandro, you have an urgent call. It is your mother.”

Chapter Five

“Oh, you’re alone.” The voice was sickeningly sweet, but it was not sweet enough to hide the malice behind the words.

Bobby suppressed a sigh. Why was university life as depressingly clichéd as it was in the movies? One would think that by watching how the good guys always won in the end, people would know better and give up playing the role of Mean Girl or Dumb Jerk.

But no. They didn’t. Because there were girls that were truly mean and boys that were truly dumb jerks. Like this pair waiting to make fun of her.

She looked up, making sure her face was blank. “I’m not.”

They gaped.

“Okay, I am. I was just being sarcastic since you were asking something obvious.” She indicated the vacant seat in front of her. “No one’s here on the table with me, so of course I’m alone. Unless you don’t know what alone means?”

They were still gaping at her.

She waited patiently, knowing it was wishful thinking on her part that the two would walk away at that. If it had been anyone else, that might have happened. But this was Valerie – the girl who had hated her guts from the very start. And the guy next to her was Blaine – the guy who loved her so much he had done everything she asked of him, and that included turning Bobby into a laughingstock.

Valerie was the first to recover. Tall, blond, and pretty, she glared at Bobby. “You think you’re so funny?”

Bobby pretended to be shocked. “I do?”

Valerie gaped.

Blaine was the smarter one this time, nudging Valerie when she remained stupefied. “She’s still being sarcastic,” he muttered under his breath.

Valerie snapped, “I knew that.” She looked at Bobby murderously. “
I knew that
.”

She nodded sagely. “I know you did.”

Rage caused Valerie’s face to deepen into a darker shade of red. “You’ve got a really thick skin, don’t you? After letting the whole world know you’re a slut, you can still bear to show your face in public?”

The words stung, but Bobby had enough practice to pretend it didn’t. Pride had saved her in high school, and it remained her lifeline even in college. She forced herself to shrug. “If it’s bothering you too much, then don’t look at me.”

“Don’t worry. After this, I’m going to avoid you like the outcast you’ve always been. You’re so slutty you even managed to scare big bad Leandro Christopoulos away.”
 

Her voice rose, and Bobby mentally prepared herself, knowing whatever Valerie was going to say, it was going to
hurt
.

“You’ve turned him off completely. He’s back in Greece, and he’s partying like he’s just won his freedom back.”

****

Leandro waited for his security and Derek’s to leave them alone, their guards blending back into obscurity as they took their seats. The maître d had wanted to give them the best table in the house, but Leandro had opted for the most private one instead.

After giving their orders, Leandro impatiently waited for the waiter to be a good distance away before he asked curtly, “How bad is it?”

Derek didn’t bother mincing words. “If she wasn’t so tough, it would have been hell. When you left without so much as a word, people began to speculate why. Valerie – the girl Bobby had a…
quarrel
with in high school – she made sure that everyone drew the wrong conclusions. When pictures showed up of you partying in Greece—”

“Those were meant to distract the public. You know that,” he said tightly. “I was in the hospital the entire two weeks. My father was fighting for his life, dammit.”

“I know that. Everyone in the family knows that, but because your father also did not want the public to know the truth, our hands here were tied. You hadn’t given me permission to let Bobby know the truth.”

And he hadn’t because he had been too proud
, Leandro realized grimly. In his mind, there was still nothing between him and Bobby, and because there was none, his pride had baulked at the need to explain anything to her.
 

He had been ready to suffer the consequences of the decision his pride had made him take, but what Leandro had not been ready for was the fact that Bobby had also suffered the consequences.

Leandro gestured for the server and ordered a shot of whisky, which he downed in one gulp as soon as it was served. When the fiery liquid made its way down his throat, somewhat succeeding in neutralizing his rage, he asked slowly, “What else happened?”

“Almost everyone followed Valerie’s lead. I’ve managed to put the word out and stop any of the male students from harassing her in any way, but there is a limit to what I can do before I’m accused of unfair treatment. Jaike’s repeatedly invited her to hang out with us, but you know Bobby. She’s proud…” Derek grimaced. “Probably as proud as you are, if not prouder. She knows we’re trying to protect her, and she’s not letting us.”

“None of the guys in uni will touch her, but I can’t stop them from looking at her. Also, the girls have been making snide comments the moment they’re out of earshot of any faculty member.”

Every word left Leandro sick. Two kisses…just two goddamn kisses and he had practically ruined Roberta Granger’s life.

He shook his head, his face white. “She survived all that?”

Derek said simply, “She’s not an ordinary girl.”

The words hit Leandro hard because once upon a time, he had thought the opposite.

“She’s not the kind of girl who deserves to be played with, Leandro.”

“I know that, but now it’s too late. My father’s recovered, and I need to undo the damage my pretense has caused. I need to give him a fighting chance during the elections.” His fists clenched. “I need to make everyone believe I’ve changed and right now, only someone like Bobby can make that happen.”

Chapter Six

“Bobby, Bobby!”
 

The familiar voice made Bobby stiffen and then she started walking – fast. She was practically running, but before she could reach the doors of the restaurant, it was too late. A hand settled on her shoulder. “Bobby!”

When she turned, she had a look of surprise on her face. “Aunt Sam! I didn’t hear you call me!”

“That’s odd, since the whole restaurant but you seemed to have heard me.”

Bobby grimaced. She really should remember that there was no point trading insults with Samantha Christopoulos. It was hard to be sarcastic when the other one was so wonderfully…
blunt.
She began, “If this is going to be another one of your attempts to convince me that I need to give your nephew another chance—”

“Oh darling, not at all.” Samantha curled her arm around the younger girl’s and, turning them both around, she walked back into the restaurant’s main dining hall.

Bobby had no choice but to walk with her. “Is this even a coincidence?”

“No,” Samantha admitted cheerfully. “I simply called all your favorite restaurants and told them to call me the moment you booked a reservation with them.”

“You’re scary.”

“I know.”

Bobby frowned. “So…if this is not about
him,
then what is this about?”
 

Samantha looked surprised. “I didn’t say it wasn’t about him. I just meant that I don’t need to convince you.” She glanced at the balcony and when Bobby followed Samantha’s gaze, that was when she saw…
him.

Of course she tried to escape after that, but of course she couldn’t. Samantha was so strong Bobby had to wonder if instead of silicone implants, Samantha had gotten her Beverly Hills doctor to give her steroid injections. How could an old woman be so darn strong?

“I’m not going to talk to him,” she hissed.

“Yes, of course you are, darling. He really has something important to tell you, and I’m sure after that you’re no longer going to be mad at him.”

“I doubt it.”

“Give him a chance.”

“To kill him? Anytime. To forgive him?
Never
.”

Samantha tsk-tsked. “You’re so hard, Bobby.”

She said with great sincerity, “I’m not being hard. I’m just being honest.”

Samantha choked. “I can see that you’re going to give my nephew a hard time when you’re together.”

It was Bobby’s turn to choke. “
Together
?”

But Samantha didn’t bother answering that since she was too busy smiling and exchanging greetings with the devil while keeping her death hold on Bobby. She turned to Bobby afterwards with a smile. “We’d love to have you join us for dinner.”

“Umm, thank you for the offer, but I’m full.” She deliberately kept her eyes trained on Samantha, unwilling to acknowledge the devil’s presence.
 

“Are you truly going to pretend I’m not here,
mégaira?
”

Samantha blinked at the last word. That was Greek for
shrew
, but the way Leandro said it, the word sounded very much like an endearment. This was getting even more interesting. She had watched this young man grow up and never had she heard him refer to another woman by anything else other than her name. He had always been a man’s man, and a very arrogant one at that.