Zurlo, Michele - Two Masters for Samantha [Awakenings 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (2 page)

* * * *

Samantha felt sorry for the man. Having been pawed by more than a few drunken men in her time, she knew the value of a good save. With a light tug on his arm, she gestured toward the dance floor.

“I saved this dance for you.”

His eyes, the darkest blue she’d ever seen, roamed her face and figure. The hard, bored look he wore slipped away, replaced by a brilliant smile that melted her knees a little.

Swallowing the sudden urge to press her lips to his, Samantha leaned forward to peer around the man at the drunken woman who had to be related to Sabrina because Sammy recognized all the people Jonas had invited. She smiled apologetically. “Excuse us. He’s been waiting all night for me to get a break from my bridesmaid’s duties.”

This time, when she pulled at his arm, he followed her to the dance floor.

The hotel Jonas and Sabrina had chosen for the reception featured a cavernous ballroom with a beautiful wood floor. A five-piece orchestra strummed a classical number that was perfect for one of the dances Sabrina had forced the entire bridal party to learn. They’d already danced the waltz.

In the middle of the crowd, she turned to her mystery man and smiled again. “I can lead if it won’t damage your self-esteem.”

He planted his right hand on her waist and gripped her right hand in his left. This was backwards from the way she learned in dance class. She rested her free hand on his shoulder. He felt firm and solid in a sexy, dependable kind of way.

“I know how to dance.”

With that, he swept her around the floor. Samantha had taken dance classes until she entered college. As an accomplished dancer, she appreciated his grace and skill. As a woman, she liked the confident way he held her.

“You’re pretty good,” she said. “I’m Samantha.”

“Alexei,” he supplied. “You’re a friend of Sabrina’s?”

Sammy laughed. “Did the dress with the same colors as the invitations and décor give me away? Or was it the fact I walked down the aisle ahead of her?”

His hand moved, repositioning higher on her waist. Somehow, it was a more possessive hold. His gaze flickered from her eyes to her lips and back again. “I didn’t attend the wedding. I just arrived from
Miami
.”

“How do you know Sabrina?”

Alexei’s brows lifted. “You assume I’m a friend of the bride?”

“Being the groom’s sister gives me an intimate knowledge of who he invited.”

His smile relaxed. “Sabrina and I sort of grew up together. Our parents were friends.”

“Ahh,” she said. “I know how that goes.” The parents probably forced their children to play together even though they had no common interests and their personalities didn’t quite mesh. They were friendly with one another, but not friends.

“I haven’t seen her around,” he said. His grip changed again, moving to her back and pulling her closer. “This is a nice diversion.”

“Saving your ass from a random intoxicated woman?” Sam laughed. “You’re welcome.”

Alexei leaned closer. She felt his breath warm against her neck. It sent tingles through the sensitive flesh not covered by her strapless gown. He hadn’t even touched her and she was unable to stop a tremor.

“I’d like to thank you properly, with a kiss you won’t forget.”

Her laugh came out a little huskier this time. This man was a serious flirt. “You don’t seem like the kind of man who asks for a kiss.”

He pulled back. The corners of his mouth quirked with amusement. “No?”

“No,” she echoed. “You seem like the kind of man who takes what he wants.”

His smile grew. “Are you the kind of woman who appreciates a man who takes what he wants?”

Sam shrugged. “I can’t say I’ve really met any. I think it would depend on the man and the manner in which he did the taking.”

“Well said.” He nodded appreciatively. “I am the kind of man who takes what he wants. However, I am not the kind of man who mauls a woman, especially one who has done me a favor, in front of her family and friends. I mean to show you appreciation, not disrespect.”

“You prefer to do your mauling in private?” The question was out before she thought about how it would sound. Embarrassed heat traveled up her neck and down to her breasts.

“You’re a very becoming blusher.”

She thought he might laugh or completely ignore her discomfiture. Yet there was no amusement in his voice and no hint he enjoyed her discomfort. It was an honest compliment. She wasn’t sure it was appropriate to thank him. Unaccustomed to not having the upper hand, Sam bit her lip and nodded.

Strong fingers gripped her chin. “None of that, Samantha. You’re very beautiful, more so when you blush. There is no shame in that.”

The heat receded as she realized exactly what kind of man she was dealing with. “You’re a Dom, aren’t you?”

The grin on his lush lips made his eye sparkle. “Beautiful, thoughtful, and intelligent. I think you just might be the perfect woman.”

“Yeah, well, my brother is a Dom, as is another bridesmaid and the best woman. It’s not exactly a foreign concept to me.”

Alexei’s head tilted and his eyes searched the ceiling as he thought. “Best woman?”

“Ellen,” Samantha said. “My brother’s best friend is a woman, so he had a best woman instead of a best man. He was the man of honor at her wedding.”

Jonas was seven years older than Samantha. He had done his level best to hide things from her, but Sam had figured out most of what he was up to by the time she was sixteen. At first, it had shocked her.

Ellen, who also owned the club where Jonas had worked as a Dom, had taken Samantha aside to explain the details of what Jonas refused to discuss. Still, she hadn’t thought about the concept in detail until she was in her early twenties and a boyfriend had wanted to experiment with the Dom/sub sexual dynamic.

It hadn’t been what she expected. To begin with, he stopped any time she asked and apologized profusely whenever she indicated something was uncomfortable, even when it wasn’t. It had been a deflating experience.

Alexei’s attention had returned to her, if it ever wavered in the first place. “What about you, Samantha? What are you?”

She shrugged. “I’m just me.”

His smile was appreciative, but she didn’t know if he appreciated her looks, her openness, her honesty, or something else. He pulled her closer, yet not close enough to touch.

Samantha wished he would close the space. Without consulting her brain, her body leaned into his. The layers of his tuxedo made the move less satisfying than she expected. Though she could feel the solidness of his chest against hers, that skin-to-skin contact was missing. She knew before she asked him to dance that he was built. From the way his jacket hung on his shoulders, that fact could not be missed by the most inebriated woman at the reception, and Samantha had not yet indulged.

Alexei’s hand played up and down her spine. The light touch penetrated the satin of her gown and shivers swam in waves across her skin. She wanted more. His lips were so close. She estimated his height at a couple inches over six feet. Being a tall woman meant she could brush her lips against his with just the tilt of her head.

The hand holding hers for the dance shifted, pressing her palm to his shoulder. His thumb brushed over her waiting lips, and he peered deep into her eyes, capturing her with his look. “I think you’re a sub who hasn’t yet met the right Dom.”

The moment was gone, the tension broken by his confident assertion. Samantha restored the inches between them. She laughed. “That’s a come-on I haven’t heard in quite that form.”

Alexei frowned, probably at the unexpected cooling of her response. “In what form?”

“It’s usually phrased to say I haven’t met the right man yet. The assumption is that the man delivering the line is the right one. At least, it is on his part.”

“I’m in town for a week,” he said. “Is there any way you might consent to having dinner with me?”

The song ended, and the band leader announced a break.

Alexei didn’t release her. His silent, steady stare reminded her that he had asked a question.

Samantha found him attractive, but she couldn’t ignore the warning bells tinkling in her head. It wasn’t a large alarm, but she had learned to trust her instincts. There was something he wasn’t telling her. A glance at his left hand showed no wedding band and no lighter skin or indent to indicate he had removed it. Still, not all married men wore a ring in the first place. If Sam ever married, she resolved that her husband would wear a ring, or he would not have a wife.

The bells were minor, and Samantha was drawn to him. She tried for her most brazen smile. “Let’s see how that kiss goes first.”

Before Alexei could respond, an arm draped around her shoulder. Sam recognized Drew before the turn of her head could confirm her suspicions.

Drew Snow wasn’t someone she knew well. He was a friend of Sabrina’s, and Samantha had interacted with him in that capacity. He was also engaged to Sophia, who was friends with Jonas and Ellen.

“Sammy, I see you’ve met Lex.”

Samantha frowned at Drew. He was a very handsome man with a highly magnetic personality. His professionally streaked blond hair brought out the warmth in his ice-blue eyes. He was a successful chef, with his own show on the Food Network, and a he had won countless awards in various food art categories.

With her high heels on, she was a couple inches taller than him. Of course he and Alexei knew each other. Drew had known Sabrina since they were teenagers. It stood to reason he would know someone else who had also known her for that long.

Alexei released her. She briefly mourned the loss of his touch. A grin brightened his face. “Drew Snow. Why am I not surprised to see you here? Still sniffing around Ginny’s skirts?”

The two men shook hands and hugged in that macho, masculine way men have of showing public affection to one another. Drew managed to do this without removing his arm from Samantha’s shoulders. She wondered what message he was trying to send and why. Did it have to do with that instinctive warning in her head?

Ginny was a lesbian. Samantha drew her brows together in a frown. When they finished with their greeting, Sam turned to Drew. “Ginny?”

He shrugged. “I had a crush on her in high school.” To Alexei, Drew said, “Gin and I are business partners. She’s been happily married for seven years, and I’m getting married to the woman of my dreams next summer.”

Alexei’s eyes fell to Samantha and the arm Drew kept on her. His lips pressed together, and his face hardened. “I see.”

Irritated by his insinuation and by Alexei’s reaction, Sam shrugged out of Drew’s possessive hold. “Drew, where is Sophia and why has she let you out without a leash?”

Alexei’s features relaxed. “Sophia?”

“My gorgeous fiancée.” Drew’s grin was a little on the grim side. “Samantha is family to me, Lex. Tread lightly.”

“I assure you,” Alexei said with a gravity Sam didn’t understand, “my intentions are honorable.”

Drew’s demeanor transformed. The seriousness disappeared and the lighthearted, jovial personality Samantha was used to seeing returned. “Great. Where is that brother of yours? Sitting this one out?”

Alexei shrugged. “He’ll probably come down later. You know how he hates these events. If we weren’t meeting with Galen Enterprises this week, we probably would have just sent our regrets and delivered our congratulations the next time we were in town.”

His eyes flickered over Samantha as if to reassure her that he had no regrets about coming, but he said nothing.