1
Lysandra was never one to stray from routine, she worked hard and lived a lucrative life. So how she found herself sitting at a dimly lit bar, surrounded by loud music and musky scents, she had no idea. Sure she could simply down her glass of whiskey, pick up her smart leather purse and hightail it out of there, but then she’d be left facing Danielle.
Her best friend was a bundle of energy wrapped in tall legs and silky blonde hair. She’d almost choked when Lysandra had finally admitted to being a virgin. If it wasn’t for Danny’s intrusive behaviour and somewhat of a makeover, Lysandra would’ve been well curled up in her bed watching one of her newly downloaded crime thrillers.
Frowning, she looked down at her glass then proceeded to take a swift sip of courage, it burned down her throat and she felt her body warm. Her gaze flickered across the room where she found Danny and her other best friend Jeremy watching her intently. She rolled her eyes at this. At least the two hadn’t completely thrown her to the wolves.
The sarcastic woman in her head laughed at her absurdity, why she thought this would have been the best location to pick up a decent man to lose her infamous V card too, was beyond her. Scanning the room her thoughts were confirmed, nothing quite irked her interest. The men were sturdy but she’d noticed at least half of them had wedding bands, another portion seemed too young and the remainder screamed dangerous.
Finishing her drink she decided that tonight was not the night for losing ones virginity. Standing tall on her red stilettos she narrowed her gaze at her friends before she nodded towards the bathroom, planning on slipping out the back way. Her friend’s wouldn’t notice her disappearance or have the chance to drag her back in, until it was too late. Without a second thought she tightened her hold on her bag and beelined for the bathroom.
Steady eyes on the ground she broke free from the busy floor, she sighed a sigh of relief only to have the air slammed back out of her lungs as her body hit hard into a tall dark figure. She braced for an impact that never arrived, strong iron gripped her forearms, her heart rate accelerated. This was it, she was convinced this would be how she’d die, murdered on the grimy bar floor.
Finally when the relenting grip neither loosened or disappear, she gained the resolve to open her eyes. Sparking green irises clashed into her vision, she felt breathless. There was a intensity to the stare, she took in the remainder of the man. Salt and pepper coated the beard that wrapped around a jawline she would bet was defined to a fault. His hair hung low on his neck, almost touching his shoulders, it was tousled in a way that spoke effort without any real work. My god, the man was beautiful, she thought, then realised how funny a notice because she knew nothing beautiful came from a man that screamed danger and power the way he did.
It felt like minutes had passed when in reality it had only been a few seconds, the man straightened her and she steadied herself before readjusting her clothes. Something inside screamed at her to run, but her feet remained rooted. Lysandra settled for a simple, “thank you.” Not knowing if it was appropriate considering he was the one who ran into her.
“Head out the front, sweetheart, not safe back here.” The man spoke.
Only then did she realise his attire. Dark navy, a small metal emblem on his chest, she realised the man wasn’t there on reasons of pleasure. Smiling faintly at the officer she continued, “I need to go out that way,” she attempted to move past the man but his strong grip was once more on her. This time wrapped securely around her waist, his muscles felt like chains against her skin. The only thing dividing them was the flimsy material of her skin tight pencil dress.
Heat spread through her body, electrifying every nerve. Had she been alone so long that even the smallest touch from a man set her alight. Though this was no small touch. The officer held her in a dominating manner, one that firmly said he would not take no for an answer.
Mikel felt the threads of his control slowly burn, until nothing but one single fibre held him at bay. Had he known that by covering for one of the officers tonight would have led to him meeting the red headed vixen with startlingly crystal blue, almost grey eyes, he’d have not complained in the slightest.
She was tall, standing close to five foot ten, but he still towers over her at six foot five. Her body was shaped in a voluptuous manner, her tight fitting dress highlighting the small curve in her abdomen, some crazy part of him wanted to grab onto it while he slip into her from behind. Instantly, he banished the thought, he’d only just met the lady and already he was acting like a teenage boy.
The officer couldn’t help it thought, she’d gone to move past him and almost automatically he took hold of her, big mistake. A need like nothing he’d ever felt before exploded through him, it had him flexing his fingers in the narrowing of her waist, and fucking hell was it narrow. He knew he’d be able to almost circle it within his hands.
However, the arousal was dampened by her words, surely the woman wasn’t foolish enough to go out into the darkened back alley of the bar. “I’ll be okay, thank you.” The woman’s slender fingers wrapped around his bicep almost hesitantly, her pale skin christened by a deep blush that swept up from the dip in her dress right up to the apples of her cheeks. Mikel’s cock jerked against his pants, painfully begging to be free. He’d never seen a sight so enticing, one taste, fuck what he’d give for one taste of the sweetness he knew she’d be.
“It wasn’t a suggestion, Miss.” Mikel pressed, emphasising the descriptive term to gauge her response. He saw no ring on her finger which only furthered his decent to hell, because one thing was for sure, he wasn’t done with little miss thank you.
He saw the fire catch behind her eyes, instantly her posture tensed and her jaw tightened, “it wasn’t up for debate, officer.”
Lysandra wasn’t the type of woman to jump when a man said how high, no she was the kind that sat down and laughed while sipping some sort of tonic juice at the absurdity of a man ordering her around. Her lower regions however seemed to very much like being bossed around, unable to control her body’s reaction, she felt wetness pool between her thighs.
He leaned in until his breath fanned the side of her jaw and she could have almost sworn he’d taken in a sniff of her scent, “you go back there looking all innocent and sexy, sweetheart, I assure you some bastard will try and take a bite of that sweetness.” He didn’t include that he was most probably the bastard he was referring to.
“I’ll take my chances.” She finalised.
Mikel wanted nothing more than to haul the woman over his shoulder, take her to one of the dimly lit couches and spank her round bottom, luckily sanity was somewhere lurking in his mind that restrained him from such impulses. Instead, he grudgingly released her and took a step to the side. Fine she wanted to go play hooky with the night, then he’d let her, sure he’d follow to make sure she got home safely, but she didn’t need to know that.
Lysandra took her chance, slipping past him. Although his body was big and wide, making it impossible to move past him without brushing up against his side, another thrill of desire shot through her. Ignoring it, she quickly made her way down the hall and pushed through the back doors.
The cool damp atmosphere hit her all at once, chilling her skin and leaving goose bumps in its wake. Almost instantly she regretted her feminist bravado and wished those strong, steel arms were wrapped around her torso like a warm safety blanket.
On autopilot she moved, it was about a hundred meters to the corner of the bar and the main street where she’d parked. She cursed the dingy area and it’s non-existent street lamps. Lysandra hadn’t even made it half way when she heard the sound of heavy foot steps behind her, her lungs spasmed. A shadow fell over her, she tightened her fist around her metal keys. If some creeper wanted a piece of her, she’d go down kicking and screaming.
However, her attacker seemed to have the upper hand, almost predicting her actions, he caught her weaponised hand in a harsh grip, before using his other hand to slam against her mouth.
Panic almost set in, but then for the second time that night, Lysandra found herself looking up into those brooding green eyes. “That easy, sweetheart.” Mikel spoke low, hoping the woman understood how easily someone could potentially hurt her.
When he was sure she wouldn’t scream he lowered his hand, it settled at the base of her neck, he wasn’t ready to break all contact with the woman. “Are you crazy!” She glared at him, but he felt her body relax and lean into his touch. “Is this what you do to every woman that doesn’t heed your warning,” she mocked.
Mikel never lied, “no, not every woman. Only one particular one.” He knew he’d made a mistake the second he’d stepped out that back door, it wasn’t until he hand his hand clamped against her supple mouth that he knew he’d well and truly fucked up. There was something about the damn woman that he just couldn’t shake, sure Mikel had his fair share of women on call but never had he wanted someone the way he was craving her. Before he could do something he was unable to retract, he released her, “go, straight to your car. Straight home.”
Confused at the sudden coolness in his person, Lysandra straightened up. She had every intention of listening to the man this time, however something had her standing still, she looked up at him and for the first time that night she caught the dark need in his eyes. A small part of her was willing to bet he felt the weird string of desire between them, but then again she’d had several glasses of whiskey earlier that evening. At least that’s the excuse she’d use if this all went balls up...
So for the first time in her twenty-six years of life she did something spontaneously reckless. Without overthinking it and before her nerves could get a head of her, Lysandra stood on the tips of her heels and wrapped her hands around the officers neck. With a strong tug she brought him down and pressed her plump red lips to his, sure he could pull away and she’d have to live with the embarrassment, most probably having to move to a different country... but fuck it was worth it.
The moment she felt his lips part against hers, she knew her life would never be the same. His hands circled her waist almost painfully as he pressed her back flush against the cold brick wall behind them. She felt the tension and need ooze from him, realising she’d broken some sort of invisible wall of control in the man. He’d given her an out, a perfectly safe and innocent out. If only it wasn’t for the alluring hunger that seeped into his gaze, or the way his touch lit every cell in her body on fire, hell if it wasn’t for the way he dominated her without trying, she’d have gotten into her car and drove off.
