“Don’t be shy, sweetheart,” Nathan crooned. “I’m up for the challenge.”
“Oh God, just shut up. Please?”
A man with a lesser ego would’ve been deflated at the way Alyx cringed, but Nathan only smirked. How she looked and reacted didn’t matter. He knew the truth, and---
Moving closer, he whispered into her ear, “I can’t make you fall for me if you won’t even look at me.”
Alyx shuddered, disgust written all over her face, and Nathan had to swallow hard, knowing he couldn’t yet laugh.
“Come on, sweetheart. You know I’m telling the truth.”
One, two, three seconds passed---
Her dark eyes slowly lifted to his.
“Good girl,” he murmured.
No sooner had he said the words than Alyx’s head turned away and she let out a gagging sound. This time, he couldn’t help it, and as his shoulders rocked with uncontrollable mirth, Nathan hauled a still-gagging Alyx to his lap.
She immediately stiffened. “Nathan! Are you---”
“Relax,” he murmured soothingly. “They know when to disappear without having to be told.”
Alyx’s head jerked up, her gaze flying to where she had last seen the stewardess, but it was as Nathan had said. The other woman was nowhere to be seen. Turning to face Nathan again, she asked, “What’s up with that?” She was disgruntled and impressed at the same time. “Do you, like, train them to read non-verbal cues or something? Maybe attend a seminar like Servicing a Manwhore 101---”
But the Greek ex-model remained unfazed, only smiling at her with such lazy arrogance she wanted to simultaneously slap and kiss it off his lips.
The realization had Alyx wanting to throw her hands up in despair.
Oh God.
Was this a hangover thing? She had never been hung over before, had never been inclined to touch a glass of wine because she didn’t like the power it seemed able to wield over people.
And she was right to avoid it, Alyx thought gloomily. She had a glass of wine last night, and it was like her personality had undergone a complete transformation. She had always been attracted to Nathan Callis, but what she was feeling now---
This was different. This was too powerful. This was not right.
As Alyx watched Nathan reach for the remote control on the collapsible table at his other side, she couldn’t help noticing just how elegant and graceful his every movement was. Oh, and the way those fingers wrapped around the remote control---
What would it feel like to watch him pleasure himself---
Oh my God!
OH MY GOD!
Had she just legit fantasized about Nathan Callis masturbating because of the way he held the remote control?
Nathan was in the process of choosing a song from his iPhone’s music library when he noticed Alyx slowly banging her head against the window. What the---
“Do I even want to know why you’re doing that?” she heard Nathan drawl in a tone laced with amusement.
“No,” she said darkly. Or at least not until she could figure out a proper correlation between alcohol consumption and being horny, no matter how implausible---
Anything was better than the thought struggling to form at the back of her mind, doing its best to scare the shit out of her.
Music suddenly started playing, and she blinked. That was Phoebe Ryan’s Boyz n Poison. A nice song, yes, but it wasn’t exactly the kind of song she imagined would appeal to someone like Nathan Callis.
“And now…” Nathan’s smile was too dazzling, and it immediately put Alyx on her guard. “Speaking of servicing…”
Alyx’s eyes narrowed. This was getting worse.
“Up you go…” Nathan’s hands clasped her waist, and a moment later he had Alyx on her feet.
She blinked down at him, and his smile turned into a crooked grin.
“Am I supposed to know what this is about?” Alyx asked finally.
“A lap dance.” Nathan leaned back against his chair. “You’re going to give me a lap dance, sweetheart---” He had barely finished speaking when Alyx snarled and tried to claw his eyes out.
Nathan laughed as he caught her wrists and gently forced her arms down. When her furious gaze met his, he whispered huskily, “Trust me. If you want the pain to stop…” His fingers slowly loosened from her wrists. “You’ll do what I’m asking.”
Ah.
The crooked grin remained on Nathan’s lips but the look in his eyes was serious, and Alyx found herself swallowing.
She straightened away from him slowly, and her throat dried as his gaze followed her every movement intensely. His searing gaze seemed to burn her clothes away, and at that moment she felt like she was already naked---
Oh God, she actually found herself wishing she were already naked.
“Dance for me, sweetheart.”
And so…she did.
Alyx had never done a lap dance before, and if she were honest, she had never thought she’d have to, much less want to. But as Nathan’s gaze seduced and caressed her, she could actually feel her blood heating up as her hips slowly started to sway in time with the music.