The real question was, could she actually hold anything back?

  Shanna felt her way up his cock, to the catch of his slacks. She flipped it open, and he sucked in a harsh breath. Another groan from the audience spurred her on. With slow torture in mind, she eased down his zipper, taking her sweet time.

  “If you have a ‘no’ on the tip of your tongue, say it now.”

  Shanna leaned closer to his primal male heat, her mouth hovering above the hard nub of his brown nipple. She flicked a sultry gaze up to his face, latching onto his burning stare. “Never heard the word.”

  When had she ever been brazen? Or assertive or hungry or dying to feel a man’s animal heat burning her up? Never. For years, she’d poured her passion into dance. When she performed, she could express all her pent-up feelings through the movements of her body and the interaction with her partner. In real life…she’d never put a tenth of her passion into sex. Tonight—now—she wanted to change all that.

  Alejandro had compelled her to.

  She closed her mouth around his nipple and nibbled him with her teeth. He groaned long and loud. Holding in her satisfied smile, she pushed his pants over his hips, sliding them down his thighs.

  His sex sprang free, so hard it nearly lay against his belly. So long, it reached toward his navel. So thick, she could barely get her hand all the way around it. So perfect, she knew that once he sank deep into her, she’d feel not only more pleasure she’d ever experienced, but ecstasy beyond her wildest fantasies.

  Panting, Shanna fell to her knees. She could hardly wait.

  When his slacks reached his ankles, Alejandro was very glad he hadn’t bothered with anything underneath.

  He was even more glad to see Shanna on her knees, eyeing his cock.

  Alejandro took himself in hand and guided the weeping head closer to the red haven of her lush mouth.

  He barely anchored his palm around the crown of her head when she opened wide to take inch after inch inside the stunning, wet heat as she cradled him on her tongue. Dios mío!

  She sucked hard, and he felt her all over his cock. His head nudged the back of her throat. Her tongue swiped the sensitive underside of his erection, swirled around the purple crest.

  Heaven—Shanna had to be it. She was definitely sleek and built for long, sweaty, intense fucks—and to show off for the audience that would masturbate to the sight and sounds of her.

  About that, he had no doubt.

  To his left, the audience watched. Moaned. A few guys were adjusting themselves. Others had given up and were already stroking their own cocks. A few women had wandered into the room, and he hoped they understood there would likely be a long line to fuck them if they stayed.

  Then Shanna drew back, her tongue laving the head of his cock, igniting a maelstrom of icy-hot tingles in his balls, down his spine. He stopped thinking completely. Too full of sensation now, he fucked her mouth slowly as she whimpered around him, her fingers locked on his thighs…slowly inching up to his ass.

  She took him to the back of her throat again. Her nails dug into his skin, and the hint of pain pushed him closer to the edge of pleasure. Damn, he was going to come if she kept that up.

  A part of him wanted to rush into the ache and explode on her tongue, down her throat, just for the joy of watching her take and swallow him.

  But he wanted to fuck her more. Way more.

  Gritting his teeth, Ali pulled out of her mouth. She protested with an unintelligible groan, but he bent and grabbed her waist, lifting her until she stood. Then he whirled her away from him, to face the tall, chrome bed poster. He forced her to bend toward it, then with his fingers over hers, he clasped her hands around the pole.

  “Hold on. You will need to,” he growled in her ear.

  Bending quickly, he found the condom in his pocket and rolled it on, counting the torturous heartbeats until he could be balls deep in the sweet heat of her pussy. Seven seconds. That’s all it took until he gripped her hips and thrust inside her.

  Scalding hot. Fist tight. Madre de Dios, he wasn’t going to last. But by damn, she was going over the edge first.

  Bracketing harsh fingers on her hips, he pushed his way inside. Shoved hard. It seemed to take forever. Her pussy was so swollen, and if he had to guess, she had not had sex in months, maybe longer.

  That was going to change. No way would tonight be the last time he fucked her. No way would he wait weeks, or even days, to feel her again. Even waiting hours sounded doubtful in that moment.

  Jacked up on an overload of sensation and a burning need to come brewing at the base of his spine, Ali took a deep breath and plunged into her slowly. Hell, it wasn’t helping his concentration to see people masturbating to the sight of Shanna’s naked body. Or one of the women in the room with her skirt around her waist and a man’s cock buried inside her as she straddled his lap.

  Tearing his gaze away, he focused on the long line of Shanna’s graceful spine, her mussed golden tresses spilling across her narrow back. He couldn’t not touch her.

  Lifting one hand off her hip, he reached around her body and toyed with her breasts, pinching one of her responsive nipples. She gasped, and Alejandro felt his primitive side take over. He sank his teeth into her neck. He squeezed her other nipple. Her body responded instinctively, tightening on his cock. She was close.

  Thank god. So was he.

  Gliding his palm down her belly, he buried his fingers into the sparse curls between her legs. There. Her clit stood up, hard and swollen, pleading for attention. He wasn’t about to say no.

  He swiped his fingers across her bundle of nerves. She moaned, tightened again. The friction of moving inside her was about to blow the top off his head. But he kept moving.

  “Do you see them watching you?” he snarled, on the edge. “Do you see them wanting you?”

  “Yes,” she cried. “Yes.”

  “I want you more.”

  “Oh, god,” she gasped. “Alejandro!”

  He strummed her clit once more. “You are going to come.”

  Damn, he was trying so hard to hold it together, he was cross-eyed and slurring his words. But she understood.

  “Yes!”

  And then she did, crying out as she clamped down on him, massaging his cock with the pulsing walls of her sex. His self-control didn’t stand a chance.

  The sensation started deep in his gut and dropped with heavy need right into his balls. Pleasure climbed up, up, up his cock until he found himself shouting his throat raw in release.

  He clutched her tight, pumping his way through utopia, with just one thought rattling through his fevered brain:

  Mine.

  6

  Latin music throbbed—kind of like Shanna’s head. The insistent beat of the dramatic notes echoed off the hardwood floors and bounced off the mirrored walls of the studio. Her feet ached. She was hot and sweaty after three hours. And really annoyed. She and Kristoff were not having a productive practice.

  And as much as she hated to admit it, Alejandro kept invading her thoughts every three seconds. How could she miss him so much after a mere two days? Why couldn’t she stop thinking about the way his hands felt on her, of his unique scent like midnight and man all wrapped in pure sex. Why hadn’t she stopped remembering the way he’d looked at her—as if she meant something—before she thrust her clothes on and darted out of his embrace? It would be far more practical if she could focus on the fact that the security cameras hadn’t picked up on anything suspicious that night at Sneak Peek, so she was no closer to finding—and stopping—the blackmailer.

  “I have never had to say this to you,” Kristoff broke into her thoughts, “but if we are going to win, you must concentrate. You know this, yes? The cha-cha-cha, it is strong and passionate, not lethargic and distracted.”

  Damn Kristoff for stepping on her last nerve.

  Shanna thrust her hands on her hips. “If I’m distracted, it’s because I’m still trying to figure out how we’re going to keep that porn-worthy footage of yours out of the judges’ hands. And guess what? The fact that’s even a problem is not my fault.”

  “I made a mistake. I have apologized. Either forgive me or find a new partner. Or have you already been having auditions behind my back?”

  In the past, that comment alone would have been enough to push her over the edge. She would have told Kristoff to spend his time at Sneak Peek and stop wasting hers. Then she would have begun auditioning partners the very same day.

  So why wasn’t she walking away now?

  Kristoff was, in a word, amazing. A powerful dancer, determined, dedicated. He brought a glamour to their dancing that had been lacking with Jonathan. The ladies loved him. He oozed charm even when making his matador face during the paso doble. He was spirited, and normally, he made practice fun. And yes, she wanted to find a partner with whom she could finish her career.

  That wasn’t why she didn’t want to lose Kristoff, though. During their time together, he’d become…almost a friend. She tried very hard not to bring her emotions into her dance partnerships, but Shanna knew he hadn’t intended to make a mess of things. She hated the thought of turning her back on him and proving his suspicions about her right.

  In the past, it had never bothered her to be known as the Bitch of the Ballroom. Now, for some reason…it bothered her. A lot.

  “Shut up and dance,” she snapped.

  “We can still win.”

  They could, if they didn’t have that footage hanging over their heads. But why bring it up again? It wouldn’t change their situation. Still, she usually would have added the dig just to remind him exactly how he’d screwed up. Today, she didn’t have petty in her, not when there was a bit of kicked puppy in his expression.

  Damn it, had the handful of orgasms Alejandro had given her softened her that much? Shanna stiffened her spine. She couldn’t afford to think with her heart if she wanted to win. And winning was all she had, even if it sounded…empty.

  No, she was just tired or something. She’d worked too hard to lose focus now. If she couldn’t figure out who was behind this blackmail before the competition, she would likely have to cut Kristoff loose.

  “We can win if we keep that video out of circulation. I’m working on that.”

  “Is that why you went to Sneak Peek and performed a public scene with Alejandro Diaz?”

  Shanna nearly choked. It hadn’t occurred to her that Kristoff would find out. In retrospect, she should have known. He was a member. She hadn’t seen him there, but clearly someone had told him.

  He laughed. “I heard it was very hot and that you had a rapt audience.”

  “I did what needed to be done to lure our blackmailer.”

  Or had she really done whatever she had to in order to achieve those stunning pair of orgasms. She’d barely resisted Alejandro’s offer of a third, which he’d promised to give her in his bed, just the two of them on soft satin sheets.

  “And you did it very well, I hear.”

  Shanna rolled her eyes and turned away so he wouldn’t see her cheeks turning pink.

  But she wasn’t fast enough.

  “You’re blushing. You?” Astonishment laced Kristoff’s voice. “I have never seen you do such a thing.”

  It was rare, and all because Alejandro had blown her away, and she hadn’t recovered yet. She had never craved sex or ached for any man. Until him. Last night, before she’d lost herself in the sensations of self-pleasure while thinking of Ali, she’d wondered exactly what he had done to her and why she was so fascinated by him.

  How had he gotten under her skin so quickly?

  Pretending to walk across the studio nonchalantly, Shanna sought her bottle of water and drank deep, then turned back to Kristoff. “Apparently, our plan wasn’t good enough. We didn’t catch anyone in the act of filming us, as we’d hoped. No one has sent me another blackmail video or threatened me as a result of the whole thing.” She shrugged. “I guess it was a waste of time.”

  But it didn’t feel like a waste, given what he’d done next…

  After the scene had ended, Alejandro had pressed a button to drop a partition between them and the audience. Shanna heard the watchers filing out, which filled her with a sense of both loss and relief. Then he had turned her to face him and taken her into his arms. For a simple hug. He’d said not a word, asked for nothing else for long moments. He just held her, stroked her hair. She hadn’t had that in a long time. Years. Her father and brothers certainly never gave affection. And she had needed it even more than she’d realized.

  Shanna had clenched her eyes shut tightly, resisting an urge to crawl deeper into his embrace and cry for all the fear—and conversely, the bliss—soaking her body. In the aftermath of their sex, her emotions had tumbled, jumbled, whirled all around. Up was down, backward was forward; nothing made sense except holding onto him.

  Somehow, she’d managed to restrain her tears, tear herself from his arms, and reach for her clothes.

  Within minutes, Del emerged into the room with the unhappy news that security had been scouring the footage of the event and found no one in the audience with a camera of any kind.

  After Del left, Shanna had lost it. Tears had fallen hard and fast. But silently. She’d hoped Alejandro had noticed.

  Wishful thinking.

  “Don’t cry,” he’d whispered as he swooped her up into his arms.

  She’d been too weak to fight Alejandro, especially when he’d felt so strong while he’d settled her against his solid body and in the shelter of his arms. As he’d kissed his way down her face, he’d been so tender, as if he’d known exactly what she needed. He’d ripped right through her fragile barriers. She’d opened up to his whispered words and tender mouth…

  Then he’d taken her hand and led her out of the main house, down a pathway hidden by tropical plants and climbing ivy, softly lit by the full moon, then pushed his way toward a luxurious cottage.

  His private quarters.

  Being alone with him when she was so emotionally raw…not smart. Downright scary, in fact. Even the idea had made her heart skid, her palms go clammy.

  Clutching her keys, Shanna had mumbled something about a fictitious early-morning practice and fled.

  So, it was done. They were done. Now, she needed to get her mind off of the repeated messages he’d left since and focus on dancing. She had the biggest competition of her career to prepare for. He had a business to run. Why he continued to pursue her, she had no idea. They had nothing in common.

  Except great sex.

  “Earth to Shanna,” Kristoff joked. “Are you with me?”

  “Yes. Sorry. I have a headache.” That wasn’t a lie actually…just not the whole truth.

  “Sorry. What should we do next about…the problem? Perhaps you should seek out a new partner.”

  He looked so sad at the prospect. Something in her chest twinged, and she tried to shove it aside, but that wasn’t working.

  “We don’t have time to talk about this now. You have to be at work in two hours, and I have to meet with the costumer shortly. Let’s focus on today.”

  “It would not hurt you to talk to me. Do you want to talk about what happened at Sneak Peek?”

  As her brothers would say, oh, hell no. “Talking won’t win us any trophies. From the top.”

  Using the remote control, she started the music again and got into position. Sighing, Kristoff assumed his pose and they danced for another grueling half hour.

  Until the door to the studio swung open unexpectedly.

  Alejandro strolled in looking dark and yummy and like a man with an agenda—one that started with getting her out of her clothes.

  Shanna sucked in a breath. “What are you doing here?”

  “I assume your phone is broken, since you have not returned my calls.” He arched a brow. “So I decided to find you.”

  “We’re practicing.”

  The protest was automatic. His presence here, so unexpected, raised her defenses. Thank god. She needed those barriers against him. If she spent another hour with the man, feeling as weak as she had while he touched her, she’d collapse against him and… Shanna shivered. She’d be vulnerable to him, probably admit that she cared.

  Not acceptable.

  “You will win because we will uncover who has been blackmailing you,” Alejandro vowed.

  “The security tapes turned up nothing, you said.”

  “That is true. And I assume the blackmailer has not contacted you, or you would have let me know.”

  “Yes, I would have.” And she would, no matter how much talking to him would have tempted her to do more—the way she wanted to right now. “But I haven’t received anything so far. So we have nothing else to say.”

  Alejandro’s expression told he her could see right through her bluster and wasn’t put off in the least. Damn him! Why couldn’t he cringe, like most people?

  “How did you find out when and where we were practicing?” she demanded.

  With a sweep of his hand, Alejandro outted Kristoff as the culprit.

  She whirled on her partner angrily. “This is practice time, not social hour. What the hell were you thinking?”

  “That if I did not tell him how to find you, he would end my privileges at Sneak Peek.”

  Shanna gritted her teeth. Fabulous. Yet another example of a man thinking with his penis. Apparently, it had never occurred to him—or he didn’t care—that she hadn’t wanted Alejandro to find her.

  “I have been thinking,” Kristoff said. “Since your first effort to draw the blackmailer did not solve the problem that you should try again.”

  “Are you serious?” Her jaw dropped.

  Kristoff nodded. “Stage another public scene. The word about it is out now. People in the community are buzzing about you two. If you give advance warning, I believe the person responsible will come.”

  Shanna considered Kristoff’s words with dread—and excitement. More of Alejandro’s touches, his wild sort of lovemaking… So very tempting. She hadn’t just liked what they’d done together; she had basked in it. And had been aching for more since.