Eerie red and blue lights pierced through the darkness, pulsing to the beat of the music as they flickered over the sea of scantily dressed bodies. Smoke, sex, and wealth. The basement club of El Sótano reeked of all three.
Penny’s eyes slowly adjusted to the dim lighting, and when they did, she did a double take. Groups of twos and threes swayed and moved. Hands touched and probed, some not bothering to hide the fact that they were having sex on a very public dance floor.
Plan D, which involved Rafe posing as a self-made millionaire and her as his American arm candy, was about to take a very interesting twist.
Stepping onto the main floor of the basement club, Penny skirted around a wandering hand and huddled closer to Rafe’s side. “Until a minute ago, I didn’t think it was possible for me to feel overdressed.”
He settled a hand low on her hip. A tingling heat brushed over her everywhere his head-to-toe scan traveled, confirming that after two days of rest and ibuprofen, she was most definitely on the mend.
Rafe’s wicked grin widened. “Trust me—you look perfect.”
That comment from any other guy would’ve sent her eyes into a massive roll. But when Rafe said it, she believed him. And she was also back to feeling naked. Calling her outfit a dress was probably overstating it by a few square yards of fabric—a silky green scrap of cloth, maybe. And again, her ensemble was compliments of Maria’s dress-up chest.
Rafe’s blatant approval made her equal parts nervous and confident. On the tail end of that realization came the knowledge that before him, she’d never met a man who made her feel either, much less both.
A dangerous excitement made her forget they basically stood in the middle of a vertical orgy.
Thank God he couldn’t see her blush. “How are we going to find Fuentes in this madhouse?”
“We’re not going to have to. His men told him we were here the moment we gave my name at the door. Now we relax and wait for him to come to us.”
Rafe nestled a series of erotically light kisses from her bare shoulder to the sensitive spot just under her ear. Penny trembled on contact.
“Relax,” he murmured against her skin, “or I’ll have Chase pull you out quicker than you can lift that lethal knee of yours.”
When his tongue flicked the lobe of her ear, Penny’s eyes closed on a sigh. “If you want me to relax, stop making out with my neck.”
Rafe let out a soft chuckle. “Distracting you, am I?”
“Not in the least. I’m fine,” she lied.
“So you say, and yet your fingers are practically ripping a hole through my shirt and your heart is beating a mile a minute.”
Damn the man for being so perceptive.
As if making his point, Rafe’s mouth traced the hollow of her throat where he could no doubt see her heart’s frantic pace. “Fuentes is a greedy enough bastard that he should take the bait regardless if you’re here or not. No one would think any less of you if you chose to sit this one out.”
“Maybe not, but I would. Everyone agreed that having a sidepiece on your arm would help with getting—and keeping—his attention.”
“And it will. Beautiful women have always been his weakness. I’m just saying that your presence isn’t required for this plan to go the way we want. Think of yourself as an additional insurance policy. An extra something-something. A way to improve our odds.”
“It’s bad enough that we’ve had to wait two days to make sure everything was in place. I’m not taking any additional chances with Rachel’s life. If my being here increases our odds of getting him off the streets and bringing Rach home, then I’m happy to play bait. It’s not like I haven’t done it before.”
Albeit reluctantly, Penny admitted to herself. And not without Vince as her backup, but no one really needed to know that part.
“Playing bait to parole jumpers and tax evaders is a hell of a lot different than flaunting your wares in front of a man like Fuentes,” Rafe warned.
“If you think you or any of the guys can fit into this dress, I’ll gladly stay behind, but I should probably warn you that panties are a no-go.”
This time, Rafe was the one who stiffened. He pulled his head back far enough for her to see that his eyes had turned stormy blue, and she grinned internally, somewhat giddy that she’d been able to get a reaction out of the usual man of steel.
She added, “I also suggest that when you compare a woman to something, you use a beautiful sunrise or the breathtaking glow of the moon. You do not compare her to your collision insurance or make her sound as if she’s part of a blackjack deal. If I say I’m fine, I’m fine.”