He was furious. Not the blustery, flipping out type of anger like in road rage, but a cold, controlled simmer that was way more powerful. He'd spoken so quietly that, if he hadn't taken hold of her arm she wouldn't have known he was there. But he had and he was, and the intensity of emotion she saw in Alexios's face startled Sydney.
As she automatically pulled out of his grasp, she met his steely gaze. Those dark eyes flashed at her dramatically. Held her gaze like a laser. Their faces were so close she could see the muscle in his jaw flex as he ground his teeth against whatever else he wanted to say to her. And she hated herself for finding his anger sexy.
Giving Alexios a short nod of acknowledgement, Sydney turned to James, who was counting money for one of the waitresses, and said, "Take over a moment, would you, James?"
The youth glanced up with a grin, which slipped off his face when he saw the boss behind the bar. "Sure thing, Syd," he answered quickly, looking back at what he was doing as though, if he couldn't see Alexios, then the older man wasn't there. Sydney knew she was on her own.
Leading the way, she headed for the supply room door located behind them. As she passed through it, the noise immediately receded, though they could still hear sounds above them from the band. She turned to face Alexios as the door closed behind him.
He stood in front of her, glowering, hands on narrow hips, suit jacket pushed back by his elbows. His short hair stood on end, as if he'd run irritated fingers through it. He probably had.
"What the hell were you thinking, lighting shots like that? Do you know how dangerous that is?-" He fired the first round, and Sydney took immediate umbrage at his accusatory tone.
"No, really? I've been a bartender for five years and never knew that."
He narrowed his eyes at her sarcasm, their brown depths spitting flames. It was her turn to rest hands on hips. He followed the movement when she did so. And took a deep breath, chest rising under its snowy covering. She caught herself taking in its breadth and width and quickly met his gaze.
"There's no need to be sarcastic, Miss Hughes. If something was to go awry, it would be my ass on the line-"
"Didn't you hire me for my showmanship?" She waited for his acknowledgement, took the single blink of his eyes as a "yes." And continued. "You're lucky I downgraded from a Flaming Lamborghini, which really packs them in." He opened his mouth to interrupt, but she overrode him, taking satisfaction in the way his perfect lips compressed into a thin line at her boldness.
"I know my craft, Mr. Verga, so allow me to do it or cut me loose. What I don't need is some handsome, lazy, playboy dabbling in his daddy's business, presuming to tell me what to do when it's obvious he doesn't have the first clue how to run a successful liquor venture."
As her words echoed around them in the sudden silence from above and within, Sydney belatedly realized she'd probably just overstepped her bounds. In a big way.
Had she really just called him lazy? A playboy? That he didn't know his business? To his face? A sudden twinge of unease pinched her. After all, this job was supposed to help her father clear his medical debts. Let him go into his golden years unencumbered, and here she was, shooting herself in the foot. Hell, she'd just blasted it off with a bazooka.
She'd advanced on Alexios during her mini diatribe, and now stood barely three feet away from him. The heat from his body at this close range enveloped her. She could read the disbelief at her words in his expression.
A tingle of male/female awareness sizzled through her when their eyes met yet again. She went hot, then cold under his continued scrutiny, melted wherever it touched, on her breasts, her hips, and then back to her face. And realized that, out of all the good-looking, eligible men in the world, she was attracted to her player boss.
How messed up was that?
But Alexios Verga ticked off every box on the go-to list for men that she had yet to actually utilize. Tall? Check. Dark? Check. Handsome? Scratch that. He was gorgeous. Rich? Not a requirement, but definitely not a detriment, either. Bad boy? Oh, yeah. Alexios Verga was the poster boy for Bad, with his string of photographs of a different date-mate every month as proof, and his preference for playing more than working. Add in his privileged attitude and he was just bad-to-the-bone for a woman such as her.
But, there was no accounting for taste, especially hers when it came to men, and no reason for Sydney to let her boss know she found him scrumpti-licious. So she held her ground and stared up into his stoic face. And tried not to notice those, thick, long lashes that framed dark, chocolate eyes. Or that five o'clock shadow that begged her fingers to follow it around his cheeks and chin...
He was speaking again, with that carefully modulated voice that slid over and around her like a naughty silk negligee. "You may know bartending, Miss Hughes, but I know business. I may not exhibit that knowledge to the best of my ability at times, but I have the Harvard degree to prove it. And burning the house down for the sake of showmanship is not good business. Nor is giving away the alcohol for free. You should have told me your plan first."
That zing of sexual awareness from a moment ago crumbled at his words, and she blinked up at him. Ran his last few sentences disbelievingly around in her head. Had he just pulled the I'm-better-educated-than-you-so-I know-more card? Had he actually just said that to the person he'd brought in to save his sorry, drowning business ass?
Likewise, wasn't he now guilty of the same thing he was accusing her of doing? Telling her how to do her job? The job he'd blackmailed her into doing? Couldn't he see how packed this place was? What a cash cow it could be? This time when she looked at him all she saw was red.
"Well, Mr. Harvard Business graduate, you've certainly put me in my place. I actually thought you meant it when you asked me to bring life back to this dungeon. But you've just made it clear I was wrong. I definitely won't be presuming to tell you how to run your business anymore. And I will absolutely make sure to ask you before I attempt any more creative resuscitation efforts. I'll stop showing off immediately and simply pour your hard earned alcohol to another rendition of 'The Old Rugged Cross.'"
Blasted tears sprang to her eyes as Sydney made to storm past Alexios. She could see the death of her father's dreams from her smart mouth in his shocked expression, and had to get away before she embarrassed herself by outright crying.
She nearly made it to the door through which they'd entered when Alexios's hand snaked out and firmly clasped around her elbow. Refusing to get into a tug of war, she ground to a halt and looked down at the floor, saying lowly, "Please let go of me, Mr. Verga."
"Damn it, Sydney, that's not what I meant." He swung her around to face him, but she remained statue-like, head bowed, silently staring at the tops of his shiny black shoes.
"Look at me," he commanded, and when she didn't, he put a finger under her chin and raised it against her wishes. She blinked rapidly and glared up at him, setting her jaw while continuing not to say anything. His eyes searched her face, dropped to her mouth. And then he did the most bizarre, un-Harvard-like thing possible. He pulled her close and took her lips in a blistering kiss.
Taken by surprise, Sydney braced her hands against his solid chest in token resistance. But when he lowered his head and claimed her mouth with his, her fingers automatically curled around the lapels of his jacket. And she heard herself whimper.
His lips were warm and dry. They moved with a surety over hers that made her swoon, bow into his lean, hard body for support. She forgot that she was angry at him, betrayed by his abrupt about-face regarding her bartending freedoms. Instead, she burrowed closer into his body, crushed her breasts against him as his teeth scraped her lips. Her hands roamed up and over his shoulders, dove into the hair at his nape while she steadied his head in her grasp. Yet still his mouth commanded hers, coaxed odd little mewling sounds from deep in her throat as he devoured her.
When he sucked her bottom lip between the two of his, nipping and licking, she moaned at the wicked sensations. The touch of his tongue at the corner of her mouth had her opening eagerly, allowing him to deepen the kiss, to continue the assault within her own territory.
His tongue lapped at hers like a cat enjoying cream, again and again until Sydney felt so hot she wanted to rip her clothes off. Rip his off as well and climb all over him till they didn't know where he stopped and she began.
Sydney had never been kissed this thoroughly, like he was an explorer and her mouth the new territory he was sworn to conquer. His was a man's kiss, where before she'd been kissed by boys. College boys intent on seeing how far she'd allow them to go. But not Alexios's. His kiss was a promise of heaven, of ecstasy if she just gave in.
She wanted to. Her body wanted to. Her heart pounded against her ribs. She huffed like a runner nearing the finish line. And she felt embarrassingly damp between her legs. All from just his mouth on hers, her body close to his. In an awkward attempt to arouse him as much as he stirred her, she ran her tongue inexpertly along his, sucking slightly. He growled deep in his throat, pulled her up against him roughly till she couldn't miss the feel of that iron-hard part of him through their clothes.
And then he abruptly let her go. A sweep of cool air rushed between them, raising goose bumps along Sydney's over-heated skin as she stumbled back and raised heavy lids to meet his molten gaze.
##
She was a witch, sent to tempt him beyond his control, Alexios thought wildly as he dropped his hands to his sides and raised his head from that blistering kiss. And nearly pulled her back into his arms when he saw how she looked, all swollen-lipped and red-cheeked. Her very appearance pleaded for him to resume where they'd left off.
She tracked his every movement with wide eyes, and when that tongue he now knew intimately came out and licked those kiss-ravaged lips, he felt himself go rock-hard. And he barely resisted reaching out and grabbing her to him, just so he could finish what he'd started.
Foolishly started.
He was shocked at what he'd done. That he'd basically mauled Sydney Hughes, right here at the back of his bar, for all to see if they just happened to walk through the door behind him.
He'd never lost control in his entire life as thoroughly as he had in these last few minutes with Sydney. Like he'd had to claim her, emphasize beyond any doubt that he wanted her sexually. And he did, so badly that he physically ached. Which was why he'd let go of her and was now staring down into her face dumbly while that one part of him throbbed with discontent.
Alexios sucked in a gulp of cold air, resisted yanking his tie loose, running agitated fingers through his hair. And dragged his eyes away from the rapid rise and fall of her breasts as she grappled for composure. Composure that he'd erased with his inappropriate caveman tactics.
He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for that hideous lapse of behavior, Miss Hughes," he began in his most businesslike voice, even as he noticed how her ponytail was skewed to the left. How her lower lip glistened from the lap of her tongue just minutes earlier. That tongue that had entwined with his...
Damn it, why did he have to think of that now, now, when he'd just gotten his arousal under control? With an erection currently as hard as cement, Alexios ground his teeth and continued his lackluster apology.
"That was inexcusable of me, and not in any way your fault. I have-"
"Of course not," she snapped, drilling him with narrowed eyes. "I've never been manhandled by my customers, let alone someone I work for."
Her answer was sharply delivered, yet he saw her gaze drop to his mouth. And knew in that moment that, regardless that he'd acted deplorable as a man and as a boss, Sydney Hughes had liked it. Her odd behavior verified it. He tucked that realization away momentarily.
Training his eyes on her face and not allowing them to rove over those soft curves he'd crushed against him in a moment of lust, Alexios continued speaking.
"Exactly so. Although you have every right to break our agreement, I sincerely hope you do not. I understand you are only trying to breathe life into my business-"
"You're failing business," she had the temerity to interject. He raised a shoulder in reluctant agreement. And resumed where he'd left off.
"So I hope you will continue to do so. I only ask that you run by me any plan you have in the future."
"In other words, you're still tying my hands."
The erotic image of her, naked and tied to his headboard with silk ties slammed through his brain, gut-punching him. He barely refrained from doubling over at the notion.
Blinking at her owlishly, he replied, "Not at all. I just want a head's up so I can be more prepared. I understand free drinks are a major motivator to people, and I can see the results for myself. I'd simply like to know beforehand. Where did all these people come from, anyway?"
She crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up in that snug vest she already filled out admirably. Once more he dragged his thoughts away from undressing her. Hell, what was wrong with him? It was like she was his puppeteer, drawing out first anger than lust from him with a simple pull of a string. He really should have shagged Felicity last night.
"Jimmy's. I invited them for a free drink."
He forgot her tight little body momentarily. Said slowly as realization set in, "Your customers must be pretty loyal to you and your dad, then."
"They've been there through it all, the good times and the bad." He didn't need an anvil to drop from the sky to tell him the rest of her unspoken words. That he could only hope for clientele as devoted as hers.
In that split-second he truly regretted how boorish he'd been five minutes ago, yanking her into the back room to reprimand her for doing what he paid her to do. Going all Neanderthal by kissing her like she was his for the taking, when all she was guilty of was stacking the deck in his favor with her dad's lifelong friends. He wished he could turn back the clock about five minutes.
Putting out a hand to touch her elbow, which she avoided by drawing back, he said, "I'm really sorry for my behavior, Sydney."
It was her turn to shrug, to move away, but not before he saw the flare of awareness in the depths of her eyes. And just like that his apology withered into dust. Because he was reminded that she'd liked what he'd done. And he was back to square one, wanting to kiss her senseless.
He didn't know if he would have acted on that thought or not, for just then the door opened behind them, adding Orrin into the sexually charged mix. Both Alexios and Sydney took cautious steps away from each other.
"Hey, is everything cool in here?" Orrin began, fingers curled around the doorknob, eyes flicking between the pair. Alexios saw his brother begin to grin, and wanted to punch him as he continued speaking. "'Cause the natives are getting restless and James is no match for them." To Alexios he added, "Do you need another minute?" His eyes sparkled with barely concealed humor.
"We're through," Sydney answered quickly, gliding past Orrin before Alexios could say anymore. His brother let the door shut after her. And then blocked the exit.
"What the hell did you just do to her, dear brother of mine, because she looked like a rabbit escaping the lion's cage."
Rubbing the back of his neck, Alexios quarter-turned away. "Nothing that concerns you," he snapped, irritated when Orrin simply laughed.
"You broke your own rule, didn't you, Mr. Holier-than-thou? What happened to that 'never mess with our employees' speech that you're always giving me? Flew right out the window when you looked at her in that sexy little number she calls a uniform, didn't it?"
Alexios spun around in a sudden angry haze, had his fist drawn back before he even realized it. And slowly lowered his arm while his brother shrank out of range on another of his infernal laughs.
"It wasn't like that, you pervert.-"
"It was exactly like that, Alex, only you don't want to admit that you're jonesing the bartender you coerced into working for you. Sounds kinda sleazy when I say it that way, doesn't it?"
"Everything you say is sleazy, Orrin," Alexios said wearily, wishing his brother would get the hell away from him already. He couldn't believe he'd just been ready to punch his brother's lights out, right after he'd kissed Sydney Hughes like he wanted to get horizontal with her. What the hell was wrong with him?
"Yeah, but at least I keep my hands to myself."
"Go screw yourself." Alexios knew he was making a mess of this altercation, but his brother just didn't know when to back off. Couldn't Orrin see he, Alexios, had had enough? That his last nerve had been plucked? By the sexiest, proudest, most tempting young woman he'd ever met?
"I think you need that more than me. Hey, want me to call my-"
"Damn it, Orrin, why are you even here?" He glared at his brother, shaking his fists out so he wouldn't use them.
"To stop you from making an ass out of yourself, but it seems I was too late for that. And to see if I could borrow your bartender. Not for myself, mind you, but for a wedding at the hotel next weekend." His grin was meant to annoy, but Alexios refused to take the bait. He'd finally gotten himself under control, somewhat, thanks to his brother's subversive stalling tactics. But like hell if he'd thank him for it.
"Ask me later this week, asshole. Right now I need a drink." Alexios pushed his brother aside, and this time Orrin subsided, clapped him on the back before opening the door. Right before it slammed behind him, he thought he heard his brother say, "Are you sure that's all you need?"
Alexios resisted the urge to turn back around.
A/N: So, Alexios can't resist the fair maiden. What do you think will happen next? It's going to be fun, I can promise that! Let me know what you think in votes, follows and comments. I'd like to crack the top 50 in Romance this time. It's all up to you guys.