Storm Warning (3 page)

“
Dance with me anyway
.”

“No. I—”
She trailed off and stared over
his shoulder toward the dance floor
, her chocolate eyes going wide with distress
.

Gabe’s gaze flicked over
to where she was looking. Vance, h
e thought and ground his teeth together. He despised
the man
just from what
little
Adam
had said
about him. “All the more
reason to dance with me. Throw it back in his face.”

She shot an angry look
at
him. “How
would
you know?”

“
It’s written all over your face.”

She lifted her chin and turned back to the bar.

“He may lie to me and
cheat,
but that doesn’t mean I do.”

He could see her fighting for control
in the way her shoulders bunched and tensed. His palms itched in need to soothe, so he tucked them in his pockets. She was drunk enough to not give a
damn if she made a fool of herself
, yet she kept it together. H
e had to admire her for that.

“Tory.” He waited until her gaze
came back to his. “Dancing isn’t cheating. One dance,” h
e added when she only looked at him with those big,
vulnerable
eyes. He cou
ld see her arguing with herself and suppressed another smile.
He held out his hand and waited.

“I guess you’re right.” She straightened and placed her
palm
in his.

He felt the tremor run through her when he slowly, deliberately closed his
fingers
around hers.
He led her onto the dance floor,
pulled her into his arms.

To his amazement, she fit perfectly. Trying to ignore the jolt his own system suffered as her small body pressed comfortably to his, Gabe
laid his hands on her waist
.
A saxophone wailed from the band on stage, but Gabe paid little attention to the music.

The top of her head barely grazed his chin. He bent his head, needing to feel the silky texture of
her hair
. Past
the alcohol, he smelled a spicy
feminine scent that
suited
her perfectly. He wondered if it wou
ld smell the same on his sheets as it did on her skin.

“What’s your name?”
she asked while he rocked her in his arms.

He pulled his head back, looked into her flushed face,
and smiled. He could tell her
now, he thought, but he wasn’t quite ready to let her go.
“Do you really want to know?”

He smiled that charming, devious smile he’d been flashing her the entire time. Her already jumbled system took a
nother
delicious
jolt
.

“No, I guess I don’t.”

She knew she was staring
, but she couldn’
t tear her
gaze
away. The man was gorgeous. She let her gaze
drop to his mouth
.
It was full and firm and she had no trouble picturing what those l
ips
could do to hers.
As if he heard her thoughts, he smiled.

All
the alcohol in the bar couldn’
t be responsible for what she was feeling now. She was floating. She closed her eyes and let the sensation take her.
Tonight
, she told herself,
is for me
.

Couples danced around them
,
but Tory paid them no mind. Low lights and disco balls lit up the dance floor
,
but
she
only saw the handsome man who held her comfortably in his arms.

She’d been so lonely before he’d whisked her away. And to make matters worse, Vance had flat out lied to her, telling her he was sick when he was sitting j
ust across the room,
surrounded by fancy women with big breasts. She would never be what he wanted, really. She was just little Tory from Oklahoma—and she wanted the charade to end.

When the song ended, she slid herself out of his arms
feeling stronger than she had felt a few minutes ago
. “Thanks for the dance and the drink. It was nice to meet you.”

He nodded and smiled again. It made her uneasy, she thought as she made her way over to the bar. He smiled at her like he knew her. Maybe
she
had
had
too much to drink.

Just as she slid
back
into her seat,
a hand clamp
ed
down painfully on her arm. She whirled around and stared straight into the face of an enraged Vance Johnson.

The look in his eyes sent chills up
her spine,
but
she
straightened and tried to make herself
look
taller.

“Outs
ide,” h
e said in a completely awful voice
,
then
he
released his brutal grip.

Tory lifted her chin slightly and opened her mouth to speak.

“I said
outside
.”

“Fine.” She stumbled through the crowd of people
toward the back door
.

What did she have to be ashamed of? She
’d
o
nly danced with someone. He’d been
sitting in that booth for two hours with several different women all over him! She bit down on her fury as she bounded out of the door and stopped in the alley to wait for him.
She would end this pathetic excuse of a relationship now.

He came out a moment later and slowly made his way over to her. His white t-shirt ripped across his muscled chest. His bald head that she
’d
once found sexy now seemed hilarious as it shone in the glow of a street light.

“You needed to speak with me?”

He backed her into the wall,
caging
her in with his massive arms.

“Did you really come
here tonight just to embarrass me? Huh,” h
e roared. “You think you’ve proved a point by letting that asshole paw all over you?”

She tried to catch her breath
—to shout back,
but he shook her.

“How do you think that makes me look?”

“How do you think I feel watching you drool all over those
bimbos like the dog you are?” s
he yelled back.

He brought h
is hand across her face
—hard
. She
staggered and
would have fallen,
but he grabbed her again.
Tears of pain and
humiliation
welled up. Vance had never physically hurt her
before
. He must have had too much to drink, she cried inside. He must be drunk.

“Don’t you
ever
speak to me like that
again.
”

“Or what? You’re twice my size
,
but you still feel
threatened enough to hurt me?” she challenged. She brought her knee up as hard as she could
and smashed what
he was so proud of.
With
an oath, he released her and fell to his knees. She didn’t think, she
ran back through the
partially open
door and
dove in
to
the crowd of people.

Keys
, s
he thought wildly
,
lunging through the packed dance floor. She had to get them and leave. Where was the hotel again? How long would it take her to get there? What would Vance do if he caught up with her? Those questions were swirling in her mind as she shoved past the people who were in her way.

Sh
e stopped abruptly at the bar and tried to catch her breath. “I need my keys.”

“Sorry, you
had too much to drink. By law—”

“I need my keys now!”

“Tory.”
She turned around quickly to see Adam standing behind her. She p
ressed her back against the bar,
will
ing
herself to disappear.
Could this get any worse?

“I need my keys,” s
he said quietly. “I need my keys now.”

Adam’s face went from
anger
to
shock
in an instant. He grabbed
her
by the arms.

“What the hell happened?”

She shook her head. “I need my keys. Tell him
,” she shot her finger toward the confused bartender,
“
to give me my keys!”

“Hey, I think she went—”

Tory’s gaze flew to the man beside Adam
—
the man she
’d
danced with.

“What the hell happened?” Adam demanded again.

She could feel her heart pounding violently in her chest. She looked
past her brother’s face and into the crowd of people
as they parted
—
and
she
saw him.
Vance was making his way
purposely to the bar.
She could feel the blood drain from her face.

“Oh God,” s
he whispered.
“No. No, no.”

“Tory!” Adam gave her a small shake.

“We have to leave,” s
he told him and suddenly found her strength. She twisted out of his
hold
and
turned to flee—and
ran smack into a hard chest.

“What happened, Tory?” t
he man she danced with demanded.

“I think I know what happened.”
Adam said with strained control
as Vance walked up to the three of them.

“Adam.” Vance greeted him
,
then
shot a hateful
look at Gabe. “We need to talk,” he said to Tory and reached for her
.

“You’re not touching her,
” Adam informed him
even as she cringed back
. He pulled her
behind him. S
he bumped into the man ag
ain and
jerked
back. Adam
must know him, she thought dizzily. He reached out and steadied her
, but didn’
t let
her
go.

“You’re not
telling me what I can do to her,” h
e bit out. “Tory, now.”

“Go to hell,
” Adam suggested. “Gabe, get her outside.”

“Gabe,
” Tory said dully and grabbed a hold of the bar for balance.

“The only place that l
ittle whore is going is with me,
” Vance said
about
two seconds before Adam’s fist connected with his face.

Mortified, Tory squealed as Vance staggered backwards. He hit the edge of a tall chair and tripped. Adam stalked toward him with his fist bunched at his sides.

“Adam, don’t!” Tory rushed over to her brother and tried to push him
toward the exit
. “Adam, please stop.
Please
! Let’s just leave.”

Vance picked himself up off the floor slowly.

“Adam, come on
,
” Gabe said from behind them.
“This isn’t the place.”

“Take it outside,” t
he bartender called.

“He isn’t worth it,
” Tory said, clinging to her brother
.
She felt as though she was holding on to a brick wall.
“Please
.
I want to go back to the hotel.”

“I’m sure you do. Hope you
paid good money for this whore,” Vance
aimed a sneer at
Gabe.
“
She’s a freak in the sheets.”

Tory’s mouth dropped open
,
but before she could say another
word, Adam jumped on Vance, knocking
him to the ground
again
. A table broke, the sound of the glasses smashing echoed in the room that had gone silent.

“Adam!” Tory jumped in as well and tried to tear her brother away.
People were cheering, the bartender was yelling. It was complete chaos.