Wicked Pleasures

Regina drew her head back. “There’s no ice wall around me.”

“No? I’ve watched you freeze out four great-looking guys in an hour. What would you call it?”

“Smart?”

All four had reminded her of her ex in some way: the first in looks; the second in attitude; the third in his approach; and finally the fourth in his choice of clothing.

Of course, Santa Claus would probably remind her of her ex at this point.

Over recent months, Vivienne had ceaselessly invited her out and she’d ceaselessly resisted. It had only been in the past few weeks she’d finally stopped reading every word of every online newspaper searching for signs that shadows from the past were about to stretch over and suffocate her present.

Still…she wasn’t quite ready to go out and act like a carefree single woman just yet.

Viv laughed and nudged her shot glass even closer. “One. You can at least do that for me.”

Regina stretched her neck. “One?”

Her friend smiled.

If that’s what it was going to take to shut Viv up, Regina figured she could handle that.

So why did she have a feeling those were going to be her famous last words?

She followed Viv’s lead, licked her hand and then sprinkled salt on it. On the count of three, they simultaneously licked the salt, downed the shots of tequila and then quickly took a lemon slice and sucked on it.

Viv hooted. Regina shuddered.

“Another!”

She should have known her friend wouldn’t settle for stopping there. But rather than be upset, she found herself laughing. The seemingly harmless liquid was already beginning to warm her insides, as if it were, indeed, melting the ice wall to which Viv referred.

She shook salt onto the back of her hand and reached for the second shot. Viv cheered and counted to three. They both smacked the shot glasses onto the bar and then reached for the lemon.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was downing the third shot.

Regina smiled. She had to admit, the liquor was beginning to soften the world’s hard edges. She leaned against the bar rather than standing ramrod straight. Thankfully, every guy no longer seemed a variation on her ex. The lights looked soothing instead of garish. The music wended around and around her, making her want to dance. Something she hadn’t done in a long, long, long time.

Something she’d never expected to do again.

Vivienne raised her hand to wave the bartender back, but Regina caught her arm. “No more.”

Her smile must have convinced her friend that she had, indeed, been cured, because Viv laughed and grabbed Regina’s hand instead.

“Let’s dance.”

Suddenly, it seemed like the best idea she’d heard all night…

TEN STOOLS DOWN, Linc watched the scene between the two women. He’d have known Willa Nelson aka Regina Dodson anywhere, despite the lengths she’d gone to to change her appearance along with her name. Where once her hair had been wheat blond, long and straight, now it was a warm honey brown and curly, barely brushing her slender shoulders.

At one time he might have needed to physically trail someone in order to track their activities, but now he had but to plug their cell-phone number into a high-tech app in his own cell phone and their location popped up. When he’d seen Regina was at a downtown club, he’d immediately gone there, wondering if Johnson might try to contact her.

When he’d gotten word a couple of days ago on Johnson’s escape, and he’d looked up Willa’s whereabouts, he’d been surprised to find she’d moved into his own backyard. Of course, he hadn’t lived in Colorado two years ago—“home” had been little more than a standard-issue Bureau box of an apartment in D.C. then. But to discover they both lived in the same place seemed like more than coincidence; it appeared providential.

From his safe, invisible position down the bar, he’d watched Regina’s friend—he knew her name was Vivienne Cruise—coax his target into doing tequila shots. He’d been slightly amused at Regina’s open shudder at the first…and surprised, then intrigued when she’d gone on to do the second and third.

The two women were now dancing. And he suspected that even if he didn’t have to watch Regina, he would have anyway. There was something ultimately alluring about the hesitant yet intrinsically sexy way she moved her slender body, despite the shapeless green dress and low heels she wore, contrasting with her friend’s fire-engine-red skirt and blouse and strappy black stilettos.

An odd couple if ever there was one.

The friend caught his gaze from across the room.

Damn.

He turned back toward the bar, but caught sight of the woman in the mirror as she grabbed Regina’s hand and started in his direction…

2

“WHERE ARE we going?” Regina asked, nearly stumbling trying to keep up with Vivienne’s long strides toward a destination she couldn’t see. Still, you weren’t supposed to fight the hand leading you. And she was feeling good. Perhaps a little too good.

“Well, hello there.”

Regina realized they had stopped. She stepped up next to her friend to find her addressing the wide back of a guy seated at the bar.

At first Regina thought he wasn’t going to respond. Then he slowly turned, looking her full in the face.

She caught her breath.

“My God!” Vivienne said. “You look just like that wrestler…or actor. What’s his name? The Rock.”

Regina fairly gulped as she stared into the man’s pitch-black eyes. While she understood the comparison her friend was making, this guy was different in significant ways from the actor. First of all, his features weren’t as sharp, but more angular. Second, he was slimmer, his build more ropy than bulky.

She took in his simple black T-shirt and dark denim jeans and then blinked to look back up into his mesmerizing eyes. He had yet to acknowledge her friend.

“Hi,” Viv said, obviously amused. “My name’s Vivienne. And the one you’re interested in is Regina. What’s your name?”

“Lincoln.”

Vivienne’s smile widened. “Wanna dance, Linc?”

His brows rose as he looked them over. “With both of you?”

“Uh-huh,” Viv confirmed.

Regina glanced at her. She wanted all three of them to dance together? She raised a hand to her forehead, pushing her hair back, wondering if it had been a good idea to drink those shots…

“Sure.”

Before she knew what was happening, she was back on the dance floor between Viv and Linc. She hadn’t realized he was so tall when he was sitting on the stool, but now he towered over her by a good foot. Her friend put her hands on her hips from behind and swiveled her to stand face-to-face with Linc. She stumbled and he automatically reached to balance her.