I stepped onto the platform, weaving through the crowd until I was standing directly in front of Arthur. The air around him felt different, colder, tenser.
He didn't look up until I sat down in the empty space right next to him. Our thighs didn't touch, but the heat of his body radiated towards me.
Arthur's head snapped toward me. When he realized who it was, his nostrils flared, and his blue eyes striking daggers into me.
"You." he rasped, his voice barely audible over the thumping music.
I didn't even get to reply, before he cut me off.
"-Leo, get her out of here." Arthur snapped.
Leo had on a shit-eating grin as leaned forward, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Relax, Artie." Leo laughed, throwing an arm over the back of the velvet booth.
He looked at me, taking in the silver dress and the way I wasn't flinching under Arthur's glare, something was stirring at the back of his head. "I'm the one who invited her over. You've been sitting here like a gargoyle for two hours."
He scratched his stubble beard, lazily. "I brought you out here to get laid, or at least remember what a woman looks like, not to calculate the ROI on my speaker system."
Arthur's gaze snapped to Leo's, shooting daggers at him. "I am leaving." he announced, starting to stand.
"You can't." Leo chuckled.
"The press is still at the front door waiting for the 'Biomedical ice King' to give his statement." He leaned forward, whispering just enough for him to hear.
"You walk out now with that shitty look on your face, and the merger headlines tomorrow are going to be 'Sterling Cracks Under Pressure.' Just sit. Breathe. Talk to the pretty lady."
Arthur sank back in defeat, eyes avoiding mine like I was medusa.
I leaned in, my nostrils wafting his intoxicating scent of crisp cologne, but this time, it had a hint of musk. His sweat. And, that just made his scent more addictive.
"Leo is right about the press." I whispered into his ear.
His jaws tightened, before he snapped his head to look at me, our faces just inches away. "I believe I made myself clear, Miss Vance." He seethed.
My heart raced from our proximity. I don't know what it was, but I loved seeing him lose this perfect control he always held. I wandered how much control he'll lose, while fucking.
"You did." I purred, leaning in close so my lips were inches from his ear.
My thighs clenched at the thought, I wasn't thinking straight after three shots. "But you look like you're about to have a panic attack, Arthur. Are you sure you don't need my help?"
His breathing was unsteady, but he glared at me.
Leo seemed to notice our situation, because he grinned and signaled for the body guard, handing him a key card. "Count yourself a lucky man Arthur, there just happens to be a private exit."
The heavy bass music of the club became muffled as we moved through the service corridor. Leo's bodyguard moved with silent efficiency, swiping the key card through a steel door.
Arthur didn't look back.
He moved with a frantic, his long legs eating up the distance that I had to practically jog to keep up, the sharp click-click-click of my silver stilettos echoing off the concrete walls.
My head was spinning, half from the three shots of tequila, half from the sheer audacity of what I was doing.
We burst out into the private parking garage. The air was bitingly cold, smelling of damp concrete and expensive tires. The silence out here was sudden and deafening.
Arthur stopped at a sleek grey Rolls Royce. Before I could even draw a breath to speak, he spun around.
The movement was so fast I didn't have time to react. He grabbed my upper arms with a firm grip and shoved me back. My back hit a concrete pillar with a dull thud, the cold seeping through the thin silver fabric of my dress.
He didn't let go.
He leaned in, caging me between the pillar and his massive frame. At 5'8, he made me feel small, but it wasn't a feeling of weakness, it was a feeling of being consumed.
"Stay the fuck away from me." he rasped.
My breath hitched.
The 'Proper Tycoon' was gone. Hearing him curse was like hearing a statue scream, it was a total breakdown of his carefully constructed personality and it lit a fire inside me.
All my nerves were tingling from the sheer sight of witnessing his control slip away.
"You think this is a game?" he seethed, his chest heaving against mine. "You think you can just show up in my park, show up at my friend's club, and play with my son to get what you want?"
My heart was hammering against my ribs, but it wasn't out of fear. It was the thrill. The expert in me knew I had him cornered, even if he was the one pinning me to a wall. He was reacting. He was feeling.
"I'm not playing, Arthur." I whispered, my voice thick. I leaned my head back against the pillar, exposing the line of my throat. "I'm offering you a good service."
His gaze dropped to my lips before snapping back to my eyes. His grip on my arms tightened just a fraction. "I want you to disappear back into whatever gutter Caspian Beaumont found you in."
The tequila fueled me with reckless bravery.
I looked him dead in the eye, my lips pulling into a slow, defiant smirk. I shifted my hips forward, feeling the heat radiating off his thighs.
"And if I don't?" I challenged.
He claimed my lips hard, taking me by surprise.
My body was vibrating with desire. This was the most turned on I've ever felt and it was for none other than the ice king tycoon.
I kissed him back harder, tongues tangling together in a sexy tango. He pressed forward, the globes of my breasts squashed between us from the tight proximity.
The kiss was not gentle.
It was wild and passionate like we'd been holding back from tearing each other's clothes off. My hands travelled to his perfectly styled hair, running my fingers through the dark curls.
A moan escaped his lips as his hands travelled down to the full globes of my ass, which was currently, partly covered by my dress.
I ground onto his hardness, wanting more. "Ngh! Oh...fuck...."
He parted from my lips, dragging his hot tongue down my exposed neck, like I was his favorite piece of candy before stopping right at the swell of my breast, nibbling on the swollen skin.
Goosebumps littered my skin. The once, stoic Arthur had turned into a beast, ready to devour me and I wasn't complaining.
"More..." I pleaded, arching my back to feel more.
His large hands squeezed my ass, slipping past the silver hem of my dress to grab my bare ass. I shivered, not caring that my bare ass was exposed to the open air.
"Ugh...Arthur..." I moaned.
Arthur sucked hard on my skin, dragging the flesh between his teeth before soothing it with his hot tongue. I was going insane, my mind could not process what was happening.
A wet patch was forming at the center of my lacy thong. I clench my thighs together, hoping to ease the throbbing.
Just as I was about to beg him for more, a loud clang of an empty can echoed through the empty parking lot. Arthur tensed immediately and pulled away as fast as possible, like had just come in contact with a toxin.
A cat meowed, its tiny feet pattering behind the rows of private cars.
Arthur's pupils were blown wide, dark curls disheveled and lips, red and swollen from the hot kiss.
We stared at each other, taking in what exactly just happened and I could see the instant shock on his face.
His chest was heaving. "M-miss Vance, I-"
I swallowed, feeling utterly ravaged as I pulled down my tiny dress that had ridden up to cover my ass. Arthur cursed low, his hands clenching into a fist at his side before he made a move to turn.
"Forget that this ever happened. It was a mistake." Before storming into his car and drifting off with screeching tires.
I leaned against the pillar, inhaling deeply because as much as I detested to admit it. That was the best makeout I've ever had in my life.
And it was from Arthur freaking Sterling.