She walked back, following Tracy to their group, and I didn’t do anything more than stare at her.

“Whoa, the governor’s daughter is so fine, isn’t she?” Alan said.

My fist clenched and I counted to ten so that I wouldn’t punch him. “Who?” I asked, pretending I didn’t know who these people were.

“The girl in the black dress.” He tilted his chin to my girl. “Charlotte McClain, the governor’s daughter. Everyone in D.C. knows who she is. Look at her! How would they not?”

I gulped. Fuck. “Yeah, I’m from California. Been here for two months. Still learning everything.”

“Well, learn this. She’s the finest out there. Any man in his good sense would give his left hand to spend one night with her. She’ll probably marry a politician though, or a guy like these ones.” He gestured to Donnie and his friends. “But for now, we can stare without being afraid of being punched.”

Or so he thought. I closed my fingers on the counter, pressing hard until my knuckles turned white, before I ended up punching him.

The intense jealousy and rage in my chest increased when Donnie stood from his spot on the couch and sat beside Charlotte and Tracy. He leaned closer to her, talking to her, staring into her eyes. She leaned back on the couch, trying to get away from him. Her eyes glanced my way, and an urge to jump over the counter and rescue her from him assaulted me.

Charlotte downed her martini and gestured to her glass. Donnie reached for it, but she waved him away, quickly standing. She walked to the bar and I met her on the other side.

“I seriously want to break that guy’s face,” I said, through gritted teeth.

Charlotte passed me her empty glass. “Just forget about him. That’s what I do.” She winked. I started preparing another martini for her. “Where’s the restroom?”

I pointed to our left. “Through that corridor.”

She lifted a delicate eyebrow at me. “Do you think that hallway is quiet up here?”

Blood rushed down and my hard-on was back. “We can definitely check it out.”

With a sexy smile, she sauntered to the restrooms’ hallway. I watched as her legs crossed in front of each other and her ass moved side to side. Christ, that dress hugged her body like it was pure sin.

When she disappeared in the dark hallway, I scanned the crowd. The movement at the bar had slowed and Charlotte’s friends seemed distracted.

“Be right back,” I told Alan, then stepped into the back corridor. I ran the few yards until I was facing the door that gave access to the VIP restroom area. I calmed my breath, but my pounding heart wouldn’t listen to me.

I pushed the door open, stepped into the corridor, and closed the door behind me, being surrounded by darkness. Before my eyes could adjust, hands clutched the collar of my shirt.

“Come here,” Charlotte whispered, pushing me until my back was flush with the door, and her tight body flush against mine.

She ran her tongue over my jaw and I shivered. Christ, this woman would be the end of me. I inhaled deeply, savoring her intoxicating cherry scent. I tilted my head to her and found her lips with mine. Her sweet taste mixed with the martini’s tangy flavor fueled my desire, and I plunged my tongue inside her mouth, earning a sexy moan. My hands slipped around her. I splayed one on her lower back, pressing her hips against my erection, tearing a gasp from her mouth, and the other I slid lower, over her fine ass, and then to the hem of her dress, until my fingertips teased her warm skin.

She lifted that leg, wrapping it around mine and giving me access to more of her skin. I clutched her thigh and thrust my hips forward. With a moan, she bit my lower lip. I groaned, sliding my fingers up her thigh to the edge of her panties.

She broke the kiss and clutched my shoulders with both hands, burying her head in my neck. Through her panties, I pressed my thumb on her clit. She groaned and bit my neck.

The sound of glass breaking made us jump apart. Charlotte stole a quick glance at me before racing to the women’s restroom, and I retreated to the darkness.

“Crap.” Donnie walked into the corridor, waving his hands as if they were wet, and entered the men’s restroom, without seeing me.

I spied out. Just outside the corridor, the remnants of a champagne flute decorated the floor.

A relieved breath escaped through my lips. Thank goodness he dropped his flute or he would have caught Charlotte and me.

Adjusting my pants, I went back to the bar, trying to calm my racing heart. A few minutes later, Charlotte strolled out of the restroom area and flashed me a knowing grin. My heartbeat went through the roof.

She halted beside Tracy and some other chick, who were dancing, and leaned against the metal railing overseeing the dance floor, bobbing her head to the song’s beat. She glanced over her shoulder to me, a slow smile taking over, and she moved her body along with the song. Looking at me every few seconds, she smoothed her hands over her hips, wiggled her ass, rolled her shoulders, and even did some fancy step combination. Man, she could dance. She also could give me a massive, throbbing hard-on without even touching me.

Dancing, Tracy and the other chicks huddled beside Charlotte, and they exchanged a few words. Charlotte laughed, but even from here, I could see it was forced. How could they not see it?

Donnie came out of the bathroom and he halted when he saw Charlotte dancing. He smiled and puffed his chest before approaching her. For the thousandth time tonight, I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth, fighting the strong impulse to break his neck.

Donnie rested his hand on Charlotte’s lower back and she gave a wide step to the side, getting out of his clutches. However, the guy was stubborn. He stepped closer and started dancing, his movements jerky and awkward. Clearly, the guy didn’t know how to dance.

Still, he kept going. He reached his hand to her and caressed her arm with his knuckles. Smart, Charlotte moved her arms with the song and away from Donnie. Attagirl. He cupped his mouth around his hand and said something. Her mouth pressed in a tight, thin line before she said a few words to him. Then, she stopped dancing, weaved her way around the group, and approached me.

I sighed in relief. “Can I break his nose?” I asked when she sat on a stool.

“I wouldn’t mind, but then the press would be all over us.” She pushed her locks behind her ears. “How long until we can get out of here?”

I fished my phone from my pocket and checked the time. It was 12:40 a.m. “Almost two hours.”

“Ugh, I’m gonna break his nose myself if I have to endure Donnie for another two hours.”

I chuckled and prepared her a martini. “I have an idea. How about I give you my apartment keys and you can wait for me there.”

Her entrancing green eyes twinkled. I had to stop myself from reaching over the counter, cupping her face, pulling her to me, and kissing her.

“I like that idea.” She took the martini from me. “I’ll just drink this, and then I’ll pretend I’m too tired and vanish.”

I grabbed my keychain from my pocket and gave them to her. She put them inside her purse. “I’ll warm your bed for you.”

My breath caught and my heart sped up. “Don’t tease me.”

“Oh, but it’s so much fun.” She winked, grabbing her drink, and walked back to the dancing group.

Of course, Donnie advanced on her as soon as she was back, but Charlotte practically ignored him. Not really. She was too polite to do that, though I wished she would dump her drink over his head.

Fifteen minutes of torture—aka, watching Charlotte dodging Donnie’s moves—and she left.

I watched as Charlotte descended the stairs to the main dance floor, weaved around the edge, and then disappeared through the archway that led to the main entrance. When she was gone, I turned around and found Donnie watching me.