Sexy Twilight After Dark 1

The blaring music was almost deafening, but in such a delicious way. My girls and I sexed it up real good, running our hands over our bodies, grinding to the floor, and giggling like high schoolers.

It had been an awful week at school with finals looming just a month or two away, and we needed to burn some steam like nobody's business. So what did we do? We bought tickets to Europe and hit up some of the steamiest clubs in Amsterdam. Well, okay, Kate bought us the tickets and made us cancel our Spring Break plans. I was good with that – sometimes her bossiness comes in handy.

She got us hooked up with an all-inclusive resort owned by her uncle and God knows I was glad because it meant my small amount of leftover cash could go towards cute little black dresses.

That particular night, I had chosen a little black halter top dress, appropriately short and sexy, that cut nice and low between my breasts and hugged my hips like a pair of yoga pants. I never considered myself much of a dancer – hell, I was clumsy as all get-out, truth-be-told – but with a little alcohol in my system, I didn't really give a damn.

"Bella!" I glanced over at Kate who looked beyond amazing in a deep red mini-dress that had every pair of male eyes watching her like a hawk. "How many drinks have you had? Are you ready to pick some man-candy?" Luckily, it was too dark for her to see me blush. I had a hard enough time dealing with romance with someone I knew; god-forbid I try to make small-talk with a stranger.

I shook my head, letting my concerns wash away with the flashing lights, and turned away from Kate. God love her, I wasn't going to let her ruin my night by pressuring me into an awkward social situation with a clueless European guy.

I threw my arms over my head, closing my eyes to take in the music. As I opened them, they zoned in on a man standing against the wall, a few feet from the edge of the crowd. I almost tripped over with shock – he was beyond hot. I mean, after all those years of dating Edward, I really didn't think I'd ever find someone as beautiful, but this man…

And his eyes were locked just as resolutely on mine. I stopped dancing and just stared at him; his deep gaze – almost a glare – was boring into me like incredibly pleasurable shards of lightening, his face was chiseled but curious, and his body…well, I couldn't see much of him, but his lean upper half certainly had my imagination reeling. He was clearly American; not from around here. Probably on a business trip or here to take a gander at exotic and foreign hookers.

It suddenly occurred to me how long I'd been staring. I shook myself back to reality and turned around, terrified. What if he comes over to talk to me? Will he want to dance? And if so, does he have health insurance that covers a podiatrist?

I felt very vulnerable and squeezed over to the other side of my group of friends, hoping to get lost in the crowd before he could find me. A few minutes later, I felt relieved; it appeared I had averted a crisis. Perhaps he had found another girl to taunt with his tortured stare.

Kate grabbed my hand. "I need another beer."

She dragged me to the bar that sat not far from my mystery man's local. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw he wasn't there anymore, although my heart shrank just a tad. Kate shoved a couple of people out of the way at the bar and ordered two beers.

I tapped her shoulder. "I don't like beer."

She rolled her eyes. "For God's sake, Bella." Alcohol made her a little bitchy…she signaled the bartender. "One beer and one rum and diet."

I smiled. "That's better."

I leaned my elbows up on the bar, glancing at the crowd gathered raucously on the stools. Could it be that there might be a guy I'd be brave enough to talk to? Or even dance with?

I doubted the latter, but as my drink arrived and my inebriation deepened, I began to think the former might be a distinct possibility. My eyes wandered from guy to guy around the semicircle bar counter. No, no, ewe, too old, too young – Amsterdam clearly doesn't card – looks too nervous, looks too aggressive…

Then I found those devilish eyes once again, gazing at me from the opposite side of the bar, a smirk playing on a pair of very delicious-looking lips. The arms of his black button-down shirt were rolled up to the elbows, making it impossible to ignore the veins protruding muscularly from his upper arms. A very masculine-looking drink sat in front of him and his long, lean fingers enclosed around the glass like he was stroking…well, let's just say my nipples hardened very quickly.

I realized I wasn't breathing so I poured my attention into my rum and diet, taking special interest in some graffiti scratched into the bar counter. When I looked back up, he was laughing. Is he laughing at me?

My face flushed and I downed the rest of my drink. I grabbed Kate's arm. "We're going back out to dance."

"But I'm not done with my dr-"

"Fuck the drink. We're going now."

Kate was completely taken aback by my boldness, but I didn't care. I didn't come all the way to Amsterdam to be mocked by some strange man getting his jollies on a business trip.

I threw myself into dancing, probably looking like a total idiot, but it kept my mind from wandering back to that smirk. A few minutes in, a local started dancing with me. I fought my nature and attempted to dance with him. He was being much more considerate than most of the other men in the room – perhaps he sensed my apprehension. Instead of plowing over me and assaulting me, he stood behind me, his hands simply placed at my waist, and we just moved.

I was pretty proud of myself. I was dancing with a guy and I hadn't bloodied his toes yet. A few songs passed and he grabbed my hand and led me to the edge of the room. I started to panic, thinking he was going to try to make out with me, but he was headed for the bathrooms. He signaled for me to wait and walked over to the bar. He brought back a drink and I smiled gratefully. Another guy came over to talk to him and he signaled me to wait.

I leaned against the wall and put the drink to my lips. Someone approached me from behind and firmly placed their hand over mine, disabling my ability to tip the alcoholic liquid into my mouth.

"Don't drink it," a voice seethed, "Unless you want to wake up in a sex trafficking ring."