Alejandro continued to talk on the phone while his eyes stayed glued to me, leaving me completely confused. It couldn't be that he lusted over every pretty woman. First of all, I wasn't that pretty. And second, he'd been laying down five minutes ago, practically comatose, while the sexy and scantily clad Ivory Doe fluttered about. Why would he ignore a woman who had promised herself, come midnight, then suddenly pay so much attention to me?
Alejandro's eyes dropped away as he continued the conversation. "Yes, I saw the samples. Wait. . ." He pulled the phone away and worked it for a while, his eyes still sneaking a look at me occasionally. "I like the blue one. Go for it." A busy man.
His pacing had taken him back to the lounge chair. He reached down to exchange his phone for his drink and upended the glass to finish it off. Finally, he stepped up to me with his arms folded and smile gone, silently staring.
Perhaps this was a test, a way to separate the drooling fans from the serious visitors. I needed to impress Alejandro, so I gave him a light smile. "You seem busy. Should I come back later?"
He shook his head with barely a smile. "No, it's fine. I remember now. You're here about Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar. Ms. . ." He paused with his hand held out, waiting for me to fill in the rest.
"Deborah Gleason." I reached out to shake his hand, and the simple touch of his skin took my breath away. His eyes continued to undress me while his smile now promised to do it for real. What was going on? I normally didn't tolerate men leering so obviously, but this wasn't some drunk I was talking to at a bar. This was Alejandro, a man who could have any woman he wanted, and he undoubtedly got them, too. Nothing made sense.
He let go of my hand to reach up and gently pull off my hat. My wild bleached hair must have flown out like a bunch of pickup sticks, because his eyes widened, and he smiled broadly. "Nice hair." Under his watchful gaze, I ran my fingers through it. Of course, any grooming attempts were pointless.
He chuckled at my failure to neaten up, then he reached out to try it himself. Sweeping one errant strand from my forehead, his strong yet gentle touch left my scalp tingling. I clamped my mouth shut to keep from sighing, although I think I failed. I even laced my fingers together to keep from throwing myself at this powerfully seductive man. His looks were hard to resist, but his unexpected tenderness disarmed me completely.