The Bride Who Said No!

CHAPTER ONE

Bex slipped out the back door of the club and breathed in the fresh air. She let out a laugh as she flung her head back brushed her back from her face while she relished the cool night air brushing her overheated skin.

“Figured I’d find you here,”

Bex gasped as she spun round to find the object of her dreams, and nightmares, standing in the alley watching her. Normally she wouldn’t have cared that he was eyeing her like a lion eyes his steak but she didn’t want his eyes anywhere near her in the outfit she currently wore. The black leather skirt she wore was shorter than she normally would have chosen and the leather top that matched it left little to the imagination. There was a generous amount of cleavage on show and though her friends had promised her that the top would stay in place she was still convinced that the only thing holding her breasts in place was the power of prayer. It was a very daring outfit for her and there was an awful lot of skin on show including the display of her belly button ring. Strange how she hadn’t cared about how much she was revealing when she was in the club dancing but as soon as she bumped in to Alex she suddenly felt self-conscious.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded and saw his sensuous mouth quirk up at the corner.

“Looking for you,” he confirmed and she glared at him. Honestly, the man was the bane of her existence and had been since the day she had met him.

Alessandro Cortez was her father’s godson and it had always pissed her off that they seemed to have a stronger connection than she did. If her father had to choose between them she had no doubt that Alex would come out top all the time.

It didn’t help that Alex was gorgeous. He had short dark hair that looked effortless but she knew for a fact that he paid a salon a fortune to get just the right haircut. He had mesmerising green eyes and a strong jawline. His body was strong and well defined thanks to all the time he put in at the gym. He had an ass that just made you want to weep with joy at the sight of it. That’s how she’d heard one woman refer to it anyway. But even Bex had to admit that he was a joy to look at. He was one of the few men she knew who actually wore fashionable clothes although he no doubt paid a professional to dress him. All that might make him sound like he cared more about his appearance than anything else but he was also dedicated to his job. He worked for her father’s law firm and was rumoured to be in line to take over from him when he finally retired. It was no wonder that he had a lot of female attention. Bex just wished that he would choose one of those bimbos to settle down with instead of constantly turning up where she least expected it.

“Why were you looking for me?” she asked. She crossed her arms over her chest while she spoke hoping that would deter him from the full body examination he was currently giving her. The move didn’t have the desired effect though as his eyes immediately focused on her breasts that were still heaving with the exertion from dancing just moments ago.

“It’s your birthday,” he reminded her and she gritted her teeth. He said that as though it was a perfectly logical explanation for stalking her here. To him it probably was.

“It will still be my birthday in twelve hours,” she reminded him and he shrugged those broad shoulders of his.

“Who knows who you would have hooked up with by then,” he said and she glared at him for that comment. Just what the hell was he implying? Did he honestly think that she was the type of girl to just hook up with whoever was with her at the end of the night?

“Fascinating as this was, I have to go,” she told him as she headed back to the club. He spun her back to face him before she’d taken more than a step.

“Don’t you want your present first?” he asked and she narrowed her eyes on him. His present had better not include a kiss.

“Fine,” she allowed and was unprepared for him to drop to one knee and hold out a jewellery box.