When I flit my eyes in his direction, he’s looking at something in his hand. I watch him for a second, observing the furrow to his brow, the high planes of his cheekbones—damn it! I veer back to Ming, who spins her tassels with glee. Why does he have to be so appealing? Why can’t his outsides match his insides?

The guy on the stair says something I can’t quite make out, and I lean closer.

“What was that?” I ask, eyes still on Ming.

“I said it should be you up there. You have the better body.” His voice is slick with amusement; he seems to think this is very clever. Gross.

I don’t even look at him. “Alas, this is as much of me as you’ll be seeing this evening.”

“You sure about that?”

Oh, for Christ’s sake. I peer at the guy, who’s still wiping his nose. His forehead glistens with sweat. “In your case? It’s a promise.” I shift one step higher on the stairs to give myself some space, then return my resentment to Darcy. I glance his way again, prepared to glare if his attention is directed at me, but when I find him, he’s looking past me. His eyebrows are low, and he’s craning his neck as if to see—

Hot fingertips slide up the outside of my thigh.

I start and cut my eyes at the fellow below me on the stair. He watches me, smile defiant as he moves his fingers higher on my leg.

“I like your tights.” His voice is thick and throaty. “Such an interesting texture.”

My rage at the uninvited contact is a hot, liquid thing. Adrenaline surges through me, fight and flight battling for supremacy, and my body seizes. The guy oozes entitlement, watching me as his hand slides to the back of my thigh.

Bile rises in my throat. He angles his hand inward, higher . . .

I lean down with a saccharine smile. The guy is sweating bullets, his pupils blasted, and there’s a tiny fragment of white powder in his right nostril. His smugness increases with my proximity: satisfaction at successful seduction via grope.

I bat my lashes. “I can make it look like an accident.”

It takes a moment for my words to register, honey sweet and low as they are. His eyes dart to mine, hand halting at the point where my thigh meets my ass. My smile drips with venom as I look pointedly past him, down the steep stairwell to the dim landing below. My groper follows my gaze. Ginn and Tonic have stepped aside, gesturing down the void with showgirl flair; I forgot they were here.