It all started with a dance. Maybe it was meant to end with one too.
“Uh, I don’t think—”
“It’s okay, Max,” I said, patting his chest. “Dade and I need to talk.”
He raised an eyebrow, silently asking if I was sure, before I brushed my lips across his cheek and thanked him with a soft smile.
“You think this is a good idea?” I asked, trying to keep things light. “Our first dance ended with a broken bed and a lot of morning-after regret.”
His eyes darkened as they roamed my face. His grip on my waist tightened before he whispered, “I was the stupidest sonofabitch alive to let you believe that was anything less than the best night of my life.”
I could practically taste the liquor on his breath, and I knew that had to be the reason for his sudden declaration. Booze, jealousy and arousal made a man say just about anything, in my experience. And all three were obvious when he held me so close.
“Big words for a man who’s had so many… thrilling nights.” I was talking about his career, but all the nameless, faceless women he’d been with flashed through my mind, stealing my breath.
He wasn’t the only one wrestling the green-eyed monster tonight. I was too. Especially every time I spotted him talking to a beautiful woman who couldn’t tear her eyes off him.
“Some nights you remember,” he said, his voice husky. “For the rest of your life. Every night I’ve spent with you will make that list, Charli. Don’t ever doubt it.”
Closure. That was the word bouncing around in my head when he said that. And maybe he was after the same thing I was. Freedom from this painful hold we had over each other.
“I love working for you,” I said, staring at nothing over his shoulder. Anything to avoid looking at him. “I’ve learned a lot, in a short time, but I think might be time to call it quits.”
“Call it quits?” he echoed. “Seriously? You’re quitting on me?”
“It was only supposed to be temporary,” I said, ignoring the pang of guilt and regret. “A trial run, you said.”
He fisted his hand in my hair, looking fierce. “I know what I said, goddammit. Things change. You can’t tell me you don’t feel it too.”
I didn’t know if theithe was referring to was wedged between my legs or lodged in my heart. “Um, people are looking at us,” I whispered, sneaking a peek to my left and right. “We probably shouldn’t be doing this here. The last thing we need is people talking—”
“Does that worry you?” he asked, loosening his grip. “Being romantically linked to me?”
Was that a trick question? He’d been trying to dodge that very thing since the day we met—a romantic connection. Rumors. I thought the last thing he wanted was another shot of us in an intimate moment going viral.
“I’m not the one who has to worry.” I flattened my palm over his chest and his heart was beating even harder than mine was. Was it possible that he was afraid of losing me? “You are, remember?”
“What if I told you I’m not afraid anymore?” There was a challenge lighting his dark eyes when he dipped his head, brushing his lips over mine. “Maybe I don’t give a goddamn what anyone says or thinks anymore, as long as I can have you.”
My breath stuttered as I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my brain. He was lying. He had to be. He’d fought this too long and hard to give in now.
“Max…?” The question was raw, forcefully pushed past his lips. “What’s the deal with him? I hear you two have been spending a lot of time together. And tonight, the way he kissed you.” He gripped my chin, commanding my attention. “Pissed me off. It wasn’t a friendly peck. It was a guy pushing for more. And he can’t have more.” His hand drifted to the swell of my ass, taking our innocent dance into the danger zone. “You’re mine, Charli.”
“No.” I licked my lips, trying to hold onto my resolve with a death grip. “You don’t want me. You want—”
“Don’t tell me what I want.” His hands were back in my hair, holding my head steady for a kiss that made my knees soften and my body tremble. I clung to his biceps as his tongue swept through the seam of my lips. Plundering. Claiming. Solidifying.
“Dade,” I whispered, resting my head against his chest. “We can’t do this here.”
“Why not?” he demanded, his voice raspy. “You afraid what your boyfriend will say?”
I let my hands fall to his waist, wrapping my arms around him like I’d wanted to all night. “You know Max isn’t my boyfriend. If you thought he was, I don’t think you would’ve kissed me like that. You may be a lot of things, but you’d never go after someone else’s girlfriend.”
“If it were you, I just might.”
He stole another kiss and I felt myself slipping into this sensual haze where nothing and no one else existed. Sort of like the night of my sister’s wedding. Only this time I was sober. And he already had my heart in his hand.
“What do you want from me?” I heard the quiet desperation in the question, but I couldn’t let him continue yanking my chain. Either he was in. Or out. He wasn’t allowed to bounce back and forth anymore.
