I feel vibrations ripple through him as he starts singing the lyrics – his voice deep and velvety. As if my lips are in control of themselves, I find myself singing along with him. Despite the music being obnoxiously loud, we find our harmony. Our voices rise together, our bodies move in time to the music, our hearts beat together in a steady rhythm.
“You look beautiful tonight, Annabeth,” he purrs in my ear as the song comes to an end.
My lips barely part as I choke out a soft, “Thank you,” before we lose ourselves in each other again.
I feel his hands press against the small of my back, like he’s scared to let go, scared to break the connection. His hold tells me he wants me to stay here, in his arms. Slowly, one hand snakes up my back until it reaches the nape of my neck, and he applies the smallest amount of pressure as if he’s silently asking for permission. The next song begins – it’s slower, sexier.
My eyes trail up from his chest until they lock onto his, and I go weak at the knees as his gaze locks onto my soul. I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, unable to focus on anything but the man before me and the pooling wetness between my thighs. Heat radiates through every surface of skin he touches, his huge hands roam my body slowly, hitting every beat of the song. I know we’re just dancing, but it feels like so much more than that. Every moment I’m next to him – so close I can almost taste the whiskey on his tongue – I feel like I’m being pulled into a vortex with no way to break free. And I fuckingloveit.
“So. Fucking. Beautiful,” he growls.
Blood rushes to the sensitive bundle of nerves between my legs. It’s agonising to be this close to him and donothing.If I’m not careful, this goddamn cowboy is going to have me in a chokehold before daybreak.
I murmur another quiet thank you as my body instinctively grinds with his, the music and intensity radiating through me. An uncontrollable pulse vibrates through my pussy with each brush of his skin on mine.
His lips graze my earlobe as he motions to release me, twirling me ina circle before returning me to my place in his arms. The gentle hum of his heartbeat against me is a quiet comfort I didn’t know I needed. The song ends, and neither of us move. We just stay there, swaying slowly as we re-centre and come back to reality.
Dallas pulls away from me, his hand finding mine as he says, “Come on, let me walk you home.”
We stumble into the car park, the booming base echoing from inside as the heavy, wooden door slams behind us. Beats thump through the soles of my boots, setting alight a fire that’s been dormant inside me for far too long. Dallas still has my hand held in his, and he wastes no time using that to his advantage as he twirls me through the gravel beneath us. By the time I land back to face him, his expression has softened and feels almost… sombre.
“So, Firefly, which way’s home?”
“Second star to the right,” I say with a wink.
I know he gets the reference, because a hint of childlike glee washes over his face, hidden beneath all the ‘hot cowboy.’ Hiding what appears to be a smile, I can’t help but wonder what other ways I can make him smile.
“Billie loves Peter Pan,” he tells me, shaking his head. “When she was five, she begged Colt and me to let her dress us up like pirates. Little did we know, she’d ripped the curtains off the window in her room and tried to stitch the lace together with bailing twine.” Thelaugh that escapes his lips is deep and hearty, and I’m completely lost in him as we stroll along, hand-in-hand. “But wait, there’s more. She didn’ttellus any of this. And honestly, I don’t know where we thought our delightful costumes had come from, we just went along with it. So, after the tea party, musical performance, and general bullying we copped, we put her to bed just to find the path of chaotic destruction she’d left in her wake.”
“She’s lucky to have you, both of you.”
He nods, accepting the compliment. “So, you and Ella? Interesting pairing.”
“You make us sound like pigeons.”
“What? Why?” Clearly taken by surprise at my analogy, he shoots me a puzzled stare.
“Like a pigeon pair, you know?”
Dallas nods emphatically. “I do know, but that’s not where my mind goes when people are trying to get me to open up to them.”
I smile up at him. “Oh, so you have people trying to open you up often, do you?”
“Fucks sake woman, that’s also notwhat I meant.” He runs a palm down his face, the other still not letting go of my hand.
“No, no, please elaborate on your long line of potential suitors, Mr. Northlane. The people aredyingto know.” My voice comes out half laugh, half snort. I’m gathering myself when I realise that somewhere in the middle of my sentence Dallas’s confident expression falters for a fraction of a second before the mask is realigned and it’s like it never happened. But it did.
“Do you plan on driving me crazy forever or just for tonight?” His composure is regathered and his voice comes out smooth and deep. I’dbe lying if I told you it wasn’t the sexiest sound I have ever heard.
“Hmm… forever or just tonight? Not a fan of either of those options. How about we just say I’ll drive you crazy until I get bored?”
He stops walking, the hand holding mine becoming an anchor point as he gently pulls me back to a standstill. My teeth sink into my lower lip as the words drip from my mouth. I know where his gaze is lingering without having to check.
“And what if you never get bored, Annabeth?”
“Then I… I, uh—”
My lips part. My breath hitches as he steps closer to me, pulling me in. Our noses are inches from each other, the scent of a single-malt lingering on his breath. His chest is flush with mine, well it would be if he wasn’t half a foot taller. Our fingers are still intertwined as he lifts my hand to his mouth. His full lips graze my delicate skin as he presses a kiss against the underside of my palm.
