Page 111 of Floodgates

I took his hand and led the way, accepting a glass of champagne now that he was there. “First one of the night, you know.”

“’Cause you didn’t want to get tipsy without me?”

“That’s right.”

“But now it’s okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, shrugging, “because you’ll look out for me.”

“Yes, I will,” Cord growled, taking a step forward so I had to tilt my head back to see his face. His gaze was locked on mine, and the intensity of the look made me squirm. “Always.”

“That a promise?” I asked, smiling crazily up at him. I put my hand through one of the belt loops of his jeans and gently tugged him forward.

“Yes, it is.”

He put his arms around me then, one on the small of my back above my tailbone and the other around my shoulders. He pressed me gently to him, and I put my hands on his chest. We stayed like that in our cocoon of two for a few minutes until he walked me backward and put me up against an exposed-brick wall.

“You’re shitty at protecting Breckin and Celia,” I accused him.

“True,” he admitted, taking a deep breath and then dropping his mouth to my ear. I felt him wedge his leg between mine, and his breath on my skin caused goose bumps over every square inch of my body. “But I don’t care.”

“Cord,” I said, and then I looked up.

He bent and kissed me until I was vibrating under him, clutching at his dress shirt, trying to get closer to him.

“We need to go.”

“Yes,” I said, rubbing against him.

“Stop, or you’ll get attacked in the car.”

“The car sounds good,” I husked, gazing up at him.

“You drive me nuts when you look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“All vulnerable and sweet.”

Me? I was going to say something, but he walked away then, and as he had my hand, I went with him. He laced my fingers with his and led me through the crowd, past everyone else and out into the night. There was a car there parked next to the curb, right in front.

“Get in.”

“Where did you get this?”

“I borrowed it from the impound yard, courtesy of the chief.”

“Isn’t that bad?”

He glared at me. “Get in the car.”

I opened the door and slipped into the passenger seat, then waited until he got in. Once he did, he didn’t immediately start the car.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” he answered flatly.

But he wasn’t. Something was wrong. The silence became oppressive after a few minutes, and I turned to look at him. He reached for me then and put his hand on the side of my face, and I climbed over the emergency brake and fell into his arms. His mouth was hot on mine, and I kissed him and kissed him until I was out of breath. When I pulled back suddenly to look at him, he told me we had to go. He started the car as I rolled off him and stared out the window.