Page 30 of Trial and Error

Lewis laughs in disbelief. “How do you even get yourself in these situations?”

I shrug and laugh along with them. “Come on.” I take their hands in mine and lead them back to where we left Elias and his cousins. “Let’s go back.”

Michael raises his brows and then smirks, looking at me like he knows something I don’t. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you might actually like your fiancé.”

I roll my eyes but say nothing as we head back to the dance floor, and I ignore the two of them as they whisper between each other.

My eyes travel around the bar, and I frown when I don’t see Elias and his cousins. Michael points over to the middle of the dance floor where Zac is spinning Avery around so fast she’s laughing, while Elias stands off to the side watching them both with an adoring smile on is face.

I weave through the people and head to the bar and grab myself a drink. I frown when the bartender leans against the counter and shoots me a flirty glance.

“What can I get you, beautiful?” he asks, his gaze dipping down to my chest.

He’s average at best, with blond hair and blue eyes that seem to linger a little too long for me to be entirely comfortable in his presence.

A hand snakes around my waist and settles on my lower stomach, and as I’m about to respond, spiced pine and cedar wood invade my senses as Elias’s presses his chest against my back.

“Hitting on my cousin was one thing, but hitting on my woman is another,” Elias says to the bartender, his warm breath fanning against the shell of my ear.

My ass is pressed firmly against his front, and I try my hardest not to squirm, but hearing the words “my woman” come out of his mouth leaves me feeling flustered.

The bartender puffs out his cheeks and stands up straight, his eyes looking up at Elias. “What does your woman want?” His tone is passive, and I feel Elias tense ever so slightly.

“I don’t know,” he replies. “What do you feel like drinking, baby?”

I feel my cheeks flush and I start to think if maybe I should cool it on the alcohol because it’s quite clearly going straight to my head.

“I’ll have a Cosmo, thanks.”

I turn in Elias’s arms and rest my back against the bar top. He towers over me in the best way possible, his dark eyes looking down at my face in what can only be described as wonder as I place my hands on his shoulders and run them down to cup his elbows.

Molten brown eyes track the movements of my hands. and I almost feel like I imagine the way his chest heaves gently at my touch. We stay like this, wrapped up in our little bubble as we wait for my drink. The bartender takes his time, not that I mind, because being under Elias’s watch has my body humming.

The bartender clears his throat and places the drink down, and Elias hands over his card.

I look up at him. “I could’ve got that.”

He shrugs, his hand still on my waist as I turn. “I know.” Elias watches as I take a sip of the pink liquid. “But I wanted to.”

Patiently, he waits until I’ve finished before he leads me through the crowd, his hand not once leaving the small of my back. As we near, I see Avery and Lewis dancing together, and I let out a soft laugh as Lewis twerks in front of her. Michael bobs off to the side and beams when his girlfriend, Josie, appears with a breathless smile. The two of them share a chaste kiss, his hand reaching up to twirl one of her auburn curls around his index finger. Zac is now off to the side, talking with a busty blonde, and Elias shakes his head.

“That man is a force to be reckoned with.”

I smile, and subconsciously, my hands reach out and take Elias’s into my own. I feel my cheeks heat when he tugs me to his side. I turn my head and let my eyes wander over him and I fight the groan that threatens to fall from my mouth as I take him in. Tight black pants that cling to his muscular thighs perfectly and the way his leg shifts as he moves highlights how strong those legs are. He’s wearing a dark grey button down that has the top three buttons open and is tucked neatly into his pants.

He looks good.

So. Fucking. Good.

Without thinking, I turn to face him and intertwine my hands together behind his neck. His jaw clenches as he looks down at me, his hands resting lightly on my waist, in an almost tentative way. Sure, he had his hands on me a minute ago but that was for show—this is intimate, more private.

“Dance with me?” I ask him.

He says nothing, but pulls me closer, his chest brushing against mine as his hands wander down my body. The touch is gentle, yet adventurous as his hands explore me. I suck in a breath as his nimble fingers press into the soft flesh on my hips, squeezing and gripping me. Elias’s touch shouldn’t be sending me into a frenzy, but it does, and I can’t stop the way my body ignites with pure need with each press of his fingers.

Heat trails after each of his movements and I find myself unable to think straight as his fingers toy with the fabric at the bottom of my spine. I feel his fingers twitch, and I wonder if he’s refraining from venturing lower.

A confidence I’ve never felt before surges inside of me as I remove my hands from around his neck and turn in his grasp. One of my hands raises and curls around the nape of his neck as I slowly roll my body into his. His grip on my hips is unrelenting as I roll my lower body in sync with the music that pours out of the speakers. Fingers flexing, he grinds my hips into his, and my chest heaves as he takes control.