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A talented up-and-coming band played in the background, just loud enough that it was difficult to carry on a conversation with anyone at the table except for the person sitting beside you, which Peyton was grateful for. After the way her mother and father had put Leo on the spot during the cocktail hour with talk of an engagement and his intentions toward her, the last thing she wanted was another opportunity for them to bring up the subject again.
The wedding had made her mother sentimental and hopeful where her daughter was concerned, but until Peyton had the chance to tell Leo how she felt about him, she didn’t even know if the two of them had any future together. The comment he’d made to her father earlier, I care for your daughter and we’ll just have to see where things go from here, didn’t really inspire confidence that he was going to return her declaration of love, but it was the possibility that he might be on that same path that kept her optimistic.
Beneath the drape of the tablecloth, Leo’s hand caressed her thigh, his touch not overtly sexual but definitely making her incredibly aware of him sitting so close beside her. The last of the dinner dishes were being cleared from their table, and she glanced at him, her heart racing a whole lot faster when she found his warm, inviting gaze already on her. The man was so gorgeous he literally took her breath away.
His slow, sexy smile gave her a glimpse of the dimple in his cheek, and he leaned toward her, putting his lips near her ear so she could hear him without him having to raise his voice to be heard.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” he said, then pulled back enough to look at her again.
She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “A few times, but it never gets old,” she teased him. “And you look so freaking hot in a suit. If we weren’t at a wedding, I’d be all over you right now.”
He laughed huskily as his fingers trailed a little higher on her thigh, causing her body to react in ways that no longer surprised her. “Mmm, I like the thought of having you all over me, which is exactly where I want you when we get back to the house.”
His eyes were hot, and she caught his wandering hand before he did something to make her moan loudly. “You are being a very bad boy, Honey Bear,” she said, drawling out the affectionate endearment she’d given him while keeping her voice low. “As good as I know you can make me feel, I’d rather not have an orgasm while sitting right next to my parents.”
“Fair enough,” he said on a wicked chuckle. “How about we go and dance instead?”
Now that dinner was over, other reception festivities were taking place, and the band picking up its tempo and inviting guests out onto the parquet floor was one of them. “You like to dance?” she asked in shock, since she’d yet to have dated a man who did enjoy letting loose that way. Most of the time when there was a dance floor somewhere, she was out on it with her girlfriends and guys sat on the sidelines and watched.
He shrugged. “Occasionally. Depends on who I’m dancing with.”
She grinned enthusiastically. “Then let’s do it!” Before he could change his mind, she stood up, waited for him to remove his jacket and adjust it onto the back of his chair, then grabbed his hand and they joined the already crowded area in front of the band.
It didn’t take long to see that Leo had great rhythm, which shouldn’t have surprised her considering what fluid hip action he had when he was thrusting inside of her. Her cheeks flushed as that erotic image filled her head, and she forced her eyes from his undulating hips back up to his face.
He arched a brow as he reached out and curled a hand around the back of her neck and drew her closer so he could speak into her ear, his thumb running sensually along her jawline. “Do not look at me like you want me to hike up your dress and do dirty things to you right here and now, because I just might consider it.”
His threat was a playful one, but it definitely turned her on and made her bolder and more brazen, just because she knew there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about her turning around and shimmying her ass against his groin in time to the music. But she did hear his tortured groans, could feel the bite of his fingers as they grasped her waist to keep her in place while he added his own bump and grind to their seductive choreography.
The next few hours passed quickly as they indulged in fun, flirtatious banter and tempting touches. Between music sets, they watched the bride and groom cut their cake, and joined in on the garter toss and the bouquet throw because her mother encouraged them to do so. But even as the flowers sailed Peyton’s way, she deliberately let the woman next to her catch the bouquet because she knew her mother would have declared it “a sign,” and Peyton didn’t want to ruin what had become a memorable and romantic evening with Leo with him being pressured to put a ring on her finger.
By the very end of the evening, about an hour after the bride and groom had snuck out of the reception, the ballroom thinned out as guests started to leave, too. The band announced its final song of the night, and when a slow ballad played, Leo took her back out onto the dance floor and drew her against his chest, which was her favorite place to be. Peyton twined her arms around his neck, deliriously happy and content in that moment, and as she looked into Leo’s eyes as he stared down at her, she could have sworn she saw something intimate and emotional glimmering in their depths.
When he dipped his head and kissed her, his lips soft and warm on hers, she sighed and invited him in. She reveled in the decadent sweep of his tongue against hers and catalogued each and every sensation he evoked, just in case this was the last chance she had to do so. There was no telling what would happen or how he’d react once she said those three little words, so she savored the enticing taste of him. Imprinted the masculine scent of his cologne in her mind. Luxuriated in the possessive way his arm tightened around her waist and pulled her closer and the heat and hard strength of his body against hers that made her feel so delicate, desired, and cherished.
After a while, he lifted his head again, his expression etched with the same need and desire that was thrumming through her. “I think I’m ready to take you home and finish these kisses in private.”
“I’m ready, too,” she said. For everything.
They met back up with her parents, who were preparing to leave, as well, so they all headed toward the main entrance to the ballroom as some of the brighter lights started coming on in the room to signal the end to the reception. Leo’s hand slid into hers just as someone called out his name.
“Leo?” a male voice asked, as if he wasn’t certain he was addressing the right guy. “Leo Stone?”
Leo turned at the mention of his name, and as he watched a man in his mid-thirties approach the four of them, Peyton felt his entire body stiffen. An intuitive sense of dread filled her, and Leo’s oh, shit expression didn’t bode well, either.
“I saw you a few times across the room, but I wasn’t sure it was really you,” the guy said with a laugh as the two of them shook hands.
“Hey, Chad,” Leo greeted the other man. “It’s good to see you.”
“Are you here for the bride or for the groom?” Chad asked.
“The bride, who’s my girlfriend’s cousin,” Leo said, keeping his response as simple and straightforward as possible while still keeping up the charade in front of her parents.
“Ahhh. Groom side for me,” Chad said, oblivious to any of the underlying tension right in front of him. “It was a fantastic wedding and reception.”
“Yes, it was,” Leo agreed, not inviting further conversation, though his tone was pleasant, belying the unease Peyton could feel radiating off him.
“Well, I know it’s late so I’ll let you go. I just wanted to say hello,” Chad said amicably. “I’ll see you at our meeting next week Thursday at my La Jolla office. I’m looking forward to discussing the details and itinerary for the driver we need to chauffer the VP of the company around while he’s in San Diego for two weeks.”
