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He turned her to the beat of the music, pressing his palm flat on her back and drawing her closer. She came rather than resist him, which he liked a whole hell of a lot.
“It’s kind of your brother to give first-time guests such decadent gifts,” she commented, redirecting his attention back to the bracelet. She waggled their joined hands so the pendant moved against her pale skin.
“You think that’s what this is for?” Zach joked as he clucked his tongue. “You don’t know the underground Chase Ferguson birthday secret.”
Her eyes widened slightly and he didn’t say more. Finally, she broke. “Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Depends.” He leaned in, his whisper conspiratorial. “Are you into multiple sex partners?”
“Zach!” she quietly scolded. A second later her lips parted in a laugh that warmed the very center of his chest. She took her hand from his shoulder to playfully shove his chest. If he wasn’t mistaken, she lingered a bit over his pectoral before resting her hand on his shoulder once again. “You’re impossible.”
He hovered just over her lips, testing her. “You’re wearing the first letter of my last name, Pen. That means you’re mine.”
Blue eyes turned up to his and for a second he thought she might give him the gift of saying, Show me to your room. She hadn’t been the least bit shy the night she’d invited him home with her.
Instead those blues rolled skyward and she hedged with, “Caveman.”
But she’d given him an inch not arguing that she was his.
“What really happens next?” she asked. The crowd was thinning. Only a few couples danced, while others ringed the bar or sat with their coffees at the cleared tables.
“Things wind down. Cigars are smoked. Bourbon poured. Stef and I have rooms here so we usually stay the night.”
“Well, make sure you tell me when it’s the proper time to leave. I don’t want to overstay my welcome on my maiden voyage to the mayor’s birthday party.”
“How about you don’t leave?”
She’d been looking around the room, but now snapped her attention back to him. “What?”
“You heard me. Don’t leave. Stay in my room. With me.” He pulled her closer, resting his cheek on hers as he spoke into the delicate shell of her ear. “Spend the night in my bed, Penelope. You won’t regret it.”
Her hand tightened in his. “I—I can’t. It’s...inappropriate.”
He pulled his face away from hers to find she looked as flustered as she sounded. Her eyes bounced from his face to his chest. Her steps faltered.
Zach dropped the pretense of dancing, and cradled her gorgeous face in both hands. “It’s not only appropriate. It’s expected. To this room of people, you’re my future wife. I would never let my fiancée drive home alone this late.”
A small smile found her face. “My God. You really are a caveman.”
“Aw, honey,” he said with a wink as he laced his fingers with hers. “But I’m your caveman.”
Her silken laughter as he led them to the bar was a good sign she’d join him upstairs when the night wound to a close. Zach wasn’t ready to draw the curtain on their evening yet, but he was anticipating getting her alone again. He’d give her the best night of her life.
Well, assuming the last night they’d spent together could be topped.
It was a challenge he embraced.
