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I cough and splutter as the champagne I just sipped goes down the wrong way. A strong hand pats my back gently and I try and cover my face before he hands me a napkin from a passing waiter.
“You good?”
I blink and nod as I clear my throat. “Yeah, but maybe warn me before you come out with such honesty in future.”
He cocks his head, a dark, sexy look, heating every part of my skin. “We got a future, Tink?”
Something about him calling me that feels wrong as if I’m somehow betraying Beck.
“Amelia. And that’s not what I meant. It was a throw-away comment.”
He watches me and it feels like he can see into my soul, my every thought suddenly exposed to his gaze. It makes my skin prickle but it doesn’t feel bad, being the sole focus of this man’s attention feels something akin to how I imagine a princess might feel.
“I’m sorry, I meant no harm. It was a comment about your dress.”
Now I feel bad for making him feel bad. “It’s fine, really.” I wave at his costume. “We match.”
His eyes sparkle and I’m sure if looked in the mirror right this second, I’d have cartoon stars in my eyes.
“Would you like to dance, Amelia?”
I blink and lift my gaze to him and see the twinkle in his eye, and the naughty intent. It scares me, but I also find myself drawn to him in a way I haven’t felt before. It’s like, with one look, he sees me. “I’d love to dance with you.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean with me. I just meant on your own.”
I pause, mortification rushing over my skin before I see the way his lips are twitching.
I wave a finger at him. “That was not nice.”
He has the grace to look contrite as he offers his arm like a gentleman of old. I take his arm and he dips his head low so his breath is a whisper over the sensitive skin of my neck.
“I know, but I just had to see that delicate blush stain your perfect skin once more.”
His voice is deep and has a touch of gravel to it. If the devil himself had a voice, it would be that. The promise of sin and pleasure is so clear in his voice and, as I glance up, his face makes it clear too.
“Oh, you are bad.”
“You want to be bad with me, Amelia?”
God, one conversation and I’m ready to fall to my knees and beg this man to touch me. Maybe it’s the champagne or the magic of the setting but this feels like the beginning of something important. “Yes.”
His lips tip up, and before I can guess his next move, he’s dropped a kiss to my throat that sends fire through my entire body. But it’s brief and over before I can thoroughly appreciate it.
Xander pulls me into the throng of people, couples of all kinds, villains and heroes all mixed together. His arms pull me close. I barely reach the top of his chest even in my heels but it’s not his height. Beck is tall, and I’ve danced with him on many occasions. With Xander, it’s his wide shoulders, the power in every movement, no matter how slight, that is heady. He could do whatever he liked with me, and I could no more stop him than fly to the moon.
His body is a hard line along the front of my body, his grip on my waist is firm, but his hand in mine is gentle and he moves with a grace that belies his size.
“Where did you go, Amelia?”
I blink, feeling almost drugged, but my head is clear, and I scan his high cheekbones, the square jaw with just a hint of stubble, and can’t help but imagine what it would feel like against my skin after the slight abrasion against my neck.
“Hmm?”
“What are you thinking?”
I should lie, should keep my thoughts locked away but after this last year, I promised myself I’d go after what I wanted because life is short, and things can change on a dime. The only thing I’ve ever shied away from is this thing with Beck.
“Life is short and we should seize every opportunity we get because we don’t know when it will be our time.”
