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“There was a line.” It’s a lie, and we both know it, but he doesn’t call me out on it.
I stand frozen as his eyes roam over every inch of me. I should walk away, but my feet won’t move. Instead, I stand as still as a statue while he looks his fill. My mind immediately goes to my ruined thong that’s shoved into my purse.
Spencer stands to his full height and takes one step, then stops. I’m still blocking the door. It’s just us in the dimly lit area. “It’s been seven days since I’ve laid eyes on you,” he tells me.
“Are you keeping a diary now?” The bite that should have been in my tone isn’t there. Instead, it’s nothing but curiosity which I know he hears.
“What makes you think I just started it?” he asks. He takes another step toward me, a small one, still leaving space between us.
“You expect me to believe that all these years, you’ve been keeping track of the last time you saw me?” I tilt my head to the side to study him. I can’t seem to get a good read on his motives. Why would he want me to think that?
“No diary, Charlie girl,” he says softly.
“Excuse me,” a woman who looks to have had about five too many beers says as she stumbles toward me.
Spencer reaches out and snakes an arm around my waist, and pulls me into his chest as we step out of the way. We’re now further down the darkened hallway. There’s practically no light, and I know that no one will see us unless they’re actually searching. There’s no one here tonight that will be looking for me, or for him for that matter. We’re all alone. You would think that I’d be scared, and that’s the reason my heart is racing, but that’s not it. It’s him. Being this close to him. The feel of his large hand gripping my hip, the way my hands rest on his strong muscular chest, and the way he dips his head, burying his face in my neck and breathing me in.
“You smell so good. Like sunshine and… you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, I don’t know what it is, but I only smell it when I’m close to you.” He pulls me closer, to where my arms are now trapped between us. I should step away. I should try to break out of his hold, but I remain motionless.
“Dance with me, Charlie,” he says, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close.
“Here?”
“Yeah, right here.”
“We should move to the dance floor.” There’s zero intent behind my words. They’re empty, and his deep chuckle tells me that he knows it.
“Why would we do that when I can have you all to myself?” He runs his hand up and down my spine, and my body melts into him without further prompting. Am I so starved for a man’s affection that I’ll give in to my rival?
No. I’m not, and he’s not really my rival, not anymore. After the last few weeks, I’m not certain he ever was. Was it all in my head? The competition, the barbs back and forth? What was it if not rivalry? Some kind of twisted foreplay? Besides, I know without a shadow of a doubt I wouldn’t be this turned on by just any man. For some reason, it’s only Spencer who makes me feel this way.
I want to ask him why he wants me all to himself, but to be honest, I’m afraid of the answer. Lines are being blurred, and my body’s reaction to him is confusing. I shouldn’t want Spencer Pennington to wrap me in his arms and never let go. He’s not the man for me, even for one night. He’s my future boss, my college rival, and the best friend of the man who broke my sister’s heart.
I shouldn’t want him.
That doesn’t stop me from pushing my arms from between us and wrapping them around his waist. That doesn’t stop me from resting my head on his chest. He barely sways in the dark corner of this hallway to some country tune blaring over the bar speakers. It doesn’t stop me from thinking about how it would feel to have one night with him.
Just one.
“Just one what?” he asks, his voice soft.
Shit.“Nothing,” I murmur without lifting my head, praying like hell he’ll let it go.
“Just one what, Charlie girl?” he asks again.
“D-Dance. Just one dance.”
He leans back just enough so that I lift my head, and he turns us so that my back is pressed against the wall. “You’re lying,” he says matter-of-factly. “You hesitated, and the Charlie I know never hesitates. Tell me what you want, Charlotte, and I’ll give it to you.”
“It’s nothing.”
I gasp when he leans in and presses his lips to my neck, just beneath my ear. “It’s not nothing if it’s on your mind. Tell me. I can’t make it happen if I don’t know what it is.”
“What makes you think you can make it happen?” I ask, and he smirks, which causes me to curse under my breath. I just gave myself away.
