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Samuel gave me a look I couldn’t decipher. And I swear I saw his gaze dip to my chest. Not that he could see much. The dress I was wearing was loose through the top. It accented my hips and showed off my back, but it didn’t offer much of a view of my cleavage. It was a choice I’d made deliberately. I didn’t want to deal with men ogling my breasts all night. It didn’t seem to be working on Samuel though. He’d stared at my chest earlier when I first turned toward him outside on the terrace too.
His eyes lifted back to mine. “You’re something else, princess.”
The nickname did weird things to my insides. It brought back feelings I hadn’t had since I was fifteen. Suddenly I was back in the dark hallways, looking up at the man who held my fate in his hands. He could have thrown me out, but instead he’d helped me run. He’d been my savior that night.
“Issomething elsea good thing or a bad thing?” I asked softly.
“I don’t know yet.” He pressed into my back, pulling me closer.
His scent of citrus and roses enveloped me, and I couldn’t help the way I relaxed in his arms. It felt right, like this was the place I was supposed to be. We were too close for proper dancing, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Held in Samuel’s arms, I felt untouchable, like nothing else in the world could matter.
“I should leave you alone,” Samuel said close to my ear. It didn’t really sound like he was talking to me so much as himself.
“Because you’re not one of the good guys?” I asked. It’s what he’d told me right before he kissed me. He’d also said he wanted to ruin me. It should have been reason enough for me to want to stay away from him. It should have been, but it wasn’t. Samuel was scary the way a fire was—you knew it could burn you, but you were still drawn to the warmth.
His hand trailed down my back, and my eyes fluttered closed. How could such a simple touch make my whole body feel like it was coming alive?
He inhaled, and when he answered, his voice sounded strained. “Something like that.”
I opened my eyes and stared into his dark ones. “What if I don’t care?”
A shadow crossed his face. “You should.” He straightened, putting a little more space between us, but there wasn’t exactly anywhere for him to go unless he planned on leaving me alone on the dance floor. I honestly wouldn’t put it past him.
The song ended and he pulled back, lifting the hand he clutched in his to his lips. “It was a pleasure, Miss Amato.”
His lips were warm and gentle over the backs of my fingers as he kissed my hand. It was the kind of gesture that would be accompanied by a teasing light in the eyes of Nacio or Orlando, but Samuel didn’t look amused. There was something heated in his gaze, the kind of intensity that I’d never seen from anyone else.
I knew I should probably say something, but I couldn’t find my voice. Most of my brain was still reeling at the fact that he was here.
Samuel dropped my hand and backed up, not taking his eyes off me until the crowd swallowed him.
I forced myself to take a deep breath that felt shaky and did nothing to help calm me.
“Piper?”
I nearly jumped at the sound of my brother’s voice behind me. “Hey.”
Nacio frowned at me. “Do you want to dance?”
“Um, yeah. Sure.”
His frown deepened, but he didn’t say anything as he held out his hand to me.
“Where’s your date?” I asked in an attempt to push Samuel out of the forefront of my thoughts and to come across as normal.
“She’s around here somewhere.” He didn’t exactly sound concerned with where. “I’m sure she’ll find me again at some point this evening.” His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. “Are you enjoying the party?”
If he’d asked me that half an hour ago, I’d have said not really. I’d danced with a few guys who all thought they were something special before I fled outside. I hadn’t honestly been expecting to get much peace on the terrace. I’d known it would only be a matter of time before someone came out there and decided to make small talk.
I hadn’t expected Samuel though. I’d long ago stopped believing I’d ever see him again. And I’d told myself that was fine, a good thing.
Only problem was, those words had never felt as good as dancing with him tonight had.
“I’ve been to worse balls,” I answered Nacio.
He nodded stiffly. “Listen, Piper, the guy you were just dancing with, he’s… trouble.”
It hadn’t occurred to me to think about Nacio’s opinion of Samuel. Once upon a time, Samuel had told me he knew my brother, but that hadn’t really been on my mind tonight. I’d been a little stuck on the fact that he was here and didn’t appear to have aged over the years.
