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“Do you want to dance?” I ask her.
“I’ll dance when my men come back in,” she says, “but you should start without me.”
Suddenly, I’m feeling shy. And overwhelmed. “I want to finish my drink first,” I tell her, glad to have it handy.
Autumn’s eyes tell me that my excuse isn’t fooling her, but she doesn’t push. We sit and watch, and I sip my drink as the action gradually moves closer to us. At a nearby table, a werewolf is holding out his furry paw to a woman in a French maid’s costume, whose friends giggle gleefully as the dancer spins her around, admiring her outfit.
My heart beats faster as more and more men move into our area, and it threatens to pound right out of my chest when a beefy caveman comes over and beckons to me with outstretched arms as he shimmies his loincloth-covered hips.
CHAPTERFIVE
The caveman is kind of cute, though his dance moves seem a bit forced. I don’t want to get up, but Autumn is there, giving me a gentle push. “Go. Have fun!” she says with a laugh.
Reluctantly, I let him pull me from my chair with his big sweaty hands. The faux fur draped over his shoulder must be making him hot.
Thankfully, he releases his grip after leading me out onto the dance floor, and I take a step back to put some distance between us. The man has a good body, but I’m not feeling wildly attracted to him. Maybe it’s my nerves that are getting in the way.
When I try to get into the music, I accidentally bump a woman next to me with my arm. I shout an apology toward her, and as I turn back toward my partner, there’s a tall man in a skeleton bodysuit passing by. He glances my way, takes two more steps, and then stops in his tracks, turning to look again.
His eyes skate down my figure as he squares his body in my direction. This new witch dress is doing its job!
Paying no attention to the caveman, the skeleton steps in front of him and takes my hand. My eyes go wide, and I’m worried that there will be some sort of issue, but the caveman merely shrugs before turning to find a new partner.
Unlike most of the men, the skeleton has very little skin showing, but his tight costume makes it clear that there’s a lot of muscle on his bones. His face is painted white and deeply shadowed with black and gray to give the illusion of a skull. Like many of the dancers, he’s also wearing a small mask, but it doesn’t hide the fact that his eyes are fixed on me, and he makes it clear he likes what he sees.
The intense focus of his gaze triggers another wave of shyness, but as we start to dance, I continue to check him out, just as he’s doing to me.
His lips, which are also shadowed with face paint, are slightly parted, and the sudden urge to kiss him comes out of nowhere, taking me by surprise, causing my eyes to drop toward the floor.
The skeleton squeezes my hand—unlike the caveman, his grip is firm and dry—and continues to do so until I meet his eyes again. Those kissable lips curve into a gorgeous grin, and heat fills my core.
Even if my night ends right after this dance, it will have been worth it. From cutting in and stealing me from my previous partner, to admiring me head to toe, this man is making me feel like the most beautiful woman in the club, and I didn’t realize until now how much I needed the ego boost.
As the song fades into another, a bare-chested vampire approaches, his red-lined black cape swirling behind him.
His focus had been on my dance partner, but when his masked eyes meet mine, he stops in his tracks. The club must have specially trained these men on how to make women feel good, because the vampire’s dark gaze causes a blush to rise to my cheeks.
I suppose it must be good for business if the Club Red dancers make women feel desired. It will keep us coming back for more.
But maybe I’m being cynical, and maybe it isn’t far-fetched that these good looking men find me attractive. Maybe my costume is even sexier than I’d thought.
The skeleton and vampire exchange a look, and then the skeleton offers my hand to the vampire before he disappears into the crowd.
I’m sorry to see him go, but my new dance partner quickly takes my mind off of everything that happened previously as he bows low in front of me, holding his hand out to invite me to dance. It’s a romantic, old-fashioned gesture that suits his costume perfectly.
The song is slow and sultry, and I can only focus on it briefly because the vampire’s eyes are roaming my body, just as the skeleton’s had. My skin heats as if he’s touching all of the places he’s looking.
When he finally pulls me close, sliding an arm around my middle, I’m nearly ready to combust, but I try to calm my pounding heart, afraid he’ll be able to feel it, with me pressed against his hard, bare chest.
If this was a normal club, I’d be making conversation with the men I’m dancing with, but tonight has me so off balance that I haven’t even tried. I was stunned by the skeleton, and maybe a little intimidated by his gorgeous body, but I’m starting to feel more steady, even though the vampire is more intoxicating than my blood-red drink had been.
“What’s your name?” I lift up on my toes to bring my mouth close to the vampire’s ear.
When he doesn’t answer, I meet his eyes, but he stares back at me, silent. It’s not as though I’m asking him to marry me; I’m just asking for his name. I raise my brows, confused.
In response, he bares his teeth—or rather, his fangs—and a shiver runs up my spine that is not caused by fear. Well, maybe a little fear, but it’s something much more than that, because between my legs, there’s a corresponding throb. There’s an intensity to the man that’s mesmerizing.
With his eyes locked on me, his focus switching between my eyes and my mouth, he leans in, and I can’t breathe.
