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“Do they have to dance like that?” he asked while taking a drink of his beer.
Grinning, I replied, “It’s beautiful to see how much they love each other.”
When I peeked over to Aiden, the corner of his mouth rose slightly. He couldn’t deny that his mother and father were still very much in love after so many years of marriage. It was nice to see them enjoying each other’s company like they were.
“Have you ever salsa danced before, Emma?” the gentleman to my right asked. He was a friend of Aiden’s, who also worked at the national park.
“No, I haven’t.”
He moved closer to me, which made me take a step closer to Aiden. I didn’t like the way his friend looked at me, his eyes roaming over my body slowly, and I was suddenly regrettingthe dress I’d chosen to wear. It wasn’t anything over the top, a modestly flirty dress that showed just enough to leave the rest to the imagination.
My body instantly heated when I felt Aiden place his hand on my lower back. He stepped closer to me and faced his friend.
“I don’t think I made it clear enough, Manny, but Emma is with me this evening.”
The way my heart pounded in my chest, I was sure everyone in the room could hear it. My breathing increased, but it wasn’t because of Manny being in my personal space. It was because of the way Aiden had noticed my discomfort and took me out of the situation. No man had ever done that for me before.
Manny held up his hands and took a few steps back. “I didn’t get that immediate impression. Duly noted. Sorry about that, boss.”
Aiden smirked, and I couldn’t help but stare at him, distracted by the way he clung to me in a possessive yet gentle way. When he guided me to the dance floor, I couldn’t even find my voice to protest.
Drawing me close, he leaned down and whispered, “We both know you’ve salsa danced before, Emma. I’ve caught you dancing with your headphones on when I’ve run home to grab something, and you were so lost in the music, you never even noticed.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
He laughed. “If I’d been a criminal, I’d have walked out of the house at least three times with all the goods.”
I dropped my head to his shoulder and laughed. Embarrassed heat raced up my body to the point where I swore my ears were on fire.
Aiden took my hand in his as we started to dance the basic salsa moves. It was casual at first, both of us getting to know how the other moved. The more the music flowed, the more ourbodies did the same. Aiden spun me a few times as I laughed and let myself enjoy the moment. I deserved to let my guard down for once and doing it with Aiden felt right.
“Someone else knows the salsa,” I teased as Aiden laughed and winked.
“Want me to show you just howwellI can salsa, Ms. Middleton?”
“Bring it on, Mr. Bishop.”
He placed his hands on my hips, pulled me closer, and we moved together in a way that had my body on fire. I’d never felt this kind of passion or desire before, from a dance or anything else. Not even with Ben in the beginning of our relationship. The energy between me and Aiden was hard not to notice.
Pulling me closer still, it didn’t take long for our hips to move slower and closer as we swayed like we’d been dancing together for years.
Aiden moved his hands over my hips and sides as if he were worshiping me. It was the most erotic moment of my life—and it was with my boss.
My boss.
But Aiden had become more than an employer. He was a friend. Someone I trusted and felt comfortable with. Plus, it was the first time I’d truly seen him let his guard down, and if dancing with me helped him to relax, then it was a sacrifice I was more than willing to make. Selfishly, but I didn’t care. Not tonight.
When he grabbed my hands and twirled me again, my body wasn’t the only thing spinning. My insane thoughts went round and round in my head. He pulled me flush against him, our hips swayed together, and my heart thudded in my chest erratically.
As the song came to a close, Aiden stopped, placed his hands on my back, and slowly dipped my body as his leg went between both of mine. When he pulled me back up, our chests rose andfell as if we’d both finished a marathon. Our eyes caught, and we stared at one another until Aiden’s gaze drifted down to my lips. On instinct, my tongue ran over them.
What would it feel like to have his mouth pressed to mine? To feel every inch of his body as we got lost in one another. To know what that worshipful touch felt like moving slowly over my body as he told me how beautiful I was.
The feel of Aiden’s hand moving up my back seemed to bring me back to reality. I pulled away from him, and he took a step back. The connection was broken, but there was still something there between us. A crackle of awareness and something else. Desire? We were both lonely, there was no question about that. But it felt like more.
Whatever this tension was between us, it was something I’d never experienced before.
I forced myself to flash him a smirk and say, “I think I can safely say you know how to salsa dance.”
