Her tiny hand wrapped around mine and I led us through the crowd as it parted around me. She watched in awe, flipping her auburn hair over her shoulder, eyes still scanning the dance floor for her friend. Damien had been entranced by the tall blonde since he first saw her. He thought it was fate. I thought it was testosterone.
The bouncer at the entrance to the VIP area nodded and let us through. I continued holding her hand as we ascended the stairs. Her skin was so soft.
“Is your friend meeting us here?” Elizabeth asked at the top of the stairs.
Almost the whole lounge was blocked off from the public eye, and the music was quieter. Muted.
I let out a derisive snort. “I hope not.”
I guided her over to one of the red leather couches in the corner of the room. She sank down onto it, hazel eyes fixed on me. She had such innocent eyes.
“I don’t normally do this,” she admitted.
I sat down, smiling at her. “And what is it you think we’re doing?”
Her eyes bulged. With red cheeks, she answered, “I wasn’t... I didn’t mean…”
God, I loved that. She was a woman who knew what she wanted, otherwise she wouldn’t be here. But she didn’t quite know how to ask for it.
“Relax, Elizabeth,” I said. “I just wanted to slip away from the crowd.”
Well, that was at least partially true.
She laughed at herself. “I’m such a complete weirdo. This is the second time today this has happened.”
I quirked an eyebrow at her.
“No!” she backpedaled. “I mean I’ve gotten super awkward twice today. The first time was this afternoon.”
She amused me more than I was used to. Normally, around now is when I’d switch the conversation to something a little more bodily. But I was curious about her.
Remember what curiosity did to the cat.
Despite knowing better, I couldn’t help myself. “What happened this afternoon?”
She relaxed back into the couch a little, tilting her head to look at me. Our knees barely brushed, but the electricity between them was palpable. I couldn’t wait to have her.
“I had a job interview,” she replied. Her full lips ticked up into a smile. “I screwed it up. Possibly insulted my interviewer.”
I laughed, genuinely amused.
“So you came out to drown your sorrows?” I rested my hand over hers against the soft leather of the couch, stroking the back of it with my thumb.
“Actually, we came out to celebrate,” she corrected. “Somehow I got the job anyway.”
Of course she did. I didn’t know anything about this girl, but I could already tell she was charming and bright.
“Congratulations,” I said. “In retrospect, perhaps your awkwardness was part of your charm.”
“Do you think it is?” Her cheeks were still a little pink in embarrassment, gaze hovering uncertainly between my eyes and lips. Sweet little lamb.
“Yes,” I replied.
I wanted to take her home. I wanted to spend hours showing her just how captivating I found her. I would make her scream my name over and over again, and when we were done I’d take her again just because I could.
But I was already breaking my own rules.
Never go for the girl who genuinely interests you.
Taking her home on top of that would only lead to more rule breaking, because my other golden rule was that liaisons like that could only ever happen once.
I could already tell that once would not nearly be enough with Elizabeth.
The young beauty furrowed her brow and looked uncertainly around the room. It was a quiet night and it was still early. We were alone in the VIP area. I could see the concern written on her face as she realized what she may have gotten herself into.
“What’s the matter?”
She looked down to where I still stroked her hand. “I don’t usually disappear with random strangers at a club.” She shook her hair, letting it fling forward and off her shoulders.
“What do you normally do?”
She shrugged sheepishly. “Anytime I’ve met a guy at a bar, usually we dance a bit, share a sloppy drunken kiss, then I give him my number and go home to eat pizza alone.”
I laughed. “And how’s that been working for you?”
She winced and waved her hand in the international symbol for “so-so”.
I rose onto my feet and pulled her up. She stumbled in her heels.
“What are you doing?” she asked, staring down at the arm I wrapped around her waist.
I grasped her left hand and pulled her close. “We’re dancing,” I explained.
The electronic beats buzzed through the air, but I made a point to ignore them. We swayed to our own melody.
“This isn’t the kind of dancing I normally do,” Elizabeth said, finally relaxing in my hold. She rested her free hand on my chest. I spun her just so I could feel her rest it there again.
“That’s the point.” I leaned in close, lips skimming her ear. “None of this is going to be like what you normally do.” I moved down to brush the skin just below her ear. “It’s going to be… so much better.”
I felt Elizabeth’s hand bunch in my shirt as I spoke those words. I wanted to give her time to relax, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold off before I had to have her—especially if she kept doing things like that.
My eyes fixed on her plump lips, which were parted, when I pulled away to spin her again. She turned, smiling, and came back to rest against my body like she belonged there.
“So, is this normally the kind of thing you do?” she asked.
I chuckled. “Not exactly. I don’t remember the last time I danced.”
“Me neither.” She glanced down at her feet. “I’m not sure I’m doing it right.”
“You’re definitely not,” I laughed. “But it’s the effort that counts.”
Frank Sinatra crooned in my head, and the next time we were close I closed my eyes and blocked out the rest of the club. It was just me and Elizabeth, this strange girl whose warm body curved perfectly to meet mine. I hadn’t felt that kind of peace in a long time.
“If this is your version of dancing,” Elizabeth murmured. “What’s your version of a sloppy kiss and a phone number?”
My eyes slid open and I untucked my head from above hers. She gazed up at me with a hungry, yet hesitant, expression.
I smiled.
“My version of a phone number is a farewell wish.”
“And your kiss?”
Heat gathered in my groin. Despite that, I found myself wanting to hold her just a bit longer.
Don’t be dumb.
“My kiss is a fuck that leaves you breathless,” I told her. “The only sloppiness you can expect will be when we’re both so lost in the pursuit of pleasure that our lips start to wander.”
Her cheeks flushed with blood, but she didn’t say a word. I began to wonder if Elizabeth was having second thoughts. Maybe I read her wrong and came on too strong.
I reached over to cup her chin in my hand. “Elizabeth,” I said. “If you don’t want me, you can leave right now.”
“And what if I do?” she whispered.
“Then you have a decision to make,” I smiled.
I don’t know what I would have done if she’d rejected me. I couldn’t break my rules, not even for her. Especially not for her.