Home > My Cone and Only(3)

My Cone and Only(3)
Author: Susannah Nix

For a second, I swore his smile slipped a little. But before I could be sure, he spun me into the sweetheart position, backing me up against his chest with my arms crossed in front of me. He followed up with a series of complicated spins and a behind-the-back pass before he pulled me into a standard dancing frame again.

“I love dancing with you,” he said as we settled back into a simpler two-step rhythm. “It’s like you know what I’m gonna do before I do it.”

I laughed, lightheaded from the spins, or maybe from the two beers I’d had before the dancing started. “That’s because I do, usually. We’ve been doing this since I was twelve. I know all your moves.”

“Are you saying I can’t surprise you anymore?” His face pulled into an expression of mock offense.

I let my gaze meet his, knowing he’d take it as a dare. “Maybe.”

Eyes glinting almost violet in the pink and yellow lights above the dance floor, he lifted his arm and spun me into the center of the floor for a series of complex western swing combos, starting off with a princess dip to test my trust in him. My pulse jumped when he leaned me back, his strong arms taking all my weight as I lifted my feet off the floor and extended one leg toward the ceiling. After that we did a move called a sausage roll, and my stomach tightened as he slid me between his muscular thighs, my face passing just inches below the crotch of his jeans.

Wyatt was the only one I trusted enough to do any of the advanced swing steps with. I loved the athletic thrill of executing the moves, but more than that, I loved the opportunity to feel Wyatt’s hands all over me—not to mention all the tantalizing, exhilarating ways our bodies came into contact.

My heart pounded as he lifted me into his arms. I had a split second to enjoy the sensation of being cradled against his chest before he bounced me, and I scissored my legs around his neck. He bounced me again with my thigh resting on his shoulder as he flipped me over in his arms, cradling me to his chest once more before setting me down.

There was no other man I’d be willing to do this with. It wasn’t just the intimacy of the positions, it was the act of placing myself entirely in his trust, relying on him to hold me up and keep me safe—like Wyatt always had.

He spun me out, and when I spun back to him he lifted my left leg, his right arm under my back as he swung me up and into the air. I draped my thigh over his biceps as we whirled, then he dipped me down low to the floor again, my head still spinning when those piercing blue eyes focused on me before he swung me upright again and my boots hit the floor.

I nearly stumbled, but Wyatt held me steady until I’d found my balance, knowing instinctively when to let me go. As soon as I’d recovered, he spun me again, but this time his right arm wrapped around my hips, pulling my arm behind my back. He stepped back and bent down, scooping me up and flipping me upside down and over his shoulder.

While I was flying through the air, my perception narrowed to the feel of Wyatt’s hand sliding up my thigh and the way my breasts were pressed against his arm. Then my feet hit the floor with a thump, and his hand grabbed onto mine, his strong grip grounding me as I found my footing.

His eyes met mine again, flashing with mischief, and I saw his mouth twitch. I readied myself for something even more challenging, but instead he clasped both my hands and rotated me toward him. Lifting his left arm over my head, he curled it around my neck before lowering me back into a simple kissing dip.

Except it had never been a simple move for me. Not with Wyatt, with his face so close to mine, our lips nearly touching and his arm tucked around my neck in a dangerously intimate position. Every time we did it, I couldn’t help wondering if he was actually going to kiss me—or if I’d finally crack and kiss him this time.

His eyes bored into mine as he lowered me toward the floor, his breath hot on my lips as his hair fell forward, curtaining his face and narrowing the world to just the two of us. I was surrounded by him. Enveloped by his heat and the scent of sweat mingling with his cologne. We were so close, I swore I could hear his heart beating in his chest.

I sucked in an unsteady breath as my eyes involuntarily dropped to his mouth. His lips parted, and something clenched deep in the pit of my stomach.

Both his hands squeezed mine, and he lifted me back up into a standing position. Letting go of my left hand, he spun me away from him like a top. With our arms extended and his hand grasping mine, his gaze once again homed in on me.

Slowly, I became aware of people clapping and whistling around us. Not for the first time, we’d made quite a spectacle.

Wyatt spun me back into a basic dancing frame and led us into the flow of couples circling the floor again. “That was fun.”

“Yeah.” My heart was still trying to beat its way out of my chest. Why did I do this to myself? Every. Damn. Time.

His smile softened, shedding some of its usual cockiness. “You’re my favorite partner, you know that, Andie?”

I looked away, my stomach twisting painfully. He didn’t mean what I wanted him to mean. He only meant for dancing. That was as close as he’d ever allow me to get to him. The rest of him was reserved for all the other women who managed to catch his eye.

It reminded me what we’d been talking about before, and how eager he’d been to change the subject. My gaze returned to his face, narrowing. “Has something been keeping you busy?”

It was as close as I would ever come to asking straight out if he’d been seeing someone. We didn’t talk about his love life much, which I was grateful for. It was bad enough that in a town this size I couldn’t avoid noticing the parade through his bedroom. Hearing about it directly from his lips would have been too much.

“Me?” He gave an innocent shrug. “I’m always busy.”

He was about the least busy person I knew. Instead of living off his family’s money, he took handyman jobs to support himself—but only as much as he needed to pay for his weed, beer, and shithole apartment. On top of that, he played occasional gigs at a few bars around town with the band he’d formed with some of his high school buddies. I highly doubted that both of Wyatt’s “jobs” put together came close to a forty-hour workweek.

Which meant he just didn’t want to tell me what he’d been up to. Fair enough. If he’d been spending more time than usual with someone, I didn’t actually want to hear about it. I already had a sick feeling in my stomach just imagining the possibility.

When the day finally came that someone managed to make Wyatt fall in love, my heart was going to break into pieces.

The song ended and Wyatt let go of me to clap for the band. “Thanks for the dance. I’ll let you get back to your friends now.” Then he started to walk away.

“Wyatt,” I said, and he stopped, just like I knew he would, spinning on the smooth floor to face me again.

His eyebrows tilted, his forehead creasing slightly, and he lifted a hand to push his hair back from his face. I took a second to drink in the sight of him. The layer of stubble that covered his jaw. The languid cant to his hips. The way his jeans hugged his thighs.

When I’d looked my fill I said, “You’re my favorite partner too.”

For a second, his smile seemed to freeze in place, and he blinked at me the way Kaylee had blinked at him earlier. Then he seemed to come back to himself, and his lips twitched at the corners. Without another word, he sauntered away.

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