I pretended not to see him. But I liked how sexy it made me feel to be the only one he focused on in a room full of beautiful people. I moved with purpose. I let my instant lust for this man rock my hips and arch my back. My hands tangled in my hair before sliding down, sticking to my sweaty body. I thought about him licking me clean.
When I glanced back, he was gone. Until a second later a hard body pressed against my back. I sucked in a breath as a large calloused hand spanned from hip to hip under my shirt, bringing me close to his solid form. I threw my head back.
“Let’s dance,” he grumbled in my ear.
“So pushy.” I arched my backside into the hard length of him. “I think we already are dancing.”
He growled in my ear, and chills prickled my skin. “I couldn’t stop watching you. I have to have you.”
I turned my head as our bodies moved side to side, forward and back, swirled. His fingers gripped the flesh of my hip and he brought me closer yet.
“How presumptuous,” I said. “I like your accent,” I added.
He chuckled in my ear. “I like yours,” he shot back. “I’ve wanted to hear it calling my name since the moment we met.”
“My boyfriend wouldn’t like you touching me like this.”
“Your boyfriend is an idiot to ever leave your side,” he growled.
“Fair point.”
Sanders turned me in his arms so I could face him. This new little game was doing very good things to me. He brought a hand up to cup my cheek and pull me in for a kiss. “He won’t be making that mistake ever again.”
“Dance with me,” I said. “Kiss me. Make me feel whole.”
“You’re already whole.” He slid his leg between mine until I was obscenely straddling his solid thigh. “But I can make you feel full.” He bit at my lip. “Cherished.” He licked up the column of my neck. He rubbed himself against me. “And completely satisfied.”
His thigh between mine, a hot spike of desire shot to my core. I fought to keep from grinding too provocatively against the hard muscles. One arm wrapped me close. My breasts pressed into his chest and he grunted. We were sort of still dancing as our mouths met. We kissed on the dance floor in front of God and everyone. Our tongues clashed and our hands tried to remember we were in public. I cupped his ass and squeezed roughly. He broke our kiss to growl in my ear and then gently bite my neck.
All at once the teasing became too much and I realized I couldn’t hang at this level of role-play teasing. I was about to strip on this dance floor. He must have seen that fact in my gaze. His eyes went dark with want. His usual light blue eyes were almost black. His hands squeezed impatiently at my waist, bottom, thigh, and shoulders. He sneakily reached up between us to run a thumb across my nipple. I glared at him and licked my lips. He watched my tongue and bent to suck on my lips.
“Get a room,” Gretchen yelled, dancing up next to us.
“Okay.” Sanders shrugged and made to pull me from the dance floor. I dug my heels into the ground to stop him, laughing as Gretchen rolled her eyes and danced away.
I straightened my shirt and pulled my hair off my neck, fanning myself. Kim and Devlin danced a few feet away. Well, dancing was a stretch. They had their foreheads pressed together, Devlin lifting her slightly off the ground in his linebacker arms. Swaying to a tempo that nobody else heard. Their gazes were so intense, I had to look away.
I grabbed Sanders’ hand and tugged him toward our VIP section at the club in Knoxville. Above the main floor, it was still loud but easier to talk. Suzie sat on a red couch with her strong legs thrown over Ford’s lap. His hand slid up and down her legs as though he couldn’t help himself. Whispering in her ear as she bit her lip and smiled. The mini, fake white veil slipped from her hair as she threw her head back to laugh.
I sat down and reached for a water as Sanders moved next to me, close enough that the entire side of my body was pressed against him. He kissed my neck and nuzzled into me as I gulped it down. I took a deep breath and wiped off my mouth, handing the bottle back to him.
A minute later, Kim, Devlin, Gretchen, Jack, and Skip joined us.
“A toast,” Gretchen announced and lifted her glass.
We all lifted our various drinks into the air.
“To the happy couple, Ford and Suzie. May they grow old and wrinkled together.”
“Cheers,” we all said in unison and then clinked glasses across the low table.
Gretchen threw back her shoot and yelled, “Hot damn! Also—” She picked up another shot glass and held it into the air.
Sanders squeezed my side and I gave him a questioning look. I had no idea what she was on about but Suzie and Ford seemed happy enough to let her lead the show.
“Another toast. To Jethro Winston.”
Suzie, Kim, and I exchanged a wide-eyed look. Sanders stiffened at my side. Devlin and Ford looked downright grumpy.
“Uhh, what the cluck?” Suzie said.
“Hear me out.” Gretchen held up her free hand. “Romeo Jr. was a dumpster fire of a person. We can all agree he was on the path to become his father. But Jethro Winston … well, he tried to make things better, didn’t he?”
Kim and Suzie exchanged a look I couldn’t read. And I wondered if there was more to their Jethro story than I knew.
I thought about Jethro’s proposal all those years ago and what he was trying to do. His heart had been in the right place. He
