Several couples immediately took to the dance floor while others just stood up and started mingling.
"So who's going to be the talk of the office tomorrow?” Marty, one of the accountants, asked with a smirk.
"It's always someone,” Joe replied. “Remember last year, when the CEO's secretary did a striptease?"
"Ha! Do I! That was a classic! How about the year that Bob Russell puked all over the VP of Marketing?"
"Man, he was in rough shape that night,” Marty agreed.
Dex listened with amusement. Yeah, these parties were just an invitation for trouble if you weren't careful. He turned in his seat and pushed his chair back so he could talk to Erin.
"How was dinner?” he asked.
"It was great. Did you enjoy it?"
"Oh, yeah.” He paused. “Would you like to dance?"
There was the briefest of hesitation, and then she said, “Sure.” They stood up and walked to the dance floor. Dex didn't mind dancing, but usually it was something he did because women expected it. Erin was a good dancer, not too flamboyant, and they moved to the beat of a current popular dance song. They stayed up for one more song, conversation difficult with the loud music, and then a slow song started. Erin hesitated, but Dex had been waiting for this and took her hand in his and pulled her close.
"Um...” Erin started to say something.
"What?” He bent his head. He was much taller than Erin, but she felt incredible in his arms.
"Nothing.” She smiled up at him, eyes warm and sparkling, cheeks flushed. God, she was gorgeous. He smiled back at her as they swayed slowly to the music.
"Did I tell you that you look gorgeous tonight?” he murmured.
The corners of her mouth kicked up. “Um ... no. Actually, you said I looked beautiful."
"Oh. Well. Beautiful and gorgeous. And hot."
"Are you flirting with me?” she asked, tilting her head appealingly to one side.
"Yes."
"Oh.” She swallowed. “Okay, then. Good."
"Is it good?"
She nodded slowly, her dark eyes fastened on his, and the rest of the room faded away as they moved to the slow, sensuous music, their bodies pressed together. They moved well together, no stepping on feet or awkward moves. When the song ended, it was several heartbeats before they realized and stepped away from each other.
Erin reached up and moved a long shiny tendril of dark hair away from her face. “How about another drink?” he offered and led the way to the bar.
He kept her by his side for the rest of the evening, while they mingled and talked to coworkers, danced again, waited with bated breath for door prizes to be drawn, commiserated when they won nothing. He'd never had more fun in his life. She was vibrant, entertaining, sexy as hell.
"How old are you?” Erin asked him when they were actually alone for a few minutes.
"Thirty-one. You?"
"Twenty-six."
"A baby.” He grinned, and she smiled back.
"Have you ever been married?"
He shook his head, sipped his drink. “No."
"Me neither. Have you ever been in love?"
"Whoa, what's with the questions?” he asked lightly. “Yeah, I guess I have."
Erin nodded thoughtfully. “Just trying to get to know you better. I know you're very smart because you're the youngest director in the company. Apparently you're a mathematical genius. I know you like playing baseball and pool, and I know you work long hours. Although you surprised me earlier when you said family takes precedence over work."
Why would that surprise her? Did he have some kind of reputation as a workaholic slave-driver or something? “Of course family is most important,” he said. “I also like to ski and play hockey, and I'm not a mathematical genius. I just like numbers."
"I dislike numbers very much,” she told him. He laughed. “And Excel spreadsheets and I do not get along."
"If you ever need help with a spreadsheet, I'm your man,” he said softly, touching a long curl that rested on her shoulder.
"Good to know."
"What about you? Tell me more about you. I know you're also a hard worker, you're smart and funny and a bit of a pool shark. Do you ski?"
She nodded. “A little. I'm not very good. Definitely don't play hockey."
He laughed again. “That's okay."
"I like going out for dinner and trying new restaurants, shopping and doing stuff with my nieces on weekends."
"How old are your nieces?” He remembered her watching the kids visiting Santa at the mall.
Her face softened. “Four, five, six and seven."
"Yikes."
She grinned. “The four-and six-year-olds belong to my sister, Anna, and the five-and seven-year-olds are my other sister, Jillian's. They're very competitive, and it was a race to produce the first grandchild. Jillian won."
"No boys yet in the family?"
She shook her head. “No. Anna and Jillian say that's up to me.” She laughed. “Could be waiting a long time for that, though."
"Don't you want kids?” He'd gotten the impression she really liked kids.
"Oh, yes, some day I do, but you kind of need a man for that. Well, actually these days I guess that's not totally true. But I'm not sure I'll ever get to the point where I'd go to a sperm donor just so I could have a baby."
Usually talk about having babies made him extremely nervous, but for some reason tonight the idea of Erin going to a sperm donor annoyed him. He had no idea why. It's not as if he were going to father her children ... although ... the idea wasn't as off-putting as it should have been.
The evening was a joyful haze of Christmas lights, music and laughter as Dex took her arm and kept her with him while he mingled with staff. Before tonight, she'd admired him from afar, although she did know some things about him. She'd been in meetings with him many times, and it wasn't just his good looks across the boardroom table that made her pant with desire. He was sharply intelligent, and he cared about the people who worked for him. She'd seen him stand up for someone who'd made a mistake because he encouraged his people to take risks. Unusual for a Finance guy. Usually they saw everything in black and white. She'd seen him argue for a decision that he believed in and others didn't, and later seen him proved right. But tonight, getting to know him better on a more personal level made him even more attractive. The way he looked at her so intently, those sparkly golden-brown eyes seeming to see right inside her, made her feel all warm and melty. He laughed at her jokes and smiled deliciously down at her, dimples deepening, giving her all sorts of achy, yearning feelings that she wasn't entirely sure what to do about.
Go for it, had been Kayla's advice.
So she stayed with him, smiling and making conversation with the two vice presidents at his side even as she wondered what they were thinking about Dex and her being together. A few people were giving them curious looks but, maybe because it was Dex, nobody said anything.
They danced again later in the evening, another slow dance, surrounded by couples barely moving to the music. Erin felt so good in his arms, but the boner in his pants was starting to get noticeable. As they danced, he tried to keep Erin at a bit of distance so as not to embarrass her (or himself), but she was determined to get closer to him. When she snuggled in against him and felt the happy package, her gaze flew up to his. He met her eyes steadily, watched her pupils explode, ready for her to pull back. Instead, she moved closer, if that were possible, letting go of his hand to wind both her arms around his neck. Her soft breasts pressed against his chest as she nestled closer, and he put both arms around her.
He realized they were practically standing on the dance floor making out and were starting to attract some knowing looks. But damn it, he did not want to move away from her at that moment. Or ever.