Looking around, I watch how others are moving. I’ve danced like this before, alone in my bedroom with the music blasting, but never in public. And never with Jace behind me. I don’t know how to do this with a guy, or how to keep a rhythm. I’m sure I look like a complete idiot just standing here. Jace continues to blow on my neck and I’m so overheated, it feels fantastic. Problem is, it’s creating an unwanted need between my thighs.
“Relax,” his deep, melodic voice whispers from behind my ear. When I shiver, he squeezes my hips and pulls them closer to him. Slowly, he begins to slide against me and I mimic his movements in front of him. After watching the girls around me, I soon feel confident enough to turn in his arms and roll my hips while looking up into his eyes. Gradually, I loosen up and begin to have fun.
“Every guy here is so damn jealous of me right now,” he says into my ear. I look up and roll my eyes at him, but he’s able to eventually pull a smile from me in the process. An hour passes in the blink of an eye and we’re both laughing and having a good time, but it’s sweltering in here and I need a break.
“I’m gonna grab a water, I’ll be right back,” I holler close to his ear and gesture toward the bar.
“I’ll come with you,” he mouths back.
Shaking my head, I yell, “Just stay, I’ll come back and find you.” Without waiting for his response, I head off the dance floor, welcoming the immediate rush of cool air I feel once I leave the mass of writhing bodies. My skin is damp with sweat and I’m sure my hair is looking less than perfect. I can feel my limp brown curls sticking to the skin of my neck. I push my way to the bar and ask for a glass of water. When the bartender returns with it, I gulp down the refreshing liquid quickly.
“Doll, you’re club dancing?” Lane calls out from beside me. His animated smile tells me he’s either excited for me or he’s drunk. Maybe both. I nod my head because my voice is already getting sore from shouting over the crowd. “With Jace?” he asks and I nod again. “Another checkmark in the box of things you haven’t done yet!” His excitement is contagious.
I pull him in for a hug and laugh. “You look like you’ve been having a good time.”
“Yeah, I have actually. Would you hate me if I headed out with Christine?” He points his thumb behind him to a waiting blonde that I’ve never seen before. “Here are the keys to the car. Will you be alright driving home alone?” I nod my head in shock because this is so unlike Lane. He never just leaves me. “Promise you’ll stay near Jace and that he’ll walk you out to the car?”
“Why do you trust Jace, but not anyone else?”
“I don’t know. I just got this vibe about him, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Should I go talk to him about this?”
“No, Dad, I don’t need a babysitter.” I shove him in the chest playfully.
“Promise me or I’m staying.”
I stick out my pinky and say, “Promise.” He wraps his smallest finger around mine and kisses my forehead.
“How late do you think you’ll stay?” he asks, while Blondie starts grabbing for his hand.
“No, no, Papa Bear. You’ve done your duty, time to go.” I shove him and make my way back to the crush, pushing his keys into the front pocket of my jeans.
When I left Jace on the dance floor, I had a one-track mind: get water and clear my head from the lust-induced Jace-fog. I never thought about what he would be doing while I was gone. Of course he would continue dancing. Did I expect him to just stand there and wait after I’d asked him to stay? Regardless, seeing him dancing with two other girls, one in front and one behind, still has my heart pounding erratically.
I stop my forward motion and watch from a distance. There’s a split in the crowd that allows a direct view of the show. Jealousy flashes through me at the sight of the girls’ faces that are thick with desire and their hands all over him. His hands are out away from them, but their bodies still connect with each beat of the song.
When another set of hands grab onto my waist from behind, I flinch and look over my shoulder. A tall, dark-haired man smiles down at me.
“Mason,” he introduces himself.
“Audrey,” I call back in a hoarse voice.
This guy is handsome. His jaw is defined and yet he has a hint of a baby face, which is endearing. His messy brown hair is tossed about and damp. I smile and decide to relax. This is what people do in dance clubs. All small talk is thrown out the window. The conversation is spoken with the movement of our bodies. Besides, I don’t feel like trying to break up the ménage in front of me.
When I turn back around, I see that Jace is frozen, staring directly at me with his bright blue eyes. His groupies are practically begging for his attention and becoming needy with their hands. Neither of us makes a move toward one another. We’re locked in a stare-down.
Mason’s hands move from my hips to my waist and back down again. I begin to move against him. Jace drives his hips forward at the same time. When one of the girls aligns her body with his and grinds up against him, I roll my hips and do the same to Mason. I’m instantly turned on when I see Jace’s mouth form the small ‘o’ shape. His eyes never leave mine as he spreads one hand out on the girl’s stomach and I move Mason’s over mine. Fire ignites in Jace’s eyes and I’m spurred on.
Before I realize what’s happening, Jace and I are dancing together, only we’re ten feet apart with different partners. When he rolls forward, I grind back. Every movement Mason makes feels like Jace in my head. I wonder if Jace is thinking the same, since his eyes haven’t budged from my face or my body, not even for a second.
We continue this hypnotizing dance for what feels like an eternity, mirroring our movements with one another. The way his body flows with the music is almost like living art. He’s a masterpiece in the middle of this packed wooden dance floor, a God amongst men. His tall frame should appear out of place, but it draws in all the eyes around him. The black t-shirt he’s wearing is putting up a tough battle against his flexing muscles and I wish it would surrender already. My fingers ache to pull it off over his head to reveal the lines and curves of his chest and stomach that I’ve stroked once before.
He hasn’t put his hands back on the girl in front of him, but that doesn’t stop her from rubbing her body all over his. I’ve never been captivated like this before… it’s almost erotic, and yet I’m envious at the same time. I hate that she’s feeling every ounce of muscle on his solid chest that I should be feeling. However, I don’t move forward and neither does he.
I can’t help but think about the way this whole scene reflects the relationship that Jace and I have always had. So close, yet always so far away.
“You’re a great dancer, gorgeous,” Mason says into my ear. I close my eyes and try to block out his voice. I hold the image behind my eyelids of Jace, who’s not even ten feet away from me, moving his body seductively. I’m lost in the withdrawal from Jace’s intoxicatingly blue eyes, and I have no idea how to respond to Mason. You’re not so bad yourself, but I’ve actually been dancing this whole time with the smokin’ hot heartthrob that’s dancing ten feet away? Might be a mood-killer.
“Need something, Riley?” Mason’s voice shakes me out of my reverie.
I freeze, knowing Jace must be close, but I can’t open my eyes to look. A warm hand touches my hip and his tantalizing voice says, “You found my girl.” I hear the smile in his tone and I tense at his words. “Look at me, gorgeous,” he whispers, too close to my lips.