Her lips pursed. “Cursed objects don’t exist anymore, thank gods. They were outlawed a century ago, and all the remaining ones were destroyed. Hexed and jinxed objects, on the other hand, are tightly regulated. I’ve busted several teenagers messing with that kind of magic illegally.”
“Oh, yeah?” He grinned. “Sounds like something I’d have done as a kid, if I were a Magickal.”
Her gaze dropped to his lips when he spoke, and she leaned closer until his nose filled with the scent of her perfume. He wanted to touch her. Badly.
“Are you married or otherwise spoken for?”
They both winced at his bald question. He had no idea what her grimace was for, but he had more ugly memories about being married than he could handle in a lifetime. Weddings like this didn’t bother him—his own wedding had been great. It was the marriage that had fucked up. None of it was something he liked to think about, though. The silence stretched, so he answered his own question, hoping to encourage her to do the same. “I’m single now, but I was married once. A long time ago.”
“Same here.” She looked down at her glass. “A couple of centuries ago, in fact.”
“Mine is more like decades, but it averages out in human-to-elf years, I guess.” He didn’t ask how old she was. Even Magickal women who had such long life spans didn’t seem to like to admit when they passed thirty, so he’d learned to avoid the topic for the most part.
“I suppose it does.” She finished the last of her champagne and set the flute on the bar behind them. When her gaze met his, it was frank, no coy games, no teasing. “So, you’re available and I’m available. Isn’t that interesting?”
“I think so.” He smiled, and he knew the expression was nothing short of lascivious. He liked her forthrightness, and if he was reading this correctly, he was going to be enjoying a lot more of her tonight. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on that hot little body. Since he couldn’t strip her in their current surroundings, he asked, “Would you like to dance?”
She glanced at the couples swaying together slowly. “Sure.”
He held his hand out for her, and she slid her fingers into his. Yeah, touching her was just as good as he’d suspected it would be.
Drawing her out onto the dance floor and into his arms, he bit back a groan at having her slim curves pressed against his front. He made certain his hold wasn’t so tight that she’d notice his rising erection, but he still enjoyed the lust sizzling through his veins. It was rare that he met a woman who got to him like this, and the anticipation just made it all the more arousing to have her near, smell her sweet scent, slide his hands down her back.
“This is good.” She settled herself against him, arching to let him know she’d noticed his erection. He grinned. Of course she’d noticed.
He pulled her closer. “I know what you mean.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
“Exactly.” He hadn’t been looking for this kind of distraction, but being a sane man, he wasn’t about to walk away from it. Letting one hand slide up her spine, he cupped the back of her neck, enjoying the silky feel of her skin. Her short hair tickled the back of his hand. Goose bumps broke down his flesh when she slid her palms under his jacket and ran them up his back. He could feel the heat of her through his shirt, the way her nails dug in slightly. His breath hissed through his teeth as his cock jerked, and her throaty chuckle did little to cool his ardor.
He forced himself to keep his eyes open and not thrust himself against her. Another couple swayed to the music not far from them, locked as tightly together as he was with Selina. It took him a moment for his lust-fogged brain to realize he knew these people. Tess and Peyton. They were both werewolves who worked with him in the FBI. Peyton was an agent and Tess a medical examiner. The way they looked at each other was shocking in its intimacy. He hadn’t known they had any interest in each other. Luca still had a thing for Tess, and the fact that Peyton worked with both of them made for a whole lot of possible awkwardness. Jack looked away, ignoring that he’d seen a thing. It wasn’t his business.
He watched Merek and Chloe drift by, their gazes locked on each other, the rest of the world ignored. Newlywed bliss. He grimaced. Their marriage would work out better than his, only because he knew Chloe was nothing like his wife had been. Shaking his head, he dismissed other people from his thoughts and concentrated on the woman in his arms. The past was over, best to focus on his very pleasurable present.
Selina tilted her head back to whisper something in his ear, and her body stretching against his was exquisite torture. He bit back a groan.
Her lips brushed his ear, her hot breath washing over his skin and making him dig his hands into her hips. She nipped his earlobe, scraping it with her teeth. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”
Fuck, yes, he did. He forced himself to loosen his grip on her. “I’d like to go anywhere that’s not here. Would anyone notice a missing bridesmaid?”
“I’ll tell Millie I’m leaving. She’ll have her million minions handle anything else.” She skimmed her hands up his chest, pausing infinitesimally to graze his nipples with her nails. “The newlyweds should be leaving soon anyway. Millie is putting them up in the penthouse suite of the Mercer Grand Hotel for their wedding night and keeping Alex while they’re on their honeymoon in Bali.”
He swallowed hard and rocked his hips into her as subtly as he could while they moved across the dance floor. Soon the couple would leave. How much longer was that? Too damn long, as far as he was concerned. He wanted her dress gone, her body bared for his touch, preferably stretched out on a mattress and arched for his penetration. He shuddered, his heart pounding in his chest. Every movement of her slim form against his just made him hotter.
His cock throbbed, and it didn’t help at all when she slid her hands up his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck, toying with his hair. Her eyes flickered with dark fire, and he could feel the tingle of her magic dancing down his spine. Almost a pleasure spell.
“Jesus,” he croaked.
Her full lips curved. “I want you.”
Leaning down, he breathed in her ear. “Are you wet for me, Selina?”
A low moan spilled from her, and he felt her shiver. “Yes.”
They both jolted when the DJ announced that the bride and groom would be leaving momentarily. Selina rolled her eyes at him when they announced the tossing of the bouquet. “Oh, hell no.”
He chuckled. “Well, all right then.”
“I’m older than dirt. I’m not wrestling with a vicious little teenager over wilting flowers.” She folded her arms, which just drew his gaze to her plumped-up cleavage.
“You could totally take a teenager, vicious or not.”
Her brows winged upward. “Well, yeah, but do I want to? Not so much.” A wicked little gleam reflected in her eyes. “Why go after the flowers and hope I snag a man, when I can just take a man to bed and get all the fun I want?”
“I’m ready for that kind of fun,” he growled, his gaze moving down her body. Oh, yeah, was he ready. They weren’t even touching and he was still hard.
She nodded. “Let me track down Millie and tell her I’m off. I’ll meet you at the bar.”
2
Their shoes crunched on the gravel drive as they walked toward the multitude of parked cars. Most of the guests would be using the valet service, but Selina would rather not be standing there with her future one-night fling waiting for her vehicle to be delivered with her co-workers standing nearby to note who she was leaving with. She could fetch her own car, thanks so much. No doubt a few people had noticed who she’d been wrapped around on the dance floor, but they could only speculate if it went beyond a dance.