All I could do was nod and whisper, “You can touch me.” I wasn't sure what possessed me to say the words, what possessed me to give my permission. But then he hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of my jeans and pulled my hips in close to him, his gaze never leaving mine. I swallowed hard as the tingling started low in my belly. Holy Christ, I was aroused. The dull, insistent ache between my thighs refused to abate.
With his fingers molded slightly around my waist, just at the upper curve of my arse, he pulled me in even closer, sliding his leg between both of mine. He started to move us to the beat of music, and oh my God.
My pulse throbbed and my blood hummed. For the first time, I got it. I understood. I fully recognized why people made horrible decisions when it came to love and sex and who they should be with. It wasn't clinical. It wasn't something they did by choice. It was instinct. It was something they did because of a low tingle in their vajayjays. Women across time had made decisions based on this feeling. And I finally got it. I understood.
He leaned in close, his whisper just above my ear. "Is this okay?"
All I could do was nod. God, if only I had been blessed with the gift of saying the right thing at the right moment to seem sexy and interesting and compelling. If only I was Tabs. But no, I had nothing. I had no words to offer instead of staring at him, trying to find something to say.
He gave me a dimple popping grin. "You make me a little nervous too."
I cocked my head then. "What exactly are you reading as nervous?"
He lifted his brow then. "It's the furtive way you look at me and the way you chew on the corner part of your lip. It's been driving me insane since I came over here. It's the way you're holding yourself so stiffly even though our bodies are pressed firmly against each other and you can no doubt feel how much I want you right now and you aren't backing away. So something tells me you like it. You are nervous and terrified, and I completely understand the feeling because you look like you are probably the kind of trouble I don't need."
"Wait, you're saying I look like trouble? Hardly. Clearly you've seen a mirror, right?"
He chuckled then. "I own one or two."
"Right. So, I also know someone like you doesn't really need someone like me. You could have any woman in here."
His brow quirked. "You could have any man, but you are dancing with me."
"Hardly. Something about me usually puts men off." He was still watching me like I was the only woman in the room.
“Who was the twat?”
"The wingman. My mate is over there somewhere making out with his friend, so he assumed he was getting lucky too. He was mistaken."
“Can’t fault his taste though.”
I could feel a hot flush snaking up my neck to my face. I figured that was probably a line, but I felt special, nonetheless. My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and he smiled down at me. "Saved by the bell. Why don't you get that."
I swallowed hard as I reached onto my back pocket, my fingertips grazing his. His fingers flexed on my flesh just a little bit, making me ache in places I didn't know I could ache. I glanced down at the phone and saw it was time check protocol. If I didn't call Gabe within the next thirty seconds, he was going to send a detail to my location. "I have to take this outside. It's too loud in here. Will you be here when I get back?"
I hated the sound of my voice, the hope. But if I didn't say something, I knew chances were he’d be dancing with someone who looked more like Tabs. And I definitely wanted to let him know I was coming back.
“Ditching me already?”
"I'm just… Oh, I'll be right back."
He grinned at me. "I'll be right here."
The way he said it was like he said it a lot. Like he was completely at ease saying something like that which meant he would not be here when I came back. Which was fine, because just the act of dancing with him was a religious experience. And that thing he did with his fingers, the way he pulled me in, my God. I was probably pregnant, and Gabe sensed it. Extrasensory perception. That had to be it.
I fought my way through the crowd of packed bodies. When I shoved outside, I went around the corner to avoid the long line of girls scowling at me as they rocked back and forth from foot to foot on the cobblestones in their spindly little heels, rocking miniskirts and crop tops.
I initiated the time check courtesy call and tapped in my code. "This is the Heir, checking in at 11:45 pm."
The dispatcher's voice was dispassionate. This was the way it worked. Sure, Rogue's men were probably in rotation in a one- or two-mile radius from the club. Better if I did the time check protocol with my exact location so they wouldn't come in and pull me. Otherwise, I would have a very awkward tail on my arse in the club. I recognized that it was Daisy on the line tonight. "Hey, Dais."
"Hey, Saff, how's it going?"
I paced as I spoke, anxious to get back inside.
"Good. Time check protocol."
I could hear the smile in her voice. "Response?"
"Evergreen."
"You're all good. I'll talk to you at two."
I smiled at the phone and hung up. I tried to tell myself my brother was trying to protect me, but still, I couldn't help but feel like I was in prison.
That was a fight for another day.
I turned to go back to the club and froze when I heard the voice. "All that and you came to me."
I knew that voice. "Christ. Look, we don't need to do this."
He grinned. "I think we do. You fucking insulted me. You’re not even the hot one."
So he was one of those dicks.
"If I'm not the hot one, why were you bothering to chat with me?"
"So that my mate could dance with your mate and shag her in the loo. I was just doing him a favor."
I had a million things that were simmering on my tongue to spew out. I did not want to make a mess. I did not want to give Gabe any more reason to not let me out. Nope. I was going to follow the rules, turn my arse around, and go back inside. "You know what? You have a good night. It's not worth it."
As I turned to go, he grabbed my arm and then tugged me back hard, his arm a steel bar around my waist as he whispered in my ear.
"Just where the fuck do you think you're going?"
Chapter Five
Lachlan
Where did she go?
I was watching the door like a hawk… an obsessed hawk. Her mate, the one she'd pointed out, was still snogging some bloke in the corner, so she had to still be here somewhere.
Maybe she just doesn't like dancing with you.
That was bullshit. I felt it. That locked gaze, that connection, that wasn't just me. That was a real thing that had been happening.
So where did she go?
I didn't want to be that bloke, that creep who insisted on holding onto her. That was clingy. But here, I was… waiting. Like a twat. Like a fool. Like a complete and total wanker.
I sighed as I watched the door. She’d be back. I hadn’t imagined that moment.
Or maybe you’re out of practice.
My phone buzzed with a message from Felix telling me he’d fucked off with the blonde from earlier.