“Tell me something about you,” I say, drawing her attention from people watching.
She turns to me. “What?”
“Tell me something about you.”
“Nothing to tell,” she says and turns back to look over the small crowd.
I grin. “Okay, how about this? I’ll tell you something about me,” I say. I’ve caught her attention with that. She holds my gaze.
Not waiting for a reply, I continue. “I have six brothers. I’m the third oldest. My mother is Irish, and my father is a Scot. My family is huge outside of my immediate family as well.”
“Okay.”
I snort. “Okay, now it’s your turn.”
She tips her head to the side as she looks at me. “I thought they told you everything about me. I guess I was wrong.”
“I was told you haven’t given over anything that will help with the search for your past life. You do know they’re trying to help. If you talk, they can see if you have a safe life to return to. You are not obligated to stay here if you have a family to return to.”
She searches my face, her eyes growing sad as her thoughts race across her features. I lean into her, feeling protective. I can see something is off.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you about me. There’s nothing to tell because…” She pauses and licks her lips. “I can’t remember.”
“As in you have amnesia?” She nods. I crease my brows. “Nothing?”
She looks down at the floor and shrugs. There’s a long pause. At first, I think she’s shutting down on me already.
“I can’t remember anything before waking with those people. I’ve been having these dreams. I think they’re memories, but I’m much younger. A girl. Nothing that will help me figure anything out. I figured my family may have been killed like some of the others,” she says.
I clench my hand holding my beer. I have to tell myself to reel in my anger. There’s nothing I can do about all of that at the moment anyway.
“Wait, your memory was gone when you woke?”
“Yeah, I had a head injury and they were drugging me. Sometimes I get these flashes of things, but never enough to pull real pieces together,” she says.
“Okay, so it seems there’s a chance to regain your memory. I mean, I’m no doctor or anything, but the flashes and the dreams are a good sign.”
“Maybe I’m not meant to remember that past. The one I do remember is painful enough,” she says and turns away from me again.
I can see the tight set of her lips even in profile. Seeing the tension in her body, I want to kick myself. I should have known this wasn’t the right conversation to have.
We’ve been having fun for the most part. As much as I want to know and understand this woman. I still wanted her to chill tonight.
The song changes to “In Those Jeans” by Ginuwine and I grin. Placing my beer down, I stand and hold a hand out. Our eyes lock and it’s like I’m sucker-punched in the gut.
Something in her eyes calls to me as it always does, but at this moment it’s more intense. It’s like I can see her thoughts and for the first time in my life, I want to allow someone to see mine.
“Come on.” She lifts a brow at me. “Come on. Dance with me.”
She turns to look down at my hand. A second longer and she submits, placing her small palm in mine. When she lifts to her feet, I guide her out to the little dance floor.
She stands awkwardly, looking up at me. I give her a full smile and draw her body close to mine. I know I’m playing with fire the moment I do.
She feels too right in my arms. Her breasts against my chest cause all my thoughts to go to my playroom. I still haven’t broken it in since I purchased my house.
I dance my eyes over her dark hair and imagine it spilled across the pillow. Her thick lush locks are begging to be wrapped around my fist. I inhale sharply and shove away the feeling.
Without warning, I start to guide her hips to a slow rock with mine. Her lips part and her eyes widen. I can’t help the wolfish grin that comes to my face.
I wink. “Stick with me and I’ll show you things,” I say.
She slides her arms around my neck and relaxes into my hold. I tighten my arms around her and slide my leg between her thighs. That tension that has been building between us takes over the entire place.
I’ve been ignoring it as much as I can, but with her in my arms, I can’t deny that it’s there. As if holding her isn’t enough, she decides to turn, placing her back to my front. Her plush ass fits into me, causing my jeans to tighten as I grow hard.
I believe she’s intent on teasing me as she looks up and over her bare shoulder and locks gazes with me. I splay a hand against her belly as I keep our heated two-step sway in play. Again, she reaches up to place her arms around my neck.
My lips turn up in the corner as I read her gaze. “Trust me, you don’t want that.”
“Want what?”
“Me to fuck you.”
“Why not?” she says, that rasp to her voice feels like a caress.
I growl and cup her throat. I want to close the distance between her lips and mine. Instead, I kiss her forehead and move to whisper in her ear.
“I’m bad for you, Roni.”
With that, I squeeze once before letting go. The flicker in her eyes almost sucks me right in. Her brown orbs spark as if the gesture turns her on as much as it does me.
I lick my lips as I drop my eyes to her lush mouth. Lifting my gaze, I remind myself of everything she’s been through. That’s enough to make me back off.
Keeping eye contact, I reluctantly take a step away. This might not have been a good idea. One dance and I’m ready to strip her down and feast on her gorgeous brown skin.
“We should head back,” I say huskily.
“Yeah, okay.”
Roni
John hasn’t said much since we left the bar. I’ve been as much in my head as he seems to be in his. His words are on repeat in my head.
Me to fuck you. My heart raced as he said these words, but it was the ones after that confused me. I’m bad for you, Roni.
John has been a nice guy from day one. I don’t know how he could be bad for me. All I know is that I want to know what that means. Being in his arms made me feel safe and the way my body felt… still feels.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he says as we stop in front of my room.
“Will you tell me what you meant?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
He searches my face before replying. Reaching up, he brushes his thumb across my lips. I’m surprised by the whimper that tries to leave them.
“Go to bed.”
I frown. “What if I don’t want to?”
He crowds my space until my back hits the door. Leaning down, he stops when we are nose to nose. His cologne surrounds me, causing me to close my eyes to take him in.
“Never pour gasoline on a fire you’re trying to squelch. We’re going to let this go for a number of reasons. Goodnight, Roni.”
“Because you think those savages ran through me?” I say bitterly, opening my eyes.
His eyes soften. He cups my face and for a moment I think he’s going to kiss me. I hold my breath, but the kiss doesn’t come.