And yet he had. Several times. All of which she’d taken in stride. Better than that—she’d seemed happy about his use of the sweet nickname. That’d been the only reason it left his lips more than once. The depth of emotion in her eyes the first time he called her princess had hooked him. He wanted to see more of it. To be the one to reveal it.
Not going to happen at the moment, though. The woman moving around the dance floor with him wasn’t just cold, she’d gone downright prickly. If he didn’t smooth her quills in the next couple minutes, the song would end and she’d be long gone. Yeah, he could sleep alone tonight. But he’d rather not sleep at all—with her.
First he had to thaw the frost he’d caused. He’d obviously touched a nerve. Another one. Apologizing would work with most women, but Sara wasn’t most women. If he tried going that route, she’d see right through it. Cut him down with that fast mouth of hers. And he had much better plans for her mouth.
He slid his hand along her spine. Then lower. The warm, soft skin beneath his fingertips gave way to the slippery satin material of her dress. He toyed with the end of the zipper, taking it down a couple inches to see if she’d react. She didn’t. Balls of steel, this woman.
He re-zipped the dress, then continued his downward journey. He bit back a groan when he reached the dip of her back, directly above her ass—one of his favorite areas on a woman’s body.
For a woman with major curves, Sara had a tiny waist. His hand spanned the small of her back perfectly. He was going to enjoy having his hand here when they were naked. The perfect spot to pull her in tight while face-to-face. To hold her in place while he had her ass-up. Oh yeah, he would definitely have her that way later.
He slid his hand down some more. Over the high, firm curve of her ass, all the way to the underside, where he curled his fingertips possessively into her satin-covered flesh.
“Get your hand off my ass.” None of her sexy snark in that statement. Just that damn frost.
“Only way that’s happening is if I put it somewhere better.” He tugged her closer, easily overpowering her resistance, and getting one hundred percent hard in the process. “Is that what you want, troublemaker? Me to hike your dress up and slide my hand between your legs right here, with everybody watching?”
“Fuck you.” The curse contained venom, but it rode a hitched breath.
“You will. Multiple times tonight. You want to start now, or do you think you can wait ’til we get somewhere more private?”
She twisted against his hold and got nowhere. “Dick,” she whispered, curling her fingernails into his other hand as they swayed to the country song.
“Claws in, kitten, or you might tear that pretty dress. And if anybody’s going to ruin it, it’ll be me, when I rip it off your sexy body.”
The song tapered off, the music replaced by a soft round of clapping and the DJ’s announcement that the bride and her father would dance to the next song.
“Guess you have to let me go.” Another whisper, this one devoid of anger.
“Only temporarily. You and I both know we’re not done.” He whispered the words against her ear, sliding his hand up over her back, into the ends of her hair. “Tell me I’m wrong and I’ll let you go permanently.”
And…silence. Good.
He released her, but caught her gaze as she stepped clear of him. “For the record, I’d prefer to undress you slowly. Take my time and unwrap you like the incredible gift you are.”
Her lips parted and moved, but nothing came out. First time he’d seen Sara speechless, and he bet the Mustang it didn’t happen often. He winked and walked away. Another mission accomplished.
Chapter 6
Sara
Sara and Curtis had spent the last several hours dancing around each other. Figuratively, not to the music. He hadn’t asked her since their obligatory—and annoyingly hot—dance to start the evening. However, he had cruised the floor with other women. Lindsay. His mother. Meredith. Nia. All innocent interactions. The object of his current invitation, on the other hand…
Why the hell had he chosen Susie Ballantine for a dance? As young children, Sara, Susie and Nia had all taken ballet lessons together. Nia and Susie had kept at it for years, long after Sara had quit the class, along with all other organized social activities.
Nia and Susie had been blonde-haired, pink-tutu-clad twins until their early teens. They’d reconnected during college, when Susie had replaced Sara as Nia’s roommate. Given how chatty and chummy they’d been throughout the reception tonight, Sara bet they’d still be best-friend tight if Susie hadn’t moved to Ottawa for a job after graduation.
Now Susie had her hand tucked under Curtis’ arm as they made their way to the crowded dance floor. Well-played, Ballantine. Well-played.
God, what Sara wouldn’t give to get the hell out of this place. Away from the sea of familiar faces from the past, some of them judging, some of them pitying, some of them just plain nosey. Away from the whispers that had followed her. All fucking day long.
Mental issues stemming from her parents’ death. Poor girl never recovered, now she’s a walking powder keg.
She got arrested in Toronto and had to move back with Peter and Meredith because she lost her job and couldn’t pay the fine. Those poor people, still dealing with Sara’s issues after all these years. And after everything they’ve done for her…
Hard to believe Nia chose her as the maid of honor. Everybody knows Sara slept with Nia’s boyfriend. While they were roommates, no less!
Dropped out of school. Can’t keep a job. About time she gets her act together.
At least she didn’t mess up the wedding the way she has everything else.
She’d bit her tongue so hard she’d tasted blood a few times. Not because the accusations were false. Bull’s-eyes, all of them. But as one of the critics had noted, she hadn’t messed up the wedding. And that’s how this night would end too. Drama-less, on her part, anyway.
To ensure that, she needed to get away sooner rather than later. Even from the people she cared about.
Lastly, she wanted away from Curtis Lawler. She’d foolishly allowed him to push past her guard—multiple times. She’d developed expectations. A huge mistake, even for one night.
Stupidity reigned again as she watched Curtis and Susie moving to a semi-slow song that required close dancing. They hadn’t stopped talking since they joined hands. Laughing too.
The dirty talk—and worse, the sweet talk—he’d piled on Sara had been exactly that—a pile of shit. She must’ve been out of her freaking mind falling for that garbage. Thinking a hookup with Curtis was a good idea. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She turned from the dance floor and cut between tables until she reached Nia, standing near the bar with Conn and both sets of parents. “Hey, ho, newlyweds. Not sure if you noticed, but some of guests headed out already.”
Nia drilled her with a tilted-head, one-eyebrow-raised stare. “Is that code for, ‘can I leave too’?”
“Well…”
“Not yet, darling girl.” Her mom wrapped her arms around Sara’s shoulders and squeezed. “Nia has to throw the bouquet before you steal away into the night.”