Dylan engulfed my hand in his and wrapped his arm around my waist, turning us toward the makeshift dancefloor. We swayed to the low baseline, and soft rifts that thrummed from the jukebox. The woman’s voice singing about black velvet and little boys smiles. I couldn’t concentrate much on lyrics, my own thoughts burning bright in the forefront to my mind.
Dylan broke into my daydream, his breath warm on my cheek. I looked up into his hazel eyes, my hand resting on his shirt over a strong, defined chest. "You know, I've been waiting what feels like a lifetime to get you this close to my heart. Can you feel it beating out of my chest?" His eyes burned with a fire I didn't recognize, the vein in his neck pulsing at a frenzied pace.
I took his hand in my free one and held it over my own racing heart. "You feel that? Your heart matches mine. I've never felt like this. I feel…cherished." I looked deep into his eyes, which were hooded, his expression matching my exact mood. The music all but forgotten as we danced to our own rhythm.
I couldn’t remember the last time Jude made me feel anything like this. With him, it was different. Jude knew all the nitty-gritty of my life, my demons. We never had the romance, the sweep-me-off-my-feet-with-sweet-gestures-and-sayings. With Jude, it was raw, unadulterated passion. The smolder Dylan was giving me was nothing but tenderness and love. "You have no idea how even just the look on your face has made me feel. I feel so special and wanted." My breath caught. "Thank you." That was all I could muster before his lips gently caressed mine.
His husky voice rubbed along my skin in the most delicious way, "Oh, sugar," he pulled back slightly, his nose brushing mine, "that was the best compliment any woman has ever paid me."
"Well, it's true. I don't know what it is about you, Dylan." My voice came out as a whisper against his warm, smooth jaw. "You make ordinary feel exceptional."
He leaned down and kissed me again, this time deeper, as if I were the last woman he was ever going to kiss again. My mouth opened and my heart melted as his fingers stroked my cheek and made their way into my hair. A growl sounded in his chest, my body firmly pressed against his as we swayed to the beat of a song that no longer played. At some point the jukebox had stopped but I was too wrapped up in this man to notice.
"Sugar, you keep kissing me like that, we may never get to that drink." His gasps for air matched mine, neither one of us getting enough oxygen, and honestly, I couldn't care less. I would gladly breathe Dylan all night long. Forever if I could.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry and panties wet. "Maybe a drink wouldn't be a bad idea?" It came out as a question; one I wasn't sure I even wanted to ask. I wasn't in any hurry to leave the safety of Dylan's arms. And I knew that if we stopped dancing, the spell of lust we just swirled in might be broken.
He didn't give me a chance to overthink everything, pulling away enough that I missed his warmth and wanted nothing more than to drag him back to my body and coerce him somewhere more private.
"Or maybe we should go back to your place?" I sounded unsure and needy all at the same time.
"Is that what you want?" His voice gravely and rich, I could tell he was just as affected as I was.
"Yes," I breathed. "Take me…home. To your house."
We skipped the drinks altogether. Obviously, there was something much better on the menu for the evening.
Dylan wrapped me tighter in his embrace and sighed into my neck, his lips grazing the tender flesh under my ear. "I can't promise you much, sugar, but I can promise you this. Tonight, I will be everything you need and all you never knew you wanted." His body felt tight, like he was holding something back, and the hardness in his jeans wasn't it.
He straightened his frame and took in my expression.
I smiled and lifted onto my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck and feeling his hands settle at my hips.
"I look forward to more than just tonight, Mr. Dylan Highsmith. And I can certainly promise you, after we do this, you will too." I gently brushed my lips across his chin. "Let's go, I want to experience everything I've been missing."
His chuckle melted across my enflamed cheeks, causing goose bumps on my lust-saturated skin. "Sugar, you're gonna be the sweetest part of every memory I have." He let go of me and removed my hands from his neck, kissing each knuckle once before leading me back the way we came.
We never even sat down, but it didn't matter. Jimmy knew from the moment we stepped foot in his establishment, I wouldn't be drinking anything but water anyway. At least I was saved from explaining something I wasn't ready to yet.