Linebacker’s Second Chance(82)
“She’s a natural at this,” I mutter into my glass. With the hint of whiskey running through my veins, my cock stirs as I watch her. I want to take her home tonight and do all the things I’ve been thinking about, but I won’t push her farther than she needs to be pushed. There’s loneliness and hurt in both of our stories. I don’t know what hers is, but tonight is the first time I haven’t seen it since I met her. I stare into my glass for a moment. When I look up, Cadence is in front of me, taking my glass from my hands and swilling the rest of the whiskey.
“Come on, wallflower,” she says, pulling me into the middle of the lobby. There’s not really a dance floor, but a few of the drunker politicians are slow dancing to some Christmas song I haven’t heard before. I laugh, and Cadence pulls me to the center of the floor where she was dancing with Star. I let her, as the warmth expands through my body again.
“I’m no wallflower, woman. But this isn’t exactly a dance floor.”
“It is now,” she whispers. I take her hand in mine and twirl her around as the song builds. She’s breathless when I pull her back into my arms. People are leaving now, and I pull her close and kiss her again, my own breath coming in a shorter rhythm. Unlike the other kisses this evening, this one is more urgent. In this kiss, I taste her, taking in her scent, the feeling of her body, dress crumpled against my tuxedo. Her eyes are wide, her heart beating fast, and I can almost feel the sparks forming between us, like static electricity on a cool, dry winter’s night before Christmas.
She pulls away and puts her hands on my forearms. I’m still gripping her by the waist, and for a moment, I feel like we’re trapped in time. I want to stay like this, because here, there are no expectations put upon us. Here, there’s no mention of the distance between our homes, the distance between our lives. As the people file out past us, there’s only her and me. My hand slips lower and rests on the curved shelf of her ass. I want to let it travel lower still, but I think that particular activity might be frowned upon.
“Rowan, I--“ She stops before she starts protesting at me. I can tell that she’s going to say we can’t do something, or that the kiss was too much, not appropriate. But here we are still, and she’s saying nothing else. So I kiss her again, covering her lips with mine, tracing my fingers over the soft, tender skin of her neck. Gooseflesh forms behind my fingers as they move over her skin. Star and her husband wave to us as they leave, and I barely notice them pass by us. The caterers are the only people left, and I’m vaguely aware that they’re cleaning up my event and leaving too, one by one.
“Let me take you home, city girl. I want to show you just how good I think you look.” Her eyelashes flutter, and everything about her expression is girlish and alluring. In my younger days, I would have taken her outside and pushed her up against the car. Maybe I’d kneel down and lift her skirt so I could taste her. Or maybe I’d part her legs and take her against the car until she was begging for me to let her come. But we’re adults now, and I’m planning to take her back home and keep her up all damn night.
As the thoughts of what I’m planning to do to this woman form in my head, she grabs me and pulls me outside. Even as I’m thinking about taking it slow, she’s got her hands trailing up my suit jacket, and she’s feeling me up like we’re teenagers after prom. That’s when I lift her, wrapping her legs around my waist and haul her out to the car while she giggles the whole way.
“You’re tipsy,” I whisper.
“And you’re so damn fine I can’t stand it.” She leans in and kisses me, and I push her against the car.
“I can hardly control myself around you, girl.” I move my lips over her neck, taking in the slight scent of champagne and the sweet, mild perfume she’s wearing. She wraps her legs tighter around me, and blood rushes to my cock. It strains against the fabric of my pants. I look around to see that the other cars have left the parking lot. I lean in and whisper into her ear. I’m half tempted to pull down those panties and fuck you right here. But you’re a lady, and I’m going to take you home and fuck you in bed.”
She moans and moves her body against mine, the fabric of her dress crinkling, pressing against my cock. Without thinking any more, I open the passenger seat of the car door and put her inside.
And I drive faster back over the mountain toward home than any man in his right mind should. But I’m not in my right mind, and both Cadence and I know that all too well.