Chapter Fourteen
“Ooh, I love this song,” I squeal and grip tightly onto Beth’s arms. She rolls her eyes because I’m pretty sure I’ve said that about every song that’s been on. There are only a handful of us on the dance floor, and we’re all women. Well, apart from the drunk old guy who is a permanent fixture in the bar. It’s not so much that he was invited to the engagement party as it is going on around him and he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dance.
Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me aaahh.
I sing very out of tune but stop and stagger slightly on my skyscraper heels when I notice that Beth is no longer dancing but standing, her head at an angle, as she peers at something behind me.
“What?” I shout at her, slightly louder than necessary. It’s not like we’re in a nightclub with deafening music. Her eyes widen as I feel a strong arm circle my waist and pull me back so I collide against rock-hard abs and an even harder erection.
The panic that I’m sure I should feel never kicks in; instead, a familiar buzz spreads through my body, radiating from my core. A cloud of Armani surrounds me, and I relax into him.
“Oh, I want you all right,” he whispers, his lips brushing tantalizingly against my earlobe before warm lips press into the curve of my neck and his tongue draws small circles on my feverish skin. My tummy clenches painfully with desire as he slowly turns me in his arms, and I can’t see Beth’s shocked look anymore.
Max. As if there were any doubt in my mind, even my drunken mind. His touch affects me like no one else’s can, and it makes my whole body come alive. He presses his forehead against mine and looks deep into me. Drunkenly, I loop my arms around his neck and reach up to kiss him. A bold move considering we are surrounded by friends and family; plenty of people to witness my very public display of affection. That is so not me; I am usually quite reserved and don’t show affection, but all that goes out the window as soon as Max is thrown into the mix.
A growl sounds deep in his throat, and I feel it reverberate through my body, before his hand grasps the back of my head and his tongue snakes into my mouth. Our kiss grows into something much deeper and more heated.
Almost as abruptly, he pulls back. “I’m going for a drink. You want one?”
“Sure,” I answer brightly and teeter unsteadily as we walk off the small dance floor.
Max snorts, and I look up at him. “What?”
“Haven’t you had enough?” His eyes sparkle with amusement, and I like this playful side of him. But he’s right, dancing with Beth has made me all hot and in desperate need of some fresh air and a cold glass of water.
“Okay, get me some water. I’m going outside for some air.”
I leave Max at the bar and weave my way through the tables to the door. Fresh air greets me as I move out the door and let it swing shut behind me. Leaning on the railing at the top of the steps, I enjoy the quiet, calm night, which is a total contrast to the bar inside. Minutes later, I hear the door open then close again and Max takes his place beside me, a warm hand resting on the bare skin of my back.
Turning my head to the side, I offer him what I hope is a happy smile, but it is probably a drunken, lopsided one. Nevertheless, he returns it with a panty-dropping one of his own, and just now, I gladly would.
“I thought you weren’t going to bend over,” he teases as his hand skims down my back, over the curve of my backside, and down my bare thigh. Because the dress barely covers the top of my thighs, it is dangerously close to the bottom of my ass.
“I’d forgotten how much I missed this place.” I suddenly feel nostalgic for a time when I was younger and everything held so much promise. But I couldn’t wait to get away from this place. Now, I don’t know what I was running from or why I was so eager to escape.
“Are you glad you’re back?”
“Yes.” I don’t need to give it a second thought. The moment I passed the sign saying Welcome, I knew I was back home and something slotted into place. Something that had been missing for a long time. No matter how much I told myself that I didn’t miss home, I was lying.
“Come here,” he commands softly, and like a moth to a flame, I go to him and let myself be cocooned in his arms. Tucked under his chin, my cheek rests on his chest and he smells even better up close. One hand strokes down my spine, and his touch is even more electrifying without a layer of clothing.
“What about it, Leigh?” His quiet, low voice breaks the silence.
“Hmm.” That is what he does to me; he reduces me to sounds instead of words or sentences.