The Boy I Hate(79)

He took Renee in his arms and started swaying. “It can be only fingers.” He turned her out, letting her travel until only the tips of their fingers connected. “Or the whole body.” He yanked her forward again, slamming her body against his, her thigh between his legs. “When the song changes, so does the person you’re dancing with. Fair enough?”

Renee grinned and took the microphone. “Couples will be eliminated as we go, so be creative and don’t let that happen.” She raised her eyebrows. “There’s a prize at the end, but you’ll have to wait to find out what it is. Have fun everyone!”





28





Chapter Twenty-eight





It didn’t take long before everyone was grabbing a partner and heading for the dance floor. There were different couples, some conservative, some not, yet it didn’t take long before the scene that unfolded in front of them looked like it could have come out of a Vegas nightclub. Deciding she didn’t really care about prizes, Samantha turned to leave, but then she felt a hand rest on her lower back.

Mark stood just behind her, his lips close to her ear as he spoke to her. “What do you say—want to make him jealous?”

She laughed, because this was a horrible idea. She wasn’t a dancer, and she wasn’t about to start now.

But then Devon came to stand beside her and draped his arm around her shoulder. “Who are we making jealous?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked over the dance floor.

Her eyes shifted downward, then she looked over at Mark. He caught her eye and winked to let her know it would be okay, then handed her a shot glass filled with some sort of brown liquid.

“Drink,” he said to Samantha. Then he turned to Devon and lifted his chin. “It seems,” Mark began, taking her glass that was now empty, “that Samantha has an admirer—but he’s too much of a pussy to come over here and get her. So we’ll have to draw him out.”

Devon choked on his bottle of Corona and glanced around the dance floor. “Who?”

Mark waved him off. “Doesn’t matter, Devon. What matters is that we make Samantha look like the most delicious morsel in the room.” He took Samantha’s arm, handed Devin her clutch, and bowed to her. “May I have this dance?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think this is a good idea.” But then she saw Tristan already out there, dancing with the redheaded hussy she’d seen him with earlier. The ginger turned to face him, her legs long and elegant as she walked around him, trailing her finger along his body.

Mark pushed her toward the dance floor, then pulled her around and gripped her fingers firmly in one hand. “Change your mind?”

Her lips curled in a playful grin and she nodded. “Do your worst.”

As though her invitation flipped on a switch, Mark grinned and starting dancing like a Latin lover. He lifted her up at the arms—just high enough where her breasts almost hit his chin. He grinned. “Good girl.” Then he gripped the backs of her thighs, adding enough pressure to urge them to spread. Her eyes widened, but he lifted again, causing her legs to straddle his waist. “Lean back,” he whispered.

She did as he said, and he used her body to form a soft sweeping motion across the floor, causing her long hair to dust the ground. The people around them squealed with approval, and he pulled her up again. “I think we got his attention.” But then he placed her on her feet again and whipped her out in a turn.

Tristan was right there watching her, staring at Mark before raking his eyes over Samantha. But he wasn’t angry like she feared; he was actually grinning. She bit her lip, her stomach tightening with deliciousness, because the look on his face told her he knew exactly what game she was playing, and she was pretty sure she’d just started a war.

Tristan placed his hand on the small of the redhead’s back and lifted her thigh to hook it on the top of his hip.

Mark turned her back in to his chest, and soon her body was pressed against his again.

“Looks like we have a challenger,” he said, placing both of her hands around his neck and gripping her hips to move them to the rhythm. She took his lead, moving when he told her to, letting her body sway with each beat, each pulse, and soon they were dancing as one. Hips together, hands laced.

The music changed a second later, and the DJ’s voice sounded from the loud speakers. “Now switch!”

Samantha spun around, looking for her next partner, and right there behind her was Devon. He grabbed hold of her hand and spun her into his chest. “I don’t know who this other guy is, but I still owe you for the dirt incident.” He grinned.