Sarah stood and carefully pushed the bench in closer to the piano. “I don’t think I’d enjoy it as much if it became an actual job.” She couldn’t imagine playing for a living, having her music become a duty that she had to do on a schedule. It wouldn’t be the same.
“Thank you for sharing your talent,” Jared replied, his tone genuine as he grinned at her before walking slowly out of the room.
“You’re welcome,” she called after him as she stepped down from the elevated platform where the piano was situated, grabbing her purse from the floor as she went.
Her head swung to the right as she noticed that the room wasn’t entirely empty. Dante Sinclair hadn’t moved from his chair, and his expression was still as focused as it had been earlier.
“I need to lock the room up,” Sarah told him as calmly as possible, her heart beginning to race as he stood.
“We need to talk,” Dante told her in a graveled, demanding voice.
He sounded like a man who wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
CHAPTER 6
Mine!
Dante’s entire body was wired up and tense, his instincts pounding at him to take Sarah away somewhere and satiate her until she couldn’t think straight anymore. She was dressed in a pair of blue-and-yellow-striped shorts and a short-sleeved matching blue shirt. The shorts were long, almost to her knees, and weren’t meant to be provocative, but on her, they were sexy as hell. Even the innocent, shiny pink polish on her toenails that peeked out from a pair of casual sandals made his dick hard.
He hadn’t just listened to her play the piano; he had felt her. Underneath her logical, analytical exterior was a woman of fire and passion. Yeah. He’d already known that, but he hadn’t realized just how raw those emotions really were. He’d watched her face the entire time he’d been listening to her pour her heart into her music, and it had leveled him, leaving him completely destroyed. He could feel her need just like it was his own, and the sensations hadn’t stopped when the music had ceased. Dante could still feel that sense of longing, and he knew that he was exuding it just as much as Sarah was. Tension flowed in the space between them like an electric current, and his cock was so hard that he was barely able to suppress the need to touch her, to somehow claim her. Even watching her smile at Jared had nearly killed him. He didn’t want another man near her, especially when she was vulnerable. Was it just him who could see that she wore every emotion close to the surface when she was playing?
“Let’s go take a walk,” Dante suggested, gritting his teeth to keep from suggesting what he really wanted: let’s go home and fuck until neither one of us can move. He moved close to her and took her hand, guiding her out of the room.
“Wait. I need to lock up, and I have to go pick up Coco,” she told him nervously.
He waited impatiently as she locked the door to the music room, following her as she dropped the key in a box near the front entrance, and then detoured to the gymnasium to peek into the bingo games. “Randi must have her,” Sarah murmured, moving to another room and cracking the door to look inside.
Dante breathed a sigh of relief as Sarah opened the door wider and he saw the room contained only one petite, dark-haired woman and a couple of kids. Randy was Randi, and she was a female.
“Hey, Randi. I just wanted to get Coco out of your way,” Sarah said, her eyes landing on the dog the woman was holding in her lap.
“She’s never a bother. You know I love her. I’d steal her away from you if I thought I could get away with it.” The woman rose from her seat and placed Coco on the floor. “And the kids love her. It took a while to get down to doing their homework.” She leaned around Sarah’s body. “Who’s this?”
“Dante Sinclair, meet Miranda Tyler. She’s a local teacher and a very good friend of Emily’s,” Sarah told him as she scooted from her place between them so he could see Randi.
Dante smiled at the brunette and held out his hand. “We’ve actually met. She was the maid of honor for Emily at her and Grady’s wedding. It’s good to see you again, Randi.”
“Same here,” Randi answered, taking his hand and shaking it before adding, “I’m sorry about your partner, Dante. And I’m sorry you were hurt. I was relieved to hear that you were doing better.”
“Thanks,” he responded quietly, uncomfortable because he wasn’t quite used to talking about Patrick actually being dead. He didn’t know Randi very well, but from what little he’d seen of her at Grady’s wedding, she seemed like a nice enough woman.
Sarah pulled a leash from her purse and attached it to Coco’s collar. “Emily and I are meeting at Brew Magic after work on Friday if you’d like to come.”
Randi’s face lit up. “I wouldn’t miss it. It looks like I have a lot to catch up on.” She glanced curiously at Sarah, and then at Dante. “I didn’t realize you two were . . . together.”