Leo Dunne’s green eyes twinkled down at her, his arms like steel bands around her waist. “Hello, Ruby.” The satisfaction in his voice was strange. The deep, possessive rumble sent a shiver down her spine.
Her cheeks heated up when she realized just how close she was plastered to his body. She pushed against that smooth, hot flesh. He released her with flattering reluctance, his hands lingering on her hips even when she pushed back to a standing position.
“Um, hi.” Ruby mentally winced at the lame reply and stared up into the amused, heated eyes of the CEO.
Heated?
10
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Dare to Believe
“Would you like to dance?” His hands flexed on her hips, holding her even more tightly. She got the distinct impression the question wasn’t really a question.
“You almost have to,” Mandy’s amused voice came from her elbow. “The two of you match.”
Ruby blinked and took a closer look at Leo’s costume. He wore tight black leather pants, black leather boots with lots of shiny silver buckles, and not much else. A pair of red and black devil horns peeked out from his dark hair. In one ear a ruby stud gleamed.
Ruby shot one quick glare at Mandy. Somehow she wasn’t buying her best friend’s innocent act. Add in that Mandy knew all about her crush on Leo, and that she was close friends with the man’s secretary, and she had to wonder if Mandy had somehow set her up to match the hunky CEO. “You know, I’m not sure I can dance in these boots,” Ruby muttered. She wondered how quickly she could get away from Satan before she made a complete fool of herself and drooled all over him. She also wondered where his date was. If she was really lucky she’d be able to duck away before whatever blonde he was with saw them and ripped her hair out by the roots.
“Double-dog dare ya.” Mandy chuckled wickedly.
Aw hell. Here we go again.
Ruby’s spine straightened, her eyes snapping with annoyance and determination. She seized his hand and practically dragged him onto the dance floor. She might not be able to dance in those heels but she could sure as hell stomp in them.
He was grateful to his guardian angel back there, but what the hell was that all about?
She turned in his arms in the middle of the dance floor and slapped her hands onto his shoulders hard enough to make him wince. He tried to get her to move with him, but her body didn’t bend. It was like dancing with an exotic piece of wood. Gorgeous but stiff.
“Relax, Ruby. I don’t bite.” Much, he thought.
She glared up at him. “Does your date?”
He smiled, slow and hungry. “I came alone.”
“Oh.”
If anything, his answer made her tense up more. The only good part of the dance was the way her satin-covered breasts kept brushing against his chest. He saw the way her nipples beaded and his erection grew even more painful behind the tight leather pants. Thanks to the fact that he was at least a foot taller than Ruby he could see all that wonderful cleavage the corset displayed to maximum advantage. He had a hard time keeping his eyes on her face; hell, a saint would have peeked. She tried to control her breathing, but he could tell she was just as aroused as he was.
And she was trying desperately to hide it.
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11
Dana Marie Bell
The music shifted into something low and sultry, tempting him into holding her even closer. He leaned down towards her and whispered in her ear on impulse, his voice deliberately low. “Relax and dance with me. I double-dog dare you.”
She jumped. “Relax and dance with me. I double-dog dare you.”
Shit.
She stared up at him and saw the sexy male satisfaction teasing the corners of his lips. His expression was still heated, drifting lazily from her face to her breasts, the dare he’d just issued vivid in his gaze. He didn’t think she’d go through with it, and it showed. Warm curls of excitement unfurled deep in the pit of her stomach. Desire, so rarely aimed at her, held her in its arms. She felt an answering flame deep in the center of her being, challenging her to accept what he was so obviously offering.
For once, just this once, she was going to go with it, and to hell with the voices in her head telling her he was only playing with someone like her.
She allowed the desire she felt to unfurl deep within her. She felt it stretch itself, curling through her being like a sensuous cat, causing her nipples to tighten in anticipation. Her panties dampened in response to the heat in his eyes. Her muscles relaxed, caught up in the tingles moving through her whole body. She let her eyelids droop and looked up at him from beneath her lashes. “Like this?”
Was that sultry whisper my voice? The sane accountant part of her brain was shocked. The wicked little devil that danced in Leo’s arms chortled gleefully as she let her inner sex kitten out to play.