We’d each learned to dance at some point in our lives and pulled it off right there; stepping over the dropped jaws and bugged-out eyes who thought Adrian Turner was too good for the likes of a hippie nerd. The only problem was I was a hippie nerd that he happened to think was gorgeous, and that he loved—though I didn’t know about the love part until a few weeks ago.
The reggaeton-merengue mix brings our past crashing into our present once more, and we float through the crowd. My hips grind mercilessly into his as I pull his pockets to bring him in tighter. It’s as if he has to force our bodies apart when he spins me, then they’re right back together. I find myself staring intently at the beads of sweat on his neck.
“You still got it, Turner,” I pant as Beyonce regains control of the speakers.
“Thanks for leading, Gorgeous.” He smiles but doesn’t lock eyes with me.
By the time Jay-Z’s voice joins in the song, I’ve had enough of Adrian’s distance. I grab his belt and yank him toward me, crashing his hipbones into mine.
“What was that about?” he grunts.
“What the hell is with you?” I’m forced to shout in his ear over the loud music.
He turns my back to him and I grind down his body. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re being aloof, that’s what I mean. You kiss me when I show up, but you’ve said about twenty words since then. What gives?” I shout over my shoulder before he spins me back around.
Suddenly, he stops dead in the middle of the dance floor and presses his sweaty forehead into mine. “I’m trying really hard to respect your boundaries, Ember,” he breathes onto my lips.
“I never set any with you.” I tilt my chin until my lips make contact with his earlobe. “Take me home, Adrian.”
He steps back, keeping me at forearms length. “Yeah?”
Seduction takes over my face. “Yeah.”
Chapter Eleven
“Taxi!” Adrian wastes no time journeying back to his place.
As soon as he climbs in the cab next to me and slams the door shut, I’m pulled onto his lap and his tongue invades my mouth. The caged animal that claims Adrian’s body is ravenous, desperate for me with every moan beckoning from the bottom of his throat.
“Adrian,” I breathlessly pull away, “we’re in a cab.”
He grabs my hips and pushes me harder onto his lap. “I’m sure he’s seen worse.”
Adrian kisses me with hunger, while he runs one hand down the outside of my thigh and resumes its ascent under my dress. I circle my hips on his, and I can’t believe I don’t care about the cab driver a foot away from us, but I don’t.
His hand reaches my hip and he runs his fingertip along the lace of my thong. My body remembers his next move, and I lift off him slightly as he tucks his finger underneath the fabric and slips it inside me.
“Damn.” I exercise vocal control by breathing into his shoulder as he works his magic.
Just like that the cab stops, and in one motion Adrian slides me off him and hands the driver money. I sweep my hair over my burning cheeks, but the cabbie doesn’t so much as look in the rearview mirror. I briefly wonder if he has seen worse, but don’t give it too much thought as I shut the door behind me. Adrian takes my hand into his sweaty palm, and we walk hurriedly through the private entrance to the elevators.
When the doors ding closed behind us, I slam Adrian into the side of the elevator by my mouth. “Never do that to me in public again,” I curse in the short time my tongue leaves his mouth.
I feel his grin against my lips. “Don’t worry, Baby. Anything else I plan on doing to you has to be done in private.”
We tear blindly through his door in a hurricane of need five years in the making. I glide backward with each step he takes forward, until my hips are backed up against the kitchen island. With the height of my heels, I’m able to lift up on my toes slightly and shift myself onto the marbled surface. Once anchored, I kick off my heels and wrap my legs around his waist.
“You have condoms right?” I breathe onto his collarbone as I explore the peaks and valleys of his muscles with my lips.
As my tongue dances behind his ear, his breath takes any response away. He reaches into his pocket and produces the black foil between his index and middle fingers. My shaking legs can wait no longer. I open his belt and shove my hand down his pants, hungrily grabbing the last physical memory I have of him. He lets his pants fall to his ankles and tugs at the skirt of my dress. I lean forward, allowing the dress to settle on my hips and I drop my legs while I tear the wrapper open.
“I’ll do it.” He takes the condom from me and his eyes bore through mine as he rolls it on. We remain at-the-ready as our hungry bodies play catch-up.
“Adrian ...” I resume my leg-lock around his waist as he pulls back to look at me. “No, don’t fucking stop.”
I dig my fingertips into his shoulders and beg him forward. His lips meet mine at the same time he slams into me. I wince for a split second, before reminding my body to relax around him. He guides my hips to the edge of the island and picks up speed. Releasing my grip on his shoulders, I wrap my fingers around the edge of the island, tilting my chin to the sky while arching my back.
“Oh my god ...” Adrian groans.