Signals? I hadn’t given out any signals to him. Had I?
“I’d had a bit much to drink, and with your scent in my head, the combination caused me to be a bit… indelicate. For that, I apologize.”
Indelicate. I guessed that was a word.
The horrible part was, the compassionate people pleaser inside me wanted to believe him, or at least give him the benefit of the doubt… if that smirk hadn’t been in his dark eyes. If he hadn’t kept looking at my lips.
He stepped closer, and I cringed away as he lifted a hand to stroke my arm. His touch felt like spiders crawling down my skin.
“Let me make it up to you, Eliana. Dinner, wine, the theater afterward. Let me show you that I can be less barbaric.” The predatory gleam returned. “Unless you wish for me to unleash it.”
I dodged to the right, surprising him, but wasn’t quick enough to get away. His hand whipped out and wrapped around my arm. “I love it. Such a tease.”
Coming around, I raised my hand to smack him across the face. He laughed when he caught my wrist easily. “Frisky. Just like your mother.” Surprise stopped my struggle, and he chuckled again. “A mother and daughter double team is on my bucket list, but I’ll take them in singles too.”
“You… sick bastard.” I went for his crotch, and he avoided the knee as if he was well practiced at the skill. “Let go of me, or I’ll scream this place down.”
He didn’t, so I opened my mouth to do just that.
“Miss?”
I wasn’t sure who jerked around the quickest, Winston or me. I didn’t care because he dropped his hands immediately.
In the doorway of the ladies’ room stood the elderly attendant. She held out a small tube of cherry red lip gloss I’d never seen before. “I fear you might have left this behind.” Her wise eyes urged me to take it.
“Oh my goodness,” I sputtered and reached for it, squeezing her hand as I did. “Thank you so much.”
She inclined her head and stepped back into the bathroom. “Have a lovely evening.”
The door hadn’t even clicked shut before I was flying down the hall, thanking the sweet woman for her intervention. Back in the ballroom, I headed straight for the dance floor and stood near a throng of people while I searched for Kane.
There he was, still dancing with his grandmother. It surprised me when I recognized the same song that had been playing when I left. My interlude with Winston had only taken a few minutes, not the hours that it felt like. I snagged a flute of bubbly liquid from a waiter and downed it in one gulp.
Inhale love.
Exhale hate.
I traded my empty glass for a full one.
Inhale alcohol.
Exhale toxic soul sucking bastards.
My heartbeat had found its normal rhythm when the waltz finally came to an end, and I smiled as Kane hugged his grandmother tightly. They just stood there for long moments, holding onto each other. By the time he let her go, his face was red. He said something, and she smiled and nodded, then he leaned down and kissed her cheek. Turning on his heel, he fled the room. Over the tops of people’s heads, I watched him push through the balcony door.
What just happened?
Hesitating only a second, I followed him, finding him in the shadows of a corner. His hands were pressed to his face.
“Kane?”
He didn’t even flinch. I took a step closer, resting my hand on his arm, providing what little comfort I could.
I gasped when he grabbed me, turning me until I was pressed against the wall. His lips crashed onto mine, and I could taste the salt of his tears.
My mind flashed to Winston grabbing me, but his hateful image was gone just as quickly. This was Kane, and although I didn’t know what happened with his grandmother, I knew he needed me now. I would’ve given him anything, I realized and wrapped my arms around him, kissing him back with all the passion that had been held hostage inside me for so long.
His hands were everywhere. In my hair, around my throat, on my breasts. His tongue invaded my mouth, and I welcomed it. Welcomed him.
He was hard. So hard. His erection pressed into my stomach as he took my mouth with an urgency that left me breathless.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered against my mouth, softening the kiss. His fingers loosened from where they’d been digging into my skin. “I’m hurting you.”
I pressed closer and dragged my teeth over his lower lip. “Hurt me. Please.”
He chuckled, the rumble of the sound vibrating through me. “Be careful what you wish for.”
I didn’t hesitate. “I wish for it all. Everything.”
He growled low in his throat. “I need you,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine. “I’m not sure why, but I need you.”
I curled my fingers in his thick hair. “I know. I need you too.”
Our foreheads were pressed together, our breath mingling in the space between us.
“My nana is dying.”
His announcement was such a surprise that I gasped. “Oh no.”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat, and his face was a tight mask as he attempted to control his emotions. “That was probably our last dance.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, and I pressed my lips to his, providing what bit of solace I could. “I’m so sorry. She seems so very wonderful.”
“She is. Wise and witty, subtly stern. She’s a rock, and I can’t believe she’ll be leaving us soon.” He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. “She kept wanting me to come to this gala, and like the ass I am, I refused… until I met you. So thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And you’re not an ass.”
He made a scoffing sound, clearly not believing me. “She took me out on the terrace earlier to tell me and to give me something.” He pulled a small box from his pocket. “This.”
He held it out to me, and my fingers trembled as I took it. When I opened the top, a ring sprang out. It hadn’t been fastened down in its holder.
I cried out as it pinged to the concrete floor, bouncing several times. Kane dropped down and slammed a hand over it, catching it before it could drop off the side of the building.
Oh, thank goodness. My heart was hammering in my chest.
“It’s okay, I got it.”
I smiled down at him as he handed it back to me. “Nice catch, Mr. First Baseman.”
“Oh! My! Goodness!”
A squeal of delight echoed into the night air, and I looked over to see Kane’s mother and grandmother standing there, holding onto each other’s hands, his father right behind them.
I looked down at Kane, who was still on his knee, holding the ring up between us.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize how this looked.
As if I was frozen, I just stood there, unsure what to do. Laugh? Cry? Run?
Kane stood up and smiled down at me, a soft chuckle accompanying the shake of his head.