Page 55 of The Demons We Hide

I know he’s not doing it on purpose. He has to lean close just for me to be able to hear him over the music and chatter, but my body doesn’t know that. It locks up and then, like the traitor it is, leans closer to him.

I’m thinking about finding my way onto that dance floor and losing myself there for a little while, but I don’t say that. Instead, I turn and meet his gaze with a quirked eyebrow. “I’m wondering how the hell the three of you managed to snag fake IDs that pass here when the manager has to know how old his own cousin is.”

Gio laughs, the sound somewhat restrained—not at all like the laugh he’d given me that night in Roquel’s bedroom. My chest aches at the reminder, but I lock that shit down and throw away the key. Gio and his boys might have gotten me to Eastpoint with them, but they don’t truly haveme.

I reach for the sweet, fruit-flavored orange and red drink I’d ordered and take a long sip from it.

“You know what I think?” Gio asks in lieu of an answer as he leans close again.

His breath fans across my bare neck and shoulder. I’d dressed in one of the outfits I’d borrowed from Margo for work to fit in with the other club goers. The access it gives him is making me regret that choice.

“Nope.” I keep the tone light if not a bit tart. “But I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

He grins then. “I think you want me to drag you out on that dance floor and show you how a real man impresses a woman.”

I arch an eyebrow. “And how is that?”Dangerous, Jules. You’re wading into dangerous territory.The voice isn’t telling me anything I don’t already know. I’vebeenin dangerous territory for a long time. It’s far too late to try and back out now.

“I’d rather show you,” Gio says, snagging my drink and dragging it out of my grip. He sets it down on the countertop and I frown at it. Lex and Nolan are still off doing only God knows what, and there’s no way I’m going to drink from that glass again if we leave it here unattended. “Lyle?” Gio asks, gesturing from the bartender to the drink. “Watch it?”

Lyle moves down the row of other customers waiting for their drinks and lifts the glass up. He turns and dumps it into a nearby sink. “Can’t promise anything,” he says. “I’ll make her a new one when you get back. On the house.”

Gio nods, understanding. “Thanks.”

“Wait—” But there is no waiting, not when Gio wants something. He lifts me up by my waist and deposits me on the floor, nudging me in the direction of the dance floor.

“Be glad you wore flats,” he says. “Because I’m not holding out on you tonight.”

“I didn’t have heels,” I reply even though he’s right. If we’re going to be dancing, then I’d rather be wearing something that won’t make me want to chop off my feet in the morning.

The closer we get to the mass of moving bodies, the more anxious I become. I already don’t like it when strangers touch me. To my surprise though, a gap opens in the dancers as two girls come stumbling out, giggling as they practically race for the nearest bar counter.

Gio wastes no time, pulling me into the opening just before it disappears. We’re smashed together, my muscles rigid despite the thrum of the music pounding up through the floor and all around us. I take a deep breath and release it all at once, finding a calm center that I’ve had to practice in my workouts with Cory.

There’s something to be said about being in a room full of people and yet feeling so utterly detached from them all. Gio’s body isn’t the only one against mine. Someone presses against my back as they move through the throng of other dancers. An elbow accidentally grazes my back. I find my calm again and again, losing it each time until Gio turns, blocking the group of rowdy clubbers from jabbing into me.

I look up and up some more, peering into endless dark eyes as Gio’s hands find my hips. The rhythm of the music is hot and fast, a thready beat that makes everyone around us start to bump and grind. Not Gio. He keeps our bodies pressed together and instead of grinding his jean-covered cock against my stomach, he wedges his leg between both of mine, setting me off balance.

My hands snap out, landing on his shoulders to keep my balance, and the responding grin on his face tells me that was his plan all along. Gio keeps his leg there, forcing me to hold on to him or risk stumbling and then … he starts to move.

Gio doesn’t dance like he wants to fuck me. He dances like he already is. My breath catches as my nails sink into his shoulders. Back and forth, the swaying of our hips in an odd sort of sync that makes me feel like we’re one person and not two.

He moves like liquid silk, practiced skill turning the dance from one of sweaty release into something altogether different. Gio’s limbs are loose and easy as he keeps me off balance and yet, I’m never afraid of falling. We’re too locked together for that.

After the first song, I begin to relax against him. By the third, I’m following his movements with ease. Once I’ve lost track of how many songs we dance to, I realize we’re catching the attention of a lot of people. They watch us like we’re naked. Maybe because we’re not gyrating like seizing zoo animals.

“That’s it.” Gio’s voice distracts me from people’s eyes as he drops his head and whispers against my ear. “You’re doing so good.”

Praise? From him. Fuck me so fucking hard, but my pussy clenches even as my internal bitch swipes away at the fluttering feeling in my stomach his words produce. Unable to stop myself as a shiver moves through me, I arch upward, pressing my chest against his until I’m sure he can feel the hard points of my nipples. My hands inch over, away from his shoulders until they graze the sides of his neck. Closing my eyes, I let everything else around us fall away and focus on the tingles slipping through my veins, urging me to move faster, to follow his every step.

The music changes at a rapid pace, but Gio maintains his dance. His control over his body and mine is immaculate as he leads me from one song into another. At one point, he spins me out and brings me back, turning the two of us until my ass is nestled against his thighs and his arms close around me. The spicy hint of cologne fills my nostrils.

“You’re a good dancer,” I say, gasping for air as I arch up and reach back, locking my hand around his neck to keep myself balanced as we continue to move to the rhythm of the beat permeating the room.

Sweat slicks down my spine and makes the already tight fabric of my dress cling to me all the more. The hem has slid up and I know I should tug it back down, but I can’t seem to remember why. I’m too focused on the man at my back.

“I know.” Gio’s deep rumble is tense now. Gone is the easy going and amused note in his voice. My eyes open, lashes fluttering, and I blink at the new figure that appears before me.

Lex towers over most of the people on the dance floor, his big body blocking them all out as he approaches. “Is it time for you to go?” I ask Gio, concerned by the fact that I don’t want to release my hold on him.

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